"So-called" character talk.
 

I hate all this talk about "character", nobody is perfect.

If you can, before you all put something on here about "character", if it is possible, let everyone know what you are talking about. If you can't do it, that's okay, I'll do my best not to read it. I am not trying to tell you all not to dog them, just do your best to let me know that you are doing it.

It just offends me, when the players are talked about as if they are worst than anyone else on the planet, when they are not.

I want to see them play ball, and can careless about their "character".

RE: "So-called" character talk.
 

Just because you are a character doesn't mean you have one.

Well see Watson has Talent and no character............................

And Moore has no talent oh wait no character eiether :roll:..........

I hope Gleasons on the team still to teach moore how to fight............

oh wait hes a safty so were all good :D

i think he wants guys who will give 100% and not just guys who are character guys.... remember this guy came from the parcells mold and he is gonna want guys who will come to play everyday and give it their all

Re: "So-called" character talk.
 

..and who pissed in your corn flakes this fine morning? :broccoli:

You don't think that "character" matters on the field of play?
"Character" has many definitons. Here are some choice definitions of character:

- Moral or ethical strength.
- The combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another.

Now, let me ask you...
Do you care if a player takes plays off because his team is down 21 points?
Do you care if a player doesn't prepare himself for a game, either physycally or mentally (say, not making an effort to learn and understand new plays installed for a particular foe)
Do you care if a receiver doesn't go for the catch because he's afraid of getting hit?
Do you care if the coach keeps blaming refs and fans for the team's failures, without looking at what he's doing?

I could come up with more, but let's leave it at that..

A player/coach who distinguishes himself as a player/coach of good/high character:
- has the moral and ethical strength to not take plays off regardless of the score.
- has the moral and ethical strength to prepare himself to the best of his abilities before a game.
- has the moral and ethical strength to go for that ball even though he knows he's going to get whacked.
looks to himself first and doesn't blame others for his shortcomings.

See? "Character" - or morals for that matter - doesn't exclusively mean that you are a boy scout, that you don't drink, or smoke, or go to titty bars. Don't confuse holier than thou with doing your job the way it was meant to be done.

RE: Re: "So-called" character talk.
 

well i think it does matter what character someone has. if you are constantly having troubles with the law then you are a problem no matter how much talent you have. the reason being is you can't be counted on. character is huge. i could care less if someone cheats on his wife, but someone that is constantly having problems with the law, well no thanks. then there is character related to your performance on the feild. how much effort you give. lets just say that sullivan is a great talent. i am not saying that is accurate but lets just suppose it. well the fact that he is lazy is a flaw in his character. the fact that he doesn't approach his job with any desire matters. character is huge and as important if not more so then talent. at the very least they go hand in hand

I dont think character always translates from on-field to off-field issues...I dont like the players who have on-field character issues...guys who think they are better than they are...guys who think they need more money...guys who think the coaches are out to get them...guys who think they can do what they want and freelance on the field...those are the types of players i cant stand and that is exactly what we have had too much of in the past.

jerry v on 1280 says it best character is great but you need football players nothing against gleason but he has the best character but who you guys want lining up iat s him or dwight. all im sayin is i love what theis staff has done so far but is we give away donte dwight type talent we are going to be sayin maybe next year all over again :P

It's all about risk/reward. We all have some character issues, it is just a matter of degree. If you have enough talent someone will take a try with you ala TO or Moss. The potential reward is still great vs. what risk is entailed. It is a scale issue. Gandy had some issues from what we have heard. Was he good enough to merit dealing with them? Apparently not. The former regime certainly seemed to be on the loose end of the scale as far as discipline it seems. Can you go too far with good guys without enough talent? I suppose you could. What will shake out here? Who the hell knows? Payton may be the second advent of Vince Lombardi and we will not question a move in future years. He may be canned after a couple of years of Ditkaesque failure. Let's roll with his program and see what happens. Back to 8-8 or better will keep the critics quiet for a year. A top 5 draft pick again next spring will have him on much shorter rope of support with me. There was a lot of grumbling about staunch disciplinarian Tom Coughlin in NY during his first year at 6-10. 2005, 11-5, and the playoffs and everyone is his supporter. Lax 'n loose or rigid 'n tight, I really don't care. Good consistent play that eventually translates to W-L success is all I want. Go Payton! Take names and kick ass to get us there. Lord knows it is time for poor beleaguered NOLA and it's fans.

