The Class/Character Factor

[Bostonian1962]

Two years ago, when our Patriots lost in the Playoffs, there was a big discussion on the undesirables on the roster. The punks. The non-team players. The cancers. We all know the names.

BB and Co. got rid of the aforementioned/unnamed players, and for two drafts in a row heavily factored in the "Class Factor" when drafting. In two years, the team added talent, but they also leaned towards character guys. In fact, a bunch of our picks were college team captains. Heck, even our punter was a college team captain.

Contrast a team like the Jets who while they had a bunch of head cases, had a good amount of character, stand up guys to keep them in line. Guys like Damien Woody, Chris Jenkins, Brad Smith, Jerricho Cotchery, and others were there. The team went to two straight AFC Championship games. All of these guys were gone this year, and that team didn't even have a winning record.

The Patriots are now two years into re-emphasing character (because we were loaded with those types in our Super Bowl years), as we've all read about.

We have two straight years as the number one seed in the AFC, despite the fact that we have a ways to go (talent wise) on the defensive side of the ball. It's a team again. The players reportedly like each other, and go to bat for each other. There are many young leaders in the locker room again.

I've always thought this was a big deal. As we wait to see who we will be playing in the AFC Championship game next week, I wonder if there are any others that agree on the importance of this/or perhaps do not agree? Thoughts? Comments?

 

[CheeseMonkeys]

I think a team with a lot of leaders is more likely to win games. In the draft if they can pick a guy who would be a project but with a lot of character and leadership ability over a guy that is just a good player, I think they BB will always choose the leader.

I think Edelman is a good example. He was a QB in college but was a leader on his team in Kent State. Instead of just picking a 7th round WR we choose a player with character and work with him to make him a WR.

 

[MSU]

I love how under the radar this team is right now. The only articles on PFT about the Patriots were a 1) halftime update mentioning Brady's 5 first half TDs 2) a post game article with the first two words being Tim Tebow and 3) a next day post about Chad Ochocinco playing one snap.

 

[Ring 6]

Two years ago, when our Patriots lost in the Playoffs, there was a big discussion on the undesirables on the roster. The punks. The non-team players. The cancers. We all know the names.

BB and Co. got rid of the aforementioned/unnamed players, and for two drafts in a row heavily factored in the "Class Factor" when drafting. In two years, the team added talent, but they also leaned towards character guys. In fact, a bunch of our picks were college team captains. Heck, even our punter was a college team captain.

Contrast a team like the Jets who while they had a bunch of head cases, had a good amount of character, stand up guys to keep them in line. Guys like Damien Woody, Chris Jenkins, Brad Smith, Jerricho Cotchery, and others were there. The team went to two straight AFC Championship games. All of these guys were gone this year, and that team didn't even have a winning record.

The Patriots are now two years into re-emphasing character (because we were loaded with those types in our Super Bowl years), as we've all read about.

We have two straight years as the number one seed in the AFC, despite the fact that we have a ways to go (talent wise) on the defensive side of the ball. It's a team again. The players reportedly like each other, and go to bat for each other. There are many young leaders in the locker room again.

I've always thought this was a big deal. As we wait to see who we will be playing in the AFC Championship game next week, I wonder if there are any others that agree on the importance of this/or perhaps do not agree? Thoughts? Comments?

Look at it this way. Whether its your workplace, your high school baseball team, the cub scouts or any organization you have ever been a part of that has a common goal, there is no doubt that 2 things apply:
1) If you are better at what you do you are more successful and of you aren't good at it you are not
2) If you work together, get along with each other and give good effort you are more successful, and if you are a group of selfish dlcks you are not

If you have both of these you succeed. If you have one or the other your stength must overcome your weakness.

IMO, in the NFL everyone has talent. Teams and players that like to talk about how great they are end up perceived as talented. Quiet disciplined players are generally considered untalented. And those are often misconceptions.
It is pretty well accepted that the level of talent among teams is very close throughout the league.
It is obvious that the level of character, team approach, and focus varies widely.
For that reason the later usually has more to do with winning and losing than the former.



