What about a McClain/Brinkley & Lee/Hitchens timeshare?

[NorthwestDallas40]

If we are able to sign Ro Mc, I wonder if it would be best for the performance of the defense, and the longevity of Ro Mc and Lee, if there was a timeshare. Brinkley in for McClain on 1st and 2nd downs every third series. Starting SLB Hitchens in for Lee at WLB on 1st and 2nd downs every third series; Keith Rivers or Wilbur in at SLB. Lee still plays on 3rd down in the nickel. Would save Ro Mc and Lee from some run-down pounding. And I dont think there would be a significant drop off. NFL teams do it with RBs, why not LBs?

 

[jrumann59]

With the way the LB on this team are built it most likely will be time share but for games at a time.

 

[NorthwestDallas40]

With the way the LB on this team are built it most likely will be time share but for games at a time.

Good point. But maybe in an ideal world, a play by play timeshare might keep Ro Mc and Lee healthy.

 

[Nirvana]

These guys will be rotating in throughout the game for sure to keep them all fresh. As far as the nickel LBers, I'm thinking Ro and Lee.

 

[jrumann59]

Good point. But maybe in an ideal world, a play by play timeshare might keep Ro Mc and Lee healthy.

injuries are injuries. Most of the injuries to lee are not because of fatigue it is because he is not uber athletic and has to make up with by being high motor, unfortunately his body cannot handle the pounding.

 

[Nightman]

injuries are injuries. Most of the injuries to lee are not because of fatigue it is because he is not uber athletic and has to make up with by being high motor, unfortunately his body cannot handle the pounding.

Not sure what you mean by not uber athletic

Lee ran a 4.6, had a 37" vert, a 10' broad jump and a quick cone drill.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Let's sign Ro first.

Cautiously optimistic.

 

[jrumann59]

Not sure what you mean by not uber athletic

Lee ran a 4.6, had a 37" vert, a 10' broad jump and a quick cone drill.

He is not a freak athlete.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

They need to rotate no matter what they do. Guys wear down and LB are extra prone to injury imo because they not only risk injuries from sprinting but they also have to compete with OL and hit/be hit. It's similar but not as bad as RB because they get to do most of the hitting.

 

[T-RO]

He is not a freak athlete.

You got schooled already by bkight13, but you didn't learn much.

Lee is above average athletically...even for the NFL and for his position.

A few Lee facts:
--He averaged 21.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a senior in helping his school win a district title.
--In football, Lee rushed for 1,240 yards and 21 touchdowns while registering 95 tackles and four picks as a safety for an 11-1 squad his senior year.
--He was athletic enough to be regarded as a first round talent by draft guru Mike Mayock
--He has been athletic enough to win NFL player of the month honors

There are lots of guys who are simply predisposed to ACL injuries. I know--I'm one of them...and have had four ACL related surgeries.

I suspect a huge factor in his being injury prone: He's simply undersized. He played safety in high school and is really a bit of a tweener. Consider this: he's the same size as our old safety Roy Williams, but he's been playing deep in the middle of it....surrounded by 320 pounders and even running backs that are bigger than him. It becomes a simple issue of physics and pressure.

As per the OP's notion of using the bench more...I agree 100%.

 

[Zekeats]

You got schooled already by bkight13, but you didn't learn much.

Lee is above average athletically...even for the NFL and for his position.

A few Lee facts:
--He averaged 21.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a senior in helping his school win a district title.
--In football, Lee rushed for 1,240 yards and 21 touchdowns while registering 95 tackles and four picks as a safety for an 11-1 squad his senior year.
(every good athlete does this in their high school playing days)
--He was athletic enough to be regarded as a first round talent by draft guru Mike Mayock
--He has been athletic enough to win NFL player of the month honors
(Mike Mayock? really, that is your argument? Next it will be Kiper? LOL
There are lots of guys who are simply predisposed to ACL injuries. I know--I'm one of them...and have had four ACL related surgeries.

I suspect a huge factor in his being injury prone: He's simply undersized. He played safety in high school and is really a bit of a tweener. Consider this: he's the same size as our old safety Roy Williams, but he's been playing deep in the middle of it....surrounded by 320 pounders and even running backs that are bigger than him. It becomes a simple issue of physics and pressure.

As per the OP's notion of using the bench more...I agree 100%.

The guy just said that Lee is not a freak athlete which is true, especially by NFL standards. That doesn't mean that he is not athletic. 4.6 is still dam fast and he could jump but what makes Lee so good on the field is how much faster he can diagnose a play. These numbers are nothing more that fictitious but lets just say the average player can break down a play in 1.5 seconds then Lee can break it down in .7 seconds. That is what makes him so special. That and obviously his drive, commitment, study and execution. I am not anti-Lee like some on here. I admit I hated when we drafted him and loved by week 5 of his rookie year. I am not one of those guys not counting on him staying healthy. I can't wait to see this guy back. I though our season was over last year once he went down.
He is our best defensive player but it is not because he is a freak athlete. Randy Moss, Brian Uhlacher, JJ Watt, Adrian Peterson, Odell Beckham Jr. those are freak athletes.

