Greg Ellis, a T.O. apologist? Is this why it's time to move on?

[Arch Stanton]

Greg Ellis gave an interview on the radio a while back.

He blamed the Cowboys' December struggles on two things:

1. Player Contracts
2. Getting Players Ready for Next Year (???) Evaluating Talent

Hmm. I guess Greg forgot that pitiful missed or sorry excuse for a tackle on Amonte Toomer's 52 yard TD in the Divisional playoff game or his pension for opening up huge rushing lanes, so Brian Westbrook can settle for the triple in a 4 point December game. (See the Giants exploit him the same way this year at NY.)

Leave it to Greg Ellis to name money as a reason for failure. Only he could come up with that one. Nevermind, that he's a person on the team that complained about his contract, a contract that he signed in good faith. If it was a bad deal, that's his fault. Ellis is the guy that didn't show up to training camp and put money before the team.

What players were getting "ready" for "next year"? He seems to be pointing the finger at Anthony Spencer. Is he trying to tell us that playing Anthony Spencer killed the Cowboys in January of 2007. Have to love that self inflated ego. Ellis needs to go back at watch Amonte Toomer run 52 yards after he missed tackling him.

This is the same guy who acted like a little spoiled brat when Anthony Spencer was getting reps ahead of him last May, and Phillips threw Spencer some praise about his speed and intelligence during OTAs. What did Ellis do? He pouted and left the facility and missed two days of practice.

Ellis complained about dropping in coverage in the media. He quotes Bill Cohwer to back him up and undermines Wade Phillips in the process. Ellis tells us that other players tell him that he should be playing, "why is he dropping in coverage". What a great leader and example.

His negative, toxic, and selfish attutude is terrible on a young team. He's no leader. He's part of the problem, and I've been calling for him to get booted for a quite some time. I was calling for Anthony Spencer to start before the season, because I knew the sooner Ellis was out of Dallas, the better off the Cowboys would be. Spencer had him beat but got hurt. The entire team got hurt.

Furthermore, in this interview, Greg Ellis places the blame on coaches for not using players correctly. He says that players were "distracted" or affected because of the way they were used. Hmm.. It sounds like Ellis is talking about himself here. He talks about "players not being used together". Does this guy think he's the coach? Hmm. Sounds like Greg really thinks highly of himself. Could he be talking about being on the field with Ware all the time?

This is a guy that wouldn't even come out of the game when he was told to do so and cost the Cowboys a timeout.

This is a guy that ran to Jerry Jones, allegedly, to complain about the way he was being used. Great leader. Great example for young players on your team.

Greg Ellis looks out for Greg Ellis. He still thinks he's the double digit sack guy (2007; the only double digit sack year that he ever had) even though his play declined significantly or fell of the table in 2009. Ellis got trucked in run defense or gashed after rushing up field too far. He tallied 2 sacks in week 2 and had one sack (the Rams) over an 8 game stretch. He picked on the Giants' backup RT to record 2 of his final 5 sacks.

When you look at his declining play, his poor, negative attitude, his selfish disposition, and his huge salary, dumping this him shouldn't even be up for debate. I would have kicked his butt out the door faster.

He can't be gone fast enough.

He will be one more overrated, malcontent, or selfish player kicked out the door.

It's players like him that have held the Cowboys back.

Two nice posts 41. So good it changed the thread to a discussion about Newman. Killed the Ellis stuff cold.

 

[28 Joker]

Most of the "top corners" couldn't do it as effectively as he does.

That's only the nickel package anyway. He's just as unbeatable lining up outside on the left.

But you'll choose to ignore that

Good point, Primetime42.

I can count the number of TDs Terence Newman has given up since 2005 on one hand. He didn't even give one up in 2005, 2007, and 2008 accordiing to my best recall. Newman is a silent assassin. He has helped Dallas win games by preventing catches and big plays. Playing CB is more than interceptions, but Newman has picked off some passes in his career. He has some big ones.

Terence Newman has kept the other team's point total down. He saves points. Newman can affect the outcome of a game without touching the football. The Giants didn't even bother throwing the ball at Terence Newman in the playoff game. You saw what happened when you put him on their homerun threat, Hixon. Newman ended up on John Madden's horse trailer. They couldn't avoid him. They had no choice. They were getting smothered.

