Saban Won't Matter Until... | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Saban Won't Matter Until...

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Shouright

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...we get some good leadership among the players on this team. One of the jobs of a team leader is to carry the coach's word to the team and help preach it among the players.

One of the reasons we have players who aren't buying into Saban's system (process first, results second) may be because we don't have team leaders who can put PEER pressure on guys to do so.

It's also a leader's job to help motivate other players and inspire them to play the best they can.

Here are the most recent Super Bowl teams and the leaders on them:

New England -- Tedy Bruschi/Tom Brady/Rodney Harrison
Tampa Bay -- Warren Sapp
Baltimore -- Ray Lewis
Green Bay -- Brett Favre
Dallas -- Michael Irvin/Emmitt Smith/Troy Aikman
Denver -- John Elway

St. Louis (2000) is an anomaly -- I can't think of a leader from that team. But as you can see, almost all Super Bowl winning teams have a vocal leader.

Anyway, the point is that I think we should be drafting and signing free agents with this in mind, and that we probably won't have the kind of results from Saban we're all expecting unless and until he can get team leaders who inspire other players and carry Saban's dictates to the rest of the team.

Right now whom do we have? Gus Frerotte on offense, and I bet his play makes it difficult for guys to look to him as a leader. Randy McMichael -- has the vocal forcefulness I want in a leader, but also seems too immature at times for guys to look to him as one.

On defense, Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas. Taylor doesn't seem tough enough for my taste, and Thomas seems too intensely quiet. Neither is a Ray Lewis, who, along with Brett Favre on offense, are the prototypes IMO.

We need some guys like them before we'll see greatness as a team IMO.
 
I would say Kevin Carter on D and....McMichael?

Anyway, the Rams had Marshall Faulk. It's not like we don't have players that are leaders in the locker room. We just haven't been winning, so who cares who they are....
 
I would like Ronnie to become a leader, but he does come across as a shy person. Hadnott I know became the vocal leader of the O-line.
 
phinMikeDC said:
I would say Kevin Carter on D and....McMichael?

Anyway, the Rams had Marshall Faulk. It's not like we don't have players that are leaders in the locker room. We just haven't been winning, so who cares who they are....
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Randy would be a good leader I think. He was furious with the line when AJ Feely was getting sacked so much last year vs the Bengals he was bleeding.
 
hence an AJ Hawk would be great on our team. we have Seau right now the only one to be of tha tnature and C Crowder doenst seem too far away.
 
Canadianfishfan said:
I don't Ronnie has the personality to be a leader. But i believe we have leaders... but we aren't winning.
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I think we have leaders too, but by default. I don't think we have BORN leaders.

Think of the movie "Braveheart" -- although it may be corny to invoke a "Hollywoodism" here, Mel Gibson's character personifies what I'm talking about. I don't think we have ANY guys on the team like that right now.
 
shouright said:
I think we have leaders too, but by default. I don't think we have BORN leaders.

Think of the movie "Braveheart" -- although it may be corny to invoke a "Hollywoodism" here, Mel Gibson's character personifies what I'm talking about. I don't think we have ANY guys on the team like that right now.
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since we've talked about this before, you probably know that i completely agree with you. good to point it out to those who may not have considered it yet.
 
Apparently, the coach disagrees.

"We're not looking for sheep," Saban said. "We are looking for wolves. If we need a sheepdog to get them lined up, and to get them where they need to get, then we have the wrong guys. I'm not trying to minimize leadership. I'm trying to maximize the individual responsibility of everyone else to not have to depend on [other players] to do it."
 
Disgustipate said:
Apparently, the coach disagrees.

"We're not looking for sheep," Saban said. "We are looking for wolves. If we need a sheepdog to get them lined up, and to get them where they need to get, then we have the wrong guys. I'm not trying to minimize leadership. I'm trying to maximize the individual responsibility of everyone else to not have to depend on [other players] to do it."
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Good job digging that one up!
 
Disgustipate said:
Apparently, the coach disagrees.

"We're not looking for sheep," Saban said. "We are looking for wolves. If we need a sheepdog to get them lined up, and to get them where they need to get, then we have the wrong guys. I'm not trying to minimize leadership. I'm trying to maximize the individual responsibility of everyone else to not have to depend on [other players] to do it."
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Right, but Saban is talking about guys who DEPEND on other guys for that. What about the guys who don't depend on it but benefit from it nonetheless?

Don't you think Ray Lewis adds something to the Baltimore Ravens, even though they probably don't have many players who depend on him?

I think if Saban can't agree with that, he needs to take a look at the list of Super Bowl winners I posted above. Teams just don't seem to reach that level unless they have at least one player like that.

Think of all the teams that have been "on the hump" recently:

Miami (before last year)
Minnesota (before Moss left)
Denver (after Elway)
Indianapolis

None of those teams has a leader in this mold, and all have been regular playoff teams that just can't get over the hump.
 
Disgustipate said:
Apparently, the coach disagrees.

"We're not looking for sheep," Saban said. "We are looking for wolves. If we need a sheepdog to get them lined up, and to get them where they need to get, then we have the wrong guys. I'm not trying to minimize leadership. I'm trying to maximize the individual responsibility of everyone else to not have to depend on [other players] to do it."
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not sure this means saban disagrees and doesnt want leaders on the team. thats laughable.

the guys that are the leaders are usually the wolves-guys like ray lewis, harrison and bruschi. you think saban would not want these guys?

this quote seems more about accountibility, not an indication of who saban is looking for in the offseason
 
shouright said:
Right, but Saban is talking about guys who DEPEND on other guys for that. What about the guys who don't depend on it but benefit from it nonetheless?

Don't you think Ray Lewis adds something to the Baltimore Ravens, even though they probably don't have many players who depend on him?

I think if Saban can't agree with that, he needs to take a look at the list of Super Bowl winners I posted above. Teams just don't seem to reach that level unless they have at least one player like that.
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right. ideally, you want to have 11 ray lewis type players on your team. but thats never going to happen, so you may as well try and get as many as you can
 
Maynard said:
right. ideally, you want to have 11 ray lewis type players on your team. but thats never going to happen, so you may as well try and get as many as you can
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Yep, and the good thing is that I think we may have gotten one in this year's draft. I can see Crowder being a guy like this at MLB once Zach is gone. He has the smarts to carry Saban's dictates to the players and the toughness to be a fiery leader.
 
Am I the only one who thinks that Channing Crowder will be a great leader on defense? I remember reading articles and some of you guys said that he has the same crazy attitude as Ray Lewis has. I think that Brown is too calm of a person to be a leader on offense, Rex Hadnot or McMike should be our leader on offense because we all know that both of them are very vocal to the team.
 
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