The Cowboys must have had one of their sponsors - Miller Lite - in the house today as Wade made a few jokes about them and beer.
We’re getting ready for practice in a little bit so I’m asking you to take it light on me today. That’s a little Miller humor there.
Bobby Carpenter, where do you see him playing this year?
First, were looking at him if for some reason Ellis can’t play or play early. We need another LB there, he’s played it before, and now that he’s worked inside a lot we think he can go back outside some. He’ll work both spots in the upcoming game, we’ll rotate him like the regular season in this game.
What about Junior Glymph?
He’s coming along, but right now Ware and Spencer are the two strongest OLB’s, and I think Bobby would be third.
Terry Glenn expectations for the year?
He’s an outstanding player, sometimes you don’t hear about him because of the guy on the other side, but he just quietly makes plays and yards, He has not come back on the field yet, there’s some rumor that he re-injured the knee, but he didn’t. He should be ready after the Minn game, and he should have a great year, he’s great at getting in and out of cuts. Not many receivers are that good.
Rotation at NT for the game?
We’ll play Jay Ratliff some at nose this week, we feel confident with him in there. Jason will start at NT, then Jay will get in. It will be a little different because he will stunt and move more. We’ll rotate him in with the 1st team some.
Predictions and comparisons for Ware?
I’m not in the prediction business, you guys are, but he’s an outstanding player, as good as I’ve hade. No comparison to any certain guy. He has outstanding quickness and he’s relentless. Besides ability you have to have that inner-pride that you won’t be blocked. I think he’ll pressure the QB a lot. It’s not only about sacks, but the pressure that creates bad passes is important. (Merriman comparison in sacks?) Merriman had 17 sacks in 12 games. Bryce Paup had 17 and was Defensive Player of the Year when I had him, guys like Bruce Smith , Reggie White, I’ve had quite a few with a lot of sacks.
(ed-note: How lame is the press? When are they going to stop asking Phillips to compare Ware to Merriman?)
Texans offense?
Any time you play a team with their WR speed, it’s a challenge, we don’t want to give up big plays. Against Ariz. they scored their most points ever in the preseason, so it’s a good challenge for our defense. See how we match up against that speed.
Relationship with Brian Stewart?
He’s the guy I wanted to follow me here, help me coach the defense. He does most of it, he’s really sharp, gets along with the players, an outstanding person. We got close working together, got close off the field. We have different background, and that interests me, I grew up in small-town Texas, he grew up in LA. The differences brought us together, we talk about those things. He’s not the same personality as me, a little more outward with the players, but my wife is a different personality than me, and I love her to death.
Weight loss of the players part of your plan?
That was part of the Joe Jaruszek program, I’m glad he stayed with us. He did a great job of letting them know what I wanted. We set a weight on them, all came in under weight.
Crayton?
I asked Patrick yesterday how come every time they called a play he was wide open. He’s run several routes where he just lost the defender or made him fall down. He’s made big plays, he’s versatile, he’s smart, and he can play the slot and go outside or go over the middle. The rest of the guys started laughing when I asked him about always being open, Julius asked him why, too. Some guys are just like that, Pat just seems to find an open area.
Your 3-4 compared to other 3-4’s?
Besides being better. (laughter) All kinds of defenses can be successful. I think the way we do it gives the players a chance to do what they do best, we adjust to the players using different techniques in the system. But it always comes down to the the players, but you utilize their best attributes in the defense. A lot of teams play the 3-4 one way and they plug in a player to play in that system. In ours we change things for the players, stunting, moving them, rushing passer, etc.
What’s your definition of a blitz?
Blitz definitions are different, in a 3-4 you only have 3-down linemen, so you always rush a 4th, a linebacker, and some call that a blitz. Dan Reeves called any LB rushing a blitz. If that’s true, then we blitz coming out of the dressing room. To me, a blitz is a bring-the-house thing, like a safety blitz, we don’t do that much. We stunt with guys who can do that, move players who can move well.