krammer said:
"individuals play the game of football, individuals that play as a team increase the odds of winning" this is why every year, one hears coaches say, we will have to see how it plays out...it is the great unknown....
I agree that football is a team sport and that whether you win or loose depends on how the team plays. However, one player can be the lynch-pin personality or talent that makes all the different parts work together as a cohesive unit. A leader does that.
In 2011, JJ was the unquestioned leader and the soul of the team. He was respected and his quiet toughness and work ethic showed with the dedication and execution that the Griz players showed in that season, especially as the season wore on. Fast forward to 2012, with the absence of the undisputed leader, the soul of that team was ripped out in a way that is just awful to think about. This left a young team without much in the way of experience or leadership personalities. Not a lot of seniors, a lot of underclassmen. What happens? The team falls apart. The people who should have stepped up into the leadership role were too young or too inexperienced to to so. The team floundered.
With JJ back, I see this team regaining their swagger and taking the field with a new sense of purpose. With the return of the leader, the players will rally around him and with his leadership, they can be capable of more than they ever were last year. As for the leader, JJ has been through more in this last year than all of us will probably go through in our lifetimes and he is still standing. To me that will translate into a player that will fear nothing and nothing will fluster him. After all, he had to fight for his life and this is only football.