Ware, Wade and Finding a Cowboys Pass Rush

[Alexander]

I hardly think Wade Phillips would want to return to Dallas to work under Garrett who basically backstabbed him.

 

[KJJ]

Ware was a luxury we could not afford at that time.

He would be a huge boost to the defense we have now no doubt, and I think it would go a long way towards feeling better about our defense going into the playoffs.

He was more than a luxury he was our leading sacker and pressure player. Even when he wasn't 100% he had to be accounted for which freed up other players. He had to be game planned. He's put up 20.5 sacks since he left the Cowboys who don't have a player who's come close to that total the past 3 years plus Ware helped lead the Broncos to a championship and it was their defense primarily their pass rush that won that championship.

 

[KJJ]

MARK MY WORDS we better find a pass rush by the playoffs or we're going to get knocked off.

 

[T-RO]

I loved Ware as a Cowboys, but I remember the last years many of his sacks were in garbage time. Of course, we've done nothing to improve things since he's left.

Consider what Wade does:
Bryce Paup in Buf 17.5 sacks...more than double what he'd done the year before.
Shawne Merriman in SD, 17 sacks...did nothing after Wade's departure
Lots of examples like this...just looking at a few Cowboys...

For 9 years Greg Ellis is a so-so pass rusher. In 2007 Wade shows up and Ellis in his 10th year erupts with 12.5 sacks in 13 games.

Bradie James gets 8 sacks under Wade!

We need to draft some pass rushers and steal Wade away to teach them up.

 

[T-RO]

MARK MY WORDS we better find a pass rush by the playoffs or we're going to get knocked off.

Then we'll get knocked off. Trade deadline is over. We aren't going to forge iron from straw now.

 

[AzorAhai]

Wade is obviously not a good head coach.

But to try to diminish his record because of super bowls is beyond silly. Defense is 40-45% of the sport.

Wade's defenses have been elite overall...not just in terms of sacks.

The greatest "free agency" signing Jerry could do is to bring Wade back. Throw the bank at him. Wade has never failed to deliver. He's succeeded in building top defenses 9 out of 9 times with 9 franchises.

Wade is not coming back here after the debacle that was the whole Garrett/Wade situation.

 

[T-RO]

Four of Ware's sacks came in the first three games in 2013 and he had an INT. He was off to one of his best seasons ever but suffered an injury and it hampered him the rest of the season. There's ways of massaging the cap to keep valuable players and he was a very valuable player because he had to be accounted for and doubled teamed many times. Our lack of a consistent pass rush is going to get us beat in the playoffs if we don't get it going by then.

Thanks for more of the history, but how were the Cowboys going to come up with $18 million?

Ware ended up getting 3 years for $30 million from Denver. So out of 32 teams nobody valued him more than $10mil per year. We owed him almost twice that much.

Jerry had already "massaged" the hell out of the cap and was up against it for all his credit card spending.

 

[T-RO]

Wade is not coming back here after the debacle that was the whole Garrett/Wade situation.

I don't know about that. Wade is from Texas and I'm sure he's now resigned to the fact that he'll never be a head coach again.

I think Jerry could make it *very* attractive to come back. Denver is going to get pinched in free agency, has no quarterback and will not have the championship window that Phillips could enjoy in Dallas.

 

[T-RO]

I hardly think Wade Phillips would want to return to Dallas to work under Garrett who basically backstabbed him.

How did Garrett back stab him?

 

[the_h0wey]

There has been a number of posts lately critical of the Cowboys release of Demarcus Ware. It's quite understandable in light of our ongoing failure to field pass rushers and Ware's role after his departure for an elite Super Bowl champion Bronco team.

That's where we need to go back and look at the context of the decision and the impact of coach Phillips, both on past Cowboys teams and with the Broncos.

In 2008 Ware was a terror, tallying 20 sacks. The Cowboy defense led the entire league in sacks by a huge margin with 59.

And who was the coach that master-minded that defense? Wade Phillips.

Consider this quiet man's resume and accomplishments...

Phillips has been part of 19 top-10 defenses during his coaching career. Starting in 1989, when the Broncos hired him as defensive coordinator, every team he coached made the playoffs in his first season on staff.

