07-23-2007, 09:57 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Both of them
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,225
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Follow the leaders
After offseason, Texans look forward to new start | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
Quote:
As the Texans entered training camp last season, coach Gary Kubiak was trying to figure out who was going to emerge as team leaders. They weren't quite as easy to find as the first-year coach expected.
Maybe that's because the best ones rarely spoke.
Eventually Kubiak found them. And now he enters his second training camp confident his players are looking to solid leaders for guidance. Kubiak expects more leaders to emerge in the coming weeks, but so far he sees the offense gravitating toward Andre Johnson and the defense doing the same with DeMeco Ryans.
Both guys are two of the quietest players on the team.
"I've been on teams with leaders that were vocal and on other teams with leaders who didn't say much at all," Kubiak said. "The most important thing is that the team follows.
"Andre is Andre. He's not going to say a whole lot, but he's going to give all he's got. He sets a great standard for the entire offense to follow.
"DeMeco is a lot like Andre. He's not going to say a lot, but he's going to be out there busting his butt every day."
Johnson and Ryans won't be leading alone though. Running back Ahman Green — a player who is also not considered all that vocal — will provide veteran leadership, especially among a large group of young running backs.
Matt Schaub said he considers being a leader is one of the "more important" aspects of a quarterback's job. He plans to work with Johnson and Green to keep the offense focused.
"It's our job to pick up young and inexperienced guys," Schaub said. "Good things will happen to this ball club if everyone gets on the same page and goes toward the common goal of winning. That's what we're trying to establish here."
Kubiak expects Schaub to lead, but he's trying not to overemphasize it with the young quarterback. His focus is on drilling home the offense.
"He's got a lot on his plate right now," Kubiak said. "He's got a lot to learn.
"Being a leader is not something he needs to work at, though. It comes very naturally to him."
That's ended up being true about Ryans as well. Last season, the rookie sensation emerged as a leader in the locker room even before his name was mentioned as a candidate for the Defensive Rookie of the Year, one of many honors he ended up snagging.
Former Texans linebacker Kailee Wong said last season he expected Ryans to eventually become a face of the franchise, and even the league.
It was quite a compliment for a young middle linebacker who didn't do a lot of talking last season, but whose work ethic and performance said plenty to everyone around him.
Ryans said he's ready to take the next step this season.
"You have to lead by example first and foremost for the guys to look up to you and follow what you're doing," Ryans said. "This year, I just want to be the best leader out there on the field that I can be."
Ryans won't be the team's only defensive leader this season. Veteran Shawn Barber has been a leader throughout his career, and veteran Jeff Zgonina was also acquired with the main task of helping guide a very young but promising group of linemen.
"We have such a young defensive line that we needed to bring in somebody," Kubiak said. "Last Sunday, I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd get up and go work out. I roll into the stadium, and ... there was Jeff, sitting on the treadmill.
"As coaches, you can tell them how to be successful, but when another player says it or demonstrates it, it means so much more."
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Follow the leaders
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