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IRVING – Walking alone and somewhat hobbled after two hip replacements, Rod Marinelli slowly made his way to the locker room after the Cowboys’ 31-7 demolition of the Rams.
Dressed simply in slacks, a short-sleeve blue shirt and an old-school Cowboys baseball cap with the ‘D’ emblazoned on the front, the 64-year-old defensive line coach could have easily been mistaken for a grizzled, old equipment manager.
While the Vietnam veteran and former Detroit Lions head coach is perfectly content staying out of the spotlight, it’s going to be harder for him to remain in the shadows after he transformed an area of weakness into one of strength.
“Coach Marinelli does a great job,” defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, 73, said of his right-hand man. “He’s an icon. He’s the best.”
The defensive line was riddled with injuries at the start of the season. Anthony Spencer, Jay Ratliff, Tyrone Crawford and Ben Bass are either done for the season or struggling to return after going down in training camp or the preseason. With so many injuries, five of the 10 defensive linemen currently on the roster weren’t with the team at the start of camp in July.
But rather than sit in self pity, Martinelli has been the maestro of a makeshift line that has played a key role in the Cowboys starting 2-1. With linchpin end DeMarcus Ware (a team-high 4.0 sacks) and veteran tackle Jason Hatcher (3.0 sacks) performing at a high level and journeymen George Selvie and Nick Hayden filling in nicely while Spencer and Ratliff rehab in hopes of returning to full strength this season, Dallas has been dominant up front.
“Give credit to their pass rush,” said the Rams’ Sam Bradford, who was sacked six times Sunday, including twice by Ware and once each by Selvie, Hatcher, backup end Kyle Wilber and cornerback Orlando Scandrick.
“They did a good job. They were running a lot of games with their down linemen…Those guys played well.”
But Kiffin heaped praise mainly on Marinelli after the Cowboys registered their highest sack total since notching six in Week 2 of the 2011 season.
Through three games, the Cowboys have 13 sacks, putting them on pace to end the season with 56. They had only seven sacks after three games last year en route to finishing the season with just 34.
“When players get a chance to play for Coach Marinelli, it’s an unbelievable experience,” said Kiffin, who teamed with Marinelli in Tampa Bay when the Buccaneers defense was one of the NFL’s best.
“He shows tapes and tapes and goes through every single move they can make and how to set it up, read blocks, the whole bit, and they went out and executed it.”
It’s a remarkable story, considering Selvie is playing for his fourth team in five years and Hayden was out of football last season.
“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. He did it with Greg Spires, who was cut twice by (Tampa Bay’s) 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.
“(Selvie, Hayden) are guys who were cut by other teams. One of them (Hayden) was home watching sitcoms or something on the couch. That’s pretty exciting. I love coaching guys like that. Rod and I both do.”
For years, Jerry Jones has talked about his belief that “coaching players up” would solve a lot of his team’s ills. Unfortunately for Jones, a lot of his hires failed in that mission.
With Marinelli, though, it looks like Jones finally has an assistant capable of molding pedestrian pieces into powerful players.
“Rod has done a fantastic job,” coach Jason Garrett said. “He’s a great man, a great coach, great for our team.”
Continue reading...
Dressed simply in slacks, a short-sleeve blue shirt and an old-school Cowboys baseball cap with the ‘D’ emblazoned on the front, the 64-year-old defensive line coach could have easily been mistaken for a grizzled, old equipment manager.
While the Vietnam veteran and former Detroit Lions head coach is perfectly content staying out of the spotlight, it’s going to be harder for him to remain in the shadows after he transformed an area of weakness into one of strength.
“Coach Marinelli does a great job,” defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, 73, said of his right-hand man. “He’s an icon. He’s the best.”
The defensive line was riddled with injuries at the start of the season. Anthony Spencer, Jay Ratliff, Tyrone Crawford and Ben Bass are either done for the season or struggling to return after going down in training camp or the preseason. With so many injuries, five of the 10 defensive linemen currently on the roster weren’t with the team at the start of camp in July.
But rather than sit in self pity, Martinelli has been the maestro of a makeshift line that has played a key role in the Cowboys starting 2-1. With linchpin end DeMarcus Ware (a team-high 4.0 sacks) and veteran tackle Jason Hatcher (3.0 sacks) performing at a high level and journeymen George Selvie and Nick Hayden filling in nicely while Spencer and Ratliff rehab in hopes of returning to full strength this season, Dallas has been dominant up front.
“Give credit to their pass rush,” said the Rams’ Sam Bradford, who was sacked six times Sunday, including twice by Ware and once each by Selvie, Hatcher, backup end Kyle Wilber and cornerback Orlando Scandrick.
“They did a good job. They were running a lot of games with their down linemen…Those guys played well.”
But Kiffin heaped praise mainly on Marinelli after the Cowboys registered their highest sack total since notching six in Week 2 of the 2011 season.
Through three games, the Cowboys have 13 sacks, putting them on pace to end the season with 56. They had only seven sacks after three games last year en route to finishing the season with just 34.
“When players get a chance to play for Coach Marinelli, it’s an unbelievable experience,” said Kiffin, who teamed with Marinelli in Tampa Bay when the Buccaneers defense was one of the NFL’s best.
“He shows tapes and tapes and goes through every single move they can make and how to set it up, read blocks, the whole bit, and they went out and executed it.”
It’s a remarkable story, considering Selvie is playing for his fourth team in five years and Hayden was out of football last season.
“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. He did it with Greg Spires, who was cut twice by (Tampa Bay’s) 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.
“(Selvie, Hayden) are guys who were cut by other teams. One of them (Hayden) was home watching sitcoms or something on the couch. That’s pretty exciting. I love coaching guys like that. Rod and I both do.”
For years, Jerry Jones has talked about his belief that “coaching players up” would solve a lot of his team’s ills. Unfortunately for Jones, a lot of his hires failed in that mission.
With Marinelli, though, it looks like Jones finally has an assistant capable of molding pedestrian pieces into powerful players.
“Rod has done a fantastic job,” coach Jason Garrett said. “He’s a great man, a great coach, great for our team.”
Continue reading...