Texas NFL Capsules: Cowboys rookie LB Lee eager to make his pro debut

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — Sean Lee is a training camp rarity. He loves when the Dallas Cowboys practice twice in one day.

Lee is a rookie linebacker coaches have been raving about since they felt they stole him in the second round of the draft. They immediately plugged him in as the backup to Keith Brooking and described him as a Brooking clone — intense, hard-hitting, always around the ball, a motor that never quits.

Since Brooking turns 35 this season, there’s obviously a succession plan in place. And since Brooking is coming off knee surgery, the Cowboys already are tapping into it. Whenever they have two-a-days, Brooking gets a session off and Lee joins the first team, playing between Bradie James and DeMarcus Ware.

No wonder those single practice days are a letdown.

Better still for Lee: After missing the first two preseason games with an injury, he’ll make his NFL debut against the San Diego Chargers.

"I felt like a pansy on the sideline," Lee said. "I wanted to be out there helping the team and this week I get a chance to do it."

Is he ready?

"I’m sure there will be a little bit of a learning curve," he said. "If you watch me, one play’s good and the next play’s not so good. So I’m trying to build that consistency."

Between the "pansy" line and acknowledging his inconsistency, Lee’s defining characteristic is easy to detect. He demands perfection from himself and berates himself for anything less.

"He talks to himself like all the time," Brooking said, laughing. "It’s ‘beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.’ It goes on for like, 30 seconds. You’re like, ‘Good lord!"’

Brooking thought it was such a hoot that he wanted to make sure special teams coach Joe DeCamillis saw it. He’d noticed all right. Having been an assistant coach on the Atlanta Falcons when Brooking was a rookie, DeCamillis no doubt was smirking when he told Brooking, "Yeah, it reminds me of someone 12 years ago."

Considering that Brooking played in the Super Bowl as a rookie that season, and has since been to five Pro Bowls, the Cowboys would gladly take that kind of career from Lee.

A product of Penn State’s linebacker factory, Lee was ranked in the teens on the Cowboys’ draft board but was still available at No. 55 because he was considered a health risk. He missed the 2008 season after tearing a ligament in his right knee and missed three games last season because he sprained his left knee.

A thigh problem kept him out of the first two preseason games. Team owner Jerry Jones said Lee probably could’ve played in the last game, but it was too risky knowing how untamed Lee would be if he got on the field.

"Every play is important to him," said Wade Phillips, the Cowboys’ head coach and defensive coordinator. "No, not every play — every drill, everything he does, it’s important to him to do well. He has a great mentality and a world of ability. I think he’s doing well. He’s missing a few things here and there just because he hasn’t been through it enough. But he also makes outstanding plays that other guys wouldn’t make."

Phillips added he sometimes calls Lee "Brooking" because of the similar temperament.

Brooking said his fire comes from trying to be like his idol, Dick Butkus, who took the approach that you never want your last play to be a stinker — and you never know which is going to be your last play, so go all-out, all the time.

Lee rarely watched Brooking while he was growing up ("I didn’t get a chance," he said. "Living up north, they didn’t show Falcons games as much") and he isn’t a Butkus connoisseur.

He’s just wired this way.

"I always try to be my biggest critic because that’s how you get better," Lee said. "When I’m out at practice, I’m full go. I try to act like Bradie and Brook, who try to be perfect every play because when it comes to game time, you’ll play like that. I really believe that if you practice 100 percent and perfect you’ll play that way."

Brooking sees Lee making the mistakes he made as a rookie, like overpursuing. Their position requires a "slow-to-fast" approach, waiting to see where a play is going, then getting there.

"That comes with repetition, experience, getting out there and playing games," Brooking said. "Football is really high on his priority list. He really studies the game. It means a great deal for him to come out here and be successful. With his talent and his ability, that’s a very good combination."

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Texans see similarities with Super Bowl champs

METAIRIE, La. — The Houston Texans recognize the similarities between them in 2009 and the New Orleans Saints in 2008.

— The Texans went 9-7 last season; the Saints were 8-8 in 2008.

— Houston’s quarterback, Matt Schaub, led the NFL in passing, just as Drew Brees did for the Saints in 2008.

— The Texans know they have to improve their ground game after finishing third-to-last in rushing, just as the Saints did when they had went from the NFL’s fifth-worst rushing attack in 2008 to 10th in 2009.

But the Texans are not ready to say they are in the same stage of development that transformed the Saints from also-rans in 2008 to Super Bowl champions a year later. Houston plans to follow its own path.

"I don’t think there’s a certain blueprint that works," Houston middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans said. "Every team does something different. Everyone has to find their own way and find out what works for them."

The two teams squared off for the third and final time at the Saints practice facility Thursday morning in preparation for Saturdays preseason game at the Louisiana Superdome.

