It's Time To Replace Greg Ellis

[Aikbach]

Ellis is the contemporary Jim Jeffcoat, a solid rotation guy who is capable of starting for most teams and for Dallas in a pinch.

He's not Charles Haley but his veteran savy and talent provide depth and fresh legs to a good rotation, so he stays and is very welcome.

DeMarcus is the Haley of this defense. Carpenter with any luck will be a Ken Norton Jr. or Chuck Howley (awesomeness if it happens).

Spears and Canty hopefully will turn into Tony Tolbert and Ed Jones types, hopefully.

Ayodele and James would in an ideal world be like San Diego or patriot inside backers but the jury is out for them if they will be able to do so just yet.

Hatcher is the Leon Lett type I think, I pray.

I hold out hope that Watkins may be a Brock Marion eventually.

Roy with a FS is a force but without one he is hampered in coverage.

Newman is an Everson Walls type.

Henry on a good day is Dennis Thurman and on a bad day Larry Brown.

Overall I'm pleased by the defensive talent and Ellis is a vital aspect of it.

 

[Mansta54]

If only our defense could play with the kind of passion that is displayed on this board... We would be awesome!!!

 

[Clove]

Everyone's out to be the new Nors huh..

 

[theogt]

Everyone's out to be the new Nors huh..

Stupid is as stupid does.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Henry on a good day is Dennis Thurman and on a bad day Larry Brown.

I hope you mean the SB MVP Larry Brown

 

[Clove]

I hope you mean the SB MVP Larry Brown

I'll take that guy everyday. But really, that should prove a little something about playing in the secondary.

We really did get away with playing with a solid, but not OUTSTANDING secondary because our DLine was a mauler.

 

[baj1dallas]

What a worthless post. It's how long until TC? WTH would be the point of releasing him now? Didn't we just draft Bobby Carpenter in the hopes he might be able to play Ellis' position? Don't we want to see what Wade Phillips can get out of his players before we start cutting guys just for the fun of it?

 

[joseephuss]

Ellis has been slightly better than Grant Wistrom who was picked two spots earlier by St. Louis in 1998. Wistrom also went on to sign a bigger free agent contract with Seattle than Ellis did when he re-signed with Dallas.

I know Gregg never met the dynamic impact of a #8 overall pick and teams need impact players. They also need players like a Wistrom or Ellis. Guys you can just count on to be there. I could build a pretty good team with a bunch of those guys. For a long time, Dallas was not getting those guys. It would have been nice if Shante Carver had at least played at the level of Gregg Ellis during his time in Dallas.

In this past seasons game against the Cardinals, Ellis moved into the interior of the line to play DT in a four man front during obvious passing situations. I would be happy if Ellis was able to come back and just provide that this year.

 

[AmishCowboy]

:toast2: ray2:

 

[joseephuss]

I'll take that guy everyday. But really, that should prove a little something about playing in the secondary.

We really did get away with playing with a solid, but not OUTSTANDING secondary because our DLine was a mauler.

Smith was outstanding for his first few years until he ruptured his achilles. Everett and then Woodson were outstanding. Marion was pretty good and then played at a high level for the Dolphins. Teague was better than average. Deion was outstanding. Brown was solid for a few years.

 

[mr.jameswoods]

I thought I would never see this thread emerge. I can tell you that Rack and I have been arguing that Ellis is overrated for yeras, and so many Cowboys fans would jump to his defense. They made excuses why Ellis never saw double digit sacks etc. It's finally nice to see that some fans are FINALLY seeing the light.

 

[McCordsville Cowboy]

Not BS, wait & see. Enjoy the party.

:clubbed:

 

[mr.jameswoods]

you ever bother to think before you type or are you after maximum effect on every thing you say?

the draft that year:

1IndianapolisPeyton ManningQBTennessee
2San DiegoRyan LeafQBWashington State
3ArizonaAndre WadsworthDEFlorida State
4OaklandCharles WoodsonCBMichigan
5ChicagoCurtis EnisRBPenn State
6St. LouisGrant WistromDENebraska
7New OrleansKyle TurleyTSan Diego State
8DallasGreg EllisOLBNorth Carolina
9JacksonvilleFred TaylorRBFlorida
10BaltimoreDuane StarksCBMiami
11PhiladelphiaTra ThomasTFlorida State
12AtlantaKeith BrookingOLBGeorgia Tech
13CincinnatiTakeo SpikesOLBAuburn
14CarolinaJason PeterDENebraska
15SeattleAnthony SimmonsOLBClemson
16TennesseeKevin DysonWRUtah
17CincinnatiBrian SimmonsMLBNorth Carolina
18New EnglandRobert EdwardsRBGeorgia
19Green BayVonnie HollidayDTNorth Carolina
20DetroitTerry FairCBTennessee
21MinnesotaRandy MossWRMarshall
22New EnglandTebucky JonesSSSyracuse
23OaklandMo CollinsGFlorida
24N.Y. GiantsShaun WilliamsSSUCLA
25JacksonvilleDonovin DariusSSSyracuse
26PittsburghAlan FanecaGLouisiana State
27Kansas CityVictor RileyTAuburn
28San FranciscoR.W. McQuartersCBOklahoma State
29MiamiJohn AveryRBMississippi
30DenverMarcus NashWRTennessee