And do his teams ever get to the passer! I did a random sample of different seasons. Here's how his pass rush performed:

Wade's defenses:
Saints, 55 sacks
Eagles, 57 sacks
Broncos, 52 sacks
Bills, 48 sacks
Chargers, 61 sacks
Falcons, 47 sacks
Cowboys, 59 sacks
Texans, 44 sacks
Broncos, 52 sacks

The Cowboys by comparison in years after Wade's departure:
2015, 31 sacks
2014, 27 sacks
2013, 34 sacks
2012, 34 sacks
2011, 42 sacks
2010, 35 sacks


There is much more to say on W&W....but I'll have to continue a little later today....

So you want to bring back Wade?

 

[MileyDancer]

Four of Ware's sacks came in the first three games in 2013 and he had an INT.

Eli's first throw of the season was intercepted by Ware; I love it.

 

[MileyDancer]

How did Garrett back stab him?

I think people believe he sabotaged the offense to make Wade Philips looks bad, but Garrett was never a good OC. We got better when they took that away from him.

 

[erod]

Sacks are vastly overrated. So many happen in meaningless parts of games.

 

[KJJ]

Then we'll get knocked off. Trade deadline is over. We aren't going to forge iron from straw now.

We dropped the ball during the offseason and the draft. We knew our #1 need was a pass rusher and we didn't address it. We're were foolish enough to bank on Gregory returning clean and gambled an injured player who wasn't likely to play a down this season if ever.

 

[T-RO]

I think people believe he sabotaged the offense to make Wade Philips looks bad, but Garrett was never a good OC. We got better when they took that away from him.

That conspiracy notion never made any sense. Garrett would fail at his own job to make Wade look bad...and take the whole team down with him?

That was an example of forum chat lunacy.

 

[KJJ]

Thanks for more of the history, but how were the Cowboys going to come up with $18 million?

Ware ended up getting 3 years for $30 million from Denver. So out of 32 teams nobody valued him more than $10mil per year. We owed him almost twice that much.

Jerry had already "massaged" the hell out of the cap and was up against it for all his credit card spending.

I'm not a cap expert but had Ware had a great season in 2013 putting up 15+ sacks and wasn't having the injury issues, the team would have never asked him to take a pay cut. They asked him to take a pay cut, not because they couldn't afford him but because he couldn't stay healthy and they didn't feel his production warranted his current salary. There was an interview with Jerry making it appear Ware was done physically saying a players legs are the first thing to go.

 

[MileyDancer]

That conspiracy notion never made any sense. Garrett would fail at his own job to make Wade look bad...and take the whole team down with him?

That was an example of forum chat lunacy.

I agree. But... Like I said, Garrett was never a good OC. We had some of the worst red zone offenses under him, and I will NEVER forgive him for the 2011 Packers game. Ever.

 

[Alexander]

That conspiracy notion never made any sense. Garrett would fail at his own job to make Wade look bad...and take the whole team down with him?

That was an example of forum chat lunacy.

What, to get the job that Jones said he pretty much wanted to give to him? How Phillips had no shot at choosing his own staff? Do I really need to bring up the Dan Reeves thing?

 

[mrmojo]

Sacks are vastly overrated. So many happen in meaningless parts of games.

Yup, Ill take pressures all day everyday, up the middle or outside, tip balls and hands in the face......this is what causes TOs.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Ware had 6 sacks while playing his last year with the Cowboys. He was due a salary of $18 million and the Cowboys were in a major salary cap bind.

There was little the team could do. They had to let him go.

As for bringing Ware back...if the price is right...sure. But he'll be 35 and isn't the same athlete anymore. Expectations for Ware moving forward should be scaled way back.

Id honestly love to bring Ware back as a 3rd down rusher. I think that will really help extend his effectiveness like it did John Abraham. We are in kind of a weird spot where he have some decent DE's, but not decent pass rushers. Both Crawfords and Irving could serve as two down defensive ends while we bring Ware in in passing situations. Could probably get 2 more 10 sack seasons out of him that way