Jean Jacques Has All The Answers: Parcells still a hot topic

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07:28 PM CDT on Tuesday, July 24, 2007

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/nwsltr/sports/ivr/stories/072507dnspotaylor.26ec215.html

Bill Parcells was nowhere to be seen at the Cowboys' opening-of-training-camp news conference.

But there sure were a lot of questions about him.

Jerry Jones spent a good amount of his news conference talking about how much he respected Parcells. And how much he liked working with Parcells. And how much Parcells helped the organization.

Actually, it seemed a little over the top, but that's Jones' prerogative.

Parcells did fail in his quest to make the Cowboys an elite franchise again, but he brought some much-needed direction and discipline to the organization. And the Cowboys are better off than when he arrived.

The owner is grateful for that – as he should be – but it won't mean much unless the Cowboys take the next step and become a real contender in the NFC. We're about to find out if they can.

COWBOYS Q&A

Q: What's all this talk about Greg Ellis moving to DT to rush the passer? Why take one of your best DE pass rushers and possibly make him ineffective?

Michael Altman

TAYLOR: Actually, moving him to defensive tackle could make Ellis a more effective pass rusher. For the record, this is not a new concept. Here's why the Cowboys would do it: most guards are not above-average pass rushers, which is usually why they play guard. Most defensive ends are above-average pass rushers, which is why they play on the perimeter. So it would reason that if you could match up a defensive end against a guard, then you would expect the defensive end to have an advantage as a pass rusher over the course of a game.

Q: Suppose the Cowboys get the second pick in the draft (from Cleveland). I'd like to see them keep that pick and use their second first-round pick and another premium pick to move up and obtain two impact players. Does "cost" prohibit that?

Scott Euart, Lake Tahoe

TAYLOR: Scott, this is really too much of a hypothetical situation to answer, but I'll talk about it in generalities. No, cost would not prohibit the Cowboys from signing two top-round draft choices if Jerry though those players were the difference between winning and losing a championship. In the right situation, I could see Dallas making that type of move, but let's get through this season first before we start speculating on the draft.

•••

Q: Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't all this Roy Williams closer to the line of scrimmage stuff just another way of saying "Putting eight men in the box?" Don't teams normally put eight men in the box to stop the run anyway?

Bernard Henry

TAYLOR: Yes and no. Yes, moving Williams to the line of scrimmage is another way of saying Dallas is going to use a lot of eight-man fronts. No, teams don't always do it. Some teams try to play the run with seven defenders and use their safeties in pass defense. That's what the Cowboys did last year. That's what teams like Tampa Bay, Chicago and Indianapolis do because they prefer to use their safeties in pass defense.

•••

Q: It would appear the Cowboys' offensive line last year can be summed up in one word – inconsistent. Does the '07 version of the offensive line have what it takes to perform consistently for both the running and passing games on a weekly basis?

Brett James, Commack, N.Y.

TAYLOR: I think so, but we won't know until the games start. Despite its flaws, the Cowboys' offensive line helped Dallas rank among the top five in scoring. And you would think Leonard Davis represents an upgrade over Marco Rivera.

•••

Q: It's not just the players that are happy Parcells is gone – remember Jerry Jones' quote about "not having to walk on eggshells" anymore?

JD Johnson, Bowie, Md.

TAYLOR: Parcells, like many head coaches, was a little moody, and that made it difficult to be around him sometimes. Obviously, he wasn't any fun to be around when the team lost. Here's the deal: with Parcells around, there was always a lot of tension in the air.

•••

Q: Are the players diplomatically saying Parcells held this team back? And if that's the case, why don't they just come out and say it?

Glenn Guillory

TAYLOR: For one, I don't think every player is saying that. For another, the players are trying to be respectful of Parcells. I don't think they want to just come right out and rip the guy.

•••

Q: Do you see the elements of team chemistry building up among the players on this team? As fans, can we expect and hope that the Cowboys will work as a team in all three aspects of the game and improve as the season progresses?

