Anthony Spencer's replacement

[Crown Royal]

My hope is that with the coverage improving this year and our front applying slightly more pressure, that he will be appreciated for his service. He is not as dominant a passrusher as another player may be, but everything else you need an SOLB to do he is dominant in. The Giants simply could NOT run at him on Wednesday, and there were a few times where his short zone coverage made Eli look the other way.

 

[Ultimategamer5567]

He's never played 3-4 OLB in this league. i don't see the point and getting rid of Spencer for someone who isn't as good agains the run or coverage and doesn't rush the passer either.

Doesn't rush the passer? Lol, he had 11.0 sacks last year.

 

[erod]

You're going to get rid of another 2nd rounder?

Spencer was a first rounder.

You could always franchise him again. Just let it play out.

 

[JBell]

My hope is that with the coverage improving this year and our front applying slightly more pressure, that he will be appreciated for his service. He is not as dominant a passrusher as another player may be, but everything else you need an SOLB to do he is dominant in. The Giants simply could NOT run at him on Wednesday, and there were a few times where his short zone coverage made Eli look the other way.

This is why Wilbur was drafted. He's not the pass rusher we've all been wanting opposite of Ware, but the Cowboys think he has the skillset to develop into a all-around LB like Spencer.

 

[Hoofbite]

Spencer was a first rounder.

You could always franchise him again. Just let it play out.

Nope.

Only 1 time now, IIRC.

That's why Vincent Jackson hit the market.

That's also why the decision to franchise him this year was awful. Aside form the fact that he's not worth it, they can't do anything at this point but outbid or watch him walk.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Who is going to replace Spencer? Who will be the OLB that will match the caliber of Spencer?

 

[Crown Royal]

Nope.

Only 1 time now, IIRC.

That's why Vincent Jackson hit the market.

That's also why the decision to franchise him this year was awful. Aside form the fact that he's not worth it, they can't do anything at this point but outbid or watch him walk.

Why is he not worth it?

 

[Joshmil53]

Why is he not worth it?

You don't pay $9m to a guy like him. More in the 4-6 range.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

You don't pay $9m to a guy like him. More in the 4-6 range.

True, but NFL players get over paid all the time. Spencer is a solid player and if we have to overpay slightly than I think we'll do it.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

He's too much of a longshot to depend on.

I think we use our 1st rounder on a OLB if we move on from Spencer.

Since when is our Front Office averse to longshots? Heck, they're drawn to longshots like moths to a flame :

 

[Crown Royal]

You don't pay $9m to a guy like him. More in the 4-6 range.

I don't think there was a 4-6 million dollar option that gives us what we get, we had the cap space, so why pinch pennies?

 

[Joshmil53]

I don't think there was a 4-6 million dollar option that gives us what we get, we had the cap space, so why pinch pennies?

What...?

 

[Crown Royal]

What...?

If we don't franchise spencer, who was the replacement?

 

[BAT]

Butler gets one last audition this season and Wilbur will be given a shot. But Spencer's replacement is not currently on the roster IMO.

Cowboys will be drafting that player in the next draft:

FSU's Werner & Jenkins
LSU's Mingo & Montgomery
VT's Gayle
Georgia's Jones
Auburn's Lemonier
Oregon's Jordan
Texas A&M's Porter
Texas' Okafor & Jeffcoat (maybe more suited to 4-3 end)
MSU's Gholston
USC's Kennard

2013 draft is deep in pass rushing OLB candidates.

 

[4lifecowboy]

Hopefully Wilbur.

He is flying under the radar right now cause we only seen him in limited play, but i like you believe we already have Spencer's replacement.

 

[Biggems]

You're going to get rid of another 2nd rounder?

If it improves the team, yes.

Besides, our staff has a knack for filling the roster with UDFAs. To be honest, our UDFAs seem to do better than our 2nd round picks.

But, if you don't want to spend the 2nd, there will be other OLBs later in the 1st, like Alex Okafor.

I do agree with one of the other posters that said to give Wilbur a shot. I mean we drafted him to be an OLB, might as well give him a chance to earn a roster spot.

Also, I would like to give Baratka Adkins another look. I definitely liked what I saw of him in the preseason. I would also like to see Lemon get a chance.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

If we don't franchise spencer, who was the replacement?

Victor Butler who was outstanding in pre-season, but he's always been good in pre-season. Regular season a different story. I have zero issue with franchising Spencer. If we didn't our defense would be much weaker than it is now.

 

[Hoofbite]

Why is he not worth it?

Pay a guy Top 5 money when he clearly isn't Top 5.

That's kind of the definition of "not worth it".

 

[perrykemp]

I've heard some rumblings about Cliff Avril as a possibility.

Thoughts?

Avril would be awesome but I don't see the Cowboys spending $20m a year on the combined salaries of the two starting OLBs -- that would represent 1/6th of the cap all by itself.

 

[Hoofbite]

If we don't franchise spencer, who was the replacement?

Could have signed a stop gap to provide the run support and rotate guys for pass rushing. Next offseason they're back at square 1 so who's gonna replace him then? Can't identify someone so I guess Dallas will have to just hand him a blank check.

That's nonsense.

Jarrett Johnson moved from Baltimore to San Diego. He's played both OLB positions and DE. Sure, he's old but we're not talking about needing a long term solution if the alternative is in 2013 Dallas is looking for a guy anyway.

Kamerion Wimbley would have been more than a stop gap.

There were a few others with experience in the 3-4. Or Dallas could have looked for a guy who many not have experience in the 3-4 but is active enough to make the transition. Greg Ellis played how many years at DE before switching over to OLB?

Or how about the draft?

Justin Houston was a 3rd rounder in 2011.

Sam Acho was a 4th rounder in 2011.

It's not impossible to find guys. Sure, the later rounds are a little hit or miss but that's why people are on the payroll.


Or, maybe. Just maybe they show the same amount of confidence in developing an OLB, either from within or from another team, as they do in developing Gs and C.


The ultimate trade off is they could have used the saved money elsewhere.