Anthony Spencer made some news on Tuesday when we learned he probably won't sign a long-term deal this offseason, meaning he will play 2013 on the franchise tag and should be a free agent next March.
Spencer's career has been interesting, including last year's career season. But I wanted to take a look back to the 2007 Draft.
If you go back and look at the history of the Anthony Spencer selection, the Cowboys were sitting at the 22nd with Brady Quinn, Dwayne Bowe and Spencer all in the mix on their board. What the front office was debating is whether to go ahead with the selection of one of those players at that spot or could they drop back, get a pick and hope that one of those players would be on the board when they selected.
When the decision was made to trade back, Cleveland was the team that offered the best deal and with that selection they took Brady Quinn who really was the third player in this discussion. Kansas City was right behind the Cowboys in that round took Bowe at 23 which left the Cowboys with the thought of taking the higher rated Spencer or guard Ben Grubbs from Auburn. When it came their turn, they handed in the card with Spencer's name on it and he became a member of the Dallas Cowboys.
This organization has taken its share of blame for draft picks in the past and rightfully so. I can speak from personal experience there were times where we did a poor job of adding talent to this team and it affected us for years. On Tuesday, Nick Eatman raised the question on the subject of Anthony Spencer and had he lived up to the expectations of the 26th overall pick? If you would have asked me after his first four seasons, I would have said that I would have some serious questions about the selection but after these last two seasons, there is absolutely no question that he was the right pick.
In watching him play, there have been times during these last two years where down after down, he was a better player than Ware. Far-fetched on my part? Not at all. Scouts on other teams that watch the Cowboys for their club's will tell you the exact same thing.
Is this front office gambling on the type of season Spencer might have playing on this franchise tag? Without a doubt but it's the right thing to do. What Spencer has proven is when he is a hungry player, he is a better player.
There is an outstanding chance in this 4-3 scheme that he will be an even more productive player than he was in the 3-4 because he doesn't have to play in space as a linebacker. His ability to rush off the edge down after down will bring even more recognition to the other [embedded_ad] physical traits that he shows. Has the chase of a large payday motivated Spencer to play with more of a sense of urgency? Probably so but there is no question whatever has motivated him, he has proven that the confidence that the organization showed in him in 2007, was well worth it.
