Cowboys Corner

Jones again spells out benefit of Garrett as overseer head coach and not play-caller

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones continues to sell the idea of head coach Jason Garrett as an overseer head coach, and he said it is not a lack of confidence in Garrett’s play-calling that is driving the potential move.

“It has more to do with the positives that go with it, which everybody recognizes, that if you have more time to not be the busiest man in the whole organization – the offensive play-caller – if you have more time to move around on every aspect of the team, early in the week, in the middle of the week and during game-day, there’ll be a tremendous benefit from that,” Jones said in a video posted Thursday on DallasCowboys.com.

Neither Jones nor Garrett have said that the play-calling duties have moved to someone else, but Jones continued to talk openly about the benefits of the move and repeated the idea that it is Garrett behind the move.

“As for being the play-caller for the last six years, it was me that said, ‘Boy, I’d prefer it being the head coach that’s doing the offensive play-calling,’ ” Jones said. “To the extent that he decides that he’d rather do it another way is not a takeaway.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

DeMarcus Ware may need elbow surgery, ready to "roll with the punches" in new role

Cowboys DeMarcus Ware is wearing a sling on his surgically repaired right shoulder, and he said Thursday it appears he will have to have a minor procedure on his elbow.

"Just to get the bone fragments cleaned up," Ware said from radio row at the Super Bowl, where he is making the rounds.

Ware was slowed by several injuries this season, the biggest being the injuries to his right arm. He hyperextended his right elbow in a December game against the Bengals and later injured his shoulder against the Saints. The torn posterior labrum was repaired Jan. 10.

He wore a brace on his elbow and a harness to protect his shoulder, and he admits the injuries prevented him from performing the way he is accustomed. Ware had only 1.5 sacks the last six games to finish with 11.5. He did make his seventh Pro Bowl but did not play in the all-star game last weekend.

Ware said he hoped to be back for organized team activities, but it is more likely he won't be cleared until training camp.

"You never know," Ware said. "It's all up to their discretion."

Ware will have a new defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, who is installing the 4-3 defense. That means Ware will have his hand on the ground instead of rushing as a stand-up outside linebacker, where he made 111 sacks in his first eight seasons since the Cowboys made him a first-round pick.

"I think just in general a lot of changes are going on," Ware said. "You never know what's best for the team. You've just got to roll with the punches."

-- Charean Williams

Ravens defensive coordinator says they underestimated the Cowboys' run game in Week 6

The Cowboys ran for the fewest yards in a 16-game season in their history, averaging 79.1 yards per game. Imagine if they hadn't played Baltimore.

In a Week 6 game against the Ravens, Dallas gained 481 yards, including 227 rushing yards. It was 17.9 percent of the Cowboys' total rushing yards for the season. DeMarco Murray ran for 93 yards on 14 carries before injuring his foot. Felix Jones had 92 yards on 18 carries before he, too, was sidelined. Phillip Tanner added 31 yards on nine carries, and Lance Dunbar's first career carry went for 11 yards.

Though Baltimore won 31-29, it was the most rushing yards the Ravens have surrendered in their history.

“We kind of got caught in that [Dallas] game a little bit,” Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. “We may have underestimated their running game, too. We didn’t play it particularly well. We didn’t coach it very well. After that game, we said, ‘Look, we’ve got a couple of guys out. How are we going to do this? What can these guys do? Let’s put them in the best possible position. Let’s not make a guy do something he can’t do.’ If a guy can’t blitz, he can’t blitz. If he’s not a great coverage guy, then don’t put him on their No. 1 tight end. Things like that, we really had to sit down as a staff and say, ‘We can’t just go out there and call defenses and expect them to work. We need to fine tune this a little more.’”

-- Charean Williams

Cowboys announce hiring of Rich Bisaccia as special teams coach; Garrett: 'His enthusiasm and passion are infectious'

The Cowboys announced the hiring on Wednesday of veteran NFL and college assistant Rich Bisaccia as special teams coach.

With the Cowboys, Bisaccia rejoins defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. They worked together from 2002 to 2008 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bisaccia’s hiring brings the Cowboys closer to completing their staff. They still need to hire a running backs coach and a tight ends coach.

