Another "What we need" thread... NOT by position

[sweetjones]

Ok, I won't deny it... there are so many of these "what we need' or "player X vs. player Y" threads going around that I feel everything that can be said up to this point in player evaluation has already been said, pre-combine at least. Going off film and the senior bowl, we have only a sample of knowledge about a player's measurables... all these talks about size and strength are useless until we see how they are applied in personal workouts.

 

That being said, there is one thing that this team is obviously lacking: Fire. Heart. Attitude. Whoever we take, on defense, I feel we need them to come in and immedietly make noise. We have a lot of good character, high motor guys, KW seems nice enough off the field, Moats' interviews show that he's a tremendous human being and has become a fan-favorite. Poz plays like your kid brother, not exactly striking fear into opossing offenses. Having guys like this are great on a team... but... We need someone who sees red. We need someone who HATES the patriots, someone who wants to DESTROY the Jets... someone who takes the game personally. While it can be bad to have too many "bart scott" or "ray lewis" types on your team (loudmouth a-holes who everyone not lining up next to them seems to hate), these types of players make an impact.

 

Managing people professionally I can tell you two things are contagious: Attitude and Fear. How humans respond to fear tells a lot how strong your team is... either on the football field, or in a kitchen, or anywhere else you have a group of people who need to work together to achieve goals. Attitudes, bad or good, are contagious. If there is a guy next to me who is performing well, and talking the talk, I'll have more confidence in my own work and want to do the same... either bringing me up directly by physically helping me, or else by motivation drivin by our inner competitive spirits.

 

We need a beast... not a marshawn "beast mode" type player... but a real mean guy. A big, strong, mean and instinctful player who hits people and stands over their body a la clay mathews, or who would be willing to put "bounties" on guys like the steelers and ravens. Guys who have personal hatred, especially for our division players.

 

It has been noted before that, particularly against the Jets, the opposing sidelines were laughing at us, and after the game the majority of the Bills were buddy-buddy with them smiling and laughing, etc... to me this isn't acceptable.

 

We need a man who can come in and light a fire emotionally. I'll take whatever baggage comes with it, as long as it translates into on-field impact. I want a players that othe teams hate... I want a player that other teams' FANS hate. Someone who, if they saw a kid wearing a tom brady jersey in a mall, would talk smack to and bully that kid... well maybe not that extreme, but you get the picture.

 

If we're going to draft dearus, fairley, bowers, or miller... they better be have a mean streak thats hard to turn off.

[Armchair GM]

Amen brother!! I think Fairley posesses exactly what we're looking for. Wood has a bit of a nastry streak, but I wish they would have kept Icognito around.

[tennesseeboy]

I would like to see that meanness in the coaching staff and front office. I think it would be better having that meanness come out of the veterans. We dumped Incognito and TO and Lynch, so I'm suspicious that this may just not be a "mean" team mindset.

 

A mean rookie is not going to inspire anyone. A talented rookie is what we should get. I do think we should draft for a mean "position" though. Defensive ends who sack qb's can be "mean" or not as long as the qb is on his ass. I think Tom Day, a great buffalo defensive lineman was famous for picking up quarterbacks he knocked down.

 

Mean is beating the opponent 35-0. Mean is hard hitting practices, no excuses, hate losing language and planning to win every next game. Bad mouth Rex Ryan all you want..but he took a bad team and made it good enough to get deep in the playoffs being mean.