More Wade Phillips

by Dave Halprin on Feb 8, 2007 8:23 AM CST in News Comment 26 comments

Other sites are confirming the same thing, as soon as the details of a contract are worked out, Wade Phillips will be the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

DeMarcus Ware should be the happiest guy around today, his rise as a 3-4 OLB is going to get a boost. Wade Phillips runs a 3-4 defense that is very different from the one Bill Parcells ran. And now we all get to see the comparison to Shawn Merriman - in skill, not in steroid ingestions - play out for real. Ware is excited according to his article.

The Cowboys were drawn initially to Phillips because of his work with the 3-4 defense. Over the last two seasons, the Cowboys drafted and signed players for the 3-4, like nose tackle Jason Ferguson and bigger linebackers, like DeMarcus Ware and Bobby Carpenter.

But Phillips' version of the 3-4 attacks more than the one the Cowboys have used. Linebacker Shawne Merriman led the NFL with 17 sacks in 2006 and has been named to the Pro Bowl the last two years. In 2005, San Diego had the top-ranked run defense, and in 2006 the Chargers led the NFL with 61 sacks.

"I feel, defensively, he was one of the things we needed to come in," said Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware from Hawaii, the site of Saturday's Pro Bowl. "We have so many guys that can do good things. And Wade just has an aura about him of what to do with those guys. I feel he can come in here and teach us something."

Ware also said he talked with Merriman about how Phillips gets a defense going. Ware said he was impressed with how Wade used his personnel, especially on blitzes.

Gentleman - and ladies - we won't be complaining about the defense not being aggressive enough this season. We might complain that it isn't working - we don't know how this will play out - but the aggressiveness complaint has temporarily been shelved.

Here's a little more from the Chargers website about Wade Phillips in their bio section.

He is the architect of San Diego's 3-4 defense, and last season that defense led the NFL against the run, holding opponents to a mere 84.3 yards per game. Two years ago - Phillips' first in San Diego - the Bolts were even stingier, allowing only 81.7 yards per game to rank third in the league. Phillips' defense is centered around defensive tackle Jamal Williams, who was selected to play in his first-career Pro Bowl following the 2005 season.

One of the outstanding feats of Phillips' defense in 2005 was holding three different opponents to less than 40 yards rushing: Oakland (39 yards), Philadelphia (24) and Indianapolis (24). That hadn't happened in San Diego since 1965 and it was only the third time it occurred in team history.

The Bolts' aggressive defense also cranked out 46 sacks last season, its most since 1992. The Chargers and Indianapolis tied for the fifth-most sacks in the league. Rookies Shawne Merriman and Luis Castillo combined for 13.5 sacks in 2005, the most by any rookie duo in the NFL.

When the Chargers won the AFC West and qualified for the playoffs in 2004 on the heels of a 4-12 season in 2003, Phillips kept his streak intact of helping to turn teams with non-winning records into playoff participants the following year. The last six times Phillips has taken over as a defensive coordinator or head coach for a team that had a non-winning record, his new team went to the playoffs in his first year.

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Great stuff, Grizz

I particularly like the excerpt...

"The last six times Phillips has taken over as a defensive coordinator or head coach for a team that had a non-winning record, his new team went to the playoffs in his first year."

I can't wait til training camp!!!

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" - Ric Flair

by kcbrett5 on Feb 8, 2007 8:34 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Garrett

Wade will take care of business on offense... but now I'm a littel skittish about Garrett as the OC all by himself. I hope he does his homework. And I hope he feeds the TO monster the ball.

At least I don't live in Philadelphia.

by Citilicious on Feb 8, 2007 8:41 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

er

I meant Wade will take care of business on defense... right.

At least I don't live in Philadelphia.

by Citilicious on Feb 8, 2007 8:42 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Sparano/Garrett

I still think we will see them them sharing OC duties the same way Sparano & Haley shared them last year. Garrett will probably be more involved in play calling than Haley was.

by boysandbosox on Feb 8, 2007 9:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I like your point about aggressiveness

I recall screaming at the TV (obviously in vain) for the Cowboys at least go down fighting - blitz, knock the QB down, DO SOMETHING instead of watching the QB time an egg, call his agent, and plan his next pedicure while he patiently waited for someone to come open...

We may get torched doing that, but we got torchd anyway, so why not at least knock the BeeJeez out of someone in the process?

I also think Sparano will play a big role in making sure that Garrett succeeds in play calling. Phillips is an experienced HC. He's knows how to manage a team.

by dunkman on Feb 8, 2007 8:56 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Nice cheapshot on merriman.

by Longhorn on Feb 8, 2007 9:00 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

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by Dave Halprin on Feb 8, 2007 9:08 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, not necessarily cheap

Merriman deserves way more criticsm than he ever got. How he was allowed to become a Pro Bowler is beyond me.

by dunkman on Feb 8, 2007 9:32 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Phillips tutoring Ware

I can see it now: "Okay Ware, after you sack the QB, get up, put two fists in the air, and this is the important part-go like this..." (Phillips begins to gyrate madly--fists pumping and belly jiggling.)

by boysandbosox on Feb 8, 2007 9:45 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

this is what this defense needs

to be a great defense in this league you have to attack and attack some more. Parcells' schemes were just way too passive to be successful. I'm excited about next season.

