Cowboys’ happier, heavier Rolando McClain is ready to hit
It was a happier, more relaxed and seemingly more responsive Dallas Cowboys middle linebacker Rolando McClain who greeted the media Wednesday.
He initially tried to bypass the interview as he did many times last year, but did an about-face with a smile and said, “They say I have to talk today.”
Although his second year with the Cowboys after missing 2013 in semi-retirement got off to a muted start because of a four-game suspension for violating the NFL substance abuse policy, his return comes at an opportune time.
A Cowboys defense that has been shell-shocked in consecutive losses, giving up 438 yards apiece to the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints, needs the added juice heading into Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots (3-0). The Patriots have future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady and the league’s top offense.
I’m just excited to play football and hit somebody else besides my teammates. Physical, fatigue, none of that matters. At the end of the day, I get to play football. So I am happy.
Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain
McClain brings a physical presence to the run defense and pairs with weakside linebacker Sean Lee to form a playing-making duo at linebacker not seen around Valley Ranch in decades.
But he scoffs at any suggestion that his return, which coincides with defensive end Greg Hardy’s, instantly turns the maligned defense into Doomsday Y2K.
“We ain’t focused on none of that,” McClain said. “At the end of the day, Greg’s excited to be back, I’m excited to be back. We just want to contribute to the defense and do our part on this team to make this team better. But we’ve been out four games and that’s terrible. We just want to come back and play good football.”
McClain not only missed the first four games with the suspension, but also missed all of the off-season, minicamp and training camp rehabbing from knee surgery.
Asked if the knee rehab set him back, McClain said, “In a way I feel like it did, but we are where we are now, so you make the best out of it. We’ve done a great job with the rehab guys; everybody in the treatment room, weight room.”
McClain believes he will buoyed by coming in with added weight compared with last year, when he finished second on the team in tackles with 108. He was nagged by knee, groin and neck injuries throughout the season. He is officially listed at 255 pounds.
“I feel like last year I was lighter, a lot lighter than what I am normally used to playing at, but 18 months off, you’ll lose a little muscle mass,” said McClain, who played closer to 265 pounds at times when he was with the Oakland Raiders from 2010-2012 before being cut and subsequently retiring. “I got my weight back and I should be able to sustain it a lot longer going on throughout the year.”
On his first day of practice Wednesday was McClain bending over at times trying to catch his breath. He has been working at the team’s facility during his suspension, but he is not yet in football shape.
“Oh, exhausted,” said McClain, when asked how felt after practice. “Feel good as far as being comfortable with the defense. But you’re not in football shape until you play football.”
McClain doesn’t know how long he will play Sunday.
“As much as required. When the ball’s snapped, the ball’s snapped, so go get the guy with the ball,” he said.
Unlike Hardy, McClain got no work in the preseason. Sunday will be the first time he faces live action since the playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers last January.
“It is a challenge,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “You don’t just roll out there and play. He’s got good instinct and feel for the game, so we do think he will pick things up quickly.”
McClain was able to attend meetings and do conditioning work at the team facility during his suspension. He worked out four or five times a week. It proved to be bittersweet as he balanced the positive of being around the team with the negative reminder of the suspension.
“I’m just excited to play football and hit somebody else besides my teammates,” McClain said. “Physical, fatigue, none of that matters. At the end of the day, I get to play football. So I am happy.”
Clarence Hill: 817-390-7760, @clarencehilljr
This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Cowboys’ happier, heavier Rolando McClain is ready to hit."