"We’re just trying to do what they did last year, be that last team standing," Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson said. "We can’t make it happen just by talking about it. We are going to have to go out and be very productive on the field."

The Saints have had an up-close look at the Texans for three consecutive years in inter-squad practices before their preseason games. Houston, which went 8-8 in 2008, has impressed New Orleans every time.

"The last couple of years, I’ve really seen they are a good team," New Orleans wide receiver Devery Henderson said. "It’s maybe just one or two games here and there that maybe if they could have won, the outcome of their season would have been a whole lot different."

The Texans need to shore of their defense, which finished in the middle of the pack in almost every defensive statistical category last season. However, the Texans’ offense is potent.

Schaub directed a prolific passing attack that averaged 290.9 yards. Wide receiver Andre Johnson had an NFL-high 1,569 yards on 101 catches.

"They definitely have the makings to be a great offensive team and a juggernaut in their conference," Saints defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove said. "I’m not real familiar with their defense, but on the offensive side they have the makings."

For New Orleans, it is matter of maintaining rather than building, and coach Sean Payton liked what he saw from the practices with the Texans. Trying to avoid a Super Bowl letdown, the Saints have tried to keep training camp from coming monotonous.

"We benefited and they benefited from breaking the normal routine of training camp," Payton said. "It forces you to get out of your comfort zone."

Henderson said the Saints found a simple formula for success the Texans have to follow if they want to duplicate New Orleans turnaround.

"Last year it was an everyday thing," he said. "We were trying to get better every time we stepped on the field, whether it was practice, walkthrough or whatever, and it took us a long way. That’s what every team should do."

Players were more testy at Thursday’s practice than they were during the two Wednesday sessions. There were a few scuffles between the Texans offense and the Saints defense.

Tempers flared when safety Chip Vaughn pulled down running back Chris Henry by his dreadlocks in a no-tackling drill.

"They are here in New Orleans," Hargrove said. "This is our city, our facility, this is our practice field. We have a tempo we play at. When you come in here you have to either practice our way or go home."

Houston coach Gary Kubiak, looking for his first playoff berth in five years with the Texans, liked that tempo.

"You know it’s the best competition that you could find right here working against the world champs," he said. "What more can you ask for?"

Notes: The NFL upheld Thursday the four-game suspension for Houston linebacker Brian Cushing for testing positive for HGH. Cushing was the NFL defensive rookie of the year last season. Cushing, who is eligible to play in the preseason, sat out practice with what Kubiak said was a foot injury. ... Saints Pro Bowl right tackle Jon Stinchcomb missed practice to rest a minor shoulder injury, but Payton said he expected Stinchcomb to play Saturday. ... The demotion of Saints starting left guard Carl Nicks lasted one day. He was back with the first unit Thursday. ... Reggie Bush had a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown for New Orleans. ... Johnson had little sympathy for Brown after he was pulled down by his hair. Said Johnson: When you have those dreads, that’s why you see a lot of guys cut them short now. When they hang out the back of the helmet, a lot of guys tend to grab the hair from the back.

Texans’ Cushing has 4-game suspension upheld

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing had his four-game suspension for taking a performance-enhancing drug upheld by the NFL on Thursday, which means he won’t be eligible to play until October.

The reigning Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year was suspended in May for testing positive for HCG, a fertility drug that is on the NFL’s banned substances list. Cushing claims that he has a unique medical condition that triggered the positive test.

"At the request of Texans owner Bob McNair, commissioner (Roger) Goodell reviewed additional medical information presented on behalf of Brian Cushing," the NFL said in a statement.

"The club and Cushing were notified today that after carefully considering all the information, including a review by outside medical experts, the commissioner finds no basis for changing the decision that Mr. Cushing’s suspension for the first four games of the regular season remains in place."

Cushing will miss games against Indianapolis, Washington, Dallas and Oakland before becoming eligible to return Oct. 10, when Houston hosts the New York giants.

Cushing missed practice Thursday with a foot injury and was not available to comment.

The former first-round draft pick started every game at outside linebacker last season, making 133 tackles and helping solidify the Houston defense. The Texans went 9-7 and just missed the AFC playoffs, their first winning record in their eight-year franchise history.

Xavier Adibi, a third-year pro who started five games in 2008, has backed up Cushing during training camp. The Texans also might move starting weakside linebacker Zac Diles into his place.

"We move forward. One guy goes down, the next guy just steps in," fellow linebacker DeMeco Ryans said. "Expectations don’t drop. We just keep pushing."

Cushing’s suspension does not apply to the preseason. Houston plays defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans on Saturday at the Louisiana Superdome, after practicing with the Saints on Wednesday and Thursday in nearby Metaire, La.

Asked whether he expects Cushing to play, coach Gary Kubiak replied: "I sure hope so."