FanPost

The Sign of a Leader

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Leadership is something that's discussed time and time again in the NFL. You hear it all the time about the veterans stepping up and being leaders, and being a good locker room presence and becoming strong examples for the younger players. Staying out of trouble. Giving encouraging words, coming in early, staying late. Being a hard worker. Those are all the character qualities that many NFL team leaders. The ones who wear the "C" on their chest week in and week out. The ones the younger players look up to.

One specific position doesn't get the the luxury of being able to grow into this position. He's thrust into it simply by design of what the position entails. That's the Quarterback who is in the game. The one who needs to be in command of the huddle and offense when he is on the field. It does not matter if you are stepping out their for your first snap (a la Mariota) or your billionth snap (a la P. Manning) - you are the leader of your squad.

Does this require you to be loud, boisterous, pumped? Full of speeches? Or the antithesis quiet, cool, collect and commanding presence? Either way can work but ultimately it's someone who can work to build team camaraderie and help drive towards a common goal without creating divide.

To gain respect one must work towards building chemistry. Sometimes it's the small little things that work. Today I read and article that the Jets released on their Facebook today showing that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick put in a song request during warm ups. He played some Jessie James Decker.

One of the first fan comments followed in the thread: "Geno never would have had the sense of humor to do this! Fitz is a great fit with the Jets! Definitely on board with Fitz-magic! #fearthebeard!"

I have to agree with this. It's moves like this that help make a leader on the team. Something small and subtle. Something smart. Winning makes things easy to keep Fitzpatrick as the leader on this team of course but when you can win over your team mates on and off the field. That's how a leader is made.

Geno on the other hand leaves a lot to be desired. His inexperience as a leader and his youth shows. Again, however, the role of the Quarterback leaves no room for time to be a leader as many other positions allow. In Geno's two years starting he's had the missed meetings due to going to the movies or misunderstanding the timezones , the issue causing the broken jaw over a $600.00 squabble. Comments even started to surface after he was drafted from West Virginia about the lack of leadership when he was in college.

Look - There are qualities that Geno brought to the table that showed signs of Leadership qualities and Fitzpatrick is obviously a seasoned veteran who has been around the block enough to have the experience to get buy-in from a team so comparing the two might be slightly unfair but the point stands that at this point in time Fitz is a better leader for this team and when Geno is well enough to play should continue in a back up supporting role allowing this Jets offense to remain under Fitz-Magic.

Do you agree?

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