Getting the Message
Spears Takes Weight Remarks From Parcells In Stride
By Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
May 8, 2005, 4:40 PM (CDT)
IRVING, Texas - As a four-year standout at LSU, Marcus Spears has likely been called a lot of things.
He's been called big.
He's been called strong and dominating.
He's been called great and outstanding, a guy with "can't-miss" potential.
So Spears shows up for the Cowboys' rookie mini-camp last weekend and his new head coach, the very man he couldn't wait to play for, has a few other words to describe Spears.
How about "chubby" and "fat?"
Now Spears probably didn't hear many of those adjectives attached to his name in college or high school, but just a few mini-camp practices with the Cowboys, and head coach Bill Parcells starts jabbing at him right out of the gate.
Must be demoralizing to the rookie, huh?
"No, I think it's funny," said Spears, the Cowboys' second, first-round pick, 20th overall two weeks ago. "I think I know what (Parcells) is trying to do. He has a plan. And honestly, you respect that as a player. If he didn't care about you, he probably wouldn't say much at all. But I know he's trying to motivate me by saying that kind of stuff."
Parcells ignited his relationship with Spears last weekend by calling him, both to his face and through the media, "Fats Domino" and "Chubby Checker," all because he figures his new defensive end will be a better player in the 295-pound range rather than his current listing of 307 pounds.
"I know he needs to lose some weight . . . I know that," said Parcells, when asked what he knows about Spears. "We're going to get him down somehow. Now, he has the body to play defensive tackle. He's thick. But he has to lose a little weight. We're not playing Chubby Checker there at defensive end. But I know his former coach at LSU (current Dolphins head coach Nick Saban) and I know what weight that coach had him play at. We're going with that deal."
In trying to learn the new defensive schemes and handle all of the issues of being an NFL player, Spears said losing a few pounds is the least of his concerns.
"No, I'm not worried about that at all," he said, pointing out he gained a few pounds following arthroscopic knee surgery to repair the meniscus. "I know it's a big deal to (Parcells) because he keeps talking about and joking with me. But my weight has never really been a problem. Whatever (my coaches) want me to play at, that's what I'll do. I can play at 290, 295 . . . I've done that in the past. No problem."
Spears might be a space-eating, hole-clogging lineman, but he's not exactly a statue. Remember, the defensive end made a difficult decision after his freshman season to give up basketball after he played one season for LSU and focus strictly on football.
At 6-4, and 300 pounds, Spears knew his body was built more to dominate the line of scrimmage, rather than the paint.
"I really love to play basketball, but at the end of the day, I just thought focusing on football was the best thing for me," he said, but knowing he spent summers in high school playing for a traveling AAU basketball team. "I miss it sometimes, but I know this is where I should be. But it's a good way to get in shape. So I might play a little bit (in the off-season)."
Now that might not be the exact procedure Parcells has in mind in terms of Spears shedding a few pounds, but the coach probably won't complain as long as he gets a healthy defensive end for training camp.
But if a spring mini-camp in just shorts and helmets tells us anything, Spears doesn't look too far from being the dominating inside force the Cowboys hope they drafted. In the one-on-one pass-rushing drills, Spears showed a variety of moves to beat his offensive counterparts, including spin moves to either side. He also had no problem running around offensive linemen, once beating rookie tackle Rob Petitti, a sixth-round pick, before he barely had come out of his stance.
"All that matters is that you get to the quarterback," Spears said. "As a defensive linemen, when it's time to rush the passer, you just want to get in his face, get a sack, force a bad throw, cause a fumble - just something. That's what I'm here for. They want me to be disruptive in the backfield, whether it's stopping backs or chasing quarterbacks. Just make plays."
While it's uncommon for teams to have a pair of first-round picks, especially two who play the same position, Spears said going through this experience with Demarcus Ware, the team's first draft pick (11th overall), likely will make this a smoother transition. In fact, not only are they going through similar experiences, but they even developed a friendship in Mobile, Ala., during the week of practices leading up to the Senior Bowl.
"We really became good friends down there," Spears said of Ware. "I don't think we ever really thought we'd both go to the same team. But having him here, it's just another reason why I know this where I need to be. I get to play for one of the best coaches and someone I really admire and respect. And to play with a guy like Demarcus, I really think we're going to have a lot of fun here."
But being successful may not be enough for Spears, who is only four practices into this NFL career. He already is looking for a bigger role.
One of four Cowboys draft picks to also captain their college team, Spears said it's not too early to tackle a leadership role with the Cowboys as well.
"That's what we were talking about the other day - Demarcus, Kevin (Burnett) and myself," Spears said. "We know we have a chance to be sort of the future here on defense. We already have great players here with guys like Greg Ellis, La'Roi Glover, Roy Williams, (Terence) Newman. But we want to come in here and not play like rookies. If we can step in right away and not miss a beat, then we'll have a chance to be even better next year.
"That's what I'm trying to do. I want to come in here and be a leader by example. But to do that, you have to work hard to be successful. Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes."
And in this case for Spears, the whatever part is simply dropping a few excess pounds to please Parcells.
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