Terence Newman runs a mid 4.3 and has a 41 inch vertical. His combination of speed, agility (quick change of direction), toughness against the run, heart, competitive nature, and pure, elite cover skills allows him to play on an island (in space) or in the open field (out of the slot). Newman has lined up across the best WRs and TEs in football and won consistently during his six year career.

Deion Sanders is considered the best "shutdown" CB of all time for sure. However, he lived on the outside. The sideline was his best friend. (By the way he didn't get called for a penalty on Micheal Irvin in 1994, but Newman had that bogus call at Seattle in the endzone.) The rules have changed. (see the bogus call against the Giants last year)

However, just because Sanders is considered the best "shut down" cornerback of all time, that doesn't mean that there are no more elite CBs playing in the NFL or that there hasn't been other great CBs. Darrell Green could play it. Rod Woodson could play it. They are in the Hall of Fame. CB has been an underrated position. There are not very many in the Hall of Fame.

There are some elite players playing CB right now. There are some CBs that can go out and shut you down.

One is in Oakland.

One is is Dallas, and he can take you all over the field, inside or outside, it doesn't matter.

DeAngelo Hall really needs to give his Pro Bowls back to # 41. Hall has 2 of them; 2005 and 2006). Fed Ex will do. Hall got roasted so bad, they cut him in Oakland. Hall going in over Newman was a joke, and Cowboys' fans need to realize that their guy should have been there, both years.

Terence Newman VS Steve Smith is one of the best matchups in Pro Football. I would pay to see it. Pound for pound, it's the best CB against the best WR, and Newman has shut him down twice (all over the field). Steve Smith is quick and fast. Ask "the great" Charles Woodson. Smith roasted him last year. Ask Ronde Barber's Tampa Bay team. Smith has torched them. Newman VS Moss is a really great one, too. Newman has shut him down twice. (Santana Moss, the Cowboy killer.) Moss is fast.


Teams: Panthers VS Cowboys
Place: Dallas' New Stadium or Jerry Jones Stadium
Time: 7:30
Week: 3
TV; Monday Night Football

Terence Newman VS Steve Smith

I can't wait until Newman shuts him down just like he did in 2003, 2005, and 2006.

 

[28 Joker]

Two nice posts 41. So good it changed the thread to a discussion about Newman. Killed the Ellis stuff cold.

Thanks, Arch Stanton.

This is the only place I post.

I'm sure some are sick of me.

 

[Randy White]

There is no I in the word team.

Good enough explanation?

Yea, but there is an M and an E.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

41gy, don't worry with Alex. He and his buddies have always disliked Newman and said he was overrated.

Guess what, if you say something like that about a player for enough years, eventually he'll decline and you'll be "right". That doesn't mean you were right along the way, though.

 

[28 Joker]

41gy, don't worry with Alex. He and his buddies have always disliked Newman and said he was overrated.

Guess what, if you say something like that about a player for enough years, eventually he'll decline and you'll be "right". That doesn't mean you were right along the way, though.

That's funny, because his guy Bill Parcells said, in a press conference, that Terence Newman was one of "Dallas' very, very best players". Jerry Jones' survey with NFL GMs, where he asks them to rank the Cowboys players, has landed Newman at the top of that list multiple times according to Jones.

Newman's YPA, according to K.C. Joyner, from 2004-2007 was this:

2004: 5.8 2005: 5.8 2006: 7.1 2007: 6.1 AVG: 6.2

Rafael Vela did an analysis on the most consistent cornerbacks (YPA) and used this data in an article he wrote. Newman finished second to Shawn Springs (4 year average; 2004-2007). Ronde Barber averaged 6.3. He played the slot in the Tampa 2, but he played heavy zone. He played in an area of the field and released guys from the inside. He didn't shut down a player like Steve Smith all over the field. He doesn't have the speed, and they didn't ask him to do it in their zone scheme. Therefore, Steve Smith has torched them in the past. Charles Woodson had a 6.5. Nnamdi Asomugua had a 6.9.

