Learning Under Vets? Coaching Up?

[an23dy]

Originally Posted by Slingin Sammy 33

Warren Sapp hit the nail on the head on this issue. This isn't just an NFL problem, it's everywhere.

Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, Vince Young in Monday Morning QB - Peter King - SI.com

From the article:
"I'll tell you the real reason,'' his friend Warren Sapp said over the weekend. "Because it's not the same for the veterans anymore. The NFL doesn't need us. In this NFL, the old vets don't factor in. The kids don't listen to nobody. Nobody! My last year in Oakland, I'd try to talk to some of the kids. Tommy Kelly, Terdell Sands. But they had no interest. I thought the ghosts in that building were so valuable, but none of the young guys cared. Once in a while, one of the old legends would come in the building, or make a trip. Jack Tatum would be around, and I'd say, 'You know who that dude is? You know how he played?' And the kids would be like, 'Nah, I don't care.'
"The game's different now. Look at Vince Young. Why wouldn't he listen to Kerry Collins? I'm sure Vince thinks, 'Nobody's been through what I'm going through. Nobody's been through my kind of pressure.' Are you kidding me! Kerry Collins, fifth pick in the draft, has all the ups and downs, gets benched, makes those racist comments, has the alcohol problems, moves from team to team, comes back, has success ... Vince Young should suck up all the knowledge Kerry Collins has to offer! There's no better role model for him.''

There's a distance between young guys and vets, but if a guy isn't going to listen to another player he's not going to take much stock in what a coach is going to say either. I think it's more of a player thing than related to veterans vs. coaches. I think you learn from a veteran a completely different set of information than from a coach. The coach can give you the knowledge and how it fits into the scheme and all that, but a veteran can tell you how to apply it and what you need to do to be successful. There's a reason why these guys have been in the league for 10 years, they know how to play the game.

My guesses for Redskins veterans that are ineffective or unwilling to mentor other players (completely speculative and just based on the media).
-Santana Moss - no recievers have developed here lately and I've never heard the young guys talk about how Moss has helped them
-Clinton Portis - don't hear anything about his leadership or mentoring, I hear about him working out a lot on his own, and he's always worried about his carries
-Fred Smoot - he seems real talkative but in a trash talking way, don't know if he has a serious side where he teaches guys, also what he said about Kevin Barnes makes me think he's more concerned about his spot

[MTK]

Originally Posted by an23dy

Santana Moss - no recievers have developed here lately and I've never heard the young guys talk about how Moss has helped them

You must not be listening too closely because Moss gets mentioned all the time by guys like Thomas as being a mentor for him.

exhibit A:

Thomas was happy to discuss Moss, whom he called his mentor.

"He's my big brother," Thomas said. "I've got to show him some love here because he's shown me the ropes."

link

[an23dy]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

You must not be listening too closely because Moss gets mentioned all the time by guys like Thomas as being a mentor for him.

exhibit A:

Just me speculating, it's probably more of a media thing, how Moss is seen as a guy that flashes gang signs, gets a celebration penalty here and there, is from the U, he's still kinda young, and all that. I just don't hear Moss and mentor that often. I didn't read that article. I looked at Devin Thomas' blog, didn't see anything. Hadn't heard from Malcolm Kelly. Jerry Rice gets mentioned a lot as a mentor, from DeSean Jackson, Steve Smith, and other guys, you hear a lot about Hines Ward mentoring guys. I've heard Marvin Harrison, Derrick Mason, Torry Holt, Joe Horn, but I just don't put Moss in that category. I think Kelly and Thomas were a lot more raw than I thought they should have been. They seemed very unpolished in their route running and Thomas had more penalties than he should have for how little he played. Somebody has to be at fault, maybe they're not that good, maybe it's because they're rookies, or the injuries, or the WR coach.