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Men at work: Former Penn State stars Paul Posluszny and Sean Lee train in Pittsburgh for an NFL season they hope will start on time
By BOB FLOUNDERS, The Patriot-News
Penn State linebacker Sean Lee does resistance band training in Pittsburgh. Lee and and Paul Posluszny are doing offseason work outs in Pittsburgh with Steve Saunders of Power Train Sports.
PITTSBURGH -- The 2011 National Football League off-season is a mess. There is no collective bargaining agreement in place. Owners locked out the players right after the last one expired in early March; it’s now 41 days and counting.
There is so much uncertainty. Players are on their own; coaches and general managers can only hope they are following a conditioning plan. Time marches on — the fall schedule has been released and the draft will go off next week as planned — with little indication exactly when, and if, the owners and players will mend fences.
Two former Penn State standouts try not to think much about their unsettled futures.
But it’s not easy for Paul Posluszny and Sean Lee, two of the best linebackers Joe Paterno has ever developed.
Both players, who have been training here for two months with midstate performance trainer Steve Saunders, have added significant weight — and muscle — since their college days. They are carrying 240-plus pounds rather easily. However, for Poz and Lee, it’s not really about the weight at the moment.
It’s about the wait.
And Posluszny admits his situation — he is a free agent after spending four years with the Buffalo Bills — has him stressed.
"On a personal level, I don’t know where I’m going to play. I wish I knew where," Posluszny said Wednesday.
"I wish I was under contract with somebody and I knew where I was going. The think I’m worried about is it could drag into August, then we get a deal done, and I’m going to have to report to camp somewhere in six weeks and I won’t know where. That’s the only thing I get nervous about."
Posluszny said his workouts with Saunders, whose company, Power Train, has training centers in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia area, help keep him sane.
"I could be an unrestricted free agent or, depending how things go if they change some rules, I could be a restricted free agent," Posluszny said.
"Everything is so completely up in the air and for me, it’s not fun to think about. That’s why I try and put lot of focus on my training and doing all of the right things. Because when I do think about [the future], I start freaking out."
Lee battled injuries for the early part of his 2010 rookie year but came on in the second half — he intercepted a pass by Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning and returned it for a touchdown. He realizes the season could be shortened but is confident there will be a season of some sort.
"I think all our guys [on the Cowboys] are going to be ready to play, I know I’m going to be ready to play," Lee said.
"You look at the years there were strikes. The Washington Redskins won both years [1982-83 and 1987-88]. In the record books, it doesn’t say, ‘Oh, they only played for so many games because of a strike.’ It just says they were Super Bowl champions.
"Most guys, if they’re smart, are going to be training right now like there’s going to be a season."
Said Posluszny: "I don’t think we’ll miss any games. It’s too great of a product to miss out on and I think the people in the room are smart enough that we’re going to get something done.
Wednesday was a running day for Posluszny and Lee, who work out five days a week. A running day and a recovery day, too. The drills Saunders puts the duo through are sinister ... but beneficial.
The workout is indoors on an artificial football surface and the two are wearing T-shirts and shorts. After only 20 minutes, they are wearing sweat-stained T-shirts and shorts.
When they were at Penn State, Posluszny and Lee, Pittsburgh-area high school stars, were known for their ramped-up on-field intensity. They were the same on the practice field. Nothing’s changed.
As they push their way through a series of sprints, Posluszny and Lee match each other, stride for stride. It looks like a competition. Saunders stops just short of calling it that.
"I don’t know if Paul and Sean are competing against each other," Saunders said.
"But I do know they are really, really pushing each other. These guys always are trying to get better and I think the only way they know they can do that is to get the most out of each workout."
"Honestly, we would have been working out together here in February if it was a typical off-season," said Lee, an Upper St. Clair graduate, who is scheduled to head back to Dallas next week to take part in workouts organized by the Cowboys’ players.
"Instead, we’re still here now. The thing with Paul is that he’s so disciplined and he’s such a hard worker, I always make sure I get some work in with him. The more we work together, I think we push each other and enjoy doing it.
"When I was at Penn State, I used to follow him and try to work like him. Now at least I can compete a little bit with him now. In the past, it wasn’t so much like that."
"It’s been great, just great, training together," said Posluszny, who played at Hopewell High School.
"We’ve been running and lifting together and to do it with someone like Sean, someone who is so dedicated, it’s really been a good experience. We’re doing all the same things because we’re both linebackers, we do all the same movements when it comes to running, so it’s been very beneficial."
The lockout continues. An on-time start to NFL training camps, and an on-time start to the regular season, is in jeopardy.