N. T. Umamaheswaran, Washington, D.C.

TAYLOR: You build chemistry when you win. It's that simple. If this team wins, especially early, then it will build on that and gain momentum for the season. If it doesn't, then it will struggle to find a rhythm.

•••

Q: With the signing of Ken Hamlin and with Anthony Henry and Keith Davis being able to play safety as well in case of injuries, I wonder what will happen to Pat Watkins. Do you think he will be able to make the team, or will he be released?

Markus Milius, Heppenheim, Germany

TAYLOR: I assume Watkins will make the team, if for no other reason than he's supposed to be a really good special teams player. If he performs well during the preseason, then he'll make the team. If he doesn't, then he'll be on the bubble. It's all about performance.

•••

Q: Analyst after analyst keeps saying the Cowboys season hinges on how well Tony Romo sits to pee performs, which is true. But they are not taking it a step further like they should. Romo sits to pee's success depends to a large degree on the success of the running game. If we can finally get a consistent running attack, success for Romo sits to pee sure would be easier to attain.

Eddie Arnold

TAYLOR: Let's be real. The quarterback gets an inordinate amount of credit and blame. No question Romo sits to pee must play well. He will be a big factor in whether the Cowboys win or lose games. The season does hinge, in a large part, on how well he plays. There's no way around that. Of course, it's like that for every starting quarterback in the league.

•••

Q: Do you think the Cowboys will re-sign your favorite player, Patrick Crayton? I think he will be gone after this year with the emergence of Miles Austin, Sam Hurd and Isaiah Stanback.

TAYLOR: I think so, but I don't think it's at the top of their priority list. They want to see how the team and Crayton perform this season.

[bedlamVR]

I think the more interesting one is the thought of moving Ellis to DT... I am assuming they meen in 4-3 sets because I really cannot see Ellis being effective as an NT or happy in that role.

I also love his reasoning ... you put your second best outside pass rusher inside becasue DEs are better rushing the passer than DTs and OG are not as good pass blockers as OTs so you give an advantage to the DE .... okay lets forget for a moment DEs are more effective at rushing the passer because they have much more space or the fact they often go up against a OT on an island and DTs often are double or tripple teamed and work in much more confined spaces ... Lets also forget that the average OG is about 20-30lbs bigger than an OT (around 310-340lbs) and DE's especially pass rushing DE tend to be in the 250-270lb range...

...appart form all that then, yes it is a great idea...more DEs in the interior of the defensive line....I'm all for it

[IrishOrange15]

I think the more interesting one is the thought of moving Ellis to DT... I am assuming they meen in 4-3 sets because I really cannot see Ellis being effective as an NT or happy in that role.

It would probably be in the nickel or dime packages. Ellis has done that with Parcells and Campo on occasion and wasn't bad at it, but since they didn't have any other pass rusher behind him they usually kept him on the outside.

I also love his reasoning ... you put your second best outside pass rusher inside becasue DEs are better rushing the passer than DTs and OG are not as good pass blockers as OTs so you give an advantage to the DE .... okay lets forget for a moment DEs are more effective at rushing the passer because they have much more space or the fact they often go up against a OT on an island and DTs often are double or tripple teamed and work in much more confined spaces ... Lets also forget that the average OG is about 20-30lbs bigger than an OT (around 310-340lbs) and DE's especially pass rushing DE tend to be in the 250-270lb range...

True, but generally a solid pass rushing DE is going to be better at getting at the QB than a DT regardless of where they line up. Plus you can also run stunts and zone blitzes more efficiently. It's a pass situation defense, so you really want to get the best pass rushers and best cover players on field at once.

The only problem I have with it is that I believe Ellis is best when he gets about 60% of the snaps instead of 90%+ of the snaps. Plus I like Ratliff and Hatcher on the interior on passing downs as well.

YAKUZA