nightbird Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 You don't have to choose between one or the other . . . BUT when character makes a difference is when times are tough. Yeah, even a malcontent like TO, Chad Johnson or Randy Moss is a great teammate to have when everyone's having fun, winning ballgames and scoring touchdowns. But what happens when the other team pushes back? When the qb is having an off day, the defense is struggling or the team is in a slump? That's when the whining and moaning starts. Then comes the finger-pointing. It hurts chemistry, creates tension in the locker room, and everyone goes home without a ring. Anyone can be a frontrunner. But give me a Santana Moss, Clinton Portis, Jon Jansen any day...someone who will ask himself what he can do more to help the team...what he can do to bring everyone together and figure out how to get back on track. Character does matter. If you don't believe me, come back to me in 8 years, when Brandon Lloyd will be 34 or so. See how his career stacks up against that of James Thrash, who doesn't have half the talent. Or half the mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoked Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 ...But talent and skill may never meet it's full potential without character and discipline. Now THAT is a great point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLU44 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 It really doesn't matter what any of us have to say, about the talent that's still available to us. The front office decisions, on personnel, are now being made by the bean counters....Needing to upgrade at a couple of key positions, I can't understand how, this front office doesn't see fit to sign a free-agent or two.......It just defies logic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portis4MVP2628 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 as long as we get to the super bowl, any player on the team can rap for all I care just bring it when you get on that field Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robotfire Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I would actually have to say the opposite. Character above Talent. I want to be proud of the team we have.Character to me includes work ethic. If you consider that, character is MUCH more important than talent. I'm somewhat limited in my natural talent at my job, but I outperform most of the very talented people because I put in the effort. I'm like Randle El, and I've got some lazy/talented coworkers like Brandon Lloyd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandymac27 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 It really doesn't matter how talented you are if you're sitting in a jail cell. I mean, if you're a rapper...so what. That doesn't bother me. If you like to party...so what, who cares? But, if you can't stay out of jail, it really doesn't matter how talented you are. I say character comes first, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kvarlo12000 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 If a player is not a character guy then he will not be a team player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsince72 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I feel we have to be careful with labeling someone as having no character. Things go on off the field by some of our most respected players that we are not privy to. So, we can't say "yeah but, in the locker room or on the field, he has character". Character follows you everywhere. You can't check it at the stadium door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[[ghost]] Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 It really doesn't matter how talented you are if you're sitting in a jail cell. I mean, if you're a rapper...so what. That doesn't bother me. If you like to party...so what, who cares? But, if you can't stay out of jail, it really doesn't matter how talented you are. I say character comes first, IMO. Good point. Character doesn't come first, but enough of it has to be present so that the Team is confident you won't sit next to Bubba during the off season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomE Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Talent opens the door, lack of character shows you the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryfuhl Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 You'll never satifsfy some of these guys we have here :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinslove<3 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Talent opens the door, lack of character shows you the door. i agree. we could go back and forth all day about it, but i want the talent on my team, but i want a good team. look at TO and the headache he is, he may have the talent, but the guy is so ****y, it's a total turn off. it's one thing to be an amazing player, and yeah, ill give you all the respect in the world, but once you run your mouth, im over it, over you. i would say we are a classy team because we do have the talent and many of our boys have character. :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamyesme1111 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Lmao...Wow, bringing up my thread about Malcolm Kelley sickens me. I WASN'T JUDGING HIM CUZ HE RAPS LMFAO I don't know HOW MANY PEOPLE jumped all over me because I posted the video and asked the simple question "DO WE WANT ANOTHER RAPPER ON THIS TEAM?" (referring to Lloyd) I actually wouldn't mind Kelley and don't care if he raps and people cant seem to get that through their head, I feel like a politician who gets bashed for saying one thing that seems sorta questionable about what I meant Please make it stopppp :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsGuy Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 If they win i dont care what they really do off the field The thing was, nobody cared that Lloyd wanted to be a rapper. More power to him. The problem was is that it was more important to him than being a good WR, even though being a WR was paying the bills. Being a good WR was evidently WAAAAAY at the bottom of Lloyd's priority list. So, actually, yes. What a player does off-the-field can affect him on-the-field, and