Injuries have unfortunately been a large part of Pat Lee's professional career.

A knee injury caused him to go on injured reserve the final four games of his rookie season in 2008. Another knee injury forced him to miss the entire season in 2009.

And while he wasn't forced to go on injured reserve in 2010, injuries to both his ankle and hip kept him inactive in five games combined between the regular season and the playoffs.

As a second-round draft choice, Lee's career thus far has been underwhelming. But it's also been hard for him to get going when his body has been stuck in neutral.

Playing in only 11 regular season games last year and tallying only three paltry tackles on defense could have left a sour taste in the mouth of both Pat Lee and his critics once again, but the cornerback went out on a high note.

When a broken collarbone to Charles Woodson and shoulder injury to Sam Shields caused them both to miss time during the Super Bowl, Lee received the most playing time he had all season on the sport's biggest stage. And he left a positive impression.

"I thought I played very well," said Lee in a recent interview with Cheesehead TV. "It's my job basically to know what's going on out there, and situations like that, being able to replace. That's what I'm here for.

"When situations like that happen, where two of our key starters go down on defense, I've got to be able to jump in there and do that."

While statistics will show Lee only had a single solo tackle, his contributions to the Super Bowl victory extended much further than any stat would allow.

With the Steelers down by as many as 18 points, they were forced to take to the air while playing catch up. The Packers countered with their subpackage.

Lee filled the nickel cornerback role and frequently mirrored Antwaan Randle El who was limited to two catches for 50 yards but was kept out of the endzone.

In addition to his special teams duties, Lee was on the field for 20 defensive snaps against Pittsburgh and helped limit Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to 120 second half passing yards. The rest is history. The Packers won 31-25, and Lee now has a Super Bowl ring to show for it.

Seeing as it took two injuries for Lee to step in, few could have blamed him if he was a little rusty. He didn't have nearly the same preparation as the players ahead of him in the lead-up to the Super Bowl.

"It's not hard, because I've been doing it all year," said Lee. "It's Charles Woodson that I'm behind, and he's a legend. I've just got to play my role and be ready to step up when situations like that happen."

Thanks to the NFL lockout, Lee has––in a sense––been robbed of the pats on the back and the adulation he deserves from the people that hold the key to his future in the professional football: his coaches.

Unlike every other game of the season, coaches go back and grade every player on their individual performance from the previous game. With the Super Bowl being the last game of the season, Lee hasn't been able to review film with his coaches.

There has been no Individual Position Workouts, no Organized Team Activities and no minicamps this year. He heard encouraging words from the coaches in the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl, but nothing since.

"Everybody was soaking in the Super Bowl victory and stuff, so it's hard to talk about it with everybody, what they were saying and stuff," said Lee. "But everybody was like, 'You played a helluva game. You played a good game.' And that's what I got all day, that day."

Despite his superior performance in the Super Bowl, Lee's journey going forward is no less daunting.

He's behind Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams and Sam Shield in the pecking order at cornerback. Jarret Bush was still ahead of him on the depth chart last season. And this year the Packers' first draft choice on the defensive side of the football was another cornerback, fourth rounder Davon House.

Lee will also continue to battle with Brandon Underwood for a roster spot and any other undrafted rookies the Packers bring in as well.

But if there's anything working in Lee's favor, it's that rumors continue to grow that Woodson will eventually move to safety. And Lee knows it will only take another injury for him to be thrust into a prominent role.

At the very least, Lee will look for continued growth stemming from his experience in the Super Bowl.

"I got a lot of playing time that game," said Lee, "and I hope I build up off of that."