We need a personality on this team.

[gtexan02]

I respect a lot of the Texans, but none of them are "noticeable." They are all so down to the earth that its hard to get fired up for them. If we had someone a little crazy (not jerk crazy like randy moss) but someone like trotter, for instance (peek comes to mind), i think it would do a lot for us. I think Brees did a good job last year in this respect. Went from a sure bench warmer, to initiating team meetings and surprising everyone. Then he was a star and the rest of the team played excellently. We need a leader, and I don't know who it will be. AJ is too quiet, and the vets seem negative.

[texan279]

We got Peek, Carr got pretty fired up a few times last season as well as DRob, and Gary Walker was pretty intense a season or two ago...

[thegr8fan]

the very last thing this team needs is a Terrell Owens 'look at me' personality, IMHO.

We don't have one of those for a reason, the coach's are NOT that kind of coach's and I suspect if you wanna be a 'showboat' you had better be a very good playing one or you will be doing it from the sidelines.

and for anyone to mention Peek is hilarious. He cost us several penalty's for his after the whistle plays. And there were quite a few more that the refs let slide. THAT is something we do NOT need, IMHO.

[wags]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

We need a leader, and I don't know who it will be. AJ is too quiet, and the vets seem negative.

David Carr is the team leader. I really don't think there's much of a question there. As far as a defensive leader, I think Dunta is going to step up and lead our defense. Dunta seems to have a good fire and always talks like a leader in postgame.

[Cincinnatikid]

Originally Posted by thegr8fan

the very last thing this team needs is a Terrell Owens 'look at me' personality, IMHO.

We don't have one of those for a reason, the coach's are NOT that kind of coach's and I suspect if you wanna be a 'showboat' you had better be a very good playing one or you will be doing it from the sidelines.

and for anyone to mention Peek is hilarious. He cost us several penalty's for his after the whistle plays. And there were quite a few more that the refs let slide. THAT is something we do NOT need, IMHO.

It is hilarious that he got the team fired up when he was in. And he did get a couple penalties, but i think they have been mostly late hits on the QB. To be honest i dont mind seeing someone let the QB know that they are coming for him. Look at carr, he curles up into a ball now since he knows his line doesnt protect him. And he may have a few penalties in 2 years but they have been from having energy and playing hard for his team. Every good team has people that scare you with play and attitude, saying peek is hilarious is stupid.

[texan279]

the very last thing this team needs is a Terrell Owens 'look at me' personality, IMHO.

I think gtexan was talking about haveing someone who is kind of a motivator or a leader, someone who just steps up on their own for the team, not a TO type of player, but I might be wrong...

[SheTexan]

That player is Seth Payne!

[TexanFan881]

i wouldnt care about getting or having a player with a 'personality', as long as they could play. i do think it would be cool to have someone on our team making some headlines though.

[tiger06]

I think Carr and Dunta bring the personality to our offense and defense, respectively.

[outofhnd]

Last year our personality came from Sharper on the Defense.

On Offense it has to be Carr AJ is not the vocal guy and that is great. I like AJ he has amean streak it showed in the season opener when he returned a cheap shot delivered by their safety.

If you want an offensive catalyst other than Carr i say look to Armstrong this season he seemed to be our most fiery receiver.

[Lucky]

Dunta has exactly the type of persona on the field I want to see on this team. Very confident, aggressive, fearless...yet still fundamentaly sound & under control. He's an outstanding athlete who overachieves. Dunta should be a good cover corner with his athletic ability. But at his size, he shouldn't be able to take on larger ball carriers & bring them down 1-on-1. That he does just that, with authority & perfect technique, is why Dunta's an overachiever. A team loaded with talented overachievers will will championships. New England has proven that.

[AlexVanderpool]

what our defense needs is a tough, loud, and positive presense... a la ray lewis, lavar arrington, mike strahan, brian dawkins, zach thomas, etc. gary walker seemed to be that person in 2002 IMO, he has seemed to die down, but maybe he still is...

My observations:
-dunta is a great player, but he does not seem like a vocal leader.
-carr IS the vocal leader on offense.(and that's the way it should be)
-peek's raw attitude is great at times, but a "vocal defensive leader" would probably help him control the attitude, causing less penalties.

