Post by prossman on Nov 27, 2009 8:09:01 GMT -7
DC.COM: Game Notes: No More Su-Spence: OLB Spencer Breaks Out With 2 Sacks
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Zach Buchanan - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
November 26, 2009 8:45 PM
ARLINGTON, Texas - Former Cowboys outside linebacker/defensive end Greg Ellis claims he's now with the Raiders because the Cowboys favored Anthony Spencer over him.
In the Cowboys' 24-7 Thanksgiving Day win against those same Oakland Raiders, Spencer proved the Cowboys made the right choice, finishing with his first two sacks of the season and eight tackles, including two for losses. Ellis, on the other hand, made two of the first three tackles for the Raiders, but was not heard from again, having to leave the game with "swelling on his knee," according to Raiders coach Tom Cable.
"I've been trying to get a lot of pressure all year, but I've been coming up short," said Spencer, who stepped into Ellis' starting role this year. "But today stuff was just working out, and we won, so it makes me feel better."
Spencer's play has been impressive all year - he's tied with DeMarcus Ware in tackles with 40 - but quarterbacks kept slipping though his fingers. That means it was only a matter of time until the sacks came, said defensive end Marcus Spears.
"He's been there on a lot of occasions," Spears said. "You knew those plays would come. If you guys evaluate the way Spence plays, he's always around the ball. Always. I think you just saw that pay off for him."
As for the inevitable comparisons with Ellis, Spencer isn't listening. Despite his routine groaning about his job security during his last few years as a Cowboy, Ellis was always a willing mentor to Spencer, so it doesn't matter that one is better than the other, because one is better because of the other.
"Greg's a great guy, a great vet," Spencer said. "I learned so much from him. I've got nothing but respect for him."
No Yellow Flags
The Cowboys are the sixth-most penalized team in the league with 72 penalties, including six Thursday afternoon, but the defense was not to blame for any miscues in their Thanksgiving Day win - all six flags were on the offense or special teams.
But that's not because there's been any added emphasis on clean play, said cornerback Mike Jenkins.
"If we go into practice worried about penalties, that's going to take away from our aggressiveness," said Jenkins, who recorded two tackles and a pass defensed. "We came back out with the same plan, and fortunately we didn't get called for anything."
The Cat Is Back
After being hemmed in for the most part since returning from a sprained PCL earlier this season, Felix Jones finally showed his breakaway ability on Thursday.
The Cowboys were able to get Jones in space more frequently, the second-year runner posting 68 yards on seven carries. Most of Jones' damage came on the 46-yarder he took up the middle for the Cowboys' first touchdown of the game.
Though many of the long gains in his career have come on runs around the perimeter, Jones wriggled through a crowded tackle box on the touchdown, and zigzagged pursuers on the way to the end zone. It was a big day for all three of the Cowboys' running backs, each going for over 60 yards on the ground and hitting big plays.
"Felix Jones had a big game, Marion Barber had a big game and Tashard (Choice) had a big game," Wade Phillips said. "It doesn't always happen that you can get all those guys and all the ones we named into the flow and able to make big plays, but all of them did.
"Felix has that home run threat. He has it every times he gets the ball and it is good to see that back again. Looks like he is back, which is important for us. He is feeling good and will have some time to rest."
Jones made his way off the field slowly following an awkward fall in the second half, but later returned to catch a pass. After shedding his knee brace against the Redskins, he said this week he is now 100 percent.
-Josh Ellis
Knee Ruins Ellis' Return
In his regular-season return against his old team, Raiders defensive end Greg Ellis played sparingly because of swelling in his surgically-repaired knee, head coach Tom Cable said. He finished with two tackles.
"I probably won't get another chance to come back here and play against those guys," Ellis said. "I just, you know, am extremely disappointed. I wanted to come in here and help my team out, and not even to be able to finish the game. . . . I hate we lost, but it bothers me more that I wasn't able to go out there and finish and contribute."
-Rob Phillips
D-Line Goes Hunting
Defensive end Marcus Spears said his defensive line had a hunter's mentality against the Raiders. After the game, the entire unit left the stadium dressed in camouflage gear.
"I'm a big-time hunter; I hunt a lot," Spears said. "I said, 'It's Thanksgiving, you think of turkey - let's go hunting.' We did. We hunted the Raiders at 3:15 (p.m.)."
-Rob Phillips
Short Shots
Tashard Choice's 66-yard first-quarter run was the longest Cowboys rush from scrimmage since Julius Jones went 77 yards against New Orleans in 2006 . . . Miles Austin had 145 receiving yards, tying him for the second-most by a Cowboys receiver on Thanksgiving Day, behind Michael Irvin's 157 yards (vs. Pittsburgh, 1991) . . . David Buehler added three more touchbacks Thursday, giving him 20 on the season. He's closing in on Lin Elliott's single-season record of 27, set in 1992, when kickoffs went from the 35-yard line . . .With 36 punt return yards on Thursday, Patrick Crayton now has 1,009 for his career, marking just the fifth player in franchise history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark . . . Tony Romo made his 50th career start and now owns a starting record of 35-15 . . . Romo ranked third in NFL history with 95 touchdowns passes in his first 50 starts, behind only Dan Marino (116) and Kurt Warner (102) . . . Jason Witten now has 488 career receptions, moving past Emmitt Smith (486) for third place in club history and needing two more to pass Drew Pearson for the second-most catches.
www.dallascowboys.com/news/ne...13E38C14BC8CB3
__________________
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zach Buchanan - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
November 26, 2009 8:45 PM
ARLINGTON, Texas - Former Cowboys outside linebacker/defensive end Greg Ellis claims he's now with the Raiders because the Cowboys favored Anthony Spencer over him.
