I’ve been saying it since last year that Spears has played pretty well the last 8 games of the season last year and it appears he has carried it into the preseason this year. Many see overall Stats, which are very misleading at times, especially sacks at the defensive end spot in a 3-4 scheme. Spears first responsibility is to stop the run by protecting his gap responsibiity. Many want more sacks, but in passing situations, the cowboys take Spears off the field. Some players take longer to develop in this league, and it appears that Spears is one of those players. PLayers need atleast three years to get comfortable in the pros and too many Fans want to see them be big players from day one because of where they are drafted, and for the most part, that just doesn’t happen. I hope Spears has a big year and I thinks he’s a very solid player.

Will Spears get resigned, no one can answer that, but we all know, you just cant resign everyone, the cap doesn’t allow it sometimes.

but even I have joked about the occasional “Spears sighting” and hoped he actually would "show up " for games. I think he’s been a solid player , for all the reasons sighted,and think he’s gotten unfairly compared to demarcus (because of draft position) and Canty…because they were part of the same draft class. The thing is….NOBODY compares favorably to Demarcus….and Canty fell in our laps due to injuries and perceived character issues (getting hit in the eye with a beer bottle during a barroom brawl). That being said Canty established himself as a first round talent before these issues come about. Would we feel differently about Canty if he were drafted in spears’ spot,at #20 in the first round?
              I think this is Spears breakout season.The depth on our D-line is tremendous and will keep all our guys fresh.I,like Deke,don’t know if we can afford to resign Demarcus,Canty and Spears…I’d love to see it though!

I think this is Spears breakout season

It better be or he is gone very soon. I think when it all counts in a couple of weeks he will be MIA as usual. I have to see it to believe it over a full season, not pre-season over a quarter or two. A FULL game…

I’ll use one of Terry’s famous lines when talking about Carpenter. He is suited for a 4-3 defense, not a 3-4. So there you have it….. :)

Jerry can find a way to extend Spears contract. We are still in good cap shape. The point is he won’t. At this point he is not worthy of another contract.

Canty has to be resigned next year and I would sign him over Spears in a heartbeat. Ware will be the year after that, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get extended this offseason. Tank is also in the last year of his contract and depending how he does that’s another reason to think Spears won’t be here. The only way Spears has a chance is if he out shines Canty this year and I don’t see that happening.

and felt Grizz and many others here weren’t giving him enough credit for being a solid player. As a first rd pick everyone wanted him to be another Richard Seymore, however, not all hig draft picks can become all pros.

He’s always been solid against the run and thats basically what you want from a 3-4 DE. Anything else they give you is pure gravy.

i cant began to think about next year when this season has"nt even started yet. Correct me if im wrong, but i think most all the pressure he"s created thus far has come from the NT position. Spears in the backfield, disrupting plays, that kind of play will keep Mr. Spears around.

I never expected many sacks from a 3-4 DE. But if the guy is a 1st round pick #20 overall, then yes, I do expect a little more out of him than simply being good against the run. A few more sacks would be nice, but how about pressure, how about tackles for loss, how about forced fumbles. How about being good enough to stay on the field for the nickel.

I think he’s been playing noticeably better this pre-season, and I hope he has upped his play to a new level. We might finally get to see what a #20 overall pick should look like.

I think the tune would be different here. The guy absorbs blockers, allowing Ellis and Ware to go for it a bit more and thus shine. I like the job he has done against the run. And by rotating with Hatcher, we keep both of them a bit fresher. My money is on the Cowboys resigning Spears.

not with Hatcher on his tail who is a better pressure DE and nearly good against the run. Canty, Ware, Colombo, Tank need to get resigned. Spears will be on the outside looking in from that group. I would sign anyone of them before Spears. Colombo might be the exception, but that’s really stretching it.

Anyone want to disagree with me on that?

Critics of the critics of Marcus Spears like to say we expect him to make sacks and that’s not his priority at DE in our scheme. But here’s where you’re wrong because I’ve been praising Spears’ work this preaseason and he how many sacks has he made? Zero. Hmm, I supposedly didn’t like him because he didn’t produce sacks, yet here I am praising him and he still isn’t producing sacks. What gives?

What gives is it has nothing to do with sacks, it has to do with disruptive play and beating your man. A DE in this scheme needs to do more than tie up run blockers at the line and try to hold ground. They should occasionally beat their block disrupting the blocking scheme forcing the fullback or another pulling lineman to block the DE. They occasionally should be in the backfield altering the the path of the running back. They should occasionally shed their blockers and make a play on the ball. It has nothing to do with sacks, it has to do with disruptive play.

Marcus Spears gave us very little of that so far in his career, this preseason he’s done it in all three games. If he can do that, more than just being a blocking dummy that holds the line fo scrimmage, then he will earn my praise and he will be doing what I believe is his job in this 3-4 defense. And he has so far, without nary a sack to show for it, which is just fine.