Veteran Leadership

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

over the weekend, i heard charles mann on sportstalk 980 and he brought up the fact that the redskins dont have alot of veteran leadership. i though about and i think he is right. aside from bruce smith who is actually older than dan snyder, we dont have too many older guys on the team to help the younger guys out thru the tough times during the season. granted, we do have some (considerably) young vet leaders like samuels, jansen, bailey, fiore, wilkinson, armstead and trotter. these guys have been starters and are experiences, but these guys still have more to learn about the game. do you all see this as a problem, or is (old) veteran leadership overrated?

[truant]

ehh... i don't think older vet leadership is all that important anymore. Mainly because it doesn't happen that much. With free agency how it is it's rare to have your darrell green's playing for a long time, playing well and playing in the same place. Instead I think the rising stars have to turn the corner and become leaders.

It is nice to have those guys around, but i think for our team this year, the stars will really have to take on more themselves. With the same coaching staff they should feel more comfortable to take on a leadership role IMO.

[Spearfeather]

This is where I think Arrington, Samuels, Bailey, and Trotter really have to step up, I've given up on Bruce.....He is/was a great player, just ask him, he'll tell you, but I don't think he's great as far as team chemistry goes...it's a good point though...I do think you still need those types of players to really be a " team ". I think Patrick Ramsey will be that type of player in the years to come, and the fact that we have someone like that at Quarterback will help a lot.

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

true, but i think it would especially help us with our young RBs and WRs especially. aside from the coaches, its always nice for the younger guys to have the ol' vet, who has been there and done that, in their ear constantly, teaching them the little things that can make them better football players.

[hail2skins]

I think you need that little firery person who can light a fire under the other players. I don't think we have that. Bailey is a leader by example, Lavar will probably have to be the one that steps up and becomes the vocal leader for this team.

[PennSkinsFan]

I aagree with Spearfeather. More than just being stars, Arrington, Jansen, Bug daddy, Samuels, Bailey, and Armstead need to step up and fill the orle. Bruce Smith and Jesse Armstyead along can provide that veterna leadership on defense, but on offense, Jansen just signed a new six year deal, Samuels is going into year three, Gardner has been here two years, Thomas is a veteran.

I dont agree with that assessment at all. Thsi team has veteran leadership it is just that the veterans have to step up, embrace the role, and fulfill the role.

[AGibbsGirl]

I think that a good leader is someone who can do anything that he asks someone else to do. So if one man on a squad is fully committed to giving 110% then the others should be expected to follow.
HOWEVER, I also believe that on every team there is experience, nerves and immaturity.

There must be that one old grizzled vet in each squad that can pull the young ones back down to earth when they start to float off...

Let's face it, if you are a Rookie or even new to the team, a Dallas game can freak you out!

[TexSkin]

I believe Thomas stated he wanted to provide Vet leadership> The more I think about it though,the more it makes me happy..think about it,this team is young and full of talent..I hope good things come from it.

[Skins57]

I think Armstead will be the man on defense, someone will have to keep Arrington under control on the field. I would love to see Jansen step up and I think he will

[fever1972]

I have been watching tapes from last season and your question of a lack of leadership kinda sent bells off in my head. I noticed that on defense everybody was quick to congratulate and celebrate a nice play, but when somebody was out of position or jumped the gun (i.e. Smoot going for the big INT and missing, or getting caught out of position) nobody like Arrington or Trotter stepped up to him on the field and got him back with the progam. You never see Jansen or Samuels grabbing somebody's facemask and telling them to concentrate when the line jumps offsides. I am hoping that with being more comfortable in the same system on both sides of the ball that somebody steps up on the field on Offense and Defense and starts policing themselves. I am not even a big Basketball fan but what little bit I watched, I could see a player lke Michael Jordan talking to his teammates going down the floor and coaching them in btween plays on what they need to do. The Redskins are severly lacking that on the field leader on offense and defense!

[NamVet4]

Leadership is earned, not made, confered or given. Not every person is leadership material. Great athletes can be, and have been, poor leaders.
This is a relatively young 'Skins Team, with some serious players with great skills acknowledged by their salaries. That being said, I hope that the one who emerges on offense and defense and as overall Team leader gets the support needed. IMHO - that comes from the Coaching Staff and the FO as well as the players.
Just my 2 cents. http://kit.netpoets.net/2cents.gif

[Hailyeah]

Rather than just leadership, I think that a team needs inspiration. They need to see someone consistently make big plays. A go to guy. A rock that everyone else can play off of. Last year, only Ramsey in the Titans game and maybe SD a few times provided that on offense. On D, it was clearly Darryl Gardener that lit the fuse on our 5th ranked D. I believe Ram will be the rock on O and I'm hoping Lavar will be that guy on D. Making spectacular plays is a prerequisite, but we also need consistency and dependability in there. Hopefully #56 reaches that next level this season. I believe that its extremely tough to inspire a whole unit from the O line or D back positions. Champ and DG (and these are my favs) can shut down guys for decades, but you need to get the barbarians near the line fiesty to really get things working. Just my observation.