Chop To the Top
Posted: June 25, 2006 @ 1:05 pm
Cowboys OLB Demarcus Ware hopes karate can help him become a sack master. ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli reports that Ware took up the martial art weeks ago with the goal of improving his hand usage. (Story is subscription only.) Ware likes the early results, saying,
“In just a short time, I’ve learned a lot, and I’m getting a better read now on what the other guy is doing with his hands. It should be a big help to me this year.”
Before you pencil in 15 sacks for Ware this year, understand a potential downside to karate as a training tool. Former Cowboys conditioning coach Bob Ward (1976 - 1990) used karate to improve the D-linemen’s hand skills. Hall of Famer Randy White swore by Ward’s methods. But Jimmy Johnson fired Ward after two years, claiming the Dallas linemen were so engaged in hand fighting their opponents, they forgot the objective is to get past them as quickly as possible.
It’s a paradox that could have come from Mr. Miyagi — apparently, the best way to use karate on the football field is to barely use it at all.
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I agree. You’d think it would help a great deal, but every time I hear about a player using the karataaay, I don’t see a big difference in production or playing style.
It’s going to be hard to attribute improvement to Ware’s karate too. I expect him to increase his production regardless, just from having a lot more strength and experience.
I DO think it’s great for mental and physical discipline though, so I’m not complaining. I wouldn’t mind a few other players tagging along with Demarcus.
I’ve always thought aspects of Aikido or Judo would teach skills more relative to what a DE needs to do.
…or ninjitsu.
Interesting take. The mental discipline thing is a good call. Funny, I was thinking that Judo or Aikido might be more useful also. Though Judo training might get you a few more holding calls….
For the type of one-on-one, smashmouth football that the 3-4 and the Flex require, hand-to-hand fighting is critical.
From Randy White, to Bob Lilly, Reggie White, the old ‘85 Bears, Giants, Pats, Steel Curtain, etc. etc. Every one of the DL greats on these teams (and Offense too) credited some form of martial arts. It’s a huge plus.
JJ used speed. No holding up the line, just beat the guy in a single gap.
3-4’s are completely different. They need 2 gap, beat your man ability, especially for the run.
why dont we just have the ninja turtles come out from the sewer and become our four down lineman. i think ralph has the meanstreak to get er done.
reminds me of Winston Justice. He trained as a boxer before his final season at USC at credited it with his improved performance
martial arts is not hand to hand……it requires a lot more physical movement and low center of gravity…….the discipline alone should help anyone improve at dang near anything………besides…..are we going to complain about a guy taking Karate…..just ask Steeler fans if they would prefer if Big Ben was into KARATE or MOTORCYCLES>…….LOL
well since the blog has kinda slowed down. im gunna do a roster prediction. be sure to tell me what you think. maybe this will get some debate going.
Offense
Starting Qb: Drew Bledsoe Reserves: Romo and Henson
Starting Rb: Julius Jones Reserves: MBIII and Demetrius Summers
Starting WRs: TO and TG Reserves: Skylar Green, Crayton, Merrit
Starting TEs: JWitt and Fasano Reserves: Hanamm and Polite(f-back)
Starting LT: Flozell Adams Reserves: Marc Colombo
Starting LG: Kyle Kosier Reserves: Stephen Peterman
Starting C: Al Johnson Reserves: Andre Gurode(C/G swingman)
Starting RG: Marco Rivera Reserves: Cory Proctor
Starting RT: Jason Fabini Reserves: Rob Pettiti
Defense
Starting DEs: CCanty & Mspears
Reserves: Greg Ellis(4-3 starter) Jason Hatcher
Starting NT: Jason Fergeson Reserves: MOUNTavious, Pepper Johnson
Starting OLBs: D’ware and Carp. Reserves: Singleton and Burnett
Starting ILBs: Ayodele and James Reserves: Kai Parham and Ryan Fowler
Linebacker Swingman/ST specialist: Rocky Boiman
Starting CBs: Tnew and Henry Nickle CB: Aaron Glenn Reserves: Jacque Reeves
Starting FS: Pat Watkins Reserves: Keith Davis, Marcus Coleman*
Starting SS: Big Boy Roy Reserves: Justin Berry-O
* I picture Coleman being used as a secondary swingman, mainly between FS and CB
Kicker: Vanderjagt Punter:McBriar
Now if i counted right, that makes 52, and since active rosters are 53, im not gunna pick who is the 53rd. now hopefully this will make for some convo, or maybe somebody else will make their own roster….
