DMN: Sherrington: Gregory's return gives Cowboys a duo they haven't had since Ware-Spencer

[jobberone]

Gregory was injured in the 1st game.

Question: So Randy Gregory is coming back ... What does he add to the boys pass rush?

Kevin Sherrington: Well, he pretty much was the pass rush before he got hurt. He was a significant factor in those first two wins. With Gregory and Hardy, that gives the Cowboys a pair of pass rushers they haven't had since (DeMarcus) Ware/(Anthony) Spencer.

Yep. In the third quarter of the Giants game which was game one of the season.

 

[xwalker]

Yep. In the third quarter of the Giants game which was game one of the season.

Kevin Sherrington is what I call Retired in Place. He's basically retired but he still shows up to work and collects a paycheck.

 

[TRUTH87]

Greg Hardy is a better pass rusher than Spencer could ever dream of being, and I would hope that the expectations for Gregory are higher than that as well.

At his best, Ware was as good at getting to the quarterback as Hardy, but when he got there, he didn't punish the QB like Hardy does. He mentioned it in a recent quote and it's worth mentioning. There's something to inflicting pain on an opposing quarterback, as long as it's not with the Internet to injure and within the rules. Intimidation plays a role when it comes to defensive players.

My bar for these players is set higher than Ware/Spencer.

couldnt agree more. Ware was always a finesse player. got to the qb and pulled him down. he was never known for his hard hits on QBs like hardy. im not rooting for injuries at all but make the qb feel scared. Great player though

 

[Stash]

couldnt agree more. Ware was always a finesse player. got to the qb and pulled him down. he was never known for his hard hits on QBs like hardy. im not rooting for injuries at all but make the qb feel scared. Great player though

Yep. No slight on Ware's obvious abilities and productivity. Hardy is just plain violent, and I think his enthusiasm is contagious to the entire defense.

 

[Everson24]

One major difference to me is that both Gregory and Hardy can get there, and when they do, they inflict punishment when they tackle.

Anthony seemed to produce great pressure with few hits, and Ware would kind of wrap up the QB and fall with him.

Ware was the most gentle great pass rusher ever. I always wished he would have played with the nastiness of a James Harrison. Harrison even at age 38 was in Carson Palmer's head all afternoon last week. That fear factor is what we needed from Ware when he was elite.

 

[Longboysfan]

this... Harvey Martin and Too Tall Jones.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Ware and Spencer, what was that like three years ago or something?

That's what I was going to say lol. That wasn't that long ago lol.

 

[Awakened]

Speaking of Spencer, did you guys hear he got released injured from the Saints a couple of days ago??

 

[bevo11]

Im hoping for better than Spencer and Ware...

 

[dfense]

problem with the comparison is that with the exception of the last half of 2009 Spencer never really was a complement to Ware. His one top year came when Ware was injured.

And Spencer, as a LBer, would cover TE's a lot instead of pass rushing.

 

[Idgit]

no, spencer was total meh. Ware was just that good. And Ware better than these two combined but im hoping Hardy and Gregory are a better duo. Slow Hardy, Gregory makes you pay, slow Gregory and Hardy gets you.

I don't want to go too far down the road, since Spencer played strong side and had different responsibilities, but he was a very good player for several years there for us. Both with containment and in getting pressure. He didn't have the sack numbers, but he got his share of well-deserved respect from players and coaches. And from our front office. It drives me bats that so many fans won't see it because they won't look beyond the sack stat line. We're already seeing Demarcus Lawrence suffer the same fate, despite playing well the last two games.

Regardless, Hardy/Gregory ought to be more fun to watch, because they'll play alongside each other, and because we'll move them around pretty liberally, I think. Really like the flexibility this current group gives us.

 

[Idgit]

Charles haley was great pass rusher because he helped his team win superbowls neither ware nor spencer have come close and wont

Sooner or later, you're going to want to get past the misconception that it makes sense to measure players by team accomplishments. If you can't recognize what a generational pass rusher Demarcus Ware was, it's a real shame. He was a great player in his prime, and is still a very good one.

