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By Dan McCarney - Express-News Web
Posted: 07/29/2010 12:00 CDT
Anthony Spencer's NFL initiation came quickly and violently, in the form of a manhandling he remembers to this day.
“When I first came out here, my first day, the very first play, they ran a power (run), and I got put on my butt,” said Spencer, hearkening back to the Dallas Cowboys' 2007 training camp at the Alamodome. “Two people hit me at the same time. That was my welcome to the NFL, right down there on the 30-yard line.”
And now, with three years of experience, including a breakthrough 2009 campaign that led Cowboys coach Wade Phillips to claim Spencer is as good as any strong-side linebacker he has ever coached?
“I play the power really well,” Spencer said with a smile. “My confidence is high. I don't think it will go down.”
These are heady days for Spencer, who turned the corner midway last season from developing project to difference maker.
With no sacks through Dallas' first 10 games, Spencer exploded for eight during the final eight, including two in the playoffs. That nearly doubled his total of 41/2 sacks through his first 39 games.
“It was really relieving,” said the Purdue product, chosen by Dallas in the first round in 2007. “After that, I was just out there having fun, and once that happens, you're reacting instead of thinking.”
No one is happier with Spencer's blossoming than fellow Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who hopes he'll receive less attention as his bookend gets more.
“They're starting to double-team him now,” said Ware, a Pro Bowl starter in each of the past four years. “He really came along last season and took a lot of pressure off me. It's going to be great.”
Spencer has no concrete answer as to why things clicked. Rather than any technical improvement, he said it was simply a matter of relaxing and letting the game come to him.
“I stopped worrying about (sacks), and that's when it started to come,” he said.
Spencer has always shown flashes of ability. Dallas linebackers coach Reggie Herring said Spencer was on the verge of breaking out in 2008, but a knee injury near the end of training camp robbed him of four games and slowed his growth.
Then came last year, when Spencer needed time to adjust to a full-time role after veteran Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis was released to free up playing time.
“Every player matures and grows at a different pace,” Herring said. “There's no set formula for it.”
When Spencer finally did flourish, the results were good enough to earn comparisons with Rickey Jackson from Phillips, who coached the Hall of Famer in New Orleans.
“He's become a dominant player at his position,” Phillips said of Spencer. “I think we have the two best (outside linebackers) in the league. Put those two together, and I don't think there are any better.”
Which is no easy feat considering the many responsibilities.
In addition to rushing the passer, strong-side linebackers in the 3-4 defense must also be able to overpower tight ends in run support and drop into coverage. Spencer excels at all of it, meaning Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten usually faces his toughest competition in practice.
“He's one of the most underrated players on our team,” Witten said. “Going against him every day, I've definitely become a better player. ”
Now that Spencer has proven he can play at a high level, his next task is to do it consistently, game after game, year after year. Having lost 10 pounds in the offseason in an effort to improve his quickness, he embraces that challenge head-on — just as he would a double team.
“Everything I'm doing is to get to a point where I can't be stopped,” he said.
Posted: 07/29/2010 12:00 CDT
Anthony Spencer's NFL initiation came quickly and violently, in the form of a manhandling he remembers to this day.
“When I first came out here, my first day, the very first play, they ran a power (run), and I got put on my butt,” said Spencer, hearkening back to the Dallas Cowboys' 2007 training camp at the Alamodome. “Two people hit me at the same time. That was my welcome to the NFL, right down there on the 30-yard line.”
And now, with three years of experience, including a breakthrough 2009 campaign that led Cowboys coach Wade Phillips to claim Spencer is as good as any strong-side linebacker he has ever coached?
“I play the power really well,” Spencer said with a smile. “My confidence is high. I don't think it will go down.”
These are heady days for Spencer, who turned the corner midway last season from developing project to difference maker.
With no sacks through Dallas' first 10 games, Spencer exploded for eight during the final eight, including two in the playoffs. That nearly doubled his total of 41/2 sacks through his first 39 games.
“It was really relieving,” said the Purdue product, chosen by Dallas in the first round in 2007. “After that, I was just out there having fun, and once that happens, you're reacting instead of thinking.”
No one is happier with Spencer's blossoming than fellow Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who hopes he'll receive less attention as his bookend gets more.
“They're starting to double-team him now,” said Ware, a Pro Bowl starter in each of the past four years. “He really came along last season and took a lot of pressure off me. It's going to be great.”
Spencer has no concrete answer as to why things clicked. Rather than any technical improvement, he said it was simply a matter of relaxing and letting the game come to him.
“I stopped worrying about (sacks), and that's when it started to come,” he said.
Spencer has always shown flashes of ability. Dallas linebackers coach Reggie Herring said Spencer was on the verge of breaking out in 2008, but a knee injury near the end of training camp robbed him of four games and slowed his growth.
Then came last year, when Spencer needed time to adjust to a full-time role after veteran Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis was released to free up playing time.
“Every player matures and grows at a different pace,” Herring said. “There's no set formula for it.”
When Spencer finally did flourish, the results were good enough to earn comparisons with Rickey Jackson from Phillips, who coached the Hall of Famer in New Orleans.
“He's become a dominant player at his position,” Phillips said of Spencer. “I think we have the two best (outside linebackers) in the league. Put those two together, and I don't think there are any better.”
Which is no easy feat considering the many responsibilities.
In addition to rushing the passer, strong-side linebackers in the 3-4 defense must also be able to overpower tight ends in run support and drop into coverage. Spencer excels at all of it, meaning Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten usually faces his toughest competition in practice.
“He's one of the most underrated players on our team,” Witten said. “Going against him every day, I've definitely become a better player. ”
Now that Spencer has proven he can play at a high level, his next task is to do it consistently, game after game, year after year. Having lost 10 pounds in the offseason in an effort to improve his quickness, he embraces that challenge head-on — just as he would a double team.
“Everything I'm doing is to get to a point where I can't be stopped,” he said.