<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>OXNARD, Calif. — In his 10 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Pro Bowl left tackle Flozell Adams has faced such speedy pass rushers as Dwight Freeney, Jason Taylor and Julius Peppers. But nobody, Adams says, compares with the guy he faces in practice. “DeMarcus Ware,” Adams said, “is in a league of his own.” Ware, who turns 26 today, could soon have another exclusive distinction. With the linebacker's contract set to expire after the 2010 season, it's possible he could become the league's highest-paid defensive player, a title Freeney currently holds. Last July, the Indianapolis Colts defensive end bagged a six-year, $72 million deal that included a whopping $30 million signing bonus. Given that Ware has amassed 331/2 sacks in three seasons, including a career-high 14 last season, it's no stretch to imagine the Troy University alumnus receiving an even richer deal from the Cowboys. In comparison, Freeney had 40 sacks in his first three years from 2002-04. But Ware makes it clear that he's in no hurry to have his agent bargain with the Cowboys, who either re-signed or gave extensions to several of its Pro Bowl players during the offseason. Ware's base salary this season is $725,000. He's scheduled to make $1.05 million in 2009 and $1.425 million in 2010. “When you talk about contract stuff and all that, I put that on the back burner,” Ware said. “Right now, we're trying to get to the Super Bowl. (An extension) is the last thing I need to be worried about.” The people that do need to worry are the offensive tackles charged with stopping Ware. “His speed is off the charts,” Adams said. “He's the fastest in the game.” Ware, who led the team in quarterback pressures last season with 27, is so fast, officials sometimes whistle him for being offside only to discover they were wrong upon viewing video. “He had three sacks and three big plays last season where he was called offside and wasn't offside,” Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. “I think with more recognition, they'll realize how quick he is off the ball.” The last time secondary coach Dave Campo was around an edge rusher as fast and quick as Ware was in 1996, when defensive end Charles Haley was completing a brilliant five-year run with the Cowboys that included Super Bowl victories after the 1992, 1993 and 1995 seasons. “Haley is the closest to Ware, but I think Ware is a better athlete,” said Campo, the Cowboys' secondary coach for Haley's first four seasons and defensive coordinator for his last. “The kid has a chance to be a great one.” That's what then-Cowboys coach Bill Parcells thought in 2005 when the team drafted Ware 11th overall out of Troy. Shortly after the selection, Parcells compared Ware to New York Giants Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor. “It was a great pick for Dallas, and I'm glad they got him because now I've got him,” Phillips said. “He can do it all. He's got tremendous speed, great quickness, and he's relentless.” Make that relentless against both the pass and the run. “He is hard to block, and you can't keep him blocked,” Phillips said. But what Phillips and his teammates like most about Ware is his humble nature. “He's trying to get better all the time,” Phillips said. “The great ones are like that. (Adulation) doesn't get to them. They feel like they can get better all the time, and he seems that way. And he'll come off the field smiling every once in a while and say, ‘Coach, I think I messed up that play.' I'll say, ‘Well, you didn't mess up too bad. You made the play.'” Said Adams: “Every year, he's getting better, and it's not just about the numbers. He can get 15 sacks, 20 sacks or 12 sacks. It doesn't matter. The thing is he's just developing as a player, getting better, more well rounded.” Considering that Ware has improved each season, Phillips says he wouldn't be surprised if the Alabama native is named the league's defensive player of the year. With that award would come superstar status. “Superstar? I don't know about all that,” Ware said. “I'm just a player like everybody else.” He might have a tough time convincing opposing offensive tackles of that one.</div> The scary part is.... I think Spencer was better against the run last year than Ware was his rookie year. And I think Spencer might have been better in coverage his rookie year than Ware was his rookie year. I am not saying this because I think Spencer will end up being better than Ware....he won't. But I am saying this because it shows you how bright Spencer's future could potentially be, too. Spencer doesn't have the athleticism of Ware nor the body lean Ware has when he rushes the passer. Ware's is rediculous. Like Derrick Thomas rediculous in his ability to turn that corner. I don't think Spencer has that. But Ellis doesn't either. And he managed 12.5 sacks last season.