“Rich has been among the top special teams coordinators in the NFL for the last decade,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said in a statement released by the team. “He combines a tremendous amount of expertise to go along with outstanding teaching ability. His enthusiasm and passion for the game are infectious, and his units play with a relentless spirit that we believe is so important.

“I have had a chance to be around him and see first-hand how significant his impact can be in such a critical part of the game. We're fortunate to be able to add him to our staff.”

The Cowboys lost their special teams coach from last year when Joe DeCamillis took the same position with the Chicago Bears.

Bisaccia, 52, is a native of Yonkers, N.Y., who began his coaching career in 1983 at Wayne State after playing defensive back at Yankton College in South Dakota.

He coached 19 years as an assistant in college, with stops in South Carolina, Clemson and Mississippi. He coached special teams at all of the SEC stops, along with tight ends, receivers and defensive ends.

In the NFL, the 2009 Buccaneers led the NFL with six blocked kicks and 26.3 yards per kickoff return. They were also second in fewest average kickoff return yards allowed.

Bisaccia was the Bucs’ special teams coach when they won Super Bowl XXXVII 10 years ago. In Tampa, Bisaccia’s units produced three Pro Bowl players, 13 NFC player of the week winners and four NFC player of the month winners.

Bisaccia left Tampa in 2009 to become special teams coach with the San Diego Chargers.

– Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

 

Running back Lonyae Miller says Ravens have better chemistry, atmosphere than Cowboys

Running back Lonyae Miller joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2010 as an undrafted free agent. He spent most of the season on the Cowboys' practice squad before being called up late in the year to the active roster.

He went into training camp in 2011 with a chance to be the third running back behind Felix Jones and DeMarco Murray. Some even thought he was a better fit that Jones as the time. But he was surpassed in camp by Phillip Tanner and released.

He spent time with the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks in the time before landing on the Ravens' practice squad this past season, putting him in New Orleans for Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

Asked to compare the Ravens to the Cowboys, Miller didn’t hesitate in saying they have better team chemistry and a better atmosphere.

“It’s a different atmosphere,” Miller said. “A different group of guys. The team chemistry here is a lot different. They laugh, they joke. It’s a relaxed environment. But what I like is they are all about business here. You have your fun, you do your thing, but when it's time to buckle up and strap up and play ball, they know how to turn it up.”

Miller said the atmosphere was more uptight in Dallas; he sometimes felt as if he were walking on egg shells.

But in Baltimore, “it’s a different culture. It allows guy to relax and not be so uptight. To be yourself and allow your personality to come through.”

“Things didn’t work out like I thought they would in Dallas,” Miller said.  “I’m just blessed to have the opportunity to be in Baltimore and at the Super Bowl. I’m excited.”

 Clarence Hill

Adrian Hamilton blessed to be in Super Bowl after being "wrongly" cut by the Cowboys

Linebacker Adrian Hamilton lived a dream last summer when he was signed by his hometown Cowboys as an undrafted free agent from Prairie View A&M.

The Dallas Carter product was impressive as a pass rusher but didn’t impress the Cowboys enough on special teams and was cut after training camp.

He landed on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad and is now getting ready to play in the Super Bowl after being signed to the active roster late in the season.

“Them cutting me might have been one of the best decisions ever,” Hamilton said. “It has me in the Super Bowl.  I left Dallas with a hunger to show them that I was better than they thought I was. They thought I wasn’t that good on special teams so my biggest point was to show the world I could play special teams.”

Hamilton had three tackles on special teams in his first game with the Ravens and believes the Cowboys mistook over work in practice for a lack of ability on special teams.

He said an injury to Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware in camp had him doing all of his reps as well as his own reps, impacting his ability have a burst every day in special teams drills.

“He was hurt so I was doing his job too,” Hamilton said. “I was dead.”

But Hamilton has no regrets, calling his super situation a blessing because he gets to learn from future Hall of Famers like Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed.

Clarence Hill 

 

Leonard Davis still has love for the Cowboys, just wishes he could have gotten here with them

Leonard Davis remembers his four years with the Cowboys fondly, though perhaps not as fondly as his one year spent in San Francisco.

“It’s always been a dream, not only to play in the NFL but play and win a Super Bowl,” Davis, a guard for the 49ers, said Tuesday at media day. “I know some guys it takes a little longer. Some guys never make it. They play this long but they never make it. …I’m grateful for this opportunity to play and have a chance to be world champions.”

