- Image courtesy of John Geliebter, USA TODAY Sports
WHAT does it say about your culture when a guy like Jason Avant gets cut, and a guy like Riley Cooper gets a 5 year, 25 million dollar deal for offending over 40% of the city’s population? Yeah. Over 40%:
I know. Folks are going to say “But we had to cut him”, “Avant is too slow”, “He didn’t really fit in with the plans” and things of that nature. Believe me, I get that. It’s a sport.
In sports you need better athletes than your competition. Not nice guys. Not guys who are faithful to their wives. Not God-fearing guys. Not guys who mentor. Just guys who are better athletes. That part we understand. The rest is extra, right?
Except for one thing. Howie Roseman, back during a January interview, said this:
“You want to make sure that you’re bringing guys in that are gonna fit into your culture. Right now we have a good culture, and that’s a fun part of it. You want to make sure that you continue that and you don’t bring anybody who’s gonna rock the boat.”
You know that saying about actions speaking louder?
Remember how when we lost a certain high character FS, our Secondary went to pieces?
Remember last year when the Cooper incident hit, who stepped up to squash the beef, and even broke up a fight between Cary Williams and Cooper? Wasn’t Nick Foles. It was Michael Vick. (Even prior to being named the Starter.)
Remember the veteran WR who didn’t squawk (and prompt a private meeting) when asked to play out of position last year? It was the same guy mentoring the young WR’s. That would be Avant.
2014 will find us without either player. So who are the leaders? Who in the locker room now sets the tone? Who will step up?
Last year Cary Williams didn’t shy away from a camera, and was ALWAYS making himself heard. Maybe he’ll step up. Who else? DeMeco Ryans is a voice in the huddle, but how about off the field?
There is a leadership vacuum on our team. Worse than that, there is a question mark as to who we even are as a team.
Put bluntly, we’re lost. We need to find Magnetic North, and we need to find it fast. Someone −and I mean a player− needs to set a direction, and be the new voice of reason, maturity, and credibility. And with OTA’s coming, that needs to happen fast.
