Greg Ellis Speaks

All of the attention after practice yesterday was Greg Ellis speaking to the media about his current situation.

Mac Engle summed it up well …

Parcells sees Ellis as the team's second-best pass rusher, and the change should allow Ellis to be on the field more. At least that's what he's been told.
He was told last year he could play in the 3-4 but was benched midway through the 2005 season.

"It's pretty much all I have to go on," Ellis said. "I don't overrank the head coach. If he sees fit for me not to play a lot, or if he sees fit for me to play a lot, I don't have a choice."

Ellis is a realist. If he racks up eight or 10 sacks this season, he envisions himself as a Cowboy for the next few seasons, perhaps even with the new contract he desires. If this doesn't work, he believes he'll be playing somewhere else.
But his head is clear. He is committed to trying, and working.

"I can honestly say my mind is on learning the position," he said. "The whole thing is a new deal for me. It's a challenge. And it's a risk.

"It's a challenge for me to learn it.

It's a risk because if it doesn't work out, you guys know how it usually works."

Mickey Spagnola’s take …

I must tell you I am really torn on the topic of Ellis. I think there are few classier athletes that have come through town in the last decade. But, this latest deal is tough to sort through.

I stood there yesterday as he calmly and politely explained his situation and his hesitations about changing his role after all of these years. He cooperated last year and was benched. Now he is being asked to change his role again to a standup outside LB who will chase Running Backs down the field on fly routes after 8 years as a Defensive End.

He most likely should be ripped for not being completely submissive to Parcells’ wishes. But, he is explaining his position and I am seeing what he is saying. I still think he needs to fall in line, which he is. But somewhere in the back of his mind and mine is the idea that he might be hurting his career by changing positions at age 31.

It looks like he is ready to cooperate. I can’t really see this working (Ellis as an outside LB). But as he saw Dexter Coakley, Larry Allen, and Dat Nguyen shown the door in the last 18 months, chances are that he knows who is next.

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In other news, I got this email from sweet clean Joel, after I made this point on yesterday’s show:

Bob, I keep hearing the same comments from you guys(yeah that’s a generic “you guys in the media”) about the Cowboys quarterback situation “Oh, if Bledsoe goes down the season is over.” I think that is true, but how many teams out there are comfortable with their back-up situation? I think 75%+ of the teams that have a shot each year can say the exact same thing, the starting QB goes off the field and the season goes out the window.

Joel- the guy in the next cubicle

Joel- You are right. Almost every team in football is pretty much screwed if their starting QB gets hurt. The occasional exceptions are the few teams lucky enough to have a veteran backup (Chicago has Brian Griese, for instance) and the few teams with a young QB who just needs a chance to get in the game and prove his eventual stardom.

My problem with Dallas is this: They know they have no backup plan for QB if Bledsoe gets hurt, and they did very little to fortify this huge problem. Let me be more clear; If you have only one QB option, then you must make sure you do everything in your power to keep him from getting hit. Therefore, if you surrender 49 sacks in 1 season, and 25 in the final 5 weeks of 2005, then I would think you would spend more time making sure it is improved in 2006. The Cowboys spent almost no resources (cash or picks) to do much here. They did get Kosier and Fabini, and we must hope that those two and the return of Adams make all the difference in the world. But I will tell you, practice indicates that this is still a major weakness.

Here is what Parcells said in yesterday’s presser about his OL …

As a group, though, Parcells remains optimistic about his offensive line.
"I'm going to have to see it under fire a little bit, [but] I feel better about some of the individuals in it," he said. "I think we have a few more people we can rely on."

Perhaps the best news in the long term is that may soon include a couple of young players, like rookie tackle Pat McQuistan and second-year guard Cory Proctor.

"They're starting to show a few things," Parcells said. "I've seen a lot of improvement in a couple of these kids in just a few days."

The quicker they can help, the better.

As usual, in the NFL it's all about the quarterback.

If you're a Cowboys fan, whisper a prayer for Bledsoe's good health.

On second thought, say it right out loud.

Every day.

Meanwhile, Saturday is the induction of Troy Aikman in Canton …

Rangers get a win with Adam Eaton …

Why do I hate Chelsea? Jose Mourinho …The Steve Spurrier of English Football…

Jose Mourinho has stoked his simmering feud with Liverpool's manager Rafael Benítez by dismissing Liverpool's title chances and style of play.

Chelsea's captain John Terry had this week described Liverpool as the champions' closest challengers but in the first salvo before the new season Mourinho wrote off Liverpool as a defensive team.

"I believe Manchester United and Arsenal will, in spite of the fact Arsenal finished fourth and Liverpool third, still be the better teams," said Mourinho. "[Because of] the quality of their football, the way they play, the high quality in their squads.

And, now, what is becoming a tradition of Bob’s Blog, the youtube.com gold nuggets of the day:

This one is from the email bag:

Paul Tracy Fight

Paul Tracy Fight Overhead Camera

Hey Bob,

Take a moment to check out some YouTube video of ChampCar drivers, Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani fighting after an on track incident during the San Jose Grand Prix this past weekend. Better than any NASCAR fight in recent memory.

What happened: Paul Tracy went into a run off area of the street circuit and attempted to speed back out on to the track as fast as possible. Unfortunately, Tracy went straight into the path of Alex Tagliani who races for a team with a limited budget. The ChampCar Series will be using new chassis next year and the current chassis is out of production. Tagliani was racing his last usable chassis and needed it to last the rest of the season. I think you can understand why he'd be a little upset at Paul Tracy. Meanwhile, Paul knew he did something stupid but all he could say was sorry.

The NBC broadcast caught the start of the fight but then cut to the a Sebastian Bourdais pit stop. I think the best video is the one with a bird's eye view from a spectator.

Let's see if these guys can't be booked for Fight Night in the octagon next year.

Babyarm,

P1 Kevin in Grapevine

That is a good fight, Kevin. Well done!



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