Who will lead this defense???

[DaBruinz]

With Bruschi's retirement, the Pats are without the leaders we all have come to know back there. First, there was the "Godfather" in Willie Mc. But he's been gone for 3 years now. Bruschi has also been one of the leders back there... And Vrabel was also one of the leaders..

Seymour - He's never been a vocal leader and he's in the last year of his contract
Wilfork - Also in the last year of his contract. Not sure if he's shown any leadership..
Mayo - Still very young and he's got more to worry about than being a leader right now...
Thomas - He is one of the people I fully expect to step up.
TBC - Kinda hard to be a leadfer when you weren't on the team for a couple of years..
Meriweather - It will be interesting to see how he steps up with Harrison gone.
Sanders - See Meriweather
Warren - He was proactive in his contract negotiations, getting a deal done prior to when it needed to be done. Is he a silent leader like Seymour, does he lead at all, or does he step up and try to fill the void left by the departures of Bruschi and Vrabel

 

[QB12]

Big Sey.

QB12

 

[Mogamedogz]

From everything i've read and heard. Mayo seems to embrace the idea of being a leader on D#.

 

[PatsSox363804]

I expect Merriweather to really step up and lead the secondary. Overall I'd say Seymour and Wilfork.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Mayo - Still very young and he's got more to worry about than being a leader right now...

Given what Bruschi had to say, I think Mayo is more than capable of being that leader right now. And given that Belichick thought he was ready to call signals as a rookie, I believe BB thinks he's ready for that mantle, too.

 

[borg]

AD/Mayo combo. AD will play the Willie Mac role of Club House "do it the Patriot way" leader. Mayo will lead by example.

 

[PatsSox363804]

AD/Mayo combo. AD will play the Willie Mac role of Club House "do it the Patriot way" leader. Mayo will lead by example.

Yeah I expect big things out of Mayo. I think Wilfork playing hard through his contract issue when many others would sit out is leading by example too, that's why I put him in there.

 

[maverick4]

Mayo, Seymour, Meriweather, Adalius, basically the best players on the defense. Chung will also be pretty vocal even though he won't be starting.

We'll be fine in terms of leadership.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

They've tried to groom Sey. It's just not in him. Mayo is the heir apparent. Warren, AD, Sanders in the interim then hopefully Merriweather down the road.

 

[DarrylS]

Had the same question, not sure if Mayo is ready.. it may be a different style than the Harrison/Bruschi method... quite sure the BB has some kind of plan.

 

[Ring 6]

With Bruschi's retirement, the Pats are without the leaders we all have come to know back there. First, there was the "Godfather" in Willie Mc. But he's been gone for 3 years now. Bruschi has also been one of the leders back there... And Vrabel was also one of the leaders..

Seymour - He's never been a vocal leader and he's in the last year of his contract
Wilfork - Also in the last year of his contract. Not sure if he's shown any leadership..
Mayo - Still very young and he's got more to worry about than being a leader right now...
Thomas - He is one of the people I fully expect to step up.
TBC - Kinda hard to be a leadfer when you weren't on the team for a couple of years..
Meriweather - It will be interesting to see how he steps up with Harrison gone.
Sanders - See Meriweather
Warren - He was proactive in his contract negotiations, getting a deal done prior to when it needed to be done. Is he a silent leader like Seymour, does he lead at all, or does he step up and try to fill the void left by the departures of Bruschi and Vrabel

I don't think its that relevant, especially on a veteran team.
Who needs to be 'led' and when this topic comes up people look at the best player and assume he is or should be the leader. Not always the case.
Leaership, IMO, is example. Everything I have ever read says that anyone visiting the Patriots find it remarkable that they are run differently than other teams, and that it is blatantly obvious.
Leadership among players is more important when leadership is lacking from the coaching staff and organization.
I'm not at all concerned about leadership on this team.

 

[Reckedtrek]

This year it will be Mayo and Merriweather (vocal), Vince and Seymour ("slient leadership"). The next level down, I think AD and Chung.

Next year, at least one of Vince or Seymour will be gone and I think based on the stories from PS/training camp, Chung will step up and also be very vocal adding to Mayo and Merriweather, while AD will remain on the second tier of leadership.

With all of the major changes over the last 6 months, this is probably our biggest one year transition in recent memory. While I don't think it will be seemless, I think the team will be hitting on all cylinders when it counts. It's going to be a *very* interesting season.

 

[mayoclinic]

With Bruschi's retirement, the Pats are without the leaders we all have come to know back there. First, there was the "Godfather" in Willie Mc. But he's been gone for 3 years now. Bruschi has also been one of the leders back there... And Vrabel was also one of the leaders..

Seymour - He's never been a vocal leader and he's in the last year of his contract
Wilfork - Also in the last year of his contract. Not sure if he's shown any leadership..
Mayo - Still very young and he's got more to worry about than being a leader right now...
Thomas - He is one of the people I fully expect to step up.
TBC - Kinda hard to be a leadfer when you weren't on the team for a couple of years..
Meriweather - It will be interesting to see how he steps up with Harrison gone.
Sanders - See Meriweather
Warren - He was proactive in his contract negotiations, getting a deal done prior to when it needed to be done. Is he a silent leader like Seymour, does he lead at all, or does he step up and try to fill the void left by the departures of Bruschi and Vrabel

First of all, while Bruschi would certainly have provided locker room leadership, he was well past providing on-the-field leadership. Mayo was already being positioned to be the defensive signal caller and captain of the defense. I don't see that changing. I think Adalius Thomas will act as a de-facto "co-captain" and provide a lot of the locker room leadership, and I expect Meriweather to step up to become the leader of the secondary. The DL is a veteran group and doesn't really need a vocal leader, but I expect Wilfork to be the anchor of that group both as a player and in terms of his personal leadership.

Long term, I also expect Chung to join that group, but not this year.

 

[JR4]

I feel replacing Bru will be very difficult. He grew into that role over the
years. His knowledge grew and his big plays mounted and he was a
great communicator. Leadership is not always automatic. Real leadership,
IMO, is earned. PATs youngsters still have a ways to go before anyone or
two of them to earn that role.

But I feel Mayo and Meriweather are probably the best possibilities
right now.

Is the kind of leadership Bruschi brought overrated? I definitely think not.
It is very important. Especially when the chips are down a team needs
a ray of hope and something to believe in.
In battle conditions, on the field, a real leader brings that.
Tom brings that to the offense

Listening to an emotional Bill Belichick talk about Bru you got to see just
how much Bruschi brought to this team.

Bru will not be easily replaced in terms of Leadership especially.

 

[Deus Irae]

The great thing about the Patriots team is that Belioli brought in players who lead by example and who lead themselves.