Wary of trying to be like Ware? Nope

The name DeMarcus keeps popping up these days around the Georgia football team complex. And not just in relation to defensive end Demarcus Dobbs.

It’s DeMarcus Ware who’s on the lips of a lot of defensive players, especially the outside linebackers. Not surprising, since the NFL Pro Bowler flourished in the 3-4 system of the Dallas Cowboys, and Todd Grantham is installing that system at Georgia.

Darryl Gamble has been watching a lot of Ware film, as he tries to pick up the new system. He loves the increased freedom: Gamble said he will go from blitzing three or four times a game to maybe two in a set of downs.

Justin Houston, slated to go at the other outside linebacker spot, has also taken in a lot of that film.

“He’s always watching that DeMarcus Ware film in there, getting tips and everything off that,” said Dobbs, a defensive end. “I think all them guys at outside linebacker, including Darry Gamble moving from inside linebacker to outside, they have a slight swagger about themselves.”

But with all this excitement over trying to be like Ware – who had 11 sacks last year – you might wonder whether there could be a drawback.

Not according to Grantham.

He was asked earlier this week if there was any danger in the players trying to emulate Ware, who after all is bigger, faster and more talented than them, as well as arguably anybody else in the pros.

“Naw, if they can play that good we’ll all be better,” Grantham said with a wide grin.

Then he turned serious. The reason he feels so comfortable using Ware as an example is that Ware – along with his Cowboy teammates – ran the system right, and didn’t just rely on their superior talent.

“We’ve got it broken down where they kind of watching their technique, here’s how the guy did it,” Grantham said. “You can watch a guy who’s a pro bowl player, you know playing with technique. To me, that’s something there. You’re talking about a guy who’s one of the highest-paid players in the National Football League, and you see him in drills, or you see him on tape doing it, then I should do it that way too. So from that aspect of it I think it’s a good thing.”