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By Todd Archer
IRVING, Texas -- The Cowboys will kick off their third week of player-run workouts today and DeMarcus Ware has seen a benefit of the sessions for the defense.
“It’s going really good,” Ware said. “It’s actually a lot better because there’s no pressure of the coaches telling you what to do. We’ve got a playbook. We’re all going off the sheet.”
Much has been made about how the Cowboys will be able to learn Rob Ryan’s defense without the benefit of Ryan in attendance because of the lockout. At the workouts, players like Ware, Bradie James and Keith Brooking have taken on coach-like responsibilities.
“We’re not going from a 4-3 [defense] to a 3-4,” Ware said. “It’s 3-4 to 3-4 with different terminology, with different positions but the principles are still the same. You’re just learning the terminology and communicating out there what to do, communicating the plays. If we mess up it’s not like someone’s on your back saying, ‘Get it right.’ It’s, ‘OK, let’s do it over again.’ We’re going at our own pace, which is good.”
Ware said Ryan’s defense is “a little bit like Pittsburgh, slash a little bit like Philly and a little bit of Green Bay.” Last year the defense was stale under Wade Phillips and the predictability led to offenses picking them apart.
“When I look at this, I’m like three different guys,” Ware said. “I can be a defensive end, a tackle, a standup outside linebacker. There’s a lot of movement. The thing is it’s not about which guy plays that position. It’s about everybody being in the right spot at the right time so things play out the right way.”
IRVING, Texas -- The Cowboys will kick off their third week of player-run workouts today and DeMarcus Ware has seen a benefit of the sessions for the defense.
“It’s going really good,” Ware said. “It’s actually a lot better because there’s no pressure of the coaches telling you what to do. We’ve got a playbook. We’re all going off the sheet.”
Much has been made about how the Cowboys will be able to learn Rob Ryan’s defense without the benefit of Ryan in attendance because of the lockout. At the workouts, players like Ware, Bradie James and Keith Brooking have taken on coach-like responsibilities.
“We’re not going from a 4-3 [defense] to a 3-4,” Ware said. “It’s 3-4 to 3-4 with different terminology, with different positions but the principles are still the same. You’re just learning the terminology and communicating out there what to do, communicating the plays. If we mess up it’s not like someone’s on your back saying, ‘Get it right.’ It’s, ‘OK, let’s do it over again.’ We’re going at our own pace, which is good.”
Ware said Ryan’s defense is “a little bit like Pittsburgh, slash a little bit like Philly and a little bit of Green Bay.” Last year the defense was stale under Wade Phillips and the predictability led to offenses picking them apart.
“When I look at this, I’m like three different guys,” Ware said. “I can be a defensive end, a tackle, a standup outside linebacker. There’s a lot of movement. The thing is it’s not about which guy plays that position. It’s about everybody being in the right spot at the right time so things play out the right way.”