Sturm: The nonsense must end! Why are some Cowboys fans trying to chip away at DeMarcus Ware's amazing career?

Cotton

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By Bob Sturm, Special contributor

You know who you are. You know if this applies to you. If it doesn't, you know the guy who needs to read this. Make sure he gets the link this morning.

This nonsense must end. I know people say mean things when they feel cornered or hurt. I understand how we rationalize things in our head to morph into the truth -- even if it is nonsense. It is how we sleep through the night. It is how we cope. I get it. Nobody wants to follow the team that loses. Everyone wants to follow the champ.

In these parts, it has been over two decades of barren land since the dynasty. It has been a rough go of things and therefore, the Cowboys fan can act out in anger. They can play the blame game. That is actually a reasonable position if you want to direct it at the top. Incompetence has hurt this thing from the decision makers for far too long. Maybe they are figuring it out, but that doesn't erase 20-some seasons of poor work.

But, this goes out to all of you with tepid reviews of the work of DeMarcus Ware. I expect Cowboys fans to minimize the accomplishments of Eli Manning or Brian Dawkins or Aaron Rodgers or whatever rival you wish to argue about. But, Ware? How did Ware get on your bad side? He left? The Cowboys cut him, you might recall, after the 2013 season. He was owed a ton of money, the Cowboys low-balled him after another 8-8 season, and off he went to play for Denver. It worked out for him, but around here, there was a group of Cowboys fans who were pretty loudly chipping away at his legacy.

Actually, if memory serves, he was being minimized long before that. When he was still a Cowboy, I would hear from you who wondered what he had ever done. You know, besides being the best at his position in the entire league from 2005 until his career ended.

The Dude: Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

No. It isn't. That is a fact. He had 138.5 sacks over that run and nobody else was within 11. Jared Allen was at 127. Julius Peppers had 113.5 and Robert Mathis had 109 for the only players with 100. Ware was well above them all. And, no, there aren't too many Super Bowl rings there, right?

You know, because nobody ever said a defensive end was going to carry a team to a Super Bowl. They would do their part, but they aren't great at playing QB.

He won a Super Bowl. Had 2 sacks in Denver's win over Carolina. Also, not an opinion. Here they are:



And,



That capped off his career. And man, was it a good one. Unqualified greatness, right?

Wrong. The emails and tweets roll in from supposed Cowboys fans. The same who will defend Romo's career to the death, because, you know, he never had a great team around him. So, you can't ask Romo to put up team accomplishments. But, wow, those individual ones.

I'm sorry. What does that even mean? A QB isn't held responsible for Jerry's silliness, but a DE is?

Let's hear this obnoxious rationale.

"Well, Bob, he never got big sacks. He never did much in the 4th quarter."

Wrong.

DeMarcus Ware sacks by quarter: 1st Q - 34.5; 2nd Q - 40.5; 3rd Q - 25; 4th Q - 38.5. It appears he had quite a few sacks in the 4th quarter.

In fact, in Ware's career, no player in the sport had more sacks in the 4th quarter than DeMarcus Ware. In the entire sport.

But, yeah, keep telling yourself that he disappeared at the end of games.

"Well, Bob, his sacks were on early downs. Not the important ones."

Right. Well, you might have me on this one. Over his career on 3rd downs, he actually finished 2nd in the entire sport. 1 sack behind Elvis Dumervil on 3rd down, 52-51. 2nd in the NFL.
I suppose that will have to do.

The Dude: Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.


Not really. Ware needs nobody to defend him. But, in this day of the hot take and the undefended positions, someone must simply offer the eyeball test.

He was the greatest Cowboy I have ever covered and the greatest pass rusher of his generation. He is a 1st ballot hall of famer and most likely a rubber stamp ring-of-honor guy.

But, you keep telling yourself that he was "always injured".

Actually, he missed 3 starts as a Cowboy. Or, roughly, 40 fewer than Romo. He wasn't always injured. But, he played through a shoulder injury that caused most to declare he was finished - when he clearly was not.

Cap hell claimed a victim. And it was the greatest Cowboy since the Triplets.

The Dude: Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

Ok. That one really was just my opinion.