53 will be tyson thompson…and dont forget j ratliff…
I don’t remember if they took up full-time lessons but I do remember a preview they once had on Greg Ellis and Ebenezer Ekuban doing some kind of martial arts to improve their hand movements similar to what Ware is doing now.
Well it looks like so far Ellis benefited from it.
My final 53 man roster
QB
Drew Bledsoe
Drew Henson
Tony Romo
RB
Marion Barber
Julius Jones
Tyson Thompson
TE
Anthony Fasano
Ryan Hannam
Sean Ryan
Jason Witten
WR
Patrick Crayton
Terry Glenn
Skyler Green
Terrence Copper
Terrell Owen
C
Andre Gurode
Al Johnson
G
Kyle Kosier
Stephen Peterman
Marco Rivera
OT
Flozell Adams
Marc Colombo
Jason Fabini
Rob Petitti
DE
Chris Canty
Greg Ellis
Jason Hatcher
Marcus Spears
DT
Jason Ferguson
Thomas Johnson
Montavious Stanley
Jeremiah Ratliff
CB
Aaron Glenn
Anthony Henry
Terence Newman
Jacques Reeves
Nathan Jones
LB
Akin Ayodele
Rocky Boiman
Kevin Burnett
Bobby Carpenter
Bradie James
Scott Shanle
Al Singleton
DeMarcus Ware
S
Justin Beriault
Keith Davis
Pat Watkins
Roy Williams
K
Mike Vanderjagt
LS
L.P. Ladouceur
P
Mat McBriar
I’ll leave one space open for a kickoff specialist if Vandy cant handle that position.If he can handle the kickoffs, I’ll put Proctor as the reserve.
Wax on,wax off..
Definitely don’t forget Ratliff. I thought he was nearly as impressive as Canty before his injury.
Also, I like Thompson over Summers.
I remimber when it was the fad for football players to take ballet to improve their ballence. I can’t picture MOUNTavious in tights!
Yeah defenatly, Summers on the return team.
If Thompson doesn’t get out of BP dog house Summmers will make the cut. This is a shame because by the end of the year Julius Jones will be on IR or BP will be tired of him getting arm tackled behind the line.
Parham will make the cut over Shanle.
Henson will lose out for Mroz. BP does not like this guy for some reason.
I think jamaica rector will knock out terrance copper….IMO
Summers and Parham wont make this team, Summers was already late for practise and ran at half speed during drills and dropped too many passes,he’s already on his last leg with this team, he might be a practise roster player. Parham is very slow and his change of direction is horrible, it’s no wonder why this kid was undrafted, some had him going in the third round, what were they watching!
The reason why I took Copper over Rector was his gunner position on special teams.
Does anyone know anything about the NT Samuel Tualealea ? While he is a longshot to make it, I am rooting for him. He is over 340lbs and extremely strong having won some awards for weightlifting.
I would like for this guy to show enough promise to at least make the practice squad if not the 3rd guy at NT. I guess I am a little worried about he NT position overall. Even with that worry though, I expect us to be a top 10 defense hopefully better then that.
Marucs Coleman will make the team. He’s a crafty veteran and Parcells guy who can play CB or S.
A short list of my roster…
QB Bledsoe,Romo,Mroz(Henson cut)
RB JJ,Barber,???
FB none
TE Witten,Fassiano,and whoever steps up..
dannyposner,
If Tualealea shows much promise, I don’t see him going to the practice squad. These big bodies are hard to find. Another team will snatch him up. He’ll either be on the roster or cut. Would be nice for some young giant to be behind Ferguson.
Apparently Taulealea holds the Colorado team weightlifting record for squatting 710 lbs. Here’s a little feature on him:
http://ctr.concordia.ca/2004-05/nov_04/19/
Hello All,
Ratcliff is a no brainer to make this team.
Summers has his work cut out for himself. He was not wowing anyone in his tryouts.
Do not be surprised if Henson is cut by training camp. I don`t know how long BP is going to tie up a spot with him. He has had enough time to show something & to still be the 3rd string QB does not look good for him.
I just don`t know who they have lined up to come in as a backup to Romo ?
Raf,
Johnson probably had some guys who overthought the process. Karate and other martial arts has a lot to do with hand leverage and freeing yourself of your opponent’s grasp.
I wrestled in high school and am shocked at how the different hand positions and hand control can help me in hand to hand encounters. A friend of mine who stood a foot taller than me and weighed about 100lbs more was horse playing with me. My “cat like” reaction was to grab his hand and gain leverage on him, and I was the one knocking him to the ground and bringing him to his back. … My point is once you learn these hand and leverage techniques they become instinctive and rediculously quick, and these techniques allow a person to overcome at times size, strength, and/or weight when used properly.
