morasp
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IRVING, Texas – Rod Marinelli cares less about past consistency than he does about potential.
The defensive line coach turned defensive coordinator for the Cowboys knows most of his defensive linemen aren’t household names, but he believes they can each reach their peak in Dallas.
“Every guy, I’m going to coach as hard as I can to be the best pass rusher he can be, and if you can do that, the numbers will start falling for you,” Marinelli said.
The cast of cast-offs currently on the Cowboys’ defensive line includes a host of players with one or two splash years either followed or preceded by mediocrity.
Defensive end Jeremy Mincey
recorded five sacks in 2010 and eight in 2011, but no more than three in a season before or after those years. Defensive end George Selvie
broke out for seven sacks last year in Dallas, but he never had more than 1.5 sacks in a season prior to that.Henry Melton
, the highly-touted defensive tackle signing, had seven sacks in 2011 and six in 2012 but missed the majority of the 2013 season with an ACL injury. Jeremy McClain has one career sack and Tyrone Crawford
has no sacks yet.Anthony Spencer
, the only played on the team with at least 10 sacks in a season, recorded 11 in 2012 but may miss the beginning of this season with a knee injury he sustained that kept him out the majority of the 2013 season. He also never had more than six sacks in a season prior to that outburst.Marinelli doesn’t seem to care about that lack of consistency, though. He just sees what each player can become. He said he’s not sure if he’s looking for one or two guys to emerge with 10 sacks or for a bunch of players to get five or six sacks, but he does believe if he teaches the linemen the fundamentals of his system and the pace and tempo he wants to play at, those players should be able to reach their potential.
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/a...ine-Unit/8786a1b4-86dd-419e-a354-0cc6a5bc5ae7
