DeMarcus Ware

DeMarcus Ware

Ware against the Chiefs in a 2009 game.
No. 94     Dallas Cowboys
Outside linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: July 31, 1982 (1982-07-31) (age 29)
Place of birth: Auburn, Alabama
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Weight: 260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
College: Troy
NFL Draft: 2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11
Debuted in 2005 for the Dallas Cowboys
Career history
Dallas Cowboys (2005–present)
Career highlights and awards
5× Pro Bowl selection (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) 3× First Team All-Pro selection (2007, 2008, 2009) 2× Second Team All-Pro selection (2006, 2010) 2× NFL Sack Champion (2008, 2010) NFC Defensive Player of the Year (2008) NFL Alumni Pass Rusher of the Year (2008) 2007 All Iron Award Winner 2008 Galloping Gobbler Award Winner 2008 NFL Butkus Award winner NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2011
Tackles	451
Sacks	93.0
Interceptions	1
Stats at NFL.com

DeMarcus Ware (born July 31, 1982) is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys^[1] of the National Football League. He was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy University. In 2009, Ware was listed as the best 3-4 outside linebacker by Sporting News^[2] and has been described as "the most dynamic defender in the league right now" by ESPN.^[3]

Early years

Ware played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track as a youth. In football, as a senior, he won every game, was named the team Most Valuable Wide Receiver, team Most Valuable Linebacker, and the was awarded the team's Top Leadership honors. He finished his senior season with seven sacks and 55 total tackles (40 solo tackles, 15 assisted tackles).

Ware and current New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora attended Auburn High School, as well as former Washington Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington. Ware, along with fellow pro-mates, annually attends a celebrity basketball game held at his high school. The event was started by Marcus Washington.

College career

DeMarcus Ware attended Troy University and was a two time All-Sun Belt Conference selection. He and Osi Umenyiora of the New York Giants were teammates. As a senior he was the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year,^[4] and was a finalist for the Hendricks Award, which is given annually to the top defensive end in college football. In 2004, he led his team to its first-ever bowl appearance - Silicon Valley Football Classic.

He finished his college career with 27.5 sacks, 195 tackles (57 for losses), 74 quarterback hurries, ten forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and one interception. His 27.5 sacks rank second in school history for sacks in a career, and his 57 tackles for losses rank first in school history.

Professional career

2005 NFL Draft

A defensive end at Troy, Ware was considered a "tweener DE/OLB prospect" by most scouts.^[5] He was supposed to be a perfect fit as rush linebacker in 3-4 defense prior the 2005 NFL Draft ^[6] and was projected to go early in the second round of the draft by Sports Illustrated.^[7] Cowboys Owner/GM Jerry Jones decided to overrule then head coach Bill Parcells who wanted to select Marcus Spears (later drafted by Dallas at #20), and decided to draft Ware with the 11th overall pick.

Pre-draft measureables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 4 in	262 lb	4.56 s	1.62 s	2.70 s	4.07 s	6.83 s	38½ in	10 ft 7 in	27 rep	20
All values from NFL Combine.[8][9]

Ware also was credited with 625-pound bench press, a 755-pound squat and a 460-pound power clean.^[10]

2005 season

In his NFL debut against San Diego Chargers Ware posted three tackles, a tackle for a loss and a quarterback pressure. Cowboys won the game 28-24. In a match against San Francisco in Week 3 he recorded his first sack taking down Tim Rattay. After the month of October Ware earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month award after recording 16 tackles, three sacks and seven quarterback pressures to help Dallas go 3-2. In Week 16, Ware recorded three sacks and three forced fumbles in a match against the Carolina Panthers. For his performance in this week, Ware was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week and the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week. He also tied the Cowboys record for most sacks in a single game, held by Randy White. He finished with 58 total tackles, 14 tackles for losses and three forced fumbles. What's more, he also tied Greg Ellis with a team-best eight sacks. With this result Ware joined Jimmie Jones as the only rookies to lead or tie for the team lead in sacks.

