Jones says Cowboys operated as if they weren't going to have Spencer, so they have a jump on absorbing his loss
Jerry Jones said the Cowboys have been operating as if they weren’t going to have Anthony Spencer this year, so losing him has not knocked the team off stride.
“The only good light here is the fact that we’ve been playing without Anthony, and our coaching staff, with Rod and certainly Monte, has made this adjustment for the first three ballgames and most of our preseason,” Jones said Wednesday. “So we have been bringing personnel in and evaluating personnel and continuing as though we weren’t going to have Spencer. And so we’re ahead of it from where we would’ve been had this just happened here and he got hurt in Kansas City.”
The Cowboys placed Spencer, their leading tackler from a year ago, on injured reserve Wednesday. He needs microfracture surgery on his knee and is expected to be in rehab until January or February.
The Cowboys brought in another defensive lineman this week, former LSU tackle Drake Nevis, and Jones credited Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli for making do with what they are getting.
“The quality of the people that are doing the coaching and doing that taking of the slack, as far as showing players that might not be of the stature of Spencer but showing them how to get out there and help us win ballgames, all of that is in progress and been going on and been really going on since training camp,” Jones said. “So we’re ahead of the game here in terms of trying to find out how we’re going to make it work.”
Jones said the Cowboys will miss Spencer’s character as much as his talent.
“We don’t have anybody that is of a higher substance than him as a ballplayer,” Jones said. “He’s conscientious. You cannot keep him off the field. He has been exemplary in his rehab work. He pays attention to every aspect of his game, his diet. You guys have been around him, but he’s the consummate pro, and I know that he can get back into it and have a successful surgery and hope for that and resume that career.”
-- Carlos Mendez
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Garrett surprised by Spencer's surgery
September, 25, 2013
By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- Monday afternoon, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said he expected defensive end Anthony Spencer to return from knee soreness and pick up full-time snaps again.
Tuesday afternoon the Cowboys universe was shattered when team owner/general manager Jerry Jones said on his weekly radio show Spencer would need season-ending surgery on his left knee. The surgery could be microfracture, which could take up to a year of recovery time.
Garrett said Wednesday morning he was surprised to hear about the surgery.
"We just wanted to make sure we did everything the right way," Garrett said. "Last week it just didn't feel great to him. He felt like there was something wrong. He got the MRI late Monday afternoon and we got the word Monday night. This is the best thing for him going forward. We're fully confident it's going to be handled the right way and he will be back and there is a lot more football left in him."
Spencer becomes a free agent after the 2013 season so his prospects for finding employment will be difficult until he can prove to NFL teams, including the Cowboys, he's 100 percent healthy.
With Spencer gone for the season, the starting role will be maintained by George Selvie who was signed in late July. In three games, Selvie has two sacks, one tackle for loss and five quarterback pressures.
"The next man up has been George Selvie for most of training camp and the preseason and the start of the season," Garrett said. "He’s taken full advantage of his opportunity to play. We've have some other guys we've brought in in recent weeks who will be involved in that mix as well. We will give those guys opportunities going forward, but George is the guy who is going to take his place. He's done a good job so far and we'll continue to expect great things from him."
