Injuries are a way of life in the NFL. Nobody knows this more than the Dallas Cowboys, who will spend their summer trying to figure out how to replace Sean Lee.
Outside of cryogenically freezing Lee until September, there's not much that could've been done to save the star middle linebacker from his torn ACL. The Cowboys are taking a proactive approach, however, in their effort to cut down on hamstring injuries.
ESPNDallas.com's Todd Archer reported Monday that the Cowboys have installed ballet bars outside the locker room at three different heights that will allow players to stretch in a new way.
"(Associate athletic trainer Britt Brown) told me, 'You know, that's going up for you,' and he started laughing," safety Matt Johnson said. "If they work, we'll do whatever it takes."
Johnson missed virtually all of last season with hamstring issues. Other Cowboys players with hamstring issues included: Miles Austin, Morris Claiborne, Dwayne Harris, Justin Durant, Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Lance Dunbar, Danny McCray and Gavin Escobar.
(Perhaps it's best Austin is in Cleveland now. It's quite possible his hamstrings would burst into flames upon contact with ballet bars.)
"Typically we've done kind of the old team stretch, and we're experimenting with dynamic warm-up -- stuff that I've done, other coaches have done in the past," coach Jason Garrett said.
We're dubious on the idea the Cowboys have come up with a dynamic enough warm-up plan to eradicate hamstring injuries, long the bane of professional athletes across all spectrums of sport.
Still, it probably won't hurt ... unless it does, at which point the ballet bars will be in the dumpster faster than you can say "Miles Austin's Flaming Hamstrings."
The latest "Around The League Podcast"Â breaks down the news and examines developments from the first week of OTAs.