 

[T-RO]

The guy just said that Lee is not a freak athlete which is true, especially by NFL standards. That doesn't mean that he is not athletic. 4.6 is still dam fast and he could jump but what makes Lee so good on the field is how much faster he can diagnose a play. These numbers are nothing more that fictitious but lets just say the average player can break down a play in 1.5 seconds then Lee can break it down in .7 seconds. That is what makes him so special. That and obviously his drive, commitment, study and execution. I am not anti-Lee like some on here. I admit I hated when we drafted him and loved by week 5 of his rookie year. I am not one of those guys not counting on him staying healthy. I can't wait to see this guy back. I though our season was over last year once he went down.
He is our best defensive player but it is not because he is a freak athlete. Randy Moss, Brian Uhlacher, JJ Watt, Adrian Peterson, Odell Beckham Jr. those are freak athletes.

That poster was trying to connect Lee's injuries to a lack of athleticism. That is just a weak, flawed narrative. It's just wrong.

 

[Crown Royal]

I would think that building depth in the front seven on defense has been a clear strategy for 2-3 years, and is now seeping into the LB corps. Included in this strategy is a large degree of subbing players, which leaves them fresh in the second half.

 

[jobberone]

I agree Lee is not an elite athlete but he has some elite metrics that being his quickness in a box. You can see his combine numbers. He is not elite otherwise athletically but he is an elite football player.

Watch some tape and see him react. As a LB sniffing plays out and reacting is huge.

 

[xwalker]

If we are able to sign Ro Mc, I wonder if it would be best for the performance of the defense, and the longevity of Ro Mc and Lee, if there was a timeshare. Brinkley in for McClain on 1st and 2nd downs every third series. Starting SLB Hitchens in for Lee at WLB on 1st and 2nd downs every third series; Keith Rivers or Wilbur in at SLB. Lee still plays on 3rd down in the nickel. Would save Ro Mc and Lee from some run-down pounding. And I dont think there would be a significant drop off. NFL teams do it with RBs, why not LBs?

I don't see that happening. The Garrett mentality is to ride the starters. The easiest way to do it would be to separate the base LBs from the Nickel LBs. I anticipate Lee and Hitchens as starters in both the base and Nickel. If RoMc was re-signed, I don't think he would be in the Nickel if Hitchens and Lee are healthy. That wouldn't leave enough snaps in the base for both RoMc and Brinkley.

It's not in the mentality of Lee to come off the field just like Witten plays 100% of the offensive snaps.

 

[NorthwestDallas40]

I don't see that happening. The Garrett mentality is to ride the starters. The easiest way to do it would be to separate the base LBs from the Nickel LBs. I anticipate Lee and Hitchens as starters in both the base and Nickel. If RoMc was re-signed, I don't think he would be in the Nickel if Hitchens and Lee are healthy. That wouldn't leave enough snaps in the base for both RoMc and Brinkley.

It's not in the mentality of Lee to come off the field just like Witten plays 100% of the offensive snaps.

I hear ya. But team is already thinking about protecting Lee by moving him to WLB. This would be an additional way. Having starting-quality backups at LB gives Garrett an option like this that he may not have had or considered before...

 

[xwalker]

I hear ya. But team is already thinking about protecting Lee by moving him to WLB. This would be an additional way. Having starting-quality backups at LB gives Garrett an option like this that he may not have had or considered before...

A more realistic option would be to get the starters out of the game when they're significantly up on the scoreboard. They didn't do that last year.

 

[Zekeats]

That poster was trying to connect Lee's injuries to a lack of athleticism. That is just a weak, flawed narrative. It's just wrong.

Didn't see that part.

 

[Kaiser]

I agree with the OP, I think with the depth the team has at LB we will see more substitution. Not outright rotations but more of the wave attack style they use with the DL.

Also on freak athletes, Bruce Carter was clearly a one of them and he had a lot of injuries during his Dallas career. Not as many as Lee but still a lot.

 

[Nightman]

You got schooled already by bkight13, but you didn't learn much.

Lee is above average athletically...even for the NFL and for his position.

A few Lee facts:
--He averaged 21.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a senior in helping his school win a district title.
--In football, Lee rushed for 1,240 yards and 21 touchdowns while registering 95 tackles and four picks as a safety for an 11-1 squad his senior year.
--He was athletic enough to be regarded as a first round talent by draft guru Mike Mayock
--He has been athletic enough to win NFL player of the month honors

There are lots of guys who are simply predisposed to ACL injuries. I know--I'm one of them...and have had four ACL related surgeries.

I suspect a huge factor in his being injury prone: He's simply undersized. He played safety in high school and is really a bit of a tweener. Consider this: he's the same size as our old safety Roy Williams, but he's been playing deep in the middle of it....surrounded by 320 pounders and even running backs that are bigger than him. It becomes a simple issue of physics and pressure.

As per the OP's notion of using the bench more...I agree 100%.

Unfortunately it happens to a lot of white athletes. They get labeled as gritty, intelligent and hard workers instead of natural athletes. There is nothing about Lee's background that doesn't scream ATHLETE. He can run, jump, cut, lift and play with anyone. He has gotten hurt a lot, but it is just bad luck. Tendons and ligaments don't care how big or athletic you are.