By the way, an interesting comment I read, about, of course,the Jets.
One of their players was talking about all their issues (it may have even been the McElroy interview)One thing that jumped out at me was he said something to the effect of "we knew we had the talent, we talked about that all year long"
This is a classic case of a team that has a few guys who are so worried about everyones opinion of their talent that as a team they keep telling each other how talented they are, as if to say, hey we are great we have nothing to worry about.

 

[Naugy Nugget]

Bedard made a lot of the character issue being a big part of the Jest's downfall:

AFC East undergoing an overhaul already

The Jets also need to build up the character on the team. Letting well-respected veterans such as Shaun Ellis and Jerricho Cotchery go may have made some football sense, but their departures left a leadership vacuum that was replaced by constant bickering.

...

The problem wasn�t that the Jets were allowed to speak their minds, it�s that they filled the locker room with the wrong type of people. The Jets fell in love with talent and overlooked character issues.

I have to agree. I've worked with some really talented a-holes and would gladly have replaced them for someone not quite as "brilliant" but much easier to work with.

Clearly the Pats look at character issues. They get it wrong occasionally, but are pretty quick to cut their losses (see Haynesworth, et al).

 

[ProudestRyno]

Two years ago, when our Patriots lost in the Playoffs, there was a big discussion on the undesirables on the roster. The punks. The non-team players. The cancers. We all know the names.

BB and Co. got rid of the aforementioned/unnamed players, and for two drafts in a row heavily factored in the "Class Factor" when drafting. In two years, the team added talent, but they also leaned towards character guys. In fact, a bunch of our picks were college team captains. Heck, even our punter was a college team captain.

Contrast a team like the Jets who while they had a bunch of head cases, had a good amount of character, stand up guys to keep them in line. Guys like Damien Woody, Chris Jenkins, Brad Smith, Jerricho Cotchery, and others were there. The team went to two straight AFC Championship games. All of these guys were gone this year, and that team didn't even have a winning record.

The Patriots are now two years into re-emphasing character (because we were loaded with those types in our Super Bowl years), as we've all read about.

We have two straight years as the number one seed in the AFC, despite the fact that we have a ways to go (talent wise) on the defensive side of the ball. It's a team again. The players reportedly like each other, and go to bat for each other. There are many young leaders in the locker room again.

I've always thought this was a big deal. As we wait to see who we will be playing in the AFC Championship game next week, I wonder if there are any others that agree on the importance of this/or perhaps do not agree? Thoughts? Comments?

Kris Jenkins isn't even CLOSE to being a "high character" guy...

 

[TBradyOwnsYou]

For emphasis, rewatch Bill Belichick - A Football Life and relive 2009 to be reminded on how a bad locker room can affect the entire team.
I agree 100%

 

[Serafino07]

Good post. I completely agree about the importance of character on a team in terms of building team unity and producing leaders who lead by example. This is especially true in professional football and hockey, where players have to trust in their teammates for saftey, well-being, and protection. In the NBA and MLB, character doesnt play as big of a deal since these sports, imo, have become very individualistic sports. It comes down to who do you trust and put your well-being on the line for? An egotistical punk who only cares about himself, or a teammate who sacrifices, works hard, is humble, and who will run through a wall for you.

 

[Bostonian1962]

Kris Jenkins isn't even CLOSE to being a "high character" guy...

Yes he is! After their backup QB came out blasting the locker room, the talking heads on the NFL Network even specfically mentioned his absense in the locker room, and said the Jets needed somebody like Jenkins, who would have put Holmes and the others into place. They said when Jenkins spoke, his teammates listened.

 

[NinjaZX6R]

We drafted tons of players who were Captains at their universities.

 

[xmarkd400x]

For those of you who have read War Room, this will be old news.

BB realized the decisions to draft Chad Jackson and Maroney were bad choices. The problem is that they graded well in the Patriots draft system (although there were a lot of scouts that warned of the character issues). BB then chose to tweak his drafting formula in attempt to weed out future CJ and LoMo choices. I think what we are seeing is the BB Draft Machine V2.0. I'd have to guess that the Patriots started factoring in leadership much higher than they used to.