News: Witten serves as undisputed leader in Cowboys’ locker room

[Zimmy Lives]

Wow and to think both of you actually believe this.

Believe what? That leadership in the locker room, or lack thereof, does not severely impact what happens on the field? Absolutely. Now I only played ball up to the college level but it was talent that won for us, not the direction/impetus of those we considered great leaders. The Baylor locker room had great leaders and great jerks; most of us, though, were just focused on doing our job.

We can all believe that leadership means everything but in the end, it's a myth perpetuated by those who would like for it to be so.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Let me start by saying I am a huge Witten fan. I think he has been a great player and a great person to have on the team. That said, and I know I will ruffle some feathers with this, I don't fully agree with the article's premise of Witten being an "undisputed leader in the Cowboys locker room". I think he's definitely a leader, but "undisputed" implies that everyone listens and follows him and I do not believe that to be the case.

I think Jason leads by example and I think he is very vocal with most of the players on the team when he's on the field. However, I think he tends to shy away from players who are more animated or vocal, especially off the field. A good example of what I'm talking about was last week when he was giving an interview in front of his locker and Dez was going off on the media. He paused his interview and looked around the reporters to see what was going on. After a little time, he went back to his interview like nothing happened. An "undisputed leader" would have excused himself from the interview and walked over to try to calm Dez down. A leader takes control of situations like that before they get worse. Once they get really bad, no leader can calm the situation, so good leaders are proactive.

The bottom line is that one could argue he's an undisputed leader on the field, but I don't think he's an undisputed leader in the locker room.

Just my thoughts of course ..

Someone posted that after he finished his interview, he went over to address the situation. Minor detail, but one I thought should be noted.

 

[perrykemp]

Let me start by saying I am a huge Witten fan. I think he has been a great player and a great person to have on the team. That said, and I know I will ruffle some feathers with this, I don't fully agree with the article's premise of Witten being an "undisputed leader in the Cowboys locker room". I think he's definitely a leader, but "undisputed" implies that everyone listens and follows him and I do not believe that to be the case.

I think Jason leads by example and I think he is very vocal with most of the players on the team when he's on the field. However, I think he tends to shy away from players who are more animated or vocal, especially off the field. A good example of what I'm talking about was last week when he was giving an interview in front of his locker and Dez was going off on the media. He paused his interview and looked around the reporters to see what was going on. After a little time, he went back to his interview like nothing happened. An "undisputed leader" would have excused himself from the interview and walked over to try to calm Dez down. A leader takes control of situations like that before they get worse. Once they get really bad, no leader can calm the situation, so good leaders are proactive.

The bottom line is that one could argue he's an undisputed leader on the field, but I don't think he's an undisputed leader in the locker room.

Just my thoughts of course ..

You did a much better job of articulating what I was trying to express in my above post.

 

[Reality]

Someone posted that after he finished his interview, he went over to address the situation. Minor detail, but one I thought should be noted.

And by then, all the news, radio and tv media outlets has their story lines for the next few days. An undisputed locker room leader would have helped to stop it before it happened.

He's a leader and a leader will go over to calm the situation after it happens. An undisputed leader injects himself into a situation before it becomes something worse.

 

[Idgit]

He's a leader in the locker room if for no other reason than the HC keeps telling other players to "just do what 82 does" if they want to make it in the NFL. But I've also seen him get on players on the sidelines. He's gotten on Dez pretty good before. And he was one of the guys who reportedly paid into Randle last season when the arrest tape came out.

Oh, and lol at the notion that Greg Hardy in the locker room as a cancer is the reason we've lost 7 straight.

 

[daveferr33]

Is it a compliment to call someone the undisputed leader of a 2-7 football team; a team that has won two wildcard games his entire time in the league?

 

[DandyDon1722]

I listen to the radio show that Brad Sham, and Ben and Skin put on every Monday night after a game. They have players from the team on weekly. Out of every guest they have asked this season they all said Witten. We are taliing about defensive players all the way to a guy like Butler. They said he is nothing like as he appears in public as well. He is a tough sob and talks alot they say.

I wonder if he's had a "talk" with Hardy.

 

[DandyDon1722]

Is it a compliment to call someone the undisputed leader of a 2-7 football team; a team that has won