 

[cowboyblue22]

what ever happens its always about the team not just individual players.

 

[Idgit]

what ever happens its always about the team not just individual players.

The outcomes that matter are all (or mostly) team outcomes. But good teams are built by adding good players. Great teams by adding great ones. If you confuse the outcome with the ability of the individuals, you not only end up on the wrong end of a lot of debates, but you miss out on some really great football players who deserve appreciation.

I can't tell you how many Cowboy fans don't understand what a once-in-a-generation player Demarcus Ware was. Or Tony Romo. Or Jason Witten. And when they don't, it's either because of some misplaced importance they put on a guy's personality, or it's because they've projected a team accomplishment entirely onto an individual player for some reason.

 

[cowboyblue22]

in the history of the nfl if your team don't accomplish championship goals usually you are just a foot note in the history Jason witten is the only player that is currently on the cowboys that has a chance at the hall of fame if the team don't win a superbowl romo will end up a footnote like lots of other really good players. if listen to pundits the only reason troy aikman is in the hall is because of what his teams did. he is not talked about as a great qb when others are mentioned

 

[30yrheel]

Ware is too nice, he'd been greater if he had some nastiness like Hardy.

 

[burmafrd]

I don't want to go too far down the road, since Spencer played strong side and had different responsibilities, but he was a very good player for several years there for us. Both with containment and in getting pressure. He didn't have the sack numbers, but he got his share of well-deserved respect from players and coaches. And from our front office. It drives me bats that so many fans won't see it because they won't look beyond the sack stat line. We're already seeing Demarcus Lawrence suffer the same fate, despite playing well the last two games.

Regardless, Hardy/Gregory ought to be more fun to watch, because they'll play alongside each other, and because we'll move them around pretty liberally, I think. Really like the flexibility this current group gives us.

you always slobbered over spencer. Never could understand how blind you could be to just how ordinary he was most of the time. Only twice did he truly show something- last half of 2009 and his contract year. But then again I remember you slobbering over Costa and Nagy and a couple of other duds and then realize you are like a stopped clock- maybe right twice a day and that is totally accidental.

 

[burmafrd]

And Spencer, as a LBer, would cover TE's a lot instead of pass rushing.

that is actually nothing but urban legend. He dropped back maybe 20% more than Ware did. And he still did not do much when it was third down and everyone was rushing.

 

[JDSmith]

I'm thinking Haley/Tolbert

 

[Idgit]

you always slobbered over spencer. Never could understand how blind you could be to just how ordinary he was most of the time. Only twice did he truly show something- last half of 2009 and his contract year. But then again I remember you slobbering over Costa and Nagy and a couple of other duds and then realize you are like a stopped clock- maybe right twice a day and that is totally accidental.

If recognizing good play from a 3-4 strong-side end is 'slobbering,' then I slobbered. But he was a good player for a number of years here. If you didn't see it, you're just wrong.

The Costa/Nagy stuff is another story. You probably want to go back and review what I actually said about each player at the time. Both were players who came inexpensively and gave us starting snaps who "realists" piled on for not being better. That was because some people here have *zero* concept re: what a reasonable expectation for a low-round draft pick or a street free agent actually is. Both players retired early due to injury, but I'll remind you again that Costa signed more than one deal with more than one team at above the league minimum with more than one team. Nagy was a long-shot player that I happened to like and thought had a shot to develop. Nothing wrong with that. He started 3-4 games for us, got hurt, got exposed, and then moved on to DET. It happens. I'm not going to apologize every time a long-shot I like doesn't develop, and I'm not going to apologize for defending a long-shot just because some of you guys want to dump on him for not being something more than he was ever expected to be in the first place.

I'm right a lot more often than I'm wrong on this board. Not because I have any special insight, but because I tend to take fairly moderate positions most of the time and only dig in when there's a lot of statistical evidence that counters the prevailing opinion of the generally slow-witted mob. Don't blame me if you can't tell time well enough to know if a clock is broken or not.