Instead of relying on experts at various draft websites to find out about new Dallas Cowboys inside linebacker Sean Lee, I decided to turn to a trusted source. SB Nation's Penn State site, Black Shoe Diaries. I asked the guys over there to give me their thoughts on Lee. Besides praising Lee's run-stuffing abilities, they noted his attention to game-film, his leadership, and the fact that when he was hurt in 2008, he grabbed a head-set and helped the coaches on the sideline.
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First of all, in Sean Lee the Cowboys are getting a model citizen. You will not see this kid's name on a police report. He will not bring shame to the organization. Sean Lee is a class act all the way around, so don't worry about him raising unnecessary distractions.He's also a leader. When he sat out the 2008 season with a knee injury, his teammates still voted him as a captain. He's always the first one to show up for practice, the first one to finish the drill, and the last one to turn out the lights when practice is over. Penn State players are not unaccustomed to hard work, and Sean Lee knows what it takes to succeed.On the football field, Lee is a student of the game as all Penn State linebackers are trained to be. He will spend hours in the film room picking apart an opponent or dissecting his own play. He understands, as Joe Paterno has preached throughout his career, that players who anticipate the play, play faster. He really has a head for the game. When he injured his knee and had to sit out the 2008 season, he didn't just stand on the sideline in crutches. The coaches fitted him with a headset and he was an integral part of putting together the gameplan for the defense.Lee started off his career as an outside linebacker and moved inside for his senior year. His strength is in stopping the run. He anticipates the play, meets the ball carrier in the hole, and makes the tackle every time. He's a good hard nosed player, but he's not perfect. He might need to work on his pass defense. Penn State plays their linebackers in a very vanilla Cover 3 defense where the linebackers fall back to medium zone range. He doesn't have a lot of experience in playing man-to-man, so if they line him up on a tight end or a running back in that situation it's going to be foreign to him. He also needs to work on his pass rushing. Penn State rarely sent him on a blitz, and when they did he had trouble getting through the line to get to the quarterback.