Its not fair to say the staff wants steve gleason type players over dwight smith type players. They are bringing players that are a mixture of both...they are bringing in guys with talent that know what their job is. Guys that are going to give it all they got on Sunday. Guys that can make up for being one step slower by getting where they have to be by using their head. Smart athletes.

The Patriots built a dynasty off of high character guys. Guys who are smart and are students of the game. I don't think that necessarily just because a guy has a run-in with the law that he's a bad guy, but I do think you can notice a trend that the guys who really care about the game and care about their integrity on the field, aren't the ones getting busted for weed or DUIs; the two go hand in hand. I think what Payton is doing is right, he's choosing guys that will give everything they've got every day. Some of them might not be high character guys in the sense of them getting old ladies' kittens out of trees and whatnot, but they are high character guys in the sense of them taking pride in their work.

I also think one of the intangibles of having alot of high character players is that they will elevate each other to the next level. Enthusiasm and a high level of effort, good skill and a great attitude from alot of individual players working together towards a common goal will win out over a bunch of great players working out-of-sync because of their me-first attitude. I think some great examples of this are the olympics. We send talent-laden pro teams to compete in various team events and the result is the 'amateur' teams from other countries who might have a few pro players end up taking us down on a consistent basis. Another example was the World Baseball Championship. That was just down-right embarrassing. I'm not saying a very good coached, talent-ladened team won't win most of the time against a mediocre, character-driven team but how many teams actually have the best of both worlds in todays money-driven, me-first football climate? My.02 is that you build the high-character, enthusiastic, team-oriented players around the few high-talented superstar players and hope the balance will pay off in the end. One bad-attitude player on a team like that will not have a conducive atmosphere in which to flourish and multiply into several bad-attitude players because the majority of the team will stifle them as a group. And if the problem continues then the player will be shown the door and you have started a precedent that will hopefully propel your team to the next level. Ok, I'm coming down off my soapbox now. Like I said, just my .02 worth of useless knowledge.

"Character"
I think it has all been covered well here from every angle possible and beaten to sufficantly to death.
The Issue I find as an underlining factor MAYBE what Sir Charles termed as "Hazs Pet's" in most cases.
The coaching staff now see players that have not been playing as MAYBE those who were unjustly treated. Some of those players in the Haz club are the "Character" or "Cancers" that cause clubhouse disharmeny. Athletes, IN GENERAL, are like children. Once "Labeled" by team mates that is it. So "Character" also includes the " Clubhouse Haromeny" thing attacted to it.
All I want is picks not damaged or subpar players in exchange please. Rather loss draft values than have to take out another teams garbage.

i don't think a run in with the law makes someone a bad guy either but when it is constant yeah it starts to be a trend and a bad one at that. owens is probably the best wide out in the game, but he is a cancer. he will start his **** in dallas. it may not be this year or it may. it is all a matter of time. who cares about the reward the guy offers or what the POSSIBLE reward could be, because you know for certain he will destroy your team at some point. i am not certain i am right but i think i am san fran hasn't made the playoffs since the dirt bag started his shiit. philly looked terrible last year after he started his shiit. the guy is great but i would never ever want him because he wil destroy your team. you do need guys that can play the game but there are a lot of those types of guys. a lot of those types of guys that won't be an a-hole too. i don't think you have to go after high profile guys with attitude problems to be good. there are plenty of guys in the league that can play and don't bring that mess.

Agreed. If my record is held against me at that age I would fall into that hole myself. I did alot worse things. But we are not talking about employees that make $100,000 or less here. They are set for life if they can get 5 to 10 years in. I think the NFL does not want the STREET PUNK image that has dogged the NBA. The NBA are having a hard time controlling what they marketed for a few years back. Now the players are having to put back in check. It all blew up in their face.
They are not idols that deserve special treatment. A shame a few bad moves by the teams and society, in the past, has created the problem. So we are on the far "right wing" now after being on the far" left wing".

Re: RE: "So-called" character talk.
 

Winston Wolfe?