Anthony Spencer: Is he really that bad?

by DCBlueStar on Jan 28, 2012 8:26 PM CST

Is Anthony Spencer as bad of a OLB as fans make him out to be? The answer is no. Many fans are down on Anthony Spencer, and the truth is their anger in his production is unfounded.

I find that many casual fans, who don’t research the sport, get angry at Spencer for not putting up “DeMarcus Ware-like Numbers.”

The truth is, you just don’t get that type of performance from the majority of starting LOLBs.

Blogging the Boys posted The Anthony Spencer Challenge which prompted me to do a little research and compile a chart of my own.

Check out the statistical compilation after the jump.

Check it out. The PDF file is available HERE, and shows Anthony Spencer vs other LOLBs (in the 3-4 Defenses) around the NFL.

The truth is that Anthony Spencer is better than fans give him credit for, and LOLB is not a position that needs to be immediately addressed.

Lets save the draft picks and FA transactions for some DBs, a few OGs, a viable C, a DE and possibly a NT.

Fans are making a position of need where there isn’t one.

Poll

If the price is right, would you bring Anthony Spencer back, or find someone to replace him?

Resign him if the contract is reasonable.

93 votes

It doesn't matter the price, replace him.

17 votes

110 votes | Poll has closed

Another user-created commentary provided by a BTB reader.

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Comments

We have argued this to death, but I think it speaks volumes that the team doesn't seem interested in resigning him.

If I had a nickel for every Super Bowl the Eagles have won, I would have zero nickels.

by Creasy729 on Jan 28, 2012 8:58 PM CST reply actions

yeah he doesn't suck

but i’m looking for an upgrade, i always defended him but this year he dissapointed me

by ratware on Jan 28, 2012 9:05 PM CST reply actions

I don't know that we can say the isn't interested just yet. Lots of time left, and lots going on at the moment.

It seems to me that the quickest way to improve the team, is to target the areas that were the lowest-performing last year. Which provides the greatest improvement quicker-replacing Spencer with a slightly better player, or rplacing Newman with a quality corner? Same goes for Elam, Costa, and the poo-poo platter of Spears and Coleman.
We can live with Spencer’s production for the time being-he doesn’t seem like the problem we need to be focusing draft picks and FA money on.

"I’m not in the meetings and not part of the discussions; it’s not my responsibility. . My responsibility is to go out and win tonight. My focus is to win tonight. The club has to look at more than just this year." -Michael Young

by randyd on Jan 28, 2012 10:01 PM CST reply actions

Bogus premise...

Spencer apologists always inevitably prop up the same bogus strawman when trying to defend Spencer. That is, "…who don’t research the sport, get angry at Spencer for not putting up ‘DeMarcus Ware-like Numbers.’"

Nobody is complaining that Spencer isn’t putting up comparable numbers to Ware. In fact, most fans recognize that Spencer is actually a very good run defending OLB and a more than adequate player in coverage.

What most people contend is that Spencer doesn’t do enough as a pressure player. That’s a legit complaint.

Greg Ellis put up 25 sacks in 28 games playing opposite of Ware in the 34. Anthony Spencer has 21.5 sacks in 76 games.

Two forks in my eye > Watching an Aubrey Huff at-bat in '11

by Phillyboijr on Jan 28, 2012 10:05 PM CST reply actions

I agree we could use more from that spot.

all I’m saying is that there are deeper holes that need to be filled before worrying about Spencer. Comparing to Ellis is bogus, as well-different systems and different responsibilities

by randyd on Jan 28, 2012 10:17 PM CST up reply actions

Lol, comparing Ellis to Spencer is bogus?

Why, because it illustrates how inept Spencer is as a pressure player versus Greg Ellis?

They both played in a 34, and although Wade may have had slight nuances that were different than Parcells, Ware was still the primary pass rusher in both systems.

PFF or FO had a statistic that denoted a breakdown of snaps to plays rushing the passer in 2010. Ware rushed the passer something like 84% of his snaps. Spencer rushed the passer 77% of his snaps. That is not a signficant difference. Spencer isn’t bringing it as a pressure player.

I agree with your general sentiment that there are other holes, but whether we resign Spencer or not, this team needs to add pressure players to the defensive line and OLB depth.

Two forks in my eye > Watching an Aubrey Huff at-bat in '11

by Phillyboijr on Jan 28, 2012 10:25 PM CST up reply actions

this is something I don't understand

Ware is on another level athletically from Spencer…comparing their Sack rateson a per snap basis is simply confirmation bias(yes I am sure I am using that term incorrectly)

the better Comparision would be someone like Lamar Woodley….

