I almost spit my coffee out on the keyboard this morning when I read the latest episode of Greg Ellis whining. He’s accepted the reality that Spencer is here, so now we’re back to money. He wants a contract extension, or renegotiation, or something. How about a bus ticket out of town?
"A contract extension says you are our guy and we want you here," Ellis said. "It sets it straight with that guy. It sets it straight with the media. It sets it straight with everybody. I haven't talked to Jerry about it, and I am not going to. But it's understood, and Jerry knows it. I think Jerry should do something."
I’ve almost gotten to the point where I could care less about Ellis being on the team. Not really - he’s a good player, and we need pass rushers, so I would like to see him healthy and playing for us in 2007. But come on Greg, this latest request is just a case of talking to be talking, because there’s no way the Cowboys are going to do anything with your contract.
Greg, you’re going to be 32 years old this season, you’re coming off a major injury, your team just drafted your eventual replacement, and you’re signed through 2009 at very reasonable rates. So you tell me, is there any conceivable scenario where the Cowboys do anything to your contract? Besides ending it?
If you read the rest of the article, you’ll discover that Ellis is upset because of the contract he signed back in 2003. OK, that’s your right to think you’re underpaid. But Ellis somehow tries to lay the blame at the feet of Jerry Jones, Bill Parcells and the Cowboys organization. They asked him to be a "team guy" and that unbelievable pressure made Ellis sign the contract. What a load. Ellis signed it, he could have tested the free agent market, but chose not to do that. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t be a "team guy" when you sign it, like your doing the Cowboys a favor, then later say you’re underpaid and that the Cowboys somehow "owe" you more money now.
This is the NFL, as you age, teams start looking for replacements. But Ellis is holding onto some sense of entitlement. He thinks his long tenure with the Cowboys, his good guy image and solid work ethic somehow insulate him from the natural processes that occur in professional football. Players age, coaches change, schemes change – it is a fundamental truth. Also fundamental to the NFL is that teams will try to sign you at the lowest possible number, that's what they do. It's your job, and your agents job to counter that.
At some point, you just aren’t as valuable to a team as you were previously. Ellis is reaching that point with the Cowboys.
"I'm not saying let me go, but they can make a 100 percent commitment to all three guys -- me, Ware and Spencer," Ellis said. "It's a commitment problem. I think Jerry should do something."
Jerry might do something, and I doubt it’s going to be what you want. Because if Jerry gives you a big contract extension, he will have a commitment problem – as in Jerry being committed to the funny farm.
JJT does some Q&A and takes some shots at Bill. Hey, everybody’s doing it. It’s the latest fad at Valley Ranch.