In the Cowboys' 24-7 Thanksgiving Day win against those same Oakland Raiders, Spencer proved the Cowboys made the right choice, finishing with his first two sacks of the season and eight tackles, including two for losses. Ellis, on the other hand, made two of the first three tackles for the Raiders, but was not heard from again, having to leave the game with "swelling on his knee," according to Raiders coach Tom Cable.
"I've been trying to get a lot of pressure all year, but I've been coming up short," said Spencer, who stepped into Ellis' starting role this year. "But today stuff was just working out, and we won, so it makes me feel better."
Spencer's play has been impressive all year - he's tied with DeMarcus Ware in tackles with 40 - but quarterbacks kept slipping though his fingers. That means it was only a matter of time until the sacks came, said defensive end Marcus Spears.
"He's been there on a lot of occasions," Spears said. "You knew those plays would come. If you guys evaluate the way Spence plays, he's always around the ball. Always. I think you just saw that pay off for him."
As for the inevitable comparisons with Ellis, Spencer isn't listening. Despite his routine groaning about his job security during his last few years as a Cowboy, Ellis was always a willing mentor to Spencer, so it doesn't matter that one is better than the other, because one is better because of the other.
"Greg's a great guy, a great vet," Spencer said. "I learned so much from him. I've got nothing but respect for him."
No Yellow Flags
The Cowboys are the sixth-most penalized team in the league with 72 penalties, including six Thursday afternoon, but the defense was not to blame for any miscues in their Thanksgiving Day win - all six flags were on the offense or special teams.
But that's not because there's been any added emphasis on clean play, said cornerback Mike Jenkins.
"If we go into practice worried about penalties, that's going to take away from our aggressiveness," said Jenkins, who recorded two tackles and a pass defensed. "We came back out with the same plan, and fortunately we didn't get called for anything."
The Cat Is Back
After being hemmed in for the most part since returning from a sprained PCL earlier this season, Felix Jones finally showed his breakaway ability on Thursday.
The Cowboys were able to get Jones in space more frequently, the second-year runner posting 68 yards on seven carries. Most of Jones' damage came on the 46-yarder he took up the middle for the Cowboys' first touchdown of the game.
Though many of the long gains in his career have come on runs around the perimeter, Jones wriggled through a crowded tackle box on the touchdown, and zigzagged pursuers on the way to the end zone. It was a big day for all three of the Cowboys' running backs, each going for over 60 yards on the ground and hitting big plays.
"Felix Jones had a big game, Marion Barber had a big game and Tashard (Choice) had a big game," Wade Phillips said. "It doesn't always happen that you can get all those guys and all the ones we named into the flow and able to make big plays, but all of them did.
"Felix has that home run threat. He has it every times he gets the ball and it is good to see that back again. Looks like he is back, which is important for us. He is feeling good and will have some time to rest."
Jones made his way off the field slowly following an awkward fall in the second half, but later returned to catch a pass. After shedding his knee brace against the Redskins, he said this week he is now 100 percent.
-Josh Ellis
Knee Ruins Ellis' Return
In his regular-season return against his old team, Raiders defensive end Greg Ellis played sparingly because of swelling in his surgically-repaired knee, head coach Tom Cable said. He finished with two tackles.
"I probably won't get another chance to come back here and play against those guys," Ellis said. "I just, you know, am extremely disappointed. I wanted to come in here and help my team out, and not even to be able to finish the game. . . . I hate we lost, but it bothers me more that I wasn't able to go out there and finish and contribute."
-Rob Phillips
D-Line Goes Hunting
Defensive end Marcus Spears said his defensive line had a hunter's mentality against the Raiders. After the game, the entire unit left the stadium dressed in camouflage gear.
"I'm a big-time hunter; I hunt a lot," Spears said. "I said, 'It's Thanksgiving, you think of turkey - let's go hunting.' We did. We hunted the Raiders at 3:15 (p.m.)."
-Rob Phillips
Short Shots
Tashard Choice's 66-yard first-quarter run was the longest Cowboys rush from scrimmage since Julius Jones went 77 yards against New Orleans in 2006 . . . Miles Austin had 145 receiving yards, tying him for the second-most by a Cowboys receiver on Thanksgiving Day, behind Michael Irvin's 157 yards (vs. Pittsburgh, 1991) . . . David Buehler added three more touchbacks Thursday, giving him 20 on the season. He's closing in on Lin Elliott's single-season record of 27, set in 1992, when kickoffs went from the 35-yard line . . .With 36 punt return yards on Thursday, Patrick Crayton now has 1,009 for his career, marking just the fifth player in franchise history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark . . . Tony Romo made his 50th career start and now owns a starting record of 35-15 . . . Romo ranked third in NFL history with 95 touchdowns passes in his first 50 starts, behind only Dan Marino (116) and Kurt Warner (102) . . . Jason Witten now has 488 career receptions, moving past Emmitt Smith (486) for third place in club history and needing two more to pass Drew Pearson for the second-most catches.
www.dallascowboys.com/news/ne...13E38C14BC8CB3
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