They are roughly the same athletically, and play a the same position (SOLB in a 3-4 defense)

So tell me how many times has Woodley rushed the passer, vs Spencer this past year?… I bet their sack rates are fairly equal…….

Here’s a theoretical play from 2010: Snap. Tony takes 7 step drop. Tony looks left at Miles, who is doubled, and looks right to where Roy Williams should be…but instead sees Colombo on his back and a Defensive End foaming at the mouth jumping over Marc’s carcass. Tony proceeds to run like hell and look for Witten
-by CotySaxman on Jul 11, 2011 7:50 AM PDT

Now, if somebody doesn’t agree with that, that’s cool. I also don’t agree with the fact that I don’t have $10 million in my bank account. But the fact that I don’t agree with it doesn’t make it any less true.
by One.Cool.Customer on Dec 23, 2010 12:00 AM PST

by I am Ironman!!! on Jan 29, 2012 8:49 AM CST up reply actions

Nope...

Woodley played in just 10 games last season. Guess how many sacks he had? Nine.

And what exactly is the point in contrasting Spencer’s athletic ability to Ware’s? Is it to just prop up the bogus strawman again: “…everyone expects Spencer to be like Ware…”

There is absolutely nothing written in stone which says your SOLB should NOT be a good pass rusher. Nothing. So what is the resolution? Get someone who can rush the stinkin’ QB.

Spencer rushed the passer 77% of his snaps in 2010, that’s 3/4 of his total snaps. For all his efforts he tallied 5 sacks in 16 games. *Which also puts to bed the favorite apologist lament of “Spencer doesn’t have a lot of sacks because he has to be in coverage all the time…”

Since you think Spencer vs. Woodley is an apt comparison, let’s look at their numbers which is easy to do since they came out of the same draft and both play SOLB:

Spencer: 76 games; 21.5 sacks
Woodley: 70 games; 48 sacks

Spencer is not consistently taking advantage of opportunities to bring pressure on the QB. He’s not winning his man-on-man battles at the line of scrimmage because he’s not a dynamic passrusher.

That doesn’t mean he’s not a quality player alltogether, but it is just highlighting a weakness of his in a critical aspect of the position.

Two forks in my eye > Watching an Aubrey Huff at-bat in '11

by Phillyboijr on Jan 29, 2012 12:24 PM CST up reply actions

yeah it gets ugly when you compare Spencer to Woodley

me personally, I don’t expect anyone to be DeMarcus Ware, I just want consistency on the other side and a guy who can average more than 5.5 sacks
its frustrating as hell to focus in on #93 during the games and watch him do absolutely nothing

"With the 14th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.........The Dallas Cowboys select..............Melvin Ingram DE South Carolina"

My card has been sent in

by Archie Barberio on Jan 29, 2012 12:52 PM CST up reply actions

ok read what I wrote ...

#1-you said that, and I quote:

Ware rushed the passer something like 84% of his snaps. Spencer rushed the passer 77% of his snaps.

I was saying that why are you comparing Ware and Spencer’s rush %? Because Ware is ALot better than Spencer, then comparing him to one of the best PAss rushers in the league makes no effing sense.

not to mention that they play different positions(with Different responsibilities)
saying “Compared to Ware, Anthony’s not getting it done.” is frankly lazy research.
Of Course NOT! As I said Ware is a top 5 Passrusher in the least, and is consider one of the best. Very few OLB’s/ DE’s are going to look good compared to Ware.

Instead Look at the Rush rate for Lamar Woodley, or Ahmad Brooks(san fran SOLB)

Both of those players play the SAME EFFING POSITION, and near as I can figure, are roughly on the same “athletic level”

Not Games, snaps, I want the Pass Rush Rate% for either Lamar Woodley, or Ahmad Brooks…..then we can talk about Spencer’s rush %…..

by I am Ironman!!! on Jan 30, 2012 12:06 PM CST up reply actions

Lol, I did read and your point still fails...

First of all, who said “compared to Ware, Anthony’s not getting it done?”

I certainly didn’t, so you’ll need to correct yourself.

I brought up Ware and Spencer’s passrush/snap percentages as a preemptive retort to Spencer apologists who typically spout off saying “buh, buh, but Spencer isn’t asked to rush the passer that much.” The point in comparing the two players’ numbers was to show both Spencer and Ware are rushing the passer more than 3/4 of their total snaps.