Kansas City tried to fool him on the bootleg. He wasn't having it.



Nobody closed down in the pocket like he did.



Have mercy on these poor Rams.



Think a good thought for Jake Long and his family after that.



And now a few from his first year in Denver. He had a hat-trick against the great Joe Staley. I much enjoyed them:



That wasn't the fake-spin move on Staley. Just the one that set it up. People forget he got a sack on that one, too.



There is the beauty. Wow. Watch it a dozen times.



And if you are going to get 2, you might as well get 3.

Forgive me if I sound defensive, but I have been around long enough to see people trash Alex Rodriguez, Derian Hatcher, and Steve Nash when they left. I have seen people rationalize nearly ever great athlete who has rolled through town as "not that great" when they left.

They all have their own stories and their own verdicts. I am not here to defend them.

And frankly, I never imagined we would live in a world where I would need to defend the greatest pass rusher of this generation.

But, here I am. He was best at getting to the QB in every category and every situation. And if there aren't enough "big" sacks in Dallas, it was because his organization betrayed him. You are smart enough to see that with the QB, but for some reason, a big group acts like Ware should have won more games by himself.

Don't turn on the diamond who was surrounded by the cow poo-poo. He was brilliant and deserves unanimous adoration among his home market.

Again, I realize it is only 5% of you that require this reminder, but there you go. I just spent the morning defending someone who needs no defense.

Unqualified greatness. What a career.
 

Cotton

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This was in response to Sturm tweeting out this article. I didn't realize this Twitter account belonged to [MENTION=22]Texas Ace[/MENTION].

 

townsend

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Yup. This is a great litmus test to see whether you're a critical fan or just a Debbie downer using the same thoughtless talking points you'd expect from a dumb homer complaining about an opposing team.
 

Texas Ace

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This was in response to Sturm tweeting out this article. I didn't realize this Twitter account belonged to [MENTION=22]Texas Ace[/MENTION].

Dude, I get it.

You disagree with the opinion I had of Ware. But it's 4 years old now.

How many times you gonna keep tagging me about it?

Isn't there a feel-good story you should be posting about while sharing your feelings on how it makes you emotional and how you're not sorry for it?
 

Cotton

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Dude, I get it.

You disagree with the opinion I had of Ware. But it's 4 years old now.

How many times you gonna keep tagging me about it?

Isn't there a feel-good story you should be posting about while sharing your feelings on how it makes you emotional and how you're not sorry for it?
:lol

I have only tagged you twice, and it's all in good fun. Get your panties straightened out.
 

Smitty

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It certainly did seem at times that Ware could never come up with game-changing plays when we needed them, compared to other defensive players you'd see on highlight reels around the league, but as the numbers point out here, that was largely coincidental, and was mostly a reflection on the defensive personnel and coaching in general rather than Ware specifically. He made way more than his share of plays -- it's just that someone else was always breaking instead of bending and these collapses rendered Ware's performance moot. A big sack on second down would be converted on third and long and we'd forget.

Wasted career here, sadly. All time great. If he had stayed healthy one more year he'd be top 5 all time in sacks. That one is gonna bug me for a while. He was like four away. So much more impressive to claim top 5.
 

skidadl

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Excellent player with supreme athletic ability. The only thing he was missing is a killer instinct. I'm not knocking him but if he had a little more anger he'd be one one of the best to ever play the game. Still, he was clearly one of the best to wear the star.
 

bbgun

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five years from now we're gonna see a similar gif-filled column on Romo
 

Cowboysrock55

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Wonderful player who gets dinged because the defenses he played on struggled. Players often get judged based on the success or failure of their side of the ball. Fair or not, that's why Ware doesn't always get the same love as other players.
 

Jiggyfly

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By Bob Sturm, Special contributor

[FONT=&]You know who you are. You know if this applies to you. If it doesn't, you know the guy who needs to read this. Make sure he gets the link this morning.

This nonsense must end. I know people say mean things when they feel cornered or hurt. I understand how we rationalize things in our head to morph into the truth -- even if it is nonsense. It is how we sleep through the night. It is how we cope. I get it. Nobody wants to follow the team that loses. Everyone wants to follow the champ.

