12th Man Rising: Seattle Seahawks Need to Fill Leadership Roles
By author
I was recently skimming Seahawks related news, when I came across an interesting article written by Jerry Brewer, a columist for the Seattle Times. In the article he asks two very important questions.
“Do good teams prosper because they possess good leadership?” “Or is good leadership nothing more than a secondary team trait that grows naturally once talent breeds success?”
The questions center much around the fact that the Seattle Seahawks recently parted ways with two longtime key players who held strong leadership roles during their time with the team. QB Matt Hasselbeck, and MLB Lofa Tatupu.
Back to the questions.
I think that team prosperity comes from both “good leadership” and “talent” combined. How about you, what do you think? Can having only one of the qualities win games?
Many ‘Hawks fans have voiced torn opinions about the loss of two longtime vets who have contributed so much leadership to the team.
Some feel that it was unfair that they weren’t re-signed and given another chance to prove that they still have what it takes to compete.
Others feel that it has been a long time coming , and that–with all due respect–Seattle needed to “clean house”, so to speak.
Logically, I am inclined to believe that an age gap is what has caused such a debate of opinions. The elder generation of ‘Hawks fans being in support of holding on to the longtime leaders.
The younger, less attached, more in favor of gambling on fresh-faced, new/younger talent.
Unfortunately, age all too often plays a major role in the process of measuring a players worth (Ehm…Brett Favre), especially when it comes to the super-mental/physical demands of the NFL.
Which leads me to my conclusion concerning Brewer’s article, the parting of Hasselbeck/Tatupu, the need for new leadership, and the talented, young players that represent a new Seahawks team.
You can be a great leader, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you still have what it takes to play the game of football as effectively as you once did (Matt, Lofa).
You can have talent, but that sure doesn’t mean you have what it takes to be a leader (cough…Randy Moss).
Bottom line, players become leaders because they want to be leaders, they just get better at it with age and experience.
The ‘Hawks may be a newer, younger team, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few talented players (Earl Thomas, Brandon Mebane) ready to emerge this season and fill leadership roles.