No Hobbs,No Harrison,No Samuel - Who will step up & show leadership in the secondary?

[Ring 6]

Re: No Hobbs,No Harrison,No Samuel - Who will step up & show leadership in the second

One of my concerns this upcoming season seems to be that in the secondary where we will probably not have Harrison back,we lost Hobbs and Samuel is 2 years removed so that leaves us with mostly players of less than 2 years experience in this league or veterans that are spending thier first year here after coming over from teams with much different and less complicated defensive schemes.

I thought that it was Hobbs job this year as the leader and senior of the backfield to get this secondary ready and unified but now that he is gone it appears to me that James Sanders has to step it up big time and take Rodney's place and show leadership in the backfield,it seems when the team has no one to show this,they struggle during the season to get organized when it came time to become a solid unit such as when Rodney got injured and when Ty Law left.

Is Merriweather or Bodden and Springs ready to take ahold of this area of defense or do we rely on Sanders or will Bruschi and/or Seymour have to pick up the entire unit to work cohesively?. - Someone needs to step forward and take the reigns from #37 back there who definately was the heart and soul of success when he was calling the shots

Who do you think is up to it in 2009 to be our leader on defense?

I think this topic is often overrated. While I understand that Rodney provided GOOD leadership, he has been out of action more than in action the last 3 years. Hobbs and Samuel had experience, but why would we assume they want to, could, or would be good at being leaders?
I dont think it is necessary to have a leader among the secondary. But I also know that a BAD leader is worse than none at all, and whether Hobbs or Samuel would be good or bad leaders is unknown to us. I am certain that a player with good leadership skills and lesser playing ability is better leading my team or unit that a guy with good ability but a poor attitude toward leadership.
In other words, a strong natural leader can help a position, unit and team, but a player who does not have the correct attitude taking a leadership role can hurt it at least as much. I know this: On a BB team you either have leaders who step up and do it the right way, or you have none, and leadership falls to the coaching staff.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Re: No Hobbs,No Harrison,No Samuel - Who will step up & show leadership in the second

Somthing is a miss, when was Hobbs a leader???

I know we will miss Rodney, but he has not been the same since 04..

 

[satz]

Re: No Hobbs,No Harrison,No Samuel - Who will step up & show leadership in the second

Leadership is a quality and people follow players they want to. Not sure how you can say one is better if he is a high pick or a veteran. Sanders is the leader in rodney`s absence. When rodney went down he was lost as our secondary and he has worked and come back as a leader.

It is not something who people think will be a leader its a quality to make players follow you and either you have it or don`t.
Chung will be a great asset but not sure how everyone knows he has the leadership quality and will flourish. same goes for merriweather who sounds like a kid in interviews and meetings.
The mike LB gets the plays and relays to the secondary who go into formation and also make sure every one is aligned good and in last minute shift by offence adjust accordingly.


satz

 

[Ice Cold Bruschi]

Re: No Hobbs,No Harrison,No Samuel - Who will step up & show leadership in the second

I think it will be Merriweather, but everything I've read says Chung is a natural leader, and was the leader of the D at Oregon, of course you can't count on a rookie to step into a leadership role but it bodes well for the future

 

[cubedoggy]

Re: No Hobbs,No Harrison,No Samuel - Who will step up & show leadership in the second

Rod Hood anyone?

 

[VJCPatriot]

Re: No Hobbs,No Harrison,No Samuel - Who will step up & show leadership in the second

Who do you think is up to it in 2009 to be our leader on defense?

You already mentioned them. Bodden and Springs are the first candidates at CB. But don't forget Sanders and Meriweather back there as the incumbent returning safeties. Often the safeties end up making the calls in the back 7. Leadership won't be a problem, and I think it's overrated and often used as an excuse to hang on to players that are past their usefulness to the team.

 

[37Harrison]

Re: No Hobbs,No Harrison,No Samuel - Who will step up & show leadership in the second

I recall an interview with Rodney talking about Merriweather and how he was yelling the signals out to Rodney and Rodney who knew the call was like RELAX man I know the call.

So I think our former first round pick Merriweather is going to be the guy.

:yeahthat:

 

[VJCPatriot]

Re: No Hobbs,No Harrison,No Samuel - Who will step up & show leadership in the second

And don't overlook the rookies either. Chung and Butler could be our future Milloy and Law just to make a comparison to some other great DBs the Pats have had in the past. These guys look like red chip solid players at a minimum and they could turn out to be quite special once they acclimate to the Pats system.