Second, you need to get the actual statistical term right. The statistic I provided was simply reflecting the percentage of times the player rushed the passer in comparison to his total snaps. NOT, “Sack rates on a per snap basis.” So your attempt to envoke “confirmation bias” is misapplied.

Third, what are you failing to comprehend? I did look at Lamar Woodley (as you requested) because as you said they “are roughly the same athletically, and play a the same position (SOLB in a 3-4 defense).” Not to mention they were taken in the same draft.

The comparative numbers are drastically different:
Spencer: 76 games; 21.5 sacks
Woodley: 70 games; 48 sacks

Is it your contention that despite playing the same position, the Steelers are rushing Woodley more than 77% of his total snaps? If so, how much more? And does that difference account for Woodley registering more than twice the number of sacks Spencer has in his career in six less games?

So all this jibber jabber from you is just trying to avoid the obvious: Spencer is not getting it done as a pass rusher.

Two forks in my eye > Watching an Aubrey Huff at-bat in '11

by Phillyboijr on Jan 31, 2012 8:02 PM CST up reply actions

There's a lot of focus on OLB in the draft and those 2 guys - Ingram & Upshaw may be upgrades to Spencer

In a 3-4 the OLB is in the best position to get to the QB… because honestly he is worth re-signing but based on the year he had he will be expensive. If we get one of these guys it will be cheaper now and we may have a better player later. Also, we may not have to trade up, like if we went after Claiborn.

Also, re-signing a veteran guard – Kosier, Dockery or Holland will be cheaper then signing Spencer. Sure we lose out on DeCastro/Glenn but there will be some good ones in the 2nd round and we have Arkin, Nagy, Costa, Kowalski for depth. We’re better off then we were last year that’s for sure.

by scraig on Jan 28, 2012 10:10 PM CST reply actions

He may be too expensive for what he produces.

If that’s the case- sayonara, Anthony.
I might still take Decastro/Glenn and grab Curry in the second round to replace him. Everything hinges on wo they are able to sign in FA, imo.

by randyd on Jan 28, 2012 10:23 PM CST reply actions

Like a tumerous growth...

Vinny Curry has really grown on me. You can’t deny the kids production over the past two seasons at Marshall. I love how active he was during the Senior Bowl game too. I’d love to nab this kid in the 2nd round if possible. Give’em a #99 jersey and let him wreck shop.

Two forks in my eye > Watching an Aubrey Huff at-bat in '11

by Phillyboijr on Jan 29, 2012 1:29 PM CST up reply actions

Depends on who you get in FA and in the draft.

If we keep Spencer we need someone like Qunton Coples or Jason Jones to go with him.

by Jonathan Stern on Jan 29, 2012 3:19 AM CST reply actions

where is bigham on this?

"With the 14th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.........The Dallas Cowboys select..............Melvin Ingram DE South Carolina"

My card has been sent in

by Archie Barberio on Jan 29, 2012 10:58 AM CST reply actions

Spencer is better than our defensive ends.

I think there are a lot of people on this site who would like to do better than Spencer, but he is better than the defensive lineman we have.

We ought to be more concerned about our defensive line than Spencer.

I am surprised that no one else here is making a similar point.

by Jonathan Stern on Jan 30, 2012 2:31 AM CST reply actions

keep in mind

Last yr was a contract yr so his motivation was very high for a banner yr, Rob Ryan before the yr said Spencer was gonna be a monster in this D. With those 2 factors I find it hard to think he will have a greater impact going forward, that being said he probably only needs a swift kick and will probably get it elsewhere and will excel.
My 2 cents let him walk and Draft Upshaw from Bama

by ziggy19 on Jan 30, 2012 6:57 AM CST reply actions

I want to keep Spencer and I agree with you J Stern,we need to get better push up the middle.

Re-watched the first NYGs game and all game long Eli had a clean pocket to step up into. Seems like that was the way it was almost the entire season.All the outside pressure in the world doesn’t matter if the opponent can take a step forward and be out of danger. Wasn’t the end of the ’09 season,when Spencer was playing his best football,also the same time Rat was blowing things up from the NT position? IMO we need to keep him,he is a real asset to this team.

40yr fan who loves his Lord and Savior,Beautiful Wife,kids and 2 Pits,America,and Americas Team.
Searching for at least 2 more Super Bowl wins and more kool-aid.
Totally excited about new coaches and this teams future.

by NVCowboy4Life on Jan 30, 2012 7:04 AM CST reply actions