Cowboys LB Spencer becomes standout opposite Ware

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Wade Phillips was raving about the standout

play by one of his outside linebackers. Then the Dallas Cowboys

coach compared that player to Hall of Famer to-be Rickey Jackson.

Phillips wasn't discussing Cowboys sacks leader DeMarcus Ware.

The head coach-defensive coordinator instead was talking about

Anthony Spencer, the linebacker on the opposite side of the

four-time Pro Bowler.

"He's become a dominant player at his position, that's awfully

important for us," Phillips said. "Anthony has to drop, he has to

whip the tight end and then he has to rush. Being able to do all

three of those things, he came on in the middle of last year and

just played as well as anyone I've been around."

While Ware still dominated on his side as the primary pass

rusher with more than 10 sacks for the fourth consecutive season,

Spencer emerged as a force on the other when finally given the

chance a year ago to be a full-time starter. He was nearly as

unstoppable as Ware once he settled into his expanded role.

"He has come along very well. ... Taking pressure off me and

having players like that, it's great," Ware said.

"I've never been a person lacking confidence," Spencer said.

"I have the utmost confidence in myself and my ability to play.

Once you start making those plays, it becomes a lot easier to make

them all the time."

Spencer had six sacks in the last six regular-season games last

year, after having none in the first 10 games. He also had one sack

in each of the Cowboys' two playoff games and 77 tackles over that

closing eight-game span for the NFC East champions.

"It means a lot just because of how hard I worked at it,"

Spencer said. "How much work I was putting into it, how much I

watched, the extra time I put in with D-Ware and the coaches."

Spencer, Ware and the rest of the veterans were back on the

field for the team's second practice Wednesday after a morning

walkthrough that Phillips described as "a teaching session" for

rookies and backup players.

Phillips believes Spencer and Ware make up the best tandem of

outside linebackers in the NFL right now. And they might wind up

being the best duo he has seen in his nearly 3½ decades coaching in

the league.

"I'm not sure they aren't, but let's let them do it again,"

Phillips said.

Spencer plays on the same side that Jackson did for Phillips,

who was the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints from

1981-85 during Jackson's first five NFL seasons.

"I don't see a lot of difference as far as how (Spencer) plays

that position," Phillips said.

Jackson is being inducted next month into the Pro Football Hall

of Fame in Canton, where the Cowboys play their preseason opener.

Reporters, not the coach, shared with Spencer the comparison to

Phillips' former pupil.

"It's great to hear my coach say that. At the same time, you

don't want to get complacent. I feel like I have got a long way to

go. I look at more the things I'm not doing right than the things

I'm doing good," Spencer said. "I'm not comparing myself to

anybody. I'm me. I'll just say that."

After being drafted out of Purdue, Spencer became only the

fourth rookie linebacker to start a season opener for Dallas. (Ware

was another, in 2005). Spencer started his first six NFL games

filling in for an injured Greg Ellis, then didn't start again until

last year when the veteran was cut after 11 seasons.

"It was just a me coming into my own type of thing, because

when Greg was here, I was in and out of the game. And then when he

was gone, I was in the game full time," Spencer said. "Everyone

has their moment. Either you're ready for it or you're not. I think

I came up big last year at the end of the season playing well."

Spencer made the same transition with Dallas that Ware did as a

first-round pick, from college end to outside linebacker in the 3-4

defense.

"He came on really strong at the end of the season and was

getting a lot of pressure," Ware said. "Now, he's starting right

where he left off. He's getting a lot of pressure in practice. He's

become an even smarter player at his position."

By STEPHEN HAWKINS-AP Sports Writer

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)