Greg Ellis knew he wasn’t suited to play defensive end in a 3-4 front. Bill Parcells seemed to think the same thing, so he moved Ellis to outside linebacker.
Safe to say Ellis is a good fit at the spot. Despite missing the first three games, Ellis has a career-best 12 sacks — five more than his previous best in 2001 and one shy of team leader DeMarcus Ware.
“He may have been leading the league in sacks if he’d played the first three games,’’ Dallas coach Wade Phillips said of Ellis. “He’s an outstanding player and a really good pass rusher.”
At 280 pounds, Ellis would be considered small for a 3-4 end. Which is why Parcells moved him.
Ellis, the eighth overall pick in 1998, missed the final seven games last season with a torn Achilles, which kept him out this summer as well. During training camp, while still sidelined, he discussed retirement. Shortly after that topic arose, the Cowboys gave him a new contract.
“Because of the injury and to have played only about a season at linebacker, people might be like, ‘Maybe he can go out there and make a couple of plays, but he probably won’t have it yet.’ Thank God I do,” Ellis told Dallas reporters earlier this month.