Players like Champ Bailey, who had one monster YPA year and 11 picks, didn't make the top 10. Asante Samuel, Antionio Cromartie, and Chris McAllister didn't make his list. Cromartie likes to gamble. He made All-Pro in 2007 and fell off badly this year. Woodson had one year removed due to playing a "rover" position one year, so he only had three years counting.

YPA is only one measure, and it shouldn't be the sole measure, imo. CBs, play in different schemes, have different roles or use, and I don't like using the stat for sole judgement. They can play hurt. Some guys may not get thrown at as much as others for example. You have to weigh the big picture, imo. I'm sure Newman's will take a hit in 2008. He had three plays that will hurt his YPA, and he missed 6 games.

However, when you look at those YPA stats and the 4 year average, you can see that Terence Newman isn't giving up big plays, and he has been, very, very consistently outstanding. He's lined up against Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Smith, Santana Moss, Plaxico Buress, Tory Holt, Roy Williams, Lee Evans, Andre Johnson, Joey Galloway, and Randy Moss. He's covered the best TEs inside. He's competed against the best, inside and outside, and consistently won those battles.

You don't get those YPA stats unless you are winning battles consistently. His slot play can't be emphasised enough, because you have to defend the entire field. Players like Steve Smith and Santana Moss can go any direction from the middle of the feild, and Newman has played heavy man coverage on the inside and outside during his career.

If the standard is this:

If you are not as good as Deion Sanders, then you are not an elite player. That opinion has some holes in it. Darrell Green and Rod Woodson were not as good as Deion Sanders, but they are in the Hall of Fame. Do we not classify any CB as elite or as blue-chip or 5 star soley based on Deion Sanders' play?

Newman plays in an era where the Ball is in the air all the time, and the rules are slanted towards the offense heavily. He has played that slot position, and Newman has been the best slot defender in the NFL since Parcells put him there in 2005. Charles Woodson and Ronde Barber are not better than Terence Newman on the inside. Newman has to be one of the best slot defenders, ever.

Terence Newman should be judged or rated against his peers, imo.

There are some elite or blue-chip or 5 star CBs in the NFL that can walk out and shut you down or make you pay. It's an underrated position and very valuable to a team. There isn't that many of them at all.

 

[InmanRoshi]

If the Cowboys were going to release Ellis for backing TO, they should have done it during the early March housecleaning. The same thing if it's merely just a salary cap move. There's no reason to wait until early June to do it. I'm guessing Ellis behind the scenes has been complaining about his contract again, and Jerry is just not in the mood to deal with it this offseason. Pure conjecture on my part, but it's hardly wild speculation when he's done it 5 offseasons in a row. Plus, they might have really liked what they've seen from one of the rookies in mini-camp as someone who could be a potential nickel pass rusher specialist ( Brandon Williams).

Anyway, it's obvious that Ellis has wanted his release for years, despite his weak attempts at trying to play the PR game with Cowboy fans about how badly he supposedly wants to be here. Looks like you're going to get your wish Greg ... I hope the open market is everything you thought it would be. I know Im personally going to enjoy not having your antics on the team again. I cant stand passive aggressive people. I'd almost rather have TO's nutball insanity, because at least his nutball insanity is out in the open for everyone to see (except his jock sniffers). I'm sure the Dallas media will hold a candlelight vigil in Greg's honor, since they'll lose their easy go-to source when they need a quote to stir up a story during slow times. That and the fact that Greg was always "accessible", which according to some media members is the most important attribute a football player can have.

 

[InmanRoshi]

If the standard is this:

If you are not as good as Deion Sanders, then you are not an elite player. That opinion has some holes in it. Darrell Green and Rod Woodson were not as good as Deion Sanders, but they are in the Hall of Fame. Do we not classify any CB as elite or as blue-chip or 5 star soley based on Deion Sanders' play?

Seriously, this has been a long running complaint of mine about cornerbacks. I don't know of any other position where you have to equal up to the best player to ever play that position to be considered elite. DeMarcus Ware doesn't have to be Lawrence Taylor to be a great pass rusher, and Larry Fitzgerald doesn't have to be Jerry Rice to be considered a great WR, but great cornerbacks are just considered "pretty good" because they aren't Deion Sanders.