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ARLINGTON – What once looked like a weakness for the Dallas Cowboys has turned into a major strength.
When the season started, the defensive line was riddled with injuries. But bell cow end DeMarcus Ware and solid veteran tackle Jason Hatcher have performed at a high level, while injury-replacement end George Selvie and fill-in tackle Nick Hayden have been real finds.
Perhaps the coaching of defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli is the main reason why the club has been able to overcome the knee surgery that has forced defensive end Anthony Spencer to miss two games and season-ending injuries to ends Tyrone Crawford and Ben Bass.
After the 31-7 trouncing of St. Louis on Sunday, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford indicated that Kiffin and Marinelli played a big part in the Cowboys registering six sacks.
“They were running a lot of games with their down linemen,” Bradford said. “A couple of blitzes got us, too.”
Kiffin gave all the credit to Marinelli.
“Coach Marinelli does a great job,” he said. “Like I’ve told you, he’s an icon. He’s the best. When players get a chance to play for Coach Marinelli, it’s an unbelievable experience. He shows tapes and tapes and goes through every single move they can make and how to set it up, read blocks, read the back and the whole bit, and they went out and executed it.”
Kiffin also credited Marinelli with Selvie’s play. The fifth-year pro already has a career-best 2.0 sacks.
“Selvie’s really done a great job,” Kiffin said. “He’s a great example, again, of coach Marinelli taking a free agent and making something out of the guy. You know he did it with Greg Spires, who was cut twice on the Super Bowl team in 2002. Simeon Rice was let go by the Cardinals. You just never know. And Nick is the example at nose tackle, playing his tail off.
“These are guys who were cut by other teams. I think one of them was home watching the sitcoms or something on the couch. That’s pretty exciting. I love coaching guys like that. Rod and I both do. We love taking guys like that. Free agents, whether it be ones coming out of college or let go by other teams. We definitely look at people like that.”
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When the season started, the defensive line was riddled with injuries. But bell cow end DeMarcus Ware and solid veteran tackle Jason Hatcher have performed at a high level, while injury-replacement end George Selvie and fill-in tackle Nick Hayden have been real finds.
Perhaps the coaching of defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli is the main reason why the club has been able to overcome the knee surgery that has forced defensive end Anthony Spencer to miss two games and season-ending injuries to ends Tyrone Crawford and Ben Bass.
After the 31-7 trouncing of St. Louis on Sunday, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford indicated that Kiffin and Marinelli played a big part in the Cowboys registering six sacks.
“They were running a lot of games with their down linemen,” Bradford said. “A couple of blitzes got us, too.”
Kiffin gave all the credit to Marinelli.
“Coach Marinelli does a great job,” he said. “Like I’ve told you, he’s an icon. He’s the best. When players get a chance to play for Coach Marinelli, it’s an unbelievable experience. He shows tapes and tapes and goes through every single move they can make and how to set it up, read blocks, read the back and the whole bit, and they went out and executed it.”
Kiffin also credited Marinelli with Selvie’s play. The fifth-year pro already has a career-best 2.0 sacks.
“Selvie’s really done a great job,” Kiffin said. “He’s a great example, again, of coach Marinelli taking a free agent and making something out of the guy. You know he did it with Greg Spires, who was cut twice on the Super Bowl team in 2002. Simeon Rice was let go by the Cardinals. You just never know. And Nick is the example at nose tackle, playing his tail off.
“These are guys who were cut by other teams. I think one of them was home watching the sitcoms or something on the couch. That’s pretty exciting. I love coaching guys like that. Rod and I both do. We love taking guys like that. Free agents, whether it be ones coming out of college or let go by other teams. We definitely look at people like that.”
Continue reading...