In the first part of my Training Camp Battles Series, I analyzed the nickel linebacker position. Today, I will take a look at defensive end.
Coach Wade Phillips loves to rotate his defensive linemen. The chart to the left displays the percentage of snaps each of the defensive ends played in 2009 (it adds up to 200 percent since there were always two ends on the field).
Notice that Igor Olshansky led the group at 62.8 percent of snaps, but that wasn’t even twice as much as the player with the least snaps (Jason Hatcher at 38.2 percent). Marcus Spears, the starter opposite Olshanksy, played just slightly more (51.6 percent of all snaps) than his backup Stephen Bowen (47.4 percent).
With Spears’ and Bowen’s snaps so evenly distributed, you could effectively call them starters 1A and 1B. Spears is the run defense guy (53.2 percent of his snaps came against the run), while Bowen is the Cowboys’ pass-rush specialist at end (79.6 percent of his snaps came against the pass).
In case you are wondering, 50.5 percent of Olshansky’s snaps came against the run, while just 32.2 percent of Hatcher’s came in the same situation.
A lot of questions have arisen of late regarding this snap distribution. Is it time to provide Bowen and Hatcher (Hatcher in particular) with more snaps? Spears, Bowen, and Hatcher are all restricted free agents. There is practically zero chance of the Cowboys retaining all three players, particularly with seventh-rounder Sean Lissemore waiting in the wings.
Spears is by far the most likely candidate to leave Dallas, and there still exists an outside chance he is traded before the start of the season. If not, however, you can still expect a tremendous battle for playing time at defensive end during training camp. Spears’ probable departure only adds to the likelihood of Bowen and Hatcher receiving more snaps.
In my view, it is time to transition Bowen and Hatcher into the lineup a bit more. In our 2009 Defensive End Grades, Spears, Bowen, and Hatcher all received nearly identical grades (all around 80 percent). If the Cowboys coaches also view the players as interchangeable (which appears to be the case), then it is time to slowly scale back Spears’ snaps. Let the players who will be here in 2011 play now. To Read More……Click Here
