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Vilma and Lofton were both leaders and worked together last year, I recall them both saying they enjoyed and fed off each other. I don't see how a coaching change upsets anything

Boutte

If he still has any mobility left he can't help but be an asset. You can never have to many smart players.

44Champs

Not to be ugly, but I havent really missed Vilma. I just think his best days are wayyy behind him, and I don't think he's starter material anymore.

TheOak

If you don't understand the dynamic and how it has changed from last year, then I can't help.

|Mitch|

It's not like Vilma hasn't been around all this year, I very seriously doubt that the new teammates have any respect for Vilma [/sarcasm]

Danno

If 100% healthy, he's a great addition.

If he's still a half-step slow and constantly dinged up, he's not gonna be much help.

The coaches will know.

AlaskaSaints

No more than one play per series until he proves himself up to speed with the rest of this defense.

I just can't see how this much time off could have made him a better, faster, more productive linebacker. Although his leadership skills go unchallenged, we ARE who we ARE now, and NOT who we WERE... Make sense? Me neither...

Alaska

QBREES9

Welcome back Jon.

TheOak

I am sure you have heard the phrase "if it isn't broken... don't fix it".

2012 was a season where the DC was Spagnuolo... For what ever reason the team didn't gel and from the anonymous comments after the season lead me to believe there was nearly a mutiny. So obviously there was no leadership in the coaching dept. For a player to come out like that tells me there was no CLEAR leadership period, but that could be just a product of rotating HCs, new DC, Vets being out the first half of the season etc....

Vilma only played in 11 games with 1 sack and 20 tackles, thats less than two tackles a game. So as far as what is left in the tank, I would say last year was a good data set.

2013 bring in Rob Ryan which I would say is a polar opposite to Spags in the leadership and team building department.

On leadership, there can be only 1 on the field leader. Any more than 1 leader will cause confusion, we are a younger defense and there needs to be no misunderstanding about who the on the field leader is. Now there can be an argument for two leaders as in 1 leader for the front 7 and one leader for the D-backs, but the front 7 is already covered with Lofton being that guy for all 16 games last season and all 6 games this season.

I no longer see Vilma as a leader of our defense, he is more of a mentor now just like Harrolson... But mentors only have a place if they are producing, we are limited to 53 and have a Galveston Ferry load of injuries.


A squad in the football trenches is much like a squad in the military trenches, when you have a good thing going, you don't tinker with the leadership.. It seldom works out better.