2006 season

In 2006 Ware ended the regular season with a team high 11.5 sacks the most ever by a Cowboys linebacker, breaking Anthony Dickerson’s record of 10.5 from 1983. He added 73 tackles, a fumble recovery and interception, both returned for a touchdown. Ware was named a starter on the NFC Pro Bowl team and was also named Second-team All-Pro by The Associated Press. In Week 6 against division rival Eagles, Ware made a memorable moment with his 69 yard fumble return for his first NFL touchdown. He recorded his first career interception against Michael Vick in match against Atlanta Falcons and turned it for a 41-yard touchdown.

2007 season

Ware had a breakout in the 2007 season. The new Cowboys Head coach Wade Phillips had even gone so far as to call him the best outside linebacker in the league. Ware has become the second Cowboy ever to record at least 14 sacks in a season, since Jim Jeffcoat in 1986. Also led the team in quarterback pressures (27), tackles for losses (8) and forced fumbles (4) while finishing with 80 tackles. Ware made his second straight Pro Bowl along with 12 other teammates. He was also selected to the All-Pro team for the second straight year along with teammates Terrell Owens and Jason Witten.

2008 season

In the 2008 matchup against the St. Louis Rams, Ware tied the NFL record of former Denver Broncos linebacker Simon Fletcher for recording a sack in ten straight games.^[11] Ware was selected to his third consecutive Pro Bowl after pacing the league, establishing an official club record and tying Derrick Thomas for sixth in league history with 20.0 sacks. Ware ended the 2008 season with 84 tackles, 9.0 tackles for a loss, six forced fumbles and two passes defended. DeMarcus was named NFC Defensive Player of the Year by Kansas City Committee as well as NFL Alumni Pass Rusher of the Year. Ware also became the first recipient of the professional Butkus Award.^[12]

2009 season

In October, Ware signed a six-year, $78 million contract, putting him among the top five of highest paid defenders in the NFL. Two months later, Ware suffered a neck injury and was taken off the field by a cart while playing against the San Diego Chargers. The injury was diagnosed later as a sprained neck. He was taken to the hospital for further tests, and released the next day.^[13] He came back to play the very next week, against the then undefeated New Orleans Saints, and recorded two sack-fumbles including the one that ended the Saints' chances at a comeback. For this performance he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week. He made fourth consecutive nomination Pro Bowl as a starter in 2009 after leading the team with 11.0 sacks, a career-high 45 pressures and five forced fumbles. He was also named to the First All-Pro team.

2010 season

Ware recorded 15.5 sacks and led the NFL in that category for the second time in three seasons. He also made his fifth Pro Bowl and another All-Pro nomination.

2011 season

Through 9 games Ware has recorded 13.0 sacks, 36 tackles, a pass deflection and 2 forced fumbles. He is on pace to pass Michael Strahan's sack record of 22.5 sacks in a season. On October 30, 2011, Ware recorded a career high 4 sacks against the Philadelphia Eagles in a 34-7 loss. ^{[14] [15]}

NFL Stats

Regular season

Year	Team	Games	Starts	Tackles					Interceptions				Fumbles
				Comb	Total	Ast	TcklLoss	Sck	PDef	Int	Yds	TDs	FF	FR	Yds	TDs
2005	DAL	16	16	58	47	11	11	8.0	1	--	--	--	3	--	--	--
2006	DAL	16	16	71	57	14	5	11.5	5	1	41	1	5	1	69	1
2007	DAL	16	16	84	60	24	8	14.0	4	--	--	--	4	--	--	--
2008	DAL	16	16	84	69	15	27	20.0	2	--	--	--	6	1	--	--
2009	DAL	16	15	57	45	12	9	11.0	6	--	--	--	5	--	--	--
2010	DAL	16	16	66	56	10	19	15.5	1	--	--	--	2	2	22	1
2011	DAL	8	8	36	25	2	19	13.0	2	--	--	--	2	2	--	--
Career		104	103	454	366	86	79	93.0	19	1	41	1	27	4	91	2

Personal life

Ware married his high school sweetheart Taniqua Smith, a former Air Force member and the daughter of a police officer, in March 2005. After three difficult pregnancies—including the birth and death of a son, Omar, in 2006—they adopted their daughter Marley (b February 29, 2008) and their son Bryce .^[16] They planned to become a foster family as well as continue trying for a biological family,^[17] which they achieved with the birth of their son, DeMarcus, Jr., on November 20, 2010.