[OzzO]

need a personaliy on the team? I'd prefer a consistent team personality... one that plays hard for 4 quarters, looks at no game as a gimme, shows consistant growth, works together to hide individual weaknesses..... and makes the playoffs.

Personally, I get fired up every weekend during the season....

I get what you saying gtexan02, but there's a fine line between crazy and jerk crazy. If I wanted high profile individual egos, I'd be checking the Eagles or Cowboys.

If you're looking for crazy good... check AJ where the crazy good is shown on the field, D Rob where the surprising good has been shown, DD where the "unknown" good is coming around and Mr Carr himself... which once we get O-line good.... watchout.

[outofhnd]

Yea we don't really need a Ray Lewis type personality on our Defense or Offense. It is just a distraction Indy doesnt have the Ray Lewis guy nor does the Patriots. They seem to be fairly successful.

[BornOrange]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

I respect a lot of the Texans, but none of them are "noticeable." They are all so down to the earth that its hard to get fired up for them. If we had someone a little crazy (not jerk crazy like randy moss) but someone like trotter, for instance (peek comes to mind), i think it would do a lot for us. I think Brees did a good job last year in this respect. Went from a sure bench warmer, to initiating team meetings and surprising everyone. Then he was a star and the rest of the team played excellently. We need a leader, and I don't know who it will be. AJ is too quiet, and the vets seem negative.

Guys that lead their teammates by getting animated first have to earn their respect by working their butts off. Brees was able to initiate team meetings and have guys listen because they had already seen him work hard for a few years and they really respected the way he continued to work even though the organization was trying to give his job away.

It is also difficult to know who the true leaders of a team are because much of that happens out of the public's eye in practice and in the locker room. Some guys may seem like leaders when the cameras are on, they get pumped up and go around trying to encourage other players, but because of their lousy work ethic or poor attitude in practice the other players ignore them. Then again, some guy who isn't very vocal when the cameras are on may be the guy who fires everyone up in the locker room.

[JustBonee]

Someone has to get the adrenaline flowing in the players. Every team needs FIRE to some degree!
Notice how college teams never seem to have that problem.

[BornOrange]

Just because players aren't waving their arms, pumping their fists, and generally making a fool of themselves doesn't mean they have no adrenaline flowing and aren't playing with passion.

[gwallaia]

Let's hire Buddy Ryan.

[ArlingtonTexan]

Originally Posted by BornOrange

Just because players aren't waving their arms, pumping their fists, and generally making a fool of themselves doesn't mean they have no adrenaline flowing and aren't playing with passion.

Agreed. the "firey" leader is one of the great myths in sports. Football players react to most of these guys the same way you do at the high energy in your face guy at your job. If people respect him, it is because he is good/works hard and they more put up with him getting in their face than are motivated by it. If he is mediocre and not a hard worker then the firery guy is laughed at and told to shut up and go do his job.

On leadership in general, you do need that. IMO, Sharper's lack of leadership may have more to do with him being on the trading block than his play on the field.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by ArlingtonTexan

IMO, Sharper's lack of leadership may have more to do with him being on the trading block than his play on the field.

That may be very true. I loved the way Sharper played the 1st two years. Last year, I thought things were down a bit for him--still a very good player, just off a bit. It surprises me though to see lots of people calling Sharper a or the leader on defense because that has been noticeably absent IMO. Hard to tell if they are just a quiet leader in the huddle but there certainly was little animation out there. How many times did you see Sharper pulling Peek out of a near fight/penalty and cautioning him? Or pulling Babin off to the side to talk about assignments? A lot of times that kind of stuff is hard to spot on the field, so more important IMO was the sideline--how many times, if ever, did you see Sharper call a meeting of the LB's or defence on the side, or pull Peek or Babin aside for counseling? What I usually saw was Babin and Peek talking together, often away from Sharper and Foreman. Look who comes over when Babin or Peek made plays also--it was usually the other youngster. Veteran leadership of rookies only works if the veterans talk to the youngsters. In contrast, Dunta, Faggins, Glenn, Coleman & Earl were often around each other--not broken up into young and older groups.