In these parts, it has been over two decades of barren land since the dynasty. It has been a rough go of things and therefore, the Cowboys fan can act out in anger. They can play the blame game. That is actually a reasonable position if you want to direct it at the top. Incompetence has hurt this thing from the decision makers for far too long. Maybe they are figuring it out, but that doesn't erase 20-some seasons of poor work.

But, this goes out to all of you with tepid reviews of the work of DeMarcus Ware. I expect Cowboys fans to minimize the accomplishments of Eli Manning or Brian Dawkins or Aaron Rodgers or whatever rival you wish to argue about. But, Ware? How did Ware get on your bad side? He left? The Cowboys cut him, you might recall, after the 2013 season. He was owed a ton of money, the Cowboys low-balled him after another 8-8 season, and off he went to play for Denver. It worked out for him, but around here, there was a group of Cowboys fans who were pretty loudly chipping away at his legacy.

Actually, if memory serves, he was being minimized long before that. When he was still a Cowboy, I would hear from you who wondered what he had ever done. You know, besides being the best at his position in the entire league from 2005 until his career ended.

[FONT=&]The Dude: Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
[/FONT]

No. It isn't. That is a fact. He had 138.5 sacks over that run and nobody else was within 11. Jared Allen was at 127. Julius Peppers had 113.5 and Robert Mathis had 109 for the only players with 100. Ware was well above them all. And, no, there aren't too many Super Bowl rings there, right?

You know, because nobody ever said a defensive end was going to carry a team to a Super Bowl. They would do their part, but they aren't great at playing QB.

He won a Super Bowl. Had 2 sacks in Denver's win over Carolina. Also, not an opinion. Here they are:
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]And,
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]That capped off his career. And man, was it a good one. Unqualified greatness, right?

Wrong. The emails and tweets roll in from supposed Cowboys fans. The same who will defend Romo's career to the death, because, you know, he never had a great team around him. So, you can't ask Romo to put up team accomplishments. But, wow, those individual ones.

I'm sorry. What does that even mean? A QB isn't held responsible for Jerry's silliness, but a DE is?

Let's hear this obnoxious rationale.

"Well, Bob, he never got big sacks. He never did much in the 4th quarter."

Wrong.

DeMarcus Ware sacks by quarter: 1st Q - 34.5; 2nd Q - 40.5; 3rd Q - 25; 4th Q - 38.5. It appears he had quite a few sacks in the 4th quarter.

In fact, in Ware's career, no player in the sport had more sacks in the 4th quarter than DeMarcus Ware. In the entire sport.

But, yeah, keep telling yourself that he disappeared at the end of games.

"Well, Bob, his sacks were on early downs. Not the important ones."

Right. Well, you might have me on this one. Over his career on 3rd downs, he actually finished 2nd in the entire sport. 1 sack behind Elvis Dumervil on 3rd down, 52-51. 2nd in the NFL.
I suppose that will have to do.

[FONT=&]The Dude: Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.[/FONT]

[/FONT]

[FONT=&]Not really. Ware needs nobody to defend him. But, in this day of the hot take and the undefended positions, someone must simply offer the eyeball test.

He was the greatest Cowboy I have ever covered and the greatest pass rusher of his generation. He is a 1st ballot hall of famer and most likely a rubber stamp ring-of-honor guy.

But, you keep telling yourself that he was "always injured".

Actually, he missed 3 starts as a Cowboy. Or, roughly, 40 fewer than Romo. He wasn't always injured. But, he played through a shoulder injury that caused most to declare he was finished - when he clearly was not.

Cap hell claimed a victim. And it was the greatest Cowboy since the Triplets.

[FONT=&]The Dude: Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
[/FONT]
Ok. That one really was just my opinion.[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]Kansas City tried to fool him on the bootleg. He wasn't having it.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]Nobody closed down in the pocket like he did.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]Have mercy on these poor Rams.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]Think a good thought for Jake Long and his family after that.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]And now a few from his first year in Denver. He had a hat-trick against the great Joe Staley. I much enjoyed them:
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]That wasn't the fake-spin move on Staley. Just the one that set it up. People forget he got a sack on that one, too.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]There is the beauty. Wow. Watch it a dozen times.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]And if you are going to get 2, you might as well get 3.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&]Forgive me if I sound defensive, but I have been around long enough to see people trash Alex Rodriguez, Derian Hatcher, and Steve Nash when they left. I have seen people rationalize nearly ever great athlete who has rolled through town as "not that great" when they left.