I also have the utmost confidence in Garrett to do the job on offense and help develop Romo into a perenial star.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Feb 8, 2007 9:30 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Just like

he helped all those young QBs in Miami become stars!

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Feb 8, 2007 10:17 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

but Harrington actually looked OK compared with his days in Detroit.

Cowboys weren't by a long shot the only team wanting Garrett. He may turn out to be a real find, just like Andy Ried. No buzz around him, plenty of questions about his never having called plays. Turned out to be one of the top coaches in the league...

by dunkman on Feb 8, 2007 10:30 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Fair point...

But Reid trained under Mike Holmgren, won a title in GB, and was Brett Favre's QB coach.

No one knew his name, but his resume was pretty good.

Also, I won't deny that there was certainly a lack of talent in Miami at QB...

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Feb 8, 2007 10:50 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Off target here

but would you comment on the rumors that Andy Reid will take a leave of absence this year to deal with his family issues? I hope he does not need to do this.

by lee3022 on Feb 8, 2007 1:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

No doubt Reid

was a great find. And I guess Jones is hedging his bets by having an old HC and a young prospect. Great is it works.

I'm with you, Lee. Wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone.

by dunkman on Feb 8, 2007 2:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The entire front seven

...are going to be the happiest guys on earth if this happens. No more sitting back on their heels just trying to hold their ground - they'll get to charge forward and create disruption. Imagine Leon Lett in last year's defense. People forget what a disruptive force Lett was. Remember JJ and DC told him to charge off the ball into the backfield, lanes be damned. Lett had a ton of tackles behind the line of scrimmage and was always throwing the opposing team's run offense off-balance. Here's hoping that Canty and Spears and Ratliff and Coleman will feel just as unleashed!!

Actually, in addition to the front seven, perhaps the back four will get some more confidence too - with pressure on the QB, the deep routes that killed us all year will be a bit less likely.

ol hickory

by ol hickory on Feb 8, 2007 10:02 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Good to see Wade comin' aboard...

Howdy all!!! First time bloggin' here...looks nice!

Was getting nervous there for a while, but glad JJ did his due diligence...I heard the talking heads say last night that Jerry just wanted to see if anyone could "blow his doors off," and that's always smart...

Now on to the offseason!!!!

(Excuse my ignorance, but how do we get a new topic started? I've never bloggged...only been to message boards and the like)

Anyhow...Here's my wishlist for the offseason:

**FREE AGENTS*

Ken Hamlin, S SEA
Leonard Davis, LT AZ (but I'd like to see him at LG; move the versatile Kosier to RG & CUT Rivera...btw, is he still willing to give back that signing bonus????)
Josh Brown, K SEA
Andre Gurode, C DAL
Marc Colombo, RT DAL

***DRAFT**

Dwayne Jarrett, WR USC (hey, it's a WISHlist...)
Josh Beekman, C Boston College

How about everyone else???

(Sorry if this should've been a new thread or what have you...just let me know)

by Starred4Life on Feb 8, 2007 10:08 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Welcome aboard

If you want to start a new topic - over on the right is a section called Diaries, that's for any reader to create a new thread. Just go to the top and click Post New Diary.

As for commenting on my front-page posts, it's good to stick with the subject at hand, but really, if it's Cowboy related, go ahead and comment. Your post here is fine. Welcome.

If you're reading this, you could be commenting, too. Sign up for a free account on Blogging The Boys.

by Dave Halprin on Feb 8, 2007 10:22 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the info!

by Starred4Life on Feb 8, 2007 9:07 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

welcome aboard Starred4Life

Its always great to read different thoughts and ideas.

by Deke on Feb 8, 2007 10:22 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Great name. Nice play on words.

Welcome to BTB, Starred4Life!!!

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" - Ric Flair

by kcbrett5 on Feb 8, 2007 10:32 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

thanks...

by Starred4Life on Feb 8, 2007 9:14 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Welcome to

the best blog going.

I think'll do without Josh Brown. He's great, but JJ said never again to paying real money to a kicker, and Gramatica looks just fine.

Like your other pick ups in FA. I just hope Jones and company agree on Rivera. He's DONE, unless there's no cap benefit to releasiong him and we then keep him around as a back up...

by dunkman on Feb 8, 2007 10:54 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

thanks for the welcome...I hear ya

about JJ not wantin to spend any more dough on kickers after the VanderGagt Experience. I'd probably be hard to convince too if I was JJ right now after having spent all that cash for what was essentially the worst active kicker in the NFL last season

I'm a fan of this kid Brown though...saw him nail some tough kicks in that nasty Monday Nighter against Green Bay last year when it was pouring and real windy...he's got a pretty big leg, and seems to be pretty accurate (80%).

We could do worse than Gramatica, I agree. But he's on my 'list' cuz I think Brown's a real talent and is better than Gramatica.

Buuuut..I see that SEA is going to be approx. 20M under the cap this year, so he's probably not going anywhere anyway.

by Starred4Life on Feb 8, 2007 9:56 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Now that Wade Phillips

is all but signed, who do you like for Special teams, running back and tight end coaches? I am wondering if Emmett will come aboard for the running backs?

by lee3022 on Feb 8, 2007 1:45 PM CST reply actions 0 recs