[Cowboys] DeMarcus Ware Pulled Himself So Greg Ellis Could Play?

Greg Ellis went on Michael Irvin's ESPN 103.3 radio show today and claimed that Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware would take himself out of games to force the coaches to put Ellis on the field. "It's a disgrace when DeMarcus Ware comes off the field just so I can get in the game and when the coaches tell him to come on the field, he tries to hide so I can play," Ellis said. "And you're telling me we're trying to win the Super Bowl?" Irvin asked Ellis for clarification: "You said DeMarcus Ware was trying to come off the field so you can get you on the field?" Ellis: "Yeah." Irvin: "On his own?" Ellis: "On his own. He would say, 'G, come on.' And I would tell him, 'No, DeMarcus, go ahead, man. You're coming up on your contract year. Don't mess that stuff up. Go ahead and do you, and we're just going to do what the coaches, or whoever the powers that be, what they want to do.'"

Source: Dallas Morning News

[MediaGuy]

Another Cowboy Soap Opera. Sigh.

[MikeTSZ]

IF any of this is true, which I doubt completly, DeMarcus is a fool. Sure, friendship is great, but you're the fucking leader of the defense and you need to be out there. You dont need to be worrying about getting an aged LB some playing time

[SoDev]

Fuck, that's nasty... hope it's not true. Why would Ellis say this, or better yet why would he lie about it?

I wonder if we will hear from Ware soon... if not it's true.

[Jihad Joe]

Taken from another source....

Originally Posted by AdamJT13
With the help of Pro Football Focus' play-by-play participation charts (which aren't 100 percent accurate and include some non-official plays, but are a good starting point), I think I've identified the 29 plays Ware missed last season. Other than a few last-play-of-the-game plays, I've confirmed most of them by looking at my game tapes.

Ware missed one play when he was shaken up in the first Redskins game (checked for concussion), three plays when he was shaken up against the Giants (stinger) and the last 13 defensive plays after hurting his knee against Seattle. That leaves 12 plays when he could have been on the field but was not. They are --

One play in Game 2 against Philadelphia -- With 3:39 left in the second quarter, Ware was replaced by Burnett in the dime defense. Ellis was already on the field and stayed on the field.

Five plays in Game 3 against Green Bay -- With a 27-9 lead and 3:43 left in the game, Ware was replaced by Hatcher for four plays in the dime defense. Ellis was already on the field and stayed on the field. On the last play of the game, Ware was replaced by Hatcher. Ellis was already on the field and stayed on the field.

One play in Game 5 against Cincinnati -- On the last play of the game, Ware was replaced by Spencer. Ellis was already on the field and stayed on the field.

Two plays in Game 11 against San Francisco -- On the third and fourth plays of the game, Ware was replaced by Spencer. Ellis was already on the field and stayed on the field.

Three plays in Game 14 against New York -- With 7:50 left in the third quarter, Ware came out for two plays and was replaced by Ellis on second and third downs. When the next possession started, they both were on the field. And on the last play of the game, Ware was replaced by Spencer. Ellis was already on the field and stayed on the field.


So when, exactly, could Ware possibly have been "hiding" from the coaches in order to get Ellis playing time?

Ellis is full of shit here

[Harvs01]

Nice research JJ, thats good stuff

[Omen]

yup nice research Ellis still bitter like he was every season for the last yras

[SoDev]

>Here< is the audio. That interview is long and deep on the Cowboys last year.

[s]If AdamJT13's research is correct, wow Ellis is a super douche.[/s] You know, Ellis can be telling the truth and the research could be correct. All he said was it happened. He didn't say how often, and he said he turned down Ware, so it's not like Ware was taking off lots of time each game. Blown out of proportion.

[The Manster]

I do not care what some of you HATERS say I bet there were a lot of times during the Preseason that Ware did not want to go out there so Ellis could.