we should care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsGuy Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 If a player is not a character guy then he will not be a team player. True. Those that are easily dismissing 'character' as important criteria for a football player, are they saying they really wouldn't mind having a 53-man roster made up of players with the character of say, Terrell Owens? Or Pacman Jones? Or Jeff George? What kind of team would that be? It probaly wouldn't be a team at all. You can't have a team without character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundown Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Character is what gets you through the tough times. Good character players are who influence the young guys in the locker room and help keep their head on straight. All these people who would overlook character to sign a guy i think are missing the big picture. Look at the bengals, character flaws from one end to the other. what has that won them? Nothing. Look at Randy Moss, when things weren't going well in oakland- giant drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remarkable62 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Im sure character does not mean a lot. I mean winning is the name of the game and how you get there should not matter. What can the press really do in a issue of character. I think the best way to answer this is to ask Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons! Or maybe even Belicheck and his video tapes. No character does not mean much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins4me58203 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Lmao...Wow, bringing up my thread about Malcolm Kelley sickens me.I WASN'T JUDGING HIM CUZ HE RAPS LMFAO I don't know HOW MANY PEOPLE jumped all over me because I posted the video and asked the simple question "DO WE WANT ANOTHER RAPPER ON THIS TEAM?" (referring to Lloyd) I actually wouldn't mind Kelley and don't care if he raps and people cant seem to get that through their head, I feel like a politician who gets bashed for saying one thing that seems sorta questionable about what I meant Please make it stopppp :doh: Sorry dude, this thread isn't about you or your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hail_Skinz Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Smooter: Your sig blows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COWBOY-KILLA- Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I'm all for giving non-perfect players a chance to prove themselves, however I do appreciate the character aspect of gibbs second term. I would have taken a few more chances in terms of character rebuilding in situations where its low risk low money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COWBOY-KILLA- Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I also don't consider anyone you mentioned character issues. Pacman, now thats a character issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fieldy Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Who cares about Malcolm Kelly rapping in the locker room? He's not out beating women and shooting people and he's a hell of a receiver.Consider me on the Kelly bandwagon, if he's on the board at 21 we had better take him, he's going to be a very good NFL receiver. And it's not like he was just rapping about anything...he was rapping about his team in celebration...how anyone could compare that to BLoyd trying to rap is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMahoney Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 What is more important? Winning the Superbowl, or the Man of the Year award?:2cents: Man of the Year -I have noticed the same threads you discuss, where character issues are constantly coming in to play. -What I think must first be understood is today's NFL is far different from the NFL of the past. We now have athletes with physical attributes that were unfathomable in past years. -So football teams are now able to win purely on superior athletic talent, rather than team unity, which has been key in the past. -So it is true that these athletes w/ character issues have the ability to make highlight reels, do they really play with the same intensity that is brought about from team comradery. My question to you is; would you rather watch incredible athletes with little to no character (deserting their team, causing a circus about themselves when football is THE team game), or would you rather watch the football players of the old, who though they weren't always able to make highlight reels more fascinating, they put blood sweat and tears on the field week in and week out, they didn't just play for a big pay check or personal stats (not that everyone in today's NFL does). Personally I would much rather have the NFL of old, and watch men playing the hearts outso that they didn't let down their teammates. Not men playing whose priorities usually follow (me, me, me, me, maybe my fam, me, me, team). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fieldy Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 It really doesn't matter how talented you are if you're sitting in a jail cell. I mean, if you're a rapper...so what. That doesn't bother me. If you like to party...so what, who cares? But, if you can't stay out of jail, it really doesn't matter how talented you are. I say character comes first, IMO. Even more so than staying out of jail is staying clear of league suspensions. Totally agree with you though. It's more about the intelligence to realize what is disruptive to a team and what is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAARedskin Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Do the names Lawrence Phillips, Todd Marinavich, Art Schleister, Pac-Man Jones, and Ricky Williams ring a bell? All were FIRST ROUND picks with CHARACTER ISSUES, and ALL of them let their teams down because of SELFISH reasons. Yes, a player doesn't have to be studying for the priesthood or be a 4.0 student, but at the same time the SKINS owe it to themselves and the fans to be very leery of guys that have the word TROUBLE stamped on their forehead!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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