Spencer Franchised under Linebacker tag...*Merge*

[TheMarathonContinues]

Alot of people said this exact same thing about Doug Free. And that we 'had' to keep him because we had no one else on the roster.

Re-signing Doug Free was the right move. No one could've known his career would go downhill like it has. Its easy to say that in hindsight but a left tackle in his mid 20's who's playing at a high level? You can't let that walk.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I for one think it's a shrewd move in that nobody the Cowboys have drafted can take his place, and the move to 4-3 is going to require some personnel that are somewhat familiar with the scheme. Spencer was a 4-3 end in college. Play him or trade him, he's too good an asset to let walk away.

I agree. I hope he's on this team next year but if he isn't then atleast we can get something for him if possible.

With Felix, Jenkins and Spencer we potentially could've let 3 1st round picks play and two of them have made the Pro Bowl....

 

[AbeBeta]

Re-signing Doug Free was the right move. No one could've known his career would go downhill like it has. Its easy to say that in hindsight but a left tackle in his mid 20's who's playing at a high level? You can't let that walk.

And it wasn't just us pursuing him

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

And it wasn't just us pursuing him

No it wasn't. I remember the Eagirls were high on him and gave him a offer. Not sure how true that was or if it was a rumor. Had we not re-signed him someone else would've and probably for more money than we did. For a left tackle Free's contract was very friendly.

 

[Doomsday101]

I'm being sarcastic. Spencer has been an outstanding run stopper. Best on the team and one of the better in the league.

I agree. I think this past season with more chances to rush the passer and not dropping as often into coverage he did a good job. Now in the 4-3 he will not be dropping back into coverage very often. Unless you are running a zone blitz. My hope is they are able to come up with a multi year deal and remove the tag.

 

[silver]

Do we franchise Spencer if we stayed in a 3-4? I think the answer is still yes. Stephen Jones said our biggest need on defense was safety, so tagging Spencer must have been decided before.

 

[Nightman]

I agree. I hope he's on this team next year but if he isn't then atleast we can get something for him if possible.

With Felix, Jenkins and Spencer we potentially could've let 3 1st round picks play and two of them have made the Pro Bowl....

People love to throw bust around, but we got significant contributions from Felix, Jenkins, Spears and Spencer. You can't re-sign everyone and if you can draft their replacements the cycle of low cost regulars keeps going. The key is drafting better to avoid the true high round busts.

 

[ThrowuptheXDez88]

I am happy about Spencer returning.. There would've been no guarantee that we would've been able to sign a quality player in FA & it puts a band-aid on the DE position for at least a year, so we will be able to concentrate on DT/OG/S/RB & RT unless they believe in the Parnell project. I do hope we stay away from a long term deal as he will be 30 next year.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Spencer, Ratliff, Hatcher and Ware when their first responsibility is to rush the passer.... Sounds good to me.

Yeah. Can't wait for more 8-8 seasons.

 

[reddyuta]

Can we now trade him for a pick? I think we can get a 4th rd pick for him.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

People love to throw bust around, but we got significant contributions from Felix, Jenkins, Spears and Spencer. You can't re-sign everyone and if you can draft their replacements the cycle of low cost regulars keeps going. The key is drafting better to avoid the true high round busts.

Yea I don't pay those guys any mind. Cowboys got solid value from Spencer, Felix and Jenkins....with Spears....they didn't get the disrupting force on the lien I believe they hope they'd get but they got a solid vet who gave them some good years at his position. Cowboys for the most part have been good in the 1st round of their drafts. Only bust in recent memory is Barbie carpenter. And trust if you look at most other teams haven't had nearly the success we've had in the 1st round.

 

[Nightman]

Can we now trade him for a pick? I think we can get a 4th rd pick for him.

A few teams are switching to the 3-4 this year and OLBs are hard to find. Spencer could probably command a 2nd if they can't work out an extension.

 

[ThreeandOut]

Well this tells me we are going full blown Tampa-2, forget about that Seattle D rumor. We're sacrificing size for speed up front, and that will hopefully create some TFLs, but it also means we better be damn good tacklers in the secondary because this scheme is about getting upfield with the D-Line and by nature it opens up wider running lanes.

Think the Colts D-Line under Tony Dungy.

This.

The Cowboys are a dome team. They are going to build a very fast defense to play on that fast surface.

 

[Sean50Lee]

I hope we can get a 2nd round pick for him.

 

[Oh_Canada]

People love to throw bust around, but we got significant contributions from Felix, Jenkins, Spears and Spencer. You can't re-sign everyone and if you can draft their replacements the cycle of low cost regulars keeps going. The key is drafting better to avoid the true high round busts.

Problem with the 'Boys drafts of (2007-2009) was they didn't find any difference makers more than it was a issue with total busts. Rarely does any team have a draft where every player drafted play a significant amount of NFL snaps like the Cowboys draft of '08. Problem is none of those guys are big time players...maybe a healthy Jenkins could have been a perennial pro-bowler but his shoulders prevented him from reaching his potential.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Love this move.

 

[burmafrd]

I hope they trade him; but if we can get a halfway decent long term deal that is not too high then maybe it will not be so bad.

Sad they do not have the guts to take a chance with a DE when they were quite willing to use JAGs to protect their QB.

 

[Roadtrip635]

I like the franchise tag for Spencer. He's been a very solid player and it gives us time to either work out a favorable long term deal or let his play in his new position as DE, dictate if we want to work out a long term deal the following season.

The tag makes sense, we don't need to create another position we need to fill. It's easy to say, we can just draft another DE, but we just don't have enough draft picks to fill our current needs. We need help at OG, RT, S, RB, prospect QB, back up DT... and honestly it is tough to find quality players in the draft past the 5th rd. It happens, that you find those late round gems from time to time, but more often than not they are JAGs, roster filler or special teams filler. At worst the franchise tag on Spencer gives us a quality player while we solidify our other needs and at best he builds on last season's performance and become a pass rushing beast.

 

[Dhragon]

Wonder if he'll fight the tag as a LB instead of DE. Loses some good money on that.

 

[AsthmaField]

Very good move. He fits perfectly at an impact position in Kiffin's defense.

Had he hit free agency everyone would have seen how much he is worth. He woulda made a ton.