Wednesday, August 02, 2006

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.

---

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!



Coryatt’s Monster Hit – Maybe a bit over-rated by Aggie Fans.



Walker says I have Aids

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ty Walker has AIDS?

Anonymous said...

I hate Parcell's press conferences.

Come on Bob, the Ticket needs to do "Press Conference Theater" again!!!

Please!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

About the fight... Isn't it just like a eurotrash to leave his helmet on for a fight. What a wuss.

Flaco said...

The Mavs open the season against the Spurs at home Bob; and no comment?

Anonymous said...

Gay Jeff Gordon-esque fight with a helmet on? Not even worth a spot on YouTube.
We are all a little bit gayer for having witnessed that.

P37 Mike

Unknown said...

coryatt's hit might be the greatest achievement in NCAA competition history. and THAT might be an understatement.


in other news. the rangers outstanding win only gets one tiny link? wtf.

Anonymous said...

It's definitely the greatest accomplishment for Aggy football since WWII at least anyway. And that wouldn't be an understatement at all.

Anonymous said...

I always like Bryant Westbrook's destruction of Leeland McElroy more.

Boom goes the dynamite.

-JB

Anonymous said...

Rhett Bomar has been dismissed from the Sooners from OKC media.

Unknown said...

norm voice: uh oh. uh oh! uh oh!!!

Anonymous said...

Oops...that loud boom you just heard was OU's season going up in flames...

Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha ha! Everyone up here in Oklahoma is about to explode! This is the greatest thing ever! Prediction: Domestic Violence goes up 500% tonight.

Anonymous said...

As an Arsenal fan, I can sympathize with the feelings towards one Jose Maurinho. F- that dude. Hail to Highbury. I hate stadiums with sponsored names like "Emirates Stadium." forshame, Arsenal.

Anonymous said...

Wow. So does this mean Paul Thompson moves back to QB after not even playing the position since week 1 of last year? Good luck with all of that. Looks like we can hand Texas the Big 12 title again.

Unknown said...

tap the longhorn breaks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47DNtNEXWHU

Anonymous said...

Listening to Parcells' news conference right now.

Everybody sing! (to the tune of Hall & Oates "Rich Girl"):

It's a bitch girl, and its gone too far
But you know it don't matter anyway...

Daily news conferences are teh suck...

Anonymous said...

waaaaaahahahaha
Bomar and starting guard JD Quinn off the team. The starting guard off of an already suspect o-line might be an even bigger loss than the qb.

Isnt it funny how things have sure backfired on poor old Rhett. Wasnt he the one who said that he didnt want to go to Texas because he wanted to win a National Title.

Well, in the words of the great Earl Hickey, "Karma is a funny thing."

P37 Mike

Anonymous said...

aggy will still lose

Unknown said...

sarcasm? not in your bag eric? alright then. i'll keep that in mind.

Anonymous said...

A paraphrased conversation from a mulletted Sooner at work: "Dude, all this is gonna get worked out. This investigation is bullsh*t...I guarantee he's back on within 3 days. Some f*ing shorthorn fan probably called in to the NCAA, and they have more violations than anyone. I'd give my left nut to have Rhett come back and tear up those gay horns at the Cotton Bowl. This is ridiculous. Why did he have to cheat and pretty much give back the 2007 BCS trophy? This f*ing sucks. Screw this season, too."

Textbook "5 Step Grief Process" in action. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Acceptance, Depression.

Anonymous said...

You know the difference in that TU and Aggie hit was the Aggie player got up, and the TCU player didn't. IIRC, the TCU guy got his jaw broken and had to be helped off the field, if not carried off.

Anonymous said...

Wasnt he the one who said that he didnt want to go to Texas because he wanted to win a National Title.

No, that was Peterson.

And SWC guy, the difference between the UT & the A&M highlights is that there have been UT highlights since this one.

-JB

Anonymous said...

The "Texas will never win the big one" tactic was used by all of the recruiters at OU for years to attempt to lure recruits away from Texas. Well, now that the Longhorns are the defending national champions, the OU guys have had to come up with a new line to use.

It was Peterson that said publicly that's why he picked OU over Texas, although I'm sure it was an influence on Bomar as well. Now, thanks to Bomar's act, the irony of it all is that Peterson will never get his national championship. Oh well, at least he got a free Lexus for several months. In 2007, he'll be gone to the NFL, so 2006 was his last chance.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post, Rick.

Anonymous said...

Looking at rick's "5 step process", I noticed I was in the depression stage when I saw the Mavs schedule come out and saw NBA CHAMPS MIAMI on there in Jan. Any one want to bet on the over/under of freethrows D. Wade will get? I say at least 25. The most depressing part is he'll only do that against the lil Mavs and proceed to be average an other game. Thats what is depressing.

Anonymous said...

gotta love the fact that the only aggy clips I can find on YouTube are either that hit, games from a 10 years ago, or a 5 minute montage of every play that went in aggy's favor last year. In that one, all I could think was "scoreboard"

With enemies like aggy, who needs friends?

Anonymous said...

Oh well, the Cotton Bowl isn't ALL bad for a bowl game. Guess we'll see what SEC team we play this year. GET YOUR GUNS UP BABY!!!

Aggy should start making reservations for San Diego.