Eric R.
I tend to agree with you. And somebody up post put it best. In a 3-4 you’re playing head-up a lot more, so hand technique plays a much larger role.
I was just playing devil’s advocate. I do think Ware will benefit from this.
Im sure Ware has done some other things this summer to help his game too. Bring him and the season on.
Jarhead,
I was extremely happy to read that Ware had gained 10 lbs of mostly muscle while weight training during off-season workouts. When I watched him last year I thought he was soo soo close to really reaking havoc on OTs, but he simply needed to get a little stronger to work through some blocks. I won’t bite on Raf’s offer to pencil him in for a # of sacks, but I think he will demand a lot of double teams this year. This of course will open things up for everyone else. …… Greg Ellis, are you listening???
This offseason is killing me.
Trying to mull over the bottom of the roster and decide on Copper vs. Merritt; the 5th CB & Safety is showing how desperate for news we’ve become.
My question to those still around during this break is simple…Where are the holes?
Obviously, the OT & FS positions have been chatted about ad-nauseum. Where are the other holes?
My list:
3rd WR - This is second only to the RT spot in importance. I stated some threads back that I don’t think our 3rd WR is on the roster.
Rotation NT - Mount-tavious, Pepper Jr. & our Quebecois/European/Hawaiian experiment. Mmmm…that’s a lot of young beef. I’ll definitely be watching that battle.
KR/PR - Skyler, Thompson, & ex-Bears oh my. I can’t remember the last time we had anyone that could scare people.
And finally, the backup QB - Yes, it’s been discussed. Lately, everyone wants to throw Henson under the bus. He’ll be at camp. He’ll perform well. He’ll be #2 by Jacksonville or will be cut.
Where’s y’alls holes?
I dont see holes on this team, more competition for roster spots. The third wideout is Crayton, the injury last year really hampered his developement.Compared to last year, the safty positions are more deeper than they’ve been in years, Beriault is going to surprise people.
The only area of concern is the offensive line, we wont know what shakes out until training camp, but this is another area where we seem to have more depth than we’ve had in recent years.
We’re definitely solid at the kicking positions.
This will be Hensons last year on the roster unless he shows that he has progressed, I think the game experience was beneficial to him playing in Europe, I just wish he was sent there last year to get the rust off.
The depth of the team is alot better accross the board,so it seems most of the talk will be who will make the final roster positions on the roster.
Should we have taken Merriman over Ware?…I know it’s an old subject, but I just had to ask. Merriman seems to be a killer…
If I’m not mistaken, I think Raf brought it up before that San Diego was overloading one side of the line and Merriman was the free man on that side. I seen many sacks from him in which he wasn’t even covered, pretty easy to get sacks when you’re coming free everytime. In our scheme, Ware is asked to do alot more, I hope we dont continue to rehash this, years down the road like the Moss, Ellis of 98 crap.
I agree with Derrick. Last year at this time, the discussion back and forth was about whether Pete Hunter would get it together to switch to safety. This year, we are talking about cutting experienced safeties. Last tear, the question was how quickly the new linemen would be ready to run a credible 3-4. This year, it is about which experienced 3-4 linemen will lose their jobs. Last year, there was little but promise; this year, promise plus experience. The cuts this year will be harder, which is all to the good. Bring on camp.
Now I just might be the biggest optimist on this blog, but there is no way I can buy off on no holes.
Mostly, it’s depth. But that’s what wins championships. ’90s Boys, Pats a few years ago, and Pittsburgh now. They all had two deep talent.
Our OL is barely average. Most of our skill positions are old and have no depth. We have several drafts worth of holes to fill.
Our Defense is going to be fine. Actually, it’s going to be great.
But we MUST have some young OL no-names step up. And we need some WRs.
F-15:
The 92 Cowboys actually had more luck than depth. Jimmy cut Emmitt’s only backup the week before the playoffs. There were like 9 or 10 listed DBs on the roster, but they didn’t call Elvis Patterson “toast” for nothing (and he was the first backup), the coaching staff didn’t trust the backup O-linemen (remember Ron Stone and his time in Dallas?), and nobody thought even their starting safeties were anything special at all. The only place they had depth was on the D-line, and even there, most of those guys (like Lett and Hennings, even Maryland) were nowhere near what they became in later years. What that team had, more than any I remember, were a bunch of guys who basically only played ST, but were as good at it as any in the league.
