ESPN: Ronald Leary loses weight, gets ready for camp

[CCBoy]

Ronald Leary loses weight, gets ready for camp

By Calvin Watkins



http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowbo...ready-for-camp




...Leary hasn't endured any problems with his left knee, which suffers from a condition known as osteochondritis dissecans -- also referred to as OCD. It's a joint condition in which a piece of cartilage, along with a thin layer of the bone beneath it, comes loose from the end of a bone.

If anything, Leary appears to be moving quite well. Between the offseason workouts and the three-day rookie training camp, Leary said he's lost weight and is currently at 319 pounds. Instead of heading home to Baton Rouge, Leary stayed in Dallas to workout at Valley Ranch.

"I'm nowhere near where I want to be," Leary said. "It's just about a transition in the NFL because it's a different game. I'm trying to get all the techniques from my coach and just talk to the vets and pick up little tips and play my game."

[Biggems]

He is nowhere near where he wants to be? the NFL defensive linemen better watch out...this guy is on a mission. He went from a fat lard to a streamlined beast in the offseason and has added lots of technique to his game. Now he will have lots of issues this year, but most rookie OL do. Still, he will continue to learn and improve. If he can remain healthy throughout his career, we may have stolen our future starter for the next decade plus.

BTW, I would love for him to be #61.

[TheCount]

I know a lot of people are high on Leary, but I'd consider his becoming a long term backup a win. I really don't see what's so special about him that some think he can start, and play well, as a rookie.

[RS12]

Welp, cant fault him on his work ethic so far. Big part of being an NFL player is wanting it, which it sounds like he does.

[big dog cowboy]

It won't surprise me if he ends up starting at some point this season.

[EGG]

Originally Posted by Biggems

He is nowhere near where he wants to be? the NFL defensive linemen better watch out...this guy is on a mission. He went from a fat lard to a streamlined beast in the offseason and has added lots of technique to his game. Now he will have lots of issues this year, but most rookie OL do. Still, he will continue to learn and improve. If he can remain healthy throughout his career, we may have stolen our future starter for the next decade plus.

BTW, I would love for him to be #61.

I think his degenerative condition precludes any chance of a decade + career, but I'd settle for 6 solid years,,, heck, at this point I'd settle for two solid years from any interior lineman!

[Eskimo]

I have treated some people with OCD and it is a very tricky condition.

I still remain hopeful that in the near future regenerative medicine will help out guys like him but I do think he is playing with borrowed time given the amount of strain he has to put up with on an ongoing basis.

I wouldn't be surpised if he needs regular cleanup of debris from his joint although only itme will tell.

[Risen Star]

Originally Posted by TheCount

I know a lot of people are high on Leary, but I'd consider his becoming a long term backup a win. I really don't see what's so special about him that some think he can start, and play well, as a rookie.

Well, you are always going to see new Cowboys praised. If I mentoned Matt Johnson's name here in March as a possible answer at S I'd have been laughed off the forum. But now he's this super secret gem we unearthed at the expense of the rest of the league. It's just what most fans do.

Having said that, I do think Leary has a chance.

[CCBoy]

Originally Posted by Risen Star

Well, you are always going to see new Cowboys praised. If I mentoned Matt Johnson's name here in March as a possible answer at S I'd have been laughed off the forum. But now he's this super secret gem we unearthed at the expense of the rest of the league. It's just what most fans do.

Having said that, I do think Leary has a chance.

Risen, sorry for the beefs you endure for stating your own views.

Although I don't always agree with your perspectives, I would would die to ensure your rights to them...and ability to voice them.

[big dog cowboy]

Originally Posted by Risen Star

Well, you are always going to see new Cowboys praised. If I mentoned Matt Johnson's name here in March as a possible answer at S I'd have been laughed off the forum. But now he's this super secret gem we unearthed at the expense of the rest of the league. It's just what most fans do.

That's true with any player not in the mainstream of college football. A few years ago you could have made the same point about a no name QB from Eastern Illinois.

[Risen Star]

Originally Posted by big dog cowboy

That's true with any player not in the mainstream of college football. A few years ago you could have made the same point about a no name QB from Eastern Illinois.

True. But the reason why the Romos and Austins get such attention is because they beat the odds. They weren't supposed to amount to anything. Far more times than not, they wouldn't amount to anything. That's what makes their story so great. Particularly Romo's.

The odds of Matt Johnson becoming a great starting S here are long. Yet he's been treated as if he was a consensus top 100 player in the draft with years of top production against elite competition.

That is only because he's now a Cowboy. If he was drafted by the Giants you wouldn't think much of his pro potential.

[Risen Star]

One thing about Leary, he was viewed as a draftable player. Most had him in the mid rounds based strictly off talent. It was the knee that caused him to go undrafted.

Now Matt Johnson was a consensus undrafted grade. Nobody I've read him thought enough of him to even include him as a 7th round possibility.

The Cowboys did the same thing with Lissemore, only at the end of the draft. They've got more invested in Johnson. We shall see how it turns out.

[Idgit]

Originally Posted by CCBoy

Risen, sorry for the beefs you endure for stating your own views.

Although I don't always agree with your perspectives, I would would die to ensure your rights to them...and ability to voice them.

For someone who believes (or pretends to believe) some crazy stuff, Risen Star does a better job than most defending his positions. If you're going to try to make the point that coverage players in today's NFL are overrated, you gotta have pretty thick skin, because you know what's coming.

Originally Posted by Risen Star

...Now Matt Johnson was a consensus undrafted grade. Nobody I've read him thought enough of him to even include him as a 7th round possibility...

IIRC, draft-day scuttlebut had Baltimore interested in taking Johnson just a few picks after our, and considered him a potential gem. That's admittedly hearsay, though. Still, I think it's safe to say there's a gulf between what NFL teams knew and what was reported in commercial draft prep content.

[Bluestang]

Originally Posted by Risen Star

One thing about Leary, he was viewed as a draftable player. Most had him in the mid rounds based strictly off talent. It was the knee that caused him to go undrafted.

Now Matt Johnson was a consensus undrafted grade. Nobody I've read him thought enough of him to even include him as a 7th round possibility.

The Cowboys did the same thing with Lissemore, only at the end of the draft. They've got more invested in Johnson. We shall see how it turns out.

IIRC Matt Johnson started gaining interest from other teams so we decided to pull the trigger on him early.

We also used our comp pick to get him which was the last pick in the 4th round.

[Bluestang]

Originally Posted by Idgit

IIRC, draft-day scuttlebut had Baltimore interested in taking Johnson just a few picks after our, and considered him a potential gem. That's admittedly hearsay, though. Still, I think it's safe to say there's a gulf between what NFL teams knew and what was reported in commercial draft prep content.

I don't know what team it was but juding by the draft order and the comp pick we used on Matt Johnson I don't think it was the Ravens. The hearsay is true though, we did indeed fear some other team picking him before us.