- Messages
- 54,899
- Reaction score
- 6,126
Cowboys LB coach Matt Eberflus: One thing Sean Lee is learning should help his comeback
Jon Machota Email jmachota@dallasnews.com
Published: May 12, 2015 12:32 pm
IRVING — A little over a week ago, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Sean Lee “looks fantastic. As you might expect, he’s ready to go.”
Lee is working his way back from tearing the ACL in his left knee almost a year ago during organized team activities.
“Sean has been doing a really good job,” Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus said during last weekend’s rookie minicamp. “He’s trying to get back to where he was and beyond that. It’s a day to day process for him.”
Lee has missed 31 games over the last three seasons because of injury, so slightly dialing it back during off-season work has been part of the plan.
“He’s getting better at that,” Eberflus said. “He’s a Type-A personality. He’s an alpha type of guy. He’s learning how to take things with the whole process and knowing when to go hard and when to kind of pull back a little bit. He’s doing a real good job with that.”
With the addition of Rolando McClain following Lee’s knee injury, the Cowboys enter this season with two standout middle linebackers. To get them on the field together and potentially reduce Lee’s chance of injury, the former second-round pick will be working at weakside linebacker this year.
In Dallas’ defensive scheme, the weakside linebacker travels with the three-technique defensive tackle. With Lee playing that position, it will give him a better chance to see the ball, added protection from blockers and more freedom to make plays.
“That’s where you build your defense, your under tackle and then your Will linebacker,” Eberflus said. “That’s where we start. Those are the two guys that make the whole thing go. That’s the engine of the defense. We’re excited to have [Lee] there.”
Why do the Cowboys think Lee will find success at that position?
“A few years back, before we went to this defense, he played Will linebacker, so we were in a lot of under front and he was playing behind the three-technique and we kind of saw what his capabilities were there,” Eberflus said. “So if you marry him to the three-technique, he’s going to be more of a run and hit guy and I think that’s what his instincts and his natural abilities sort of lean that way.
“He’ll be really successful at that position.”
During a conference call with season-ticket holders last week, Jones said the Cowboys still believe Lee can be one of the team’s best players.
“He’s a leader,” Jones said. “He plays the game the way everybody likes to see a football player play it. I think [former Cowboys scouting director] Larry Lacewell once said, he plays like his hair is on fire, and that may be sometimes why he has a few injuries because he is wide open.”
Jon Machota Email jmachota@dallasnews.com
Published: May 12, 2015 12:32 pm
IRVING — A little over a week ago, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Sean Lee “looks fantastic. As you might expect, he’s ready to go.”
Lee is working his way back from tearing the ACL in his left knee almost a year ago during organized team activities.
“Sean has been doing a really good job,” Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus said during last weekend’s rookie minicamp. “He’s trying to get back to where he was and beyond that. It’s a day to day process for him.”
Lee has missed 31 games over the last three seasons because of injury, so slightly dialing it back during off-season work has been part of the plan.
“He’s getting better at that,” Eberflus said. “He’s a Type-A personality. He’s an alpha type of guy. He’s learning how to take things with the whole process and knowing when to go hard and when to kind of pull back a little bit. He’s doing a real good job with that.”
With the addition of Rolando McClain following Lee’s knee injury, the Cowboys enter this season with two standout middle linebackers. To get them on the field together and potentially reduce Lee’s chance of injury, the former second-round pick will be working at weakside linebacker this year.
In Dallas’ defensive scheme, the weakside linebacker travels with the three-technique defensive tackle. With Lee playing that position, it will give him a better chance to see the ball, added protection from blockers and more freedom to make plays.
“That’s where you build your defense, your under tackle and then your Will linebacker,” Eberflus said. “That’s where we start. Those are the two guys that make the whole thing go. That’s the engine of the defense. We’re excited to have [Lee] there.”
Why do the Cowboys think Lee will find success at that position?
“A few years back, before we went to this defense, he played Will linebacker, so we were in a lot of under front and he was playing behind the three-technique and we kind of saw what his capabilities were there,” Eberflus said. “So if you marry him to the three-technique, he’s going to be more of a run and hit guy and I think that’s what his instincts and his natural abilities sort of lean that way.
“He’ll be really successful at that position.”
During a conference call with season-ticket holders last week, Jones said the Cowboys still believe Lee can be one of the team’s best players.
“He’s a leader,” Jones said. “He plays the game the way everybody likes to see a football player play it. I think [former Cowboys scouting director] Larry Lacewell once said, he plays like his hair is on fire, and that may be sometimes why he has a few injuries because he is wide open.”
