Left Defensive End
This will probably be one of those positions where it doesn’t matter who the starter is because the backup will get the same amount of playing time.
George Selvie was brought in last season at the start of training camp, and really nobody expected much from him because he hadn’t done a whole lot to that point in his career. But with Anthony Spencer dealing with his knee injury and Tyrone Crawford out for the year, Selvie took advantage of that opportunity and quickly became the starter. He had his best season as a pro.
Selvie will have to improve on last season if he wants to keep that starting spot, because Tyrone Crawford is back and the team is anticipating big things from him.
The team expected Crawford to have a breakout season last year but, unfortunately, he tore his achilles tendon forcing the team to wait to see if he could reach those expectations. So far Crawford has shown that he’s fully healed from his injury; he’s also shown why the team expected big things from him. Tony Romo has said Crawford would be the next breakout player for the Cowboys. But the one issue with Crawford that I’ve found is the coaches aren’t sure where they’re gonna play him.
Most of the time when you hear a player is having a tough time finding a position it’s because he just isn’t good enough. Well, that’s not the case with Crawford. He’s shown he can play several positions quite well. This is the main reason why I said the backup could get just as many snaps as the starter. Look for Crawford to be lined up all over the defensive line this season.
Names to watch: Anthony Spencer, Ben Gardner
Yeah it’s an old name and, to be honest, I didn’t think he’d be on the team at all this year. The guy just had micro-fracture surgery and is 30 years old; that combination doesn’t bode well for any athlete, but Spencer is on the road to recovery and has started running again within the last month. He’s been working his butt off according to Jason Garrett. Spencer will start out on the physically unable to perform list (PUP), but watch for him toward the halfway-point of the season.
Ben Gardner hasn’t been able to get on the field because of injury, and really it’s a shame because he was one of the players I was looking forward to seeing out of this rookie class. He comes out of Stanford being known as a player who leaves it all on the field and a guy who doesn’t stop. In my opinion, you can never have enough of that type of player on your team.