I think you are forgetting that some of the players picked after Ellis were impact players at one point in their careers unlike Ellis. Takeo Spikes was considered the best middle linebacker at one point in the NFL when he played for Cincinatti. Duane Starks had 20 interceptions in his first 4 NFL seasons and helped Baltimore win a Superbowl. Tra Thomas made the Pro Bowl and has been one of the best left tackles in the NFL for years. Keith Brooking went to 5 straight Pro Bowls. Heck, even Fred Taylor has rushed for 1200 + yards 6 out of 9 seasons and he had an additional season with 1100+ yards. Yes, maybe Ellis was consistent than all of these players but he was never an impact player at any point in his career.

 

[iceberg]

I think you are forgetting that some of the players picked after Ellis were impact players at one point in their careers unlike Ellis. Takeo Spikes was considered the best middle linebacker at one point in the NFL when he played for Cincinatti. Duane Starks had 20 interceptions in his first 4 NFL seasons and helped Baltimore win a Superbowl. Tra Thomas made the Pro Bowl and has been one of the best left tackles in the NFL for years. Keith Brooking went to 5 straight Pro Bowls. Heck, even Fred Taylor has rushed for 1200 + yards 6 out of 9 seasons and he had an additional season with 1100+ yards. Yes, maybe Ellis was consistent than all of these players but he was never an impact player at any point in his career.

great - but i didn't want to go out and do a biography on all the players drafted. my main point is some got a good couple of years of "High" performance and not much around / after that. in ellis we got solid, if not high, production his entire career. that kind of evens out to me and in the end, i'll take 10 solid years of performance and call it a good day.

"outstanding" day? no. but a good, solid day. now was this worth the 8th pick of the draft? look around at those players again -were even 1/2 of them worth where they were picked almost 10 years later?

 

[stealth]

why is it you don't post in the season and only show up in the off time to piss and moan?

 

[iceberg]

why is it you don't post in the season and only show up in the off time to piss and moan?

who are you talking to?

 

[TNCowboy]

Ellis' replacement is most likely Carpenter. They just paid Brady James an $8M signing bonus. Ayodele was playing well at the other ILB. Obviously, Ware has the other spot.

I'd wager they'll give the Ware/James/Ayodele/Carpenter foursome every opportunity to succeed.

Having said that, I think they'll draft an OLB/DE type somewhere in the 2nd - 4th rounds, especially since this draft appears to have several good ones.

One thing we can't do is fill every position with a 1st rounder or a big $ FA. If Dallas is going to keep the salary cap flexibility that the Joneses have cultivated the last several years, they must hit on some 2nd-5th rounders. Low-cost guys who can get the job done, like Julius Jones, Marion Barber, Chris Canty, and maybe Pat Watkins. If Dallas becomes solely dependent on big time FAs and 1st rounders for all of our starters and key reserves, we'll wind up like the Commanders in a few years.

 

[big dog cowboy]

It's Time To Replace Greg Ellis Let's face reality, guys. It's time to replace Greg Ellis. I admire how he made the switch to LB last season, but it's kind of a myth that he was ever a great player to begin with. To expect him to return to top form after his achilles injury is kind of wishful thinking. He's 31, and that's a major rehab. He needs to be phased out and we should draft his replacement now. He'll have lost a step and we can't afford that. Great guy, but it's time for him to go.

I see we have moved on from backup QB's.

 

[zrinkill]

I see we have moved on from backup QB's.

For maybe a few hours ........ it will start again tomorrow

 

[Biggems]

IMO Ellis at 8 was better than Maryland at 1...

Ellis is underrated. He gets judged harshly cause of his lack of sacks. However, just look at how bad our defense has been when he hasnt been in there, as opposed to when he was on the field. The year he broke his leg, our D dropped of drastically. In 2005, when he and Glover were benched late in the season for the younger guys, our defense suffered. Then last year, our defense went from top 5, down to the the low teens when Ellis got hurt.

He gets lots of pressure on the QB, just can't seem to get the sack. He blocks lots of passes. He forces turnovers. He plays the pass well for such a big guy. He is very good against the run.

I cant wait to bring him back next year. I know he wont be 100%, but still he is a leader on the field, he makes everyone so much bette when he is out there.