FanPost

Rolando McClain is not Sean Lee!!

I have been looking forward to seeing how Rolando McClain would play in the pre-season. I had heard many positive things from all of the reports from Cowboys training camps and I was excited with the information from Bryan Broddaus and his film review. So, I decided I'd watch a couple games to see just what this guy could bring to the Cowboys.

I did only watch two games from the Raiders, one against the Bills and the other against the Jets. These were two of McClains best games statistically, with multiple tackles and some sacks. After viewing the games I came away utterly unimpressed. While he did make some plays he generally seemed to lack hustle, showed instincts only to find the closest blocker (instead of the ball carrier), and when he did have a shot to make a tackle he often came away empty-handed and bewildered. He showed little effort to disengage from a blocker and seemed to run with a play instead of trying to stop it. I saw multiple blown assignments, in both games, that allowed the runners to gain major chunks of yards and the lack of hustle was totally amazing. He did show some awareness in the passing game, but it certainly did not make up for the large amount of ugly film that I saw.

I then watched a couple Cowboys games to see how he compared with Sean Lee, because I thought I might be being too hard on him. Trying to compare these two players is a joke! Sean Lee continuously works to get to the ball and is the epitome of instincts and hustle. He is generally a secure tackler and when he does get blocked he is very good at disengaging and getting in on the tackle.

I then watched the final two games of last year to compare McClain with DeVonte Holloman, and I truthfully would prefer Holloman in the middle. While Holloman did have some mistakes, he also seemed to play with more burst and he was willing to run a play down. I think that with some additional experience he is the best answer at the Mike linebacker spot.

I would be interested in hearing from anyone that has actually seen some good NFL film on McClain. He must have had some impressive college film, to go so high in the draft, but I certainly did not see it in the two games I watched. I could put up with a couple blown assignments if the player is showing effort and desire to make a play, but that is precisely what I felt McClain was missing in his film.

I think it was worth a shot by our organization to bring a former high draft pick in to see what he might be able to contribute to the team, especially with our injuries and lack of depth at LB, but for those fans that are expecting to see another Sean Lee out there; I think you will be GREATLY disappointed.

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