Team/Player Leadership
Looking back at the amount of players in the NFL from Rich-Rod and Hokes time I think the player leadership problem is bigger than we think. The last time we saw real leaders on the team, who willed the team to victory, was the sugar bowl. These guys played for both themselves and the team because they had gone through so much. Hopefully with the player leadship change they can win for eachother once again. We can't say we didn't have talent before. Michigan put out a lot of NFL talent. A lot more than some of the smaller schools around the country that did great, like say boise state.
It seems as though not everyone understood what I was
Just curious to see what you guys think.
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It seems as though my point did not come across correctly:
What I was trying to convey in my message, was how over the past few year Michigan did not play together as a unit. A bond was not created throughout the team. We had “leaders” but nobody really established themselves both on and off the field. In 2011 you could feel the will to win. You could see the leadership and determination in players such as Mike Martin, Molk, Hemmingway, Kovacs, Demens, Tree, Odoms, RVB, Roh, JT Floyd and even TWolf. That team had leaders, multiple both on and off the field. Every single game they put it all on the line. It wasn’t about who was a leader, how long they had been on the team, it was about busting their butts because you’d be failing your best friend if you didn’t. They lived up to saying “I’d go to war with you any day”.
I see that spark in this team. I see that drive that I have not in a long time. I see that bond that only comes from giving it your all each day for your battle buddy. I have hope for great thing this year.
I was just wondering if you’re seeing this same leadership shinning through? Multiple leaders both on and off the field.
August 21st, 2014 at 9:25 PM ^
There still are no team captains. That's kinda late isn't it?
August 21st, 2014 at 9:31 PM ^
The last three years, captains were named the Sunday before the opener.
Expect an announcement Sunday.
Also, look for the #21 and #11 Legend numbers to be handed out next week. Same thing happened last year for the vacant numbers.
August 21st, 2014 at 11:18 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 11:27 PM ^
Failure is a lonely bastard.
August 22nd, 2014 at 7:55 AM ^
If they do captains Team 135 will be Jake Ryan and Devin Gardner.
Legends jerseys
#11-Jarrod Wilson?
#21- not sure if we have receiver for it. Chesson?
August 21st, 2014 at 9:30 PM ^
MSU just named theirs today.
August 21st, 2014 at 9:32 PM ^
You don’t need a title to be a leader. –Multiple Attributions
August 21st, 2014 at 11:15 PM ^
to the 2011 team. Koger and Martin were the named captains, but does anybody seriously believe RVB wasn't a team leader?
August 21st, 2014 at 9:30 PM ^
^^^ What he said.
August 21st, 2014 at 9:44 PM ^
Just another symptom of a storyline driven culture. Good leadership isn't necessarily reflected in the win column. I think coaching and talent win games/championships. Just look at certain players judgement. If you think leadership has been a problem, you haven't been watching Devin Gardner keep getting up, even to the point of playing on a broken foot. Leadership can't change a bad play call. People would just rather blame something intangible than face reality.
August 21st, 2014 at 9:56 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 11:23 PM ^
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August 21st, 2014 at 10:00 PM ^
To express our thoughts fairly, I think you're going to have to define precisely what you see as the problem under "leadership" as this is a bit of an umbrella term, especially in team-oriented atmospheres like a football team.
To take a vague stab at it, we can quibble about captains and the comment by Clark at the end of last year where he said, "We lost the will to play as a family", and call that a breakdown - it might have been. Still, the team appears to have done much to re-emphasize leadership through the activities they've put the team through, there is a culture in place with this team that typically encourages excellent leadership thanks in part to Hoke, and when you have a QB that plays a significant portion of a game with a broken foot because the team mattered to him more, THAT'S leadership. I suppose without further information it is difficult to see the problem.
August 21st, 2014 at 10:04 PM ^
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August 21st, 2014 at 10:30 PM ^
August 22nd, 2014 at 8:40 AM ^
You don't need to be a senior to be a leader. Just because Hoke emphasized this his first three years he has backed away from it and did away with the Seals training. We also have 10 RS juniors on the roster who are going into their fourth year in the program.
I think a player like Peppers is exactly what this team needed. He is probably the most physically talented player on the team. He has a desire to be the greatest and will put in the work accordingly. This is infectious and it is always a good thing if your best players are also your hardest workers. Now I don't know if he'll be or become a verbal leader, but sometimes actions speak louder than words.
August 23rd, 2014 at 11:14 AM ^
Peppers has never played in a college football game. If you think guys with 2-3 years of starts under their belts are being led by the kid, you are wrong. That just doesn't happen. Maybe it ought to, but it doesn't. The guys who get respect are the guy that earned it with blood, sweat, and tears.
August 21st, 2014 at 10:42 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 11:09 PM ^
"Leadership" is always such a circular argument, though: why didn't Michigan do well last year? Because they lacked leaders. How do we know they lacked leaders? Because they didn't do well.
If Michigan had gone 12-2, would the storyline have been "Michigan does well despite a lack of leadership"? Of course not; the storyline would have been about what a great captain Taylor Lewan was.
August 21st, 2014 at 11:25 PM ^
What do you call it when you make a circular argument to make the argument that the argument you're criticizing is circular?
Answer: Sophistry.
August 22nd, 2014 at 8:54 AM ^
That's fair as far as it goes, but give me a counter-example. Show me one article by one member of the media about any team in the world in any sport ever that is based on the following idea: "it's surprising that team did so poorly given the great leadership they had."
I will gladly withdraw my argument if you can do that.
August 22nd, 2014 at 12:03 AM ^
August 22nd, 2014 at 2:45 AM ^
August 22nd, 2014 at 5:04 AM ^
I think that I am really tired of people whining about the past when the season is so close to happening. What's next? Couches burning on Hill St?
August 22nd, 2014 at 9:07 AM ^