The 2007 Leons — Defensive MVP
Posted: January 10, 2008 @ 1:47 pm
What an abundance of choices! This year’s list of defensive Leon award-worthy players was so deep, I had to leave some qualified players out. Where’s Bradie James? How about some love for Chris Canty, who took his game to a new level this year?
Only five players could make the cut. With apologies to the rest, here are our candidates for the 2007 Defensive Leon.
The 2007 Leon Award
OLB Greg Ellis returned from a serious Achilles tendon injury to be the ideal bookend rusher in Dallas’ 3-4 scheme. Ellis finished 6th in the league with 12.5 sacks, though he played sparingly the first month.
FS Ken Hamlin closed the gaping wound in the deep center of the Dallas secondary. After years of playing strong safeties out of position in centerfield, Hamlin showed us what a true free safety looks like. He was fourth on the team with 62 tackles and snagged five interceptions. Most importantly, the secondary which bled big pass plays in ‘06 cut its TDs allowed total from 25 to 19.
CB Terence Newman returned from a frightening foot injury that threatened to end or at the very least compromise his season. His tight coverage and four interceptions earned Newman his first Pro Bowl spot.
NT Jay Ratliff went from understudy to leading man when starting NT Jason Ferguson tore a biceps muscle one quarter into the season. Ratliff not only anchored the Cowboys rush defense, but he provided a steady inside pass rush, a novelty for a nose guard. He was rewarded with a hefty contract extension.
OLB Demarcus Ware continued to progress, finishing 3rd in the NFL with 14.0 sacks. Ware has raised his sack totals every season and still has room to improve.
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gotta give some love to Ratlif, arn’t we all glad we did not draft a NT early.
From DMN:
Everyone took part, as the team geared back down into shells and shorts and worked inside its field house with three games left before gameday.
WR Terrell Owens was there, yes. And he had a limp in his step, favoring the left ankle he injured in Carolina. He was rounding out his breaks, rather than changing direction sharp, on most routes. Toward the end, he seemed to be accelerating and cutting better.
But no matter how much we overanalyze all this, the fact remains that Owens will play Sunday. Count on it.
I could of voted for any of those players, but thought Demarcus Ware was the most essential to ending drives on a regular basis.
Not sure why but OLB Demarcus Ware did NOT practice today. I am sure Wade will be aksed about this during the 3 perss conference.
D-MVP.
I voted for Newman. I think his presense has the most impact on the defense’s efficiency. He’s the guy we can least afford to lose because we have no one who can adequately replace him.
Ware is our best defensive player. And I’d say a close second for D-MVP. But with Spencer and Ellis, we have 2 pretty decent guys to fill a similar role.
Its the lack of talent behind Newman that makes him the MVP. Not saying he’s the best player (actually I’d put him #2 behind Ware for that honor). But he’s the most valuable given the current roster.
When Ware “brings it” above 100%, he’s a nightmare, hands down. He has my vote.
I refuse and havn’t heard espn, fox or any other media outlets regarding Romo and the Giants, but based on what I’m reading here, it seems that they have a lot of our regulars “spooked”.
Romo probably feels like he let the team down last year with the botched hold. No way he loses us this game. He has the “it” factor and I’m standing behind that because I believe what I see with my own eyes, not to mention that our O-line will impose their will on the D-line of the Giants. Eli will show his warts because of our pressure we will bring. Eli knows our pressure and is probably not ok right now just thinking about it.
Our players have shown the ability to execute more so than our opponents all year and that will be the case in this game as well which will net us the win by about 7-10 points with a courtesy score late in the game. No way will Eli ball control this game on the road and that’s the Giants only chance to beat us straight up. We’ve proven to them twice that they cannot outscore us. They will try to grind it out between the tackles and throw short to mediate passes to minimize our rush/pressure.
One thing I would like to see in this game and every game thereafter is the Roy W. of old. He has disappointed me with his play this year. His lack of being in the right position/areas have been disturbing lately, not to mention that he acts like he doesn’t want to hit anymore. Lay the wood and bring back the fear he puts into the receivers. That’s missing in his game.
Tex, T Zig thinks your funny. T Zig thinks you like to get a rise out of the bloggers. They keep taking the bait, so keep throwing it out there.
The early results reflect our desire for glamor in the game. This team is at best 9-7 without Ratliff stepping up from the first game on. Sacks are great. Int’s are great. But, the grunt work of Ratliff won’t make high lights. I think it merely saved the season.
I voted for Ellis. His story is the most compelling for me. He simply wasn’t supposed to do anything at all. He was written off by everyone but the team management(kudos to Jerry et al). He did the work, recovered and made this D much better than it could have been wihtout him. “He’s not as good as he once was, but he’s as good once, as he ever was” (apologies to Toby Keith). I’ll take the old man for the trophy.
I can’t give it to one guy. Ratliff stepped into some big shoes and earned a big contract. Ware grew into a monster. Ellis had a career year after a career ending injury. Tnew finally made it to the ProBowl. Still I’ll go with our leading tackler - Count one for Brady!
Small mistake in the voting - text references Hamlin and votes include James.
I voted for Ware - but after reading Dr. Z’s column I second guessed whether I should vote for TNew.