Star Mag - Marcus Spears: Big, Athletic

[Eskimo]

Spears is probably our most underrated player (with Kosier a close second). He does a good job holding up at the point of attack and sniffs the QB once in awhile. He is not a star but he is a good rotation guy to have. I wouldn't pay the moon to keep him but I would try to re-sign him when his contract expires to a 3 or 4 year deal.

 

[dcfanatic]

Last offseason his mouth wrote checks his _ _ _ could not cash as far what he was now going to be able to do in Wade's 34 defense.

This is the reason people aren't big fans of Spears, me included.

He needs to make a few big plays when the team needs a few big plays. Showing up in the first quarter and then being invisible for the rest of the game will not get him a second contract in Dallas.

He is also fighting the uphill battle of always being compared to his counterpart at DE who was a 4th round pick. So far the 4th rounder has been a more consistent player.

 

[TheCount]

See we didn't need Bennett, we already had a great 2nd tight end on the roster!

 

[Sarge]

If you mean sacks, it'll never happen. He's never been a passrusher. Not in college. And certainly not now.

Sacks perhaps not, but keep in mind, he didn't even play on defense full time his freshman year and over the span of really 3.5 years if you will, he had 19 sacks, 34.5 tackles for loss and 60 QB presssures.

The sack numbers may not be overwhelming but he was in the backfield ALL THE TIME in college...he is not even close to producing these numbers now, or playing at that level IMO/FWIW......

 

[Eskimo]

Last offseason his mouth wrote checks his _ _ _ could not cash as far what he was now going to be able to do in Wade's 34 defense.

This is the reason people aren't big fans of Spears, me included.

He needs to make a few big plays when the team needs a few big plays. Showing up in the first quarter and then being invisible for the rest of the game will not get him a second contract in Dallas.

He is also fighting the uphill battle of always being compared to his counterpart at DE who was a 4th round pick. So far the 4th rounder has been a more consistent player.

At this point where someone was drafted means very little. Canty is a better player than Spears - this is obvious. If you re-did the draft taking Canty in the first and Spears in the fourth, then Canty looks worse and Spears look better.

I wager Spears has outperformed most of the guys picked in the bottom third of the first round in that draft. He has been a starter his first 3 years in the league on a decent defense.

 

[Eskimo]

Sacks perhaps not, but keep in mind, he didn't even play on defense full time his freshman year and over the span of really 3.5 years if you will, he had 19 sacks, 34.5 tackles for loss and 60 QB presssures.

The sack numbers may not be overwhelming but he was in the backfield ALL THE TIME in college...he is not even close to producing these numbers now, or playing at that level IMO/FWIW......

I think he lacks the athleticism and moves to ever be much of a pressure player in the pros. He probably got his sacks in college on the basis of superior size and athleticism compared to the competition he was facing.

 

[theogt]

canty will get minimum 5 this year. and yes seymour gets that many. sacks honestly shouldnt be the end all stats when judging DE's in the 3-4 but 2 pressures is pathetic.

Seymour is probably one of the, if not the, best 3-4 DE ever. And he averages 4.4 sacks a season. In only one season has he had more than 6 sacks.

Sacks perhaps not, but keep in mind, he didn't even play on defense full time his freshman year and over the span of really 3.5 years if you will, he had 19 sacks, 34.5 tackles for loss and 60 QB presssures.

The sack numbers may not be overwhelming but he was in the backfield ALL THE TIME in college...he is not even close to producing these numbers now, or playing at that level IMO/FWIW......

Those are mediocre numbers in my opinion. Certainly not first round pass-rusher type numbers. His senior season he had 9 sacks, but those were concentrated in a couple games. He only had 1 sack in the first 6 games of that season. You can't go 5 straight games in college without a sack and be considered a pressure player.

And that year he only had six QB pressures. SIX.

 

[Sarge]

I think he lacks the athleticism and moves to ever be much of a pressure player in the pros. He probably got his sacks in college on the basis of superior size and athleticism compared to the competition he was facing.

