Donovan McNabb says he’s the leader of the Eagles football team and Brian Westbrook hears it, then says he’s the leader. What to make of it?
There’s no question that McNabb is a leader of the team, but Westbrook is also a leader of the football team. I don’t think you make yourself a leader by proclaiming it, I think others make you a leader by following you. I think a good leader puts the goals of the team above their own. They make their teammates better by sacrificing and thinking of the team first before they think of themselves.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with both McNabb and Westbrook saying they’re leaders, because they are without question a couple of the leaders of the ball club. At the same time they’re not the only leaders because they surely can’t be leading the defense when they’re on the sidelines, so there have to be defensive leaders, and there are.
McNabb was always the top dog on this team because he was the quarterback and this team lived and died by the pass, so he was the guy who carried the team. I thought Terrell Owens was a leader while he was an Eagle, although he wasn't a good one. He wasn't willing to put the team's success above his own. Unity should always be something that a good leader is in pursuit of. Last year Westbrook stepped in as a leader as far as the game plan was concerned, when the team started relying more on the running game. Most of the media members gave Jeff Garcia the credit for leading the football team because he was the QB, but BWest carried the load during that stretch run and he also took over as the top dog. Now with McNabb back, the team should utilize more of a balanced attack and allow both Donovan and Brian to carry the football team at times. There should be plenty of room for both of them to step forward and either say something with their words or actions when it is needed. Good leaders will support each other and stay away from contention. There's nothing that will kill a team quicker than strife and contention. "A house divided against itself will fall".
I don’t know what the circumstances were that led Donovan to make the proclamation that he is the leader of the football team, but he’s the one that takes most of the blame when they lose, whether it’s his fault or somebody else’s fault. So I can see why he would say that he’s the leader of the football team. I think there’s always some resentment on all football teams, when they have a Superstar QB because he gets paid more than anybody else and he get more attention than any one else. I think it’s important that Westbrook and guys like Dawkins and Trotter support McNabb because there’s always that resentment against the Superstar QB. I thought that Dawkins and Trotter made a mistake when Terrell Owens was here by not stepping up and supporting Donovan enough because there’s always that jealousy and resentment against a Superstar QB.
During my playing years I saw different types of leaders. The most effective ones I’ve been and played with, were guys who said something when it was appropriate and made plays when the game was on the line. A guy who is talking but not doing his job is not a leader. He’s just a talker. I’ve seen guys be phony leaders by saying the right things to the media but the players refused to listen to him and didn’t take what he said seriously. Your teams decide whether you’re a leader or not by deciding to follow you or deciding not to follow you.
A quarterback is always one of the leaders whether he wants to be or doesn’t want to be. The QB calls the play, so he’s talking when other guys have to shut up. Brian Westbrook will always get the chance to say something to the guys when they’re on the sidelines but if he tries to talk too much in the huddle, McNabb will have to tell him to shut up because nobody can hear the play with two guys running their mouths. On the other hand, McNabb should be willing to give BWest room to say something that's going to give the guys motivation at the right time.
Of course the media will look and almost hope for strife and contention because it's going to make it the season and team more interesting, but it can kill a team quickly. Remember the team in 2005 with T.O. creating an me against him environment on the team between he and Donovan. Trottter and Dawkins, with Trotter in the lead did a poor job as leaders by not going to Owens as intermediaries and commanding him to stop the strife and contention. You see what it did to the football team. Any time a player refuses to back up another teammate I question him. Nobody on this team stood up for Mcnabb when T.O. was criticizing him. That says more about his teammates than it does about McNabb.
There is some friction on this football team since that happened. All these guys McNabb, Westbrook, Trotter and Dawkins had better be on the same page and in support of each other. It's something I'm going to have my eyes on throughout the entire season, especially if they experience some tough times.
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