They all have their own stories and their own verdicts. I am not here to defend them.

And frankly, I never imagined we would live in a world where I would need to defend the greatest pass rusher of this generation.

But, here I am. He was best at getting to the QB in every category and every situation. And if there aren't enough "big" sacks in Dallas, it was because his organization betrayed him. You are smart enough to see that with the QB, but for some reason, a big group acts like Ware should have won more games by himself.

Don't turn on the diamond who was surrounded by the cow poo-poo. He was brilliant and deserves unanimous adoration among his home market.

Again, I realize it is only 5% of you that require this reminder, but there you go. I just spent the morning defending someone who needs no defense.

Unqualified greatness. What a career.
[/FONT]
Texas Ace.

 

Simpleton

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17,412
five years from now we're gonna see a similar gif-filled column on Romo
Ware is a legit HOF'er, Romo isn't, and that would be the case if Ware had never won the Super Bowl in Denver.

He's a legit top 10-20 pass-rusher of all time, nobody would say Romo is a top 10-20 QB of all time.
 

bbgun

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Ware is a legit HOF'er, Romo isn't, and that would be the case if Ware had never won the Super Bowl in Denver.

He's a legit top 10-20 pass-rusher of all time, nobody would say Romo is a top 10-20 QB of all time.
not sure what the HOF has to do with it. not hard to find zealous fans who would extend the same "amazing career" compliment to Tony, and will start a countdown clock until he's inducted into the ROH.
 

townsend

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not sure what the HOF has to do with it. not hard to find zealous fans who would extend the same "amazing career" compliment to Tony, and will start a countdown clock until he's inducted into the ROH.
Tony did have an "amazing career" just not on the same level as Ware. Ware was the most prolific pass rusher of his era, by virtue of his production, Ware is on a very exclusive list of players, just a sack behind Jason Taylor, and a sack ahead of Richard Dent and John Randle. This is like Dirk's 30,000 points, no one accidentally gets in that club.

Romo was a QB that at times played at an elite level, but his production's probably going to end up just above, or just below Drew Bledsoe's and Carson Palmer's. Which is pretty amazing since they were both successful #1 overall picks, and he was undrafted, but definitely none of them will be getting HOF consideration.
 

ravidubey

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Ware is a legit HOF'er, Romo isn't, and that would be the case if Ware had never won the Super Bowl in Denver.
Though had Romo won a Superbowl, he probably would be a HOFer. He's hurt by having not played his first three seasons and having been injured, but statistically he's in the right zip code.
 

townsend

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Though had Romo won a Superbowl, he probably would be a HOFer. He's hurt by having not played his first three seasons and having been injured, but statistically he's in the right zip code.
I don't think a SB even puts him in the HOF, Kurt Warner got his ring, and appeared in two more SBs, and he's still a maybe.

Romo's closer to Carson Palmer, career-wise. I think he'd need a run similar to Manning's in Denver to get an outside shot.
 

ravidubey

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I don't think a SB even puts him in the HOF, Kurt Warner got his ring, and appeared in two more SBs, and he's still a maybe.

Romo's closer to Carson Palmer, career-wise. I think he'd need a run similar to Manning's in Denver to get an outside shot.
Romo's a much better passer than Palmer though I see your point. A lot would depend on the quality of the Superbowl winning season.
 

data

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This is considering Ware being used conservatively. Lined up in the same spot over and over, without much help scheme-wise. On the other hand, we'd see other teams' pass rushers somehow end up on a RB, off-balance blitz or coming from various spots.

Furthermore, Ware was a fantastic run-stopper, great at preventing the runner from getting around the edge. A more selfish Ware could've gotten more sacks if he wanted, but at the expense of more big running plays.

I think Ware could easily have 15 more sacks.
 
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