I totally agree with this and the fact that he took a lot of play off in college is precisely the reason I wanted nothing to do with drafting the guy. He has turned out EXACTLY as I thought he would. Very average....

 

[Sarge]

Those are mediocre numbers in my opinion.

We'll have to agree to disagree then on this one.

 

[theogt]

We'll have to agree to disagree then on this one.

That's a season average of about 5 sacks, 9 TFL, and 12 pressures (based on 47 QB pressures, not 60).

I just wouldn't look at a guy with those numbers and think he has much pass-rush ability.

 

[Sarge]

That's a season average of about 5 sacks, 9 TFL, and 12 pressures (based on 47 QB pressures, not 60).

I just wouldn't look at a guy with those numbers and think he has much pass-rush ability.

He had 16 QB pressures in 2002, 23 QB pressures in 2003 and 21 QB pressures his senior year..............those are better than average numbers IMO....

 

[theogt]

He had 16 QB pressures in 2002, 23 QB pressures in 2003 and 21 QB pressures his senior year..............those are better than average numbers IMO....

Where are you getting that he had 21 pressures his senior season? NFLDraftScout has him down for 6. Could be a typo, though.

 

[Sarge]

Where are you getting that he had 21 pressures his senior season? NFLDraftScout has him down for 6. Could be a typo, though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Spears_(defensive_end)

6 is definitely wrong -he had a great Senior year.

 

[theogt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Spears_(defensive_end)

6 is definitely wrong -he had a great Senior year.

Hmm...since they don't actually have a cite to a source, I'm inclined to believe NFLDS.

And going the first 6 games with only 1 sack is anything but great.

 

[Sarge]

Hmm...since they don't actually have a cite to a source, I'm inclined to believe NFLDS.

And going the first 6 games with only 1 sack is anything but great.

There is NO WAY he only had 6 QB pressures his senior year. I'm not buying it, especially after seeing many of the LSU games that year.

Be that as it may, my point is, for where we picked him, he's been very average.

IMO/FWIW.

 

[Manster68]

Marcus Spears should be moved inside to NOSE TACKLE and rotate with Tank Johnson.

He was very effective there in that final game against Washington.

I really think that this is his calling. Especially if this Marcus Dixon surprises us fans and coaches in camp.

 

[Eskimo]

Marcus Spears should be moved inside to NOSE TACKLE and rotate with Tank Johnson.

He was very effective there in that final game against Washington.

I really think that this is his calling. Especially if this Marcus Dixon surprises us fans and coaches in camp.

You have to worry about a guy who takes plays off at NT. You need a big bottoma and a big motor to play there.

 

[Manster68]

a good DE on a 3-4 should have 5 to 7 sacks. 2 is unacceptable, 2 pressures is even mre unacceptable. tackles for losses would be nice too which rarelly happens with Spears. he needs to get a good push on passing downs even if he doesnt get a sack, it will help ware and ellis/spencer get more sacks. i dont know how many times last season the outside backers missed getting sacks because the QB had all the space in the world to sidestep the pass rush. if the ends can get a good push at least this wouldnt happen.

Okay genius, answer me this:

How many times was Spears taken out on obvious passing downs?

His strong suit is playing the run. Seeing how Dallas ranked 6th in rushing defense last year, that has to account for something.

If you think a 3-4 DE should have 5-7 sacks a year, doesn't that seem unrealistic when the Cowboys as a team went ten years without a player recording over 8 sacks?

Your expectations are a little high there for 3-4 defensive ends.

 

[DaBoys4Life]

After a successful third season with the Cowboys, it might surprise some fans to hear that starting defensive end Marcus Spears was a highly sought-after tight end coming out of high school, who also starred in basketball and had a difficult time choosing the gridiron over the hardwood.

Successful 3rd year that has to be a joke 30 tackles and 2 sacks and he had better stats his 2nd year blah.

 

[jrumann59]

Comparing spears to his college years is a little deceiving doesn't LSU play a 4-3 where your DE are usually shaded outside the tackle and in 3-4 you are shaded inside the tackle.