He graduated from Troy with a degree in business information systems, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college.^{[citation needed]}

He takes part in multiple charities.

Ware and his mother have appeared in Chunky Soup Commercials with LaDainian Tomlinson, Jonathan Vilma, Matt Hasselbeck, Maurice Jones-Drew and other prominent young players with their mothers.

References

1. ^ "DeMarcus Ware To Win 2010-11 NFL Sack Title". thelandryhat.com. 03 Jan 2010. http://thelandryhat.com/2011/01/02/demarcus-ware-to-win-2010-11-nfl-sack-title/. Retrieved 2011-01-17. "Cowboys Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware finished" 
2. ^ Outside linebacker rankings: Ware leads the 3-4 sack pack
3. ^ Ultimate Building Blocks: NFC East
4. ^ "Jamario Thomas named Sun Belt Player of the Year: Troy's Demarcus Ware named Defensive Player of the Year". http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22157&SPID=1808&DB_OEM_ID=4100&ATCLID=156318. 
5. ^ ESPN.com - NFL - NFL Draft '05 - Player: DeMarcus Ware
6. ^ Sports Illustrated: 2005 NFL Draft profile
7. ^ SI.com - 2005 NFL Draft - Demarcus Ware
8. ^ Brandt, Gil (2005-04-11). "Gil Brandt's NFL Draft Analysis By Position: Defensive Ends". Packers.com, NFL.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20080309015506/http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2005/04/11/2/. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
9. ^ Nawrocki, Nolan (April 4, 2005). "A true look at Wonderlic results". Pro Football Weeklywebsite. http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFLDraft/Draft+Insider/2005/Wonderlic.htm. Retrieved April 25, 2009. 
10. ^ "Demarcus Ware, OLB+DE, Troy State". USA Today. May 18, 2005. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/2005draft/Ware,Demarcus-OLB%2BDE-Troy%20State.htm. Retrieved April 27, 2009. 
11. ^ Wade Calls Cowboys LB Ware "Pretty Amazing"^{[dead link]}
12. ^ Archer, Todd (9 January 2009). "Dallas Cowboys' Ware wins Butkus Award". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110629101309/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/011009dnspocowlede.3381c08.html. 
13. ^ "DeMarcus Ware 'a lot better'; Cowboys won't rule out LB". USA Today. December 14, 2009. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/cowboys/2009-12-14-demarcus-ware_N.htm?csp=34. Retrieved May 1, 2010. 
14. ^ Ellis, Josh. "Ware's Big Day A Lone Bright Spot For Defense". DallasCowboys.com. DallasCowboys.com. http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/josh_ellis.cfm?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&userid=8ad9a5ae-68fd-47d1-a7d7-e4c8fcb84090&plckPostId=Blog%3a8ad9a5ae-68fd-47d1-a7d7-e4c8fcb84090Post%3aa53ff0c0-d86e-4aef-b21f-9a7e0dbd5645&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest. Retrieved 11-03-11. 
15. ^ NFL Game Summary. "NFL Game Summary - Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles". NFL.com. NFL.com. http://www.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/55278/PHI_Gamebook.pdf. Retrieved 11-03-11. 
16. ^ Bishop, Greg (2008-06-15). "Cowboys’ Ware Fulfills a Challenge for Fatherhood". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/sports/football/15ware.html. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
17. ^ E:60 10-13-09

External links

• Official Website
• Dallas Cowboys Bio