Slipping through the cracks between the Tebow Bachelor story and the Tebow MMA story some on the field news had occured and that news is that the New York Jets will be going without captains for the 2012 season. The team is going with the philosophy that you must earn leadership rather than just being named one by the coach.
“I think in a situation like that where there are no captains named, it kind of forces guys to step up and take ownership,” guard Matt Slauson said, “and guys like Brandon [Moore] have done a phenomenal job with that. Mark [Sanchez] has done a phenomenal job, obviously. Those are just the offensive guys. It kind of forces those guys to step up and all the rest of us respect them even more because that ‘C’ is not just given to them.”
“You guys in the media like to anoint leaders,” Moore said. “But there’s people here every day who are veterans, starters who are leading by example, helping a young guy, setting the tempo, leading by doing his job at a high level or limiting his [mental errors] or running to the next drill. That’s leadership. If that’s the case, a lot of guys are doing that.”
D-lineman Simone Pouha threw in his two cents by stating:
“The real emblem is not the ‘C’, it’s the team name on the front of your jersey,” Pouha said. “It doesn’t affect us in any way. We know we’re all here to help each other. We all stand in one line and march together.”
After the mistakes of 2011, it looks like the Jets are learning how to play as a team rather than a bunch of individuals.
