jday
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In recollecting the season, my initial thoughts were Anthony Spencer has not proven he is worthy of a starting role and that maybe we should retain the services of Greg Ellis and draft another mid-round prospect at OLB as insurance. However, after reading this, much of his lack in the stats were due to the way the Cowboys used him, the limited amount of downs he was afforded, the injuries he suffered, and the lingering effects of said injuries.
Name: Anthony Spencer
Position: Outside Linebacker
Height/Weight: 6-3, 255
Experience: Two seasons
College: Purdue
Key stat: In the final two games of the season, playing starter minutes even though he didn't start, Spencer put up his best numbers of the year, recording nine tackles in each game. Against Baltimore, Spencer at nine tackles while playing 53 of the 66 plays in the game. Against Philadelphia, he matched his career high of nine tackles again, this time taking part in 39 of 58 plays, a highly productive performance considering he made one tackle every 4.3 plays.
Contract Status: Signed through 2011.
2008 Impact: Was coming on strong in training camp before undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to remove a bone chip, which cost him the final two preseason games along with the season opener. Worse, the injury became a trend with Spencer just unable to stay healthy. A knee problem would knock him out of Game 2 and caused him to miss Game 3. And just when he started getting back in the swing of things, he left Game 6 with a hamstring injury, which cost him Game 7, too. If not for the injuries, he might have wrestled the starting job away from Greg Ellis, who slowly was being turned into a nickel pass-rusher. Even though he had to battle through all these injuries, Spencer did record 59 tackles to finish eighth on the team, two more than Ellis.
Where He Fits: It's time for Spencer to break through and win the starting strong outside linebacker spot. He began showing signs of becoming a better player against the run, and is much more athletic than Ellis when forced into coverage on the outside. Spencer does have a burst off the edge when rushing the quarterback, and if he had stayed healthy, the Cowboys might have been able to get Ellis and Spencer on the field at the same time in some of their change-up packages.
Writers' Analysis
Mickey Spagnola: Really needs to stay healthy this year, and there is nothing wrong with Spencer becoming the starter and Ellis becoming the situational pass-rusher. While outside linebackers in the 3-4 defense seem to be judged by sacks, Spencer is becoming a valuable run stopper, which is highly important playing on the strong side, where offenses tend to run more. Would really like to see the Cowboys employ their sort of bunched defensive formation in some passing situations, like they did Spencer's rookie year, keeping offenses guessing where he and Ellis were going to line up. It's time for Spencer to play like a first-round pick, which would aid this team becoming younger. Josh Ellis: After battling through a couple injuries during the first part of the season, Spencer's strength against the run earned him a spot in the base defense, and while he wasn't the official starter and often came off the field in passing situations, he was a valuable contributor. Just 1½ sacks sounds disappointing for a former first-round pick, and in a way the Cowboys might have expected more production, but Spencer had more coverage responsibilities than DeMarcus Ware on the other side of the defense. The coaches raved about Spencer's off-season improvements at training camp last summer, and it would certainly help the defense if he could continue to progress. It seems the 25-year-old still has a lot of untapped potential.
Name: Anthony Spencer
Position: Outside Linebacker
Height/Weight: 6-3, 255
Experience: Two seasons
College: Purdue
Key stat: In the final two games of the season, playing starter minutes even though he didn't start, Spencer put up his best numbers of the year, recording nine tackles in each game. Against Baltimore, Spencer at nine tackles while playing 53 of the 66 plays in the game. Against Philadelphia, he matched his career high of nine tackles again, this time taking part in 39 of 58 plays, a highly productive performance considering he made one tackle every 4.3 plays.
Contract Status: Signed through 2011.
2008 Impact: Was coming on strong in training camp before undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to remove a bone chip, which cost him the final two preseason games along with the season opener. Worse, the injury became a trend with Spencer just unable to stay healthy. A knee problem would knock him out of Game 2 and caused him to miss Game 3. And just when he started getting back in the swing of things, he left Game 6 with a hamstring injury, which cost him Game 7, too. If not for the injuries, he might have wrestled the starting job away from Greg Ellis, who slowly was being turned into a nickel pass-rusher. Even though he had to battle through all these injuries, Spencer did record 59 tackles to finish eighth on the team, two more than Ellis.
Where He Fits: It's time for Spencer to break through and win the starting strong outside linebacker spot. He began showing signs of becoming a better player against the run, and is much more athletic than Ellis when forced into coverage on the outside. Spencer does have a burst off the edge when rushing the quarterback, and if he had stayed healthy, the Cowboys might have been able to get Ellis and Spencer on the field at the same time in some of their change-up packages.
Writers' Analysis
Mickey Spagnola: Really needs to stay healthy this year, and there is nothing wrong with Spencer becoming the starter and Ellis becoming the situational pass-rusher. While outside linebackers in the 3-4 defense seem to be judged by sacks, Spencer is becoming a valuable run stopper, which is highly important playing on the strong side, where offenses tend to run more. Would really like to see the Cowboys employ their sort of bunched defensive formation in some passing situations, like they did Spencer's rookie year, keeping offenses guessing where he and Ellis were going to line up. It's time for Spencer to play like a first-round pick, which would aid this team becoming younger. Josh Ellis: After battling through a couple injuries during the first part of the season, Spencer's strength against the run earned him a spot in the base defense, and while he wasn't the official starter and often came off the field in passing situations, he was a valuable contributor. Just 1½ sacks sounds disappointing for a former first-round pick, and in a way the Cowboys might have expected more production, but Spencer had more coverage responsibilities than DeMarcus Ware on the other side of the defense. The coaches raved about Spencer's off-season improvements at training camp last summer, and it would certainly help the defense if he could continue to progress. It seems the 25-year-old still has a lot of untapped potential.