But Paul Posluszny and Sean Lee will be in shape when it’s time to play football again. Guaranteed.
By BOB FLOUNDERS, The Patriot-News
Penn State linebacker Sean Lee does resistance band training in Pittsburgh. Lee and and Paul Posluszny are doing offseason work outs in Pittsburgh with Steve Saunders of Power Train Sports.
PITTSBURGH -- The 2011 National Football League off-season is a mess. There is no collective bargaining agreement in place. Owners locked out the players right after the last one expired in early March; it’s now 41 days and counting.
There is so much uncertainty. Players are on their own; coaches and general managers can only hope they are following a conditioning plan. Time marches on — the fall schedule has been released and the draft will go off next week as planned — with little indication exactly when, and if, the owners and players will mend fences.
Two former Penn State standouts try not to think much about their unsettled futures.
But it’s not easy for Paul Posluszny and Sean Lee, two of the best linebackers Joe Paterno has ever developed.
Both players, who have been training here for two months with midstate performance trainer Steve Saunders, have added significant weight — and muscle — since their college days. They are carrying 240-plus pounds rather easily. However, for Poz and Lee, it’s not really about the weight at the moment.
It’s about the wait.
And Posluszny admits his situation — he is a free agent after spending four years with the Buffalo Bills — has him stressed.
"On a personal level, I don’t know where I’m going to play. I wish I knew where," Posluszny said Wednesday.
"I wish I was under contract with somebody and I knew where I was going. The think I’m worried about is it could drag into August, then we get a deal done, and I’m going to have to report to camp somewhere in six weeks and I won’t know where. That’s the only thing I get nervous about."
Posluszny said his workouts with Saunders, whose company, Power Train, has training centers in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia area, help keep him sane.
"I could be an unrestricted free agent or, depending how things go if they change some rules, I could be a restricted free agent," Posluszny said.
"Everything is so completely up in the air and for me, it’s not fun to think about. That’s why I try and put lot of focus on my training and doing all of the right things. Because when I do think about [the future], I start freaking out."
Lee battled injuries for the early part of his 2010 rookie year but came on in the second half — he intercepted a pass by Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning and returned it for a touchdown. He realizes the season could be shortened but is confident there will be a season of some sort.
"I think all our guys [on the Cowboys] are going to be ready to play, I know I’m going to be ready to play," Lee said.
"You look at the years there were strikes. The Washington Redskins won both years [1982-83 and 1987-88]. In the record books, it doesn’t say, ‘Oh, they only played for so many games because of a strike.’ It just says they were Super Bowl champions.
"Most guys, if they’re smart, are going to be training right now like there’s going to be a season."
Said Posluszny: "I don’t think we’ll miss any games. It’s too great of a product to miss out on and I think the people in the room are smart enough that we’re going to get something done.
Wednesday was a running day for Posluszny and Lee, who work out five days a week. A running day and a recovery day, too. The drills Saunders puts the duo through are sinister ... but beneficial.
The workout is indoors on an artificial football surface and the two are wearing T-shirts and shorts. After only 20 minutes, they are wearing sweat-stained T-shirts and shorts.
When they were at Penn State, Posluszny and Lee, Pittsburgh-area high school stars, were known for their ramped-up on-field intensity. They were the same on the practice field. Nothing’s changed.
As they push their way through a series of sprints, Posluszny and Lee match each other, stride for stride. It looks like a competition. Saunders stops just short of calling it that.
"I don’t know if Paul and Sean are competing against each other," Saunders said.
"But I do know they are really, really pushing each other. These guys always are trying to get better and I think the only way they know they can do that is to get the most out of each workout."
"Honestly, we would have been working out together here in February if it was a typical off-season," said Lee, an Upper St. Clair graduate, who is scheduled to head back to Dallas next week to take part in workouts organized by the Cowboys’ players.
"Instead, we’re still here now. The thing with Paul is that he’s so disciplined and he’s such a hard worker, I always make sure I get some work in with him. The more we work together, I think we push each other and enjoy doing it.
"When I was at Penn State, I used to follow him and try to work like him. Now at least I can compete a little bit with him now. In the past, it wasn’t so much like that."
"It’s been great, just great, training together," said Posluszny, who played at Hopewell High School.
"We’ve been running and lifting together and to do it with someone like Sean, someone who is so dedicated, it’s really been a good experience. We’re doing all the same things because we’re both linebackers, we do all the same movements when it comes to running, so it’s been very beneficial."
The lockout continues. An on-time start to NFL training camps, and an on-time start to the regular season, is in jeopardy.
But Paul Posluszny and Sean Lee will be in shape when it’s time to play football again. Guaranteed.
