Finally. Something to talk about.

Well, it has certainly been a quiet offseason for the Dallas Cowboys. Except for mindless speculation, there has been very little to talk about.

But now we have something to mention. A very bitter Cowboy is ready to vocalize his distaste for the management of the Dallas Cowboys.

On Wednesday July 8, 2009, Oakland Raider defensive end, Greg Ellis, vocalized his distaste for the way the things were handled in the Big D on the defensive side of the football.

He went on the Michael Irvin Show, which is a talk radio program featured on ESPN 103.3 and vented his feelings for the Dallas Cowboy staff.

He said “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, and you’re telling me we’re trying to win the Super Bowl?”

Now, in case you are wondering why a defensive end (Ellis) would replace an outside linebacker (Ware) on the field, well the answer is because Ellis was an outside linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys.

Greg Ellis was drafted with the 8th overall pick in 1998 and was a 4-3 defensive end.

Now, when Bill Parcells was hired to be the Head Coach for the Cowboys, one of the changes he brought to the team was a conversion from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

4-3 is four down linemen and three linebackers. The two outside linemen are the pass rushers.

in a 3-4, the defense features three bigger, much bigger, down linemen and four linebackers  of which the two outside gentlemen are the pass rushers.

Greg Ellis was told to change his stature (as in gain weight to be a bigger end) or change position to an outside linebacker.

DeMarcus Ware was drafted 11th overall in 2005 and is the quintessential outside linebacker who plays the runs and the pass at an elite level. I felt it was an absolute slap in the face that DeMarcus Ware, who had 20 sacks last season, did not get the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Greg Ellis also has an interesting history. He never made the Pro Bowl as a defensive end, but was a solid player.

However, he tears his Achilles tendon in 2006, and is out for the rest of the season. He comes back in 2007 and makes a comeback so fascinating that he wins the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

He posted 12 1/2 sacks and three forced fumbles in 13 games.

Yet, no matter how much one would think that he’d like his new success, he still is unhappy with the change of position and lack of playing time which led to his release.

The Cowboys had also drafted with 26th overall pick in 2007, Anthony Spencer, who was a pass rushing defensive end in college and converted him to an outside linebacker.

So, the Cowboys would be subbing Ellis a lot to give Spencer a chance to gain experience.

I also think that the Cowboys still did not want to risk Ellis’s old injury. I’m not a doctor, but if you busted something that fragile, then I don’t think you’re going to be able to bring it back to full strength.

Also, the guy was 33 years old and is turning 34 this August. Would you, if you were a General Manager, want to let your veterans take all the time away from young players who are trying to help out or make a name for themselves?

It would be one thing if Ellis is trying to build a Hall of Fame bust, but at his age and with his statistics (77 sacks, 4 interceptions, 377 tackles, and 2 touchdowns), there is a better chance that Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivankovic, and Anna Kournikova come to my front door tomorrow and offer me a full body massage.

Not that I wouldn’t welcome it, but you get the picture (hopefully the Ellis one).

Following Ellis’s interview, DeMarcus Ware made one of his own on Sirius Networks’s “Opening Drive” show the following day.

Now, remember. Ellis say Ware was trying to hide from the coaches, which I doubt, because when asked he replied, “You know, on the concept of hydration, I think I was probably going off the field maybe to get hydrated,” he said — and then laughed. “But I think that everybody at the end of the day got ample amount of time and I went back and looked at a lot of the things, and I, what, played in like 95 percent of the plays? And, you know, maybe sometimes guys rush better against certain guys, so I don’t know. I don’t know what the deal is, but at the end of the day, I did what I can do to help the team out last year.” (Cite: ESPN.com)

95% of the plays? When can he hide? Hello?

Maybe this is bitterness from Greg Ellis because he left his home of eleven years and had to go to the NFL’s gravesite known as the Oakland Raiders.

To go from a team that has a good chance of winning the Super Bowl to a team that is struggling at nearly every position is something no veteran without a ring wants.

Sorry, Greg. You wanted this, so you got it. Don’t go trying to stir something up. That just ruins the good memories you had with Dallas.