Dallas Cowboys: A Case for Keeping Linebacker Anthony Spencer

Bleacher Report   2/1/12 8:09 PM

With the as Cowboys in full reflection mode following a second straight season without postseason play, there are numerous areas of the roster to evaluate. This should be expected of a team that went 8-8 in 2011. The 7-9 team from 2010 had the same job and followed suit with numerous changes for the following season. The easy thing to do when trying to determine what moves need to be made is to look at statistical performance and then compare that to other league leaders for perspective. Sometimes, contract status becomes even bigger than stats when trying to gauge whether a team will keep a player or simply let him walk. The Cowboys have no bigger decision to make, at the front of their odd 3-4 scheme, than how exactly they man the outside linebacker spot opposite DeMarcus Ware. ony Spencer was the first Dallas selection in the 2007 NFL Draft out of Purdue. At the time a defensive end, the Cowboys were planning on pulling the same maneuver they did with Ware in changing Spencer's position to outside linebacker in the NFL. Dallas did exactly that, and after five full seasons, the results have been about what should have been expected. Realizing that Spencer had to wait a couple of seasons before getting a starting role, I can't really factor in the volume of Spencer's first two years because Dallas generally had Greg Ellis operating at outside linebacker, and with good results, in 2007 and 2008. So, starting from 2009, I see that Spencer has averaged just over 5.5 sacks per...