On Merriman vs. Ware.
I think it’s a valid comparison. And I’d throw in Spears vs. Castillo.
SD picked one spot behind us on both picks. Both were the best 3-4 picks on the board at the spot.
Who’s better? I’d say it’s a draw, but we’re only at the first pole.
But given what Merriman did in training camp, I said I didn’t want him then, and I still don’t. ‘tude ain’t right.
And Ware played the OLB position. Merriman played designated pass rush while standing up (like Ellis will this year). He’ll be better this year. Don’t know if Merriman will.
During the first two years of FA (’94?), the Cowboys lost 22+ starters & backups.
Yes they were young, and a few others weren’t that good, but lord have mercy, they were deep.
Yes, the front 7 on D, plus the big uglies on the OL were the heart of the depth. I guess that, more than anything is what I’m talking about. It begins and ends with the lines.
For years, we hid a pretty mediocre group of CBs. RB by committee is common. WRs come and go. QBs can’t go down for the year. Maybe a game or so, but really, there is no depth anywhere.
So by that measure they were deep. We had 2 or three complete line changes on both sides over a 5 year span. Same for Pittsburgh and New England now.
If Demarcus Ware had his 3 sack, 3 FF game against the Peyton Manning and the Colts while they were undefeated and Merriman had his big game in Week 16 against the Panthers, D-Ware would have been a Pro Bowler, and this wouldn’t even warrant a discussion. Ware is a more complete player and seems to have his head on more straight.
Both players are good, and I think both teams will be happy 5 years from now with their first rounders from 2005. But Dallas will be a bit happier than SD.
If I recall Ware was a fulltime player, while Merriman was a pass rush specialist. Ware had far more responsibilies to learn as a rookie than Merriman.
Even after the draft the Cowboys said that Ware, while not as good as Merriman at the moment had more upside and that in three years he’d be the better player. You have to wait two more years before you know if BP and JJ were wrong or not.
b lee,
your exactly right, i’ve been tryin to stress that ever since Merriman made the Pro Bowl. To credit taken away from Merriman its just he was exposed at just the right time.
On the rosters, I think Proctor will make the team as well as Coleman. Parham will make the practice squad.
i think that the 3rd running back’s job is Summers to lose. the te’s will be witten/fasano/hanneman/pierce, and parham will survive on the practice squad. and petitti will beat out fabini. i think the kid is a winner
JesseNY,
Since Henson carries an NFLE exemption, he really isn’t tying up much of anything, until final cuts. The only reason to cut him, would be to add another quarterback, and they might not want to carry 5 QBs through camp. Which new QB would that be? The only possibility would be a veteran, and only then if Romo looked inadequate as the backup to Bledsoe. That is not going to happen until they have seen what Romo (and Henson) can do in the preseason games. If Romo proves unworthy, why wouldn’t they cut him, and not Henson, after adding a veteran? Not only that, but it would mean that Jeff Mroz had passed Henson on the depth chart. I just don’t see that happening this summer.
I believe that Henson will be with the team at least until the final cuts. It really doesn’t make much sense to cut him earlier, no matter how badly he is doing, given his exemption.
I know that Crowder was cut, exemption and all, but he was a special case. In addition to almost no hope of making the team, the Cowboys had another player (Taulealea) to whom they could transfer the exemption. Neither of those factors currently plays any part as to whether Henson remains with the team.
Actually, as a quarterback, Henson carries two roster exemptions. At the start of training camp, they can (and will) designate another player with similar years of service to take one of those exemptions. They will choose a player who has no chance of being cut. [Didn't they use Julius Jones for one last year?] If they cut Henson before they make that designation, they will lose both exemptions.
Mr Bill:
I never could argue with common sense.
You make some good points.
I`m still not sure Henson will not be a victim of the final cuts though. After all how good does someone have to look to beat him out ? I have said for some time that I feel Romo is underated & I feel he will turn alot of heads this pre season. DB is definitely our starter & I believe Romo is a solid back up even though he lacks playing time, which Parcells promised he ( Romo) will get this preseason, but Henson has had time & has showed nothing. The man was highly touted at Michigan but really only had one good year. Many first round QB`s turned out to be busts. Bottom line is if BP feels he has what it takes he will be around this year, if not he will no make the final cut !
Regarding the depth in the early 90’s vs now, I think one big difference is the age of the starters and their propensity to get hurt. The early 90’s team had mostly early 20’s players vs mostly aging veterans in skill positions on this team, especially WR. Everything else being roughly equal, I’d put my money on a younger guy staying healthier and recovering quicker than an older guy.