The University of Texas product started 64 possible games for the Cowboys from 2007-2010. Though they went 39-25 in his time in Dallas, the Cowboys were only 1-2 in two playoff appearances.

“I feel like we could have done more,” Davis said. “I think I feel like that all the time. There are always areas of improvement. I have a lot of fond memories there. I made a lot of friends. Just the time there, I built up a lot of relationships with coaches and players and even staff. We had a lot of fun. The only thing is not winning when we had opportunities. I think that’s any team when you really feel like you had a chance to do something and come up short. You can become disappointed. Sometimes it can grind at you. But you’ve got to move on.”

The Cowboys released Davis after the lockout in 2011 in a cost-cutting move. He spent part of last season with the Lions before signing a one-year deal with the 49ers for 2012.

The 12-year veteran did not start a game this season, but he played 141 plays, including 10 in the postseason.

-- Charean Williams

Cowboys' Garrett hits No. 1 on inaugural list of Coaches Hot Seat rankings, NFL edition

The folks at CoachesHotSeat.com, who have been ranking the most embattled college football coaches on a daily basis for years, have branched out to the NFL. And their inaugural list of most embattled NFL coaches, released today, has Dallas Cowboys' coach Jason Garrett at the top of the list.

For fans who have watched owner Jerry Jones follow through on his vow to make things "uncomfortable" at Valley Ranch in efforts to spur improvement from a team that has finished 8-8 under Garrett the past two seasons, this probably comes as no surprise. Garrett has seen Jones initiate multiple staff changes since the season ended with a loss in Washington that clinched a third consecutive season without a playoff berth.

But the rankings make it offical.  Also on the list: Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen, a former Texas A&M and L.D. Bell player, at No. 5. The top seven on the list, in order:

1. Jason Garrett, Dallas

2. Rex Ryan, NY Jets

3. Jim Schwartz, Detroit

4. Ron Rivera, Carolina

5. Dennis Allen, Oakland

6. Mike Munchak, Tennessee,

7. Joe Philbin, Miami

The link to the site:

 

http://coacheshotseat.com/NFL/

_ Jimmy Burch

Statement from Calvin Hill of the Cowboys on the arrest of Jay Ratliff

The Cowboys released a statement today about the arrest of nose guard Jay Ratliff last week on suspicion of DWI. It came from Calvin Hill of the team’s player development program.

Here is the text of the statement:

 

“Having recently experienced the most tragic of circumstances regarding this issue, we, as an organization, understand the ultimate consequences of driving while impaired.

 We know that one incident is too many. 

 The critical goal is to effect the decision making process in the hours before the wrong decision is made.

 Our player assistance programs in the areas of preventing incidents such as these are at the highest level in professional sports, but we are always looking to do better and for ways to improve.  We will continue to draw upon the best expertise and resources available, both internally and from outside the organization, to work toward being the best in the areas of education, prevention, and effecting the right decisions.   

 We have been in communication with Jay Ratliff regarding this incident, and we will monitor the legal process and work within the NFL guidelines for player behavior moving forward.”

Cowboys release statement regarding Ratliff arrest

The Cowboys released the following statement today following the news that nose tackle Jay Ratliff's blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit when he was arrested last week in Grapevine. Ratliff's arrest came less than two months after the tragic death of linebacker Jerry Brown and teammate Josh Brent facing intoxication manslaughter charges. Brent was also more than twice the legal limit. Having recently experienced the most tragic of circumstances regarding this issue, we, as an organization, understand the ultimate consequences of driving while impaired. Here is the statement from Calvin Hill, head of the team's player programs department.   "We know that one incident is too many.    The critical goal is to effect the decision making process in the hours before the wrong decision is made.   Our player assistance programs in the areas of preventing incidents such as these are at the highest level in professional sports, but we are always looking to do better and for ways to improve.  We will continue to draw upon the best expertise and resources available, both internally and from outside the organization, to work toward being the best in the areas of education, prevention, and effecting the right decisions.      We have been in communication with Jay Ratliff regarding this incident, and we will monitor the legal process and work within the NFL guidelines for player behavior moving forward."   Clarence Hill