Emotion is back for Ellis
Greg Ellis mentioned during training camp that it'd be hard for him to play with the kind of emotion he has throughout his career without a commitment from the Cowboys.
That's not a problem now that Jerry reworked Ellis' deal. Scroll down one post to see the details.
"As guys in the locker room say, he showed me some love," Ellis said. "I love to play football anyways. It’s not like I hate it, so I’m willing to say I’m back in the saddle."
Some of you folks are probably still pretty skeptical about Ellis' passion. Some of his teammates might be, too.
"Mr. Ellis," LB Bobby Carpenter said from the back of the media pack, "how much money did Jerry pony up to get you to play?"
Ellis didn't seem to find Carpenter's question funny. "Division from within," he grumbled.
Posted by Tim MacMahon at 4:25 PM (E-mail this entry) | Comments (6)
The word on Ellis' reworked contract
According to multiple sources, the Cowboys have added $2 million to Greg Ellis' contract.
Ellis had $500,000 added to his base salary this year and was guaranteed another $1.5 million in 2009 whether he is on the team or not. Should Ellis not have any health issues during the remainder of the contract, then he will receive $1.5 million as an incentive.
Ellis is now making $3 million this year in base salary.
Posted by Todd Archer at 4:25 PM
Family atmosphere
Patrick Crayton was asked in the locker room about the atmosphere around the team right now, and he didn't waste time with his response:
"Family, man," said the DeSoto product. "We play for each other. Every Sunday we’re out there, everyone has each other’s back. I think that’s what’s made us 4-0 right now. We don’t just see each other here in the locker room and on the field. Everybody hangs out with each other, outside of work. It’s more of a family atmosphere."
It's something that's been building over the course of the season, these guys say, and all admit that winning's certainly a part of it.
But there are smaller things, too. One that sticks out is the coaches' decision to move lockers around, so that positional groups were broken up.
"I think it’s built more this year," said corner Jacques Reeves. "We’ve been sitting in sections, all the DBs were there, linebackers were there, d-line there, o-line there. And now we’re kinda mixed up, so we communicate with different positions a little bit more. Like, me and JJ will sit over here and clown a little bit. It’s a better atmosphere."
Romo's the best in NFC, at least for a month
Tony Romo was named the NFC's Offensive Player of the Month. No surprise, since he passed for 1,199 yards and 11 TDs while making about a dozen did-you-see-that?! plays.
Romo's biggest competition for the honor was his hero, Brett Favre. And Favre was a distant second, judging by the stats.
Romo: 72-of-121, 1,199 yards, 11 TD, 3 INT, 112.9 QB rating, 10 carries, 71 yards, 2 TD
Favre: 112-of-170, 1,205 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT, 97.3 QB rating, 9 carries, minus-2 yards, 0 TD
Posted by Tim MacMahon at 3:42 PM
What's taking so long?
It's tough to be too critical of an offense on pace to break the NFL record for points, but the Cowboys have one glaring flaw. It takes them a while to get going.
The Cowboys have scored a grand total of six points in the first quarter this season. Compare that to 38 in the second quarter, 59 in the third and 48 in the fourth.
Some offensive players said it's a matter of seeing what the defense is doing and making adjustments. C Andre Gurode isn't trying to hear all that. He blames poor execution for the slow starts.
"We need to definitely focus in a little bit more and stop making those mistakes," Gurode said. "Just go out there and execute. It can't take us a quarter and a half or two quarters to get started. We need to come flying out of the gates."
Posted by Tim MacMahon at 3:27 PM
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