Ellis: Ware Hid From Coaches to Help Me

Posted Jul 09, 2009 10:01PM By JJ Cooper (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Cowboys

I just got finished re-reading Boys Will Be Boys, Jeff Pearlman's book that does an excellent job of spelling out just how insane the 1990s Cowboys were off the field. Cocaine, hookers and haircuts that turned into bloody fights were all just part of the day in the life of the Cowboys.

Apparently the 2000s Cowboys are just crazy on the field. While Terrell Owens was getting upset about Tony Romo throwing too much to Jason Witten, apparently on the other side of the ball, DeMarcus Ware was hiding from coaches so that his backup Greg Ellis could get some playing time.
That's what Ellis, who is now a Raider, told Michael Irvin's radio show.

It's a disgrace when DeMarcus Ware comes off the field just so I can get in the game and when the coaches tell him to come on the field, he tries to hide so I can play," said Ellis. "And you're telling me we're trying to win the Super Bowl?"

Ware didn't sit out too many plays, so it's hard to say whether Ellis' claims are true or not. But when asked about it Ware would neither confirm it or shoot it down. As Matt Moseley points out at ESPN.com's NFC East blog, Ware has no reason to confirm it if it's true -- it just would get him in trouble with the coaches. And he has no reason to deny it to make Ellis look bad. So he just talked about how he sometimes needed to be hydrated.

But it is fair to say that this is yet another example of the kind of drama that the Cowboys are trying to avoid. They failed to do so in 2008, will it be different in 2009?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-10-2009 @ 9:16AM

tipcpup01 said...

That doesn't make much sense. They played different positions. Ellis was a strong side (Sam) linebacker, and his main duties were taking on the tight end and stuffing the run. Ware is the weak side (Will) linebacker who was a pass rush specialist and worried about backside containment. They were both starters, and each had their own backups (Kevin Burnett and Anthony Spencer, respectively). Very very different positions in a 3-4.

Ellis just likes to b*tch and moan. He did it every offseason in Dallas, about money, about his starting position, blah blah blah. Every year he made bank, and raked up plenty of sacks. And then he'd whine again the next offseason. He's getting old, and he got cut to make way for the young, well paid, former first round pick (Spencer). Welcome to the NFL.

Good riddance, Greg.

7-10-2009 @ 11:16AM

imsoyou said...

Hey... relax.. Greg was a valuable asset to the Cowboys and a great teammate. I love how your trying to contradict a starter for the NFL/Dallas Cowboys for the last 10 years. Thanks for the lesson about a 3-4 defense now go back to your mail room job jerk-off!!