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Why Cowboys DC Rod Marinelli is now praising DE Ryan Russell a year after often yelling at him
By Brandon George , Staff Writer
IRVING - Throughout training camp last year, it wasn't hard to spot Dallas Cowboys defensive end Ryan Russell. All you had to do was listen for defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli's voice.
Russell's first NFL training camp wasn't much fun for the Carrollton Creekview product. Marinelli was often right in his ear, yelling at him after each mistake.
Russell, a fifth-round pick last year out of Purdue, didn't have a memorable rookie season. He appeared in only one game and had one tackle. An abdomen injury eventually led to him being placed on injured reserve.
But with looming four-game suspensions for Cowboys defensive ends Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence to start the season, Russell is expected to contribute much more in his second NFL season. In fact, Russell has been getting a majority of the first-team repetitions at left defensive end throughout the first two weeks of organized team activities while Lawrence continues to recover from offseason back surgery.
"I feel like a completely different player and person physically but mostly mentally as well," Russell said after Wednesday's practice at Valley Ranch.
"We don't have any pads on right now but things are going good for me. I'm glad I have an opportunity to show what I can do."
Marinelli said he's given Russell several first-team reps to evaluate him more against the Cowboys' starting offensive line.
"He's always had the movement," Marinelli said. "I just see some maturity in him right now. He's handling it. But this is non-pads. We'll make a decision in camp. I like what he's doing."
Russell said he practiced at both right and left end last season. But this year, he's primarily just been on the left side. He said he believes that's the best fit for his skill set.
And, Russell credits Marinelli for his improvement.
"I love Coach Marinelli, definitely. He gets the best out of me," Russell said. "He was hard on me last year, but it's all coming together this year especially. I feel like a completely different player. I listen to everything he has to say whether he's yelling at me or just talking to me one on one, it's always valuable information."
Russell said it wasn't easy last season often being the target of Marinelli's screams.
"At first, just because you're coming from college and being a younger person, you don't know really how to separate it because now it's business and they want the best out of you, they want to win," Russell said. "No one is trying to hurt you or pull you down or not want you to be the best that you're capable of being, so once you understand that - and the vets are definitely a big help on that, too, because everyone has gone through it. If you're here in this locker room it's because someone was hard on you, someone saw something in you, so just kind of realizing that and talking with some of the older guys helped."
But is Marinelli even harder on Russell in Year 2?
"No," he said, laughing. "Not harder. I don't think it's possible to get harder on me than he was last season. He's pulled back a little bit.
"When you get yelled at, obviously you're doing something wrong so you've got to fix it. The fact that he's yelling at me a little less means I'm doing something a little better."
By Brandon George , Staff Writer
IRVING - Throughout training camp last year, it wasn't hard to spot Dallas Cowboys defensive end Ryan Russell. All you had to do was listen for defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli's voice.
Russell's first NFL training camp wasn't much fun for the Carrollton Creekview product. Marinelli was often right in his ear, yelling at him after each mistake.
Russell, a fifth-round pick last year out of Purdue, didn't have a memorable rookie season. He appeared in only one game and had one tackle. An abdomen injury eventually led to him being placed on injured reserve.
But with looming four-game suspensions for Cowboys defensive ends Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence to start the season, Russell is expected to contribute much more in his second NFL season. In fact, Russell has been getting a majority of the first-team repetitions at left defensive end throughout the first two weeks of organized team activities while Lawrence continues to recover from offseason back surgery.
"I feel like a completely different player and person physically but mostly mentally as well," Russell said after Wednesday's practice at Valley Ranch.
"We don't have any pads on right now but things are going good for me. I'm glad I have an opportunity to show what I can do."
Marinelli said he's given Russell several first-team reps to evaluate him more against the Cowboys' starting offensive line.
"He's always had the movement," Marinelli said. "I just see some maturity in him right now. He's handling it. But this is non-pads. We'll make a decision in camp. I like what he's doing."
Russell said he practiced at both right and left end last season. But this year, he's primarily just been on the left side. He said he believes that's the best fit for his skill set.
And, Russell credits Marinelli for his improvement.
"I love Coach Marinelli, definitely. He gets the best out of me," Russell said. "He was hard on me last year, but it's all coming together this year especially. I feel like a completely different player. I listen to everything he has to say whether he's yelling at me or just talking to me one on one, it's always valuable information."
Russell said it wasn't easy last season often being the target of Marinelli's screams.
"At first, just because you're coming from college and being a younger person, you don't know really how to separate it because now it's business and they want the best out of you, they want to win," Russell said. "No one is trying to hurt you or pull you down or not want you to be the best that you're capable of being, so once you understand that - and the vets are definitely a big help on that, too, because everyone has gone through it. If you're here in this locker room it's because someone was hard on you, someone saw something in you, so just kind of realizing that and talking with some of the older guys helped."
But is Marinelli even harder on Russell in Year 2?
"No," he said, laughing. "Not harder. I don't think it's possible to get harder on me than he was last season. He's pulled back a little bit.
"When you get yelled at, obviously you're doing something wrong so you've got to fix it. The fact that he's yelling at me a little less means I'm doing something a little better."