That’s a long winded way of saying I like our team but am nervous about everything blowing up if 1 or 2 key starters go down.
Still,
Good point and I think just about every team is in that same boat.I would much rather have a very good team than have one or two superstars that we depend on to win games and save the day.Mainly because injuries are going to happen, it’s just the nature of the game.I think BP has put together a very solid team so far and the only real worry I would have is if Witten and Fassiano were both hurt at the same time.That would put a serious dent in our new two tightend offense.
As far as depth is concerned:
1. I am confident in the WR class. If Glenn or TO goes down, I believe Crayton can come in and fill in with our TE’s playing a larger role. Terrance Copper improved over last year and BP acknowledged his improvement with some playing time. As long as we dont loose out top two at the same time. I am confident in this group.
2. No team has more then 2 QB’s. I think Drew will have a monster year and though Romo has no playing time to back up my belief, I think he can run this team.
3. We are fine at RB.
4. We have a great TE which we cant loose in my opinion. We need Witten to stay healthy while Fasano and Hannam can interchange.
5. As long as Flozzel is back to form, I feel good about our tackles. Pettiti will be much better and I think Columbo should show something this year and Fabini is safety.
6. I actually like Al Johnson and I think Gurude will push him. We are good at center. Our gaurds worry me a little. We will need Rivera and Kosier to stay healthy. Overall, I think Kosier and the system we are running will be an improvement over the sationary LA. We need to see somehing from Peterman and the other young guys.
7. Our DL is strong and deep. I look for big years from both Canty and Spears. We need a rotational NT as Ive said before but we have candidates. I’m rooting for Mountavious and Samuel Taulealea. I am really hoping the Hawaiian shows to be special. I wonder why teams dont experiment converting offensive guards to NT. They need to tye up offensive lineman (block them in essense) Do you think Max Gene Gilles could have been converted to a stud NT?
8. We should have enough linebackers this year.
I hope Kevin Burnett stays healthy and shows his promise as the 5th guy and I am lokking for Carpenter to win the outside job opposite Ware.
Its a nice battle between Fowler, Shanle, Parham, Hoyte and all others for the last LB position. Boiman is a solid backup and ST player.
9. I am a little concerned about our CB. Newman and Henry make a great great pair but what happens if they go down. While Glenn did alright last year, I am not so confident in him nor Jacques Reeves nor Marcus Coleman. I can see getting by a game or two without out top two but not a season.
10. I think we’ll be ok at both Safety positions but a healthy Roy Williams is important.
Keith Davis should be significantly better with the experience which should allow him to be more aggressive. Beriault looks like he can play.
Marcus Coleman could make an impact as a mickel Safety and I think Pat Watkins has a chance to do the same. I look for Watkins to pick up 10-15 pounds in next years off season and really compete to be the FS on all downs. I think he can play but will need some time to adjust to the NFL.
11. As long as Vanderjagt does not pull is groin, we have the best kickers we’ve had in a long time. I believe in Vanderjagt as a field goal kicker and dont believe he will blow important kicks.
12. We have one of if not the best coaches in the league. Bledsoe had a career year under Palmer who now returns. Zimmer has more experience in the 3-4…..and think about this, we have 1,2,3,4,5 guys on defense entering their second year starting at their position. All 5 should show improved play. KDavis, BJames, DWare, CCanty, MSpears. Thats half our defense.
donny,
Good points. I’m not sure why offensive lineman aren’t converted to nose tackles, but it reminded me of Houston’s 3rd round pick, Charles Spencer from Pitt, who played DT his first two years before switching to OG.
I think Boiman can be more than capable if one of the starting four LBs were to get injured. I’d also like to see Watkins, with his 6′ 5″ frame and 40″ vertical, in as a WR on some goal line situations.
I think that the most devestating injuries for Dallas in 2006 would be:
1. Flozell (I know we have some depth, but it would be a major dropoff at a key position)
2. Newman - He is an elite corner who can shut down the other team’s best WR (see Steve Smith having one catch for 16 yards when no one else in the NFL could stop him)
3. Witten - While Fasano and Hannam would be serviceable, the offense would suffer greatly.
4. Vanderjagt - No other proven kickers on the team and with Parcells’ conservative playcalling, field goals are a must.
5. Bledsoe - optimistic but not convinced on Romo
6. Jason Ferguson - I’m hoping that Montavious, Ratliff or Taulealea could step up, but this would really hurt the 3-4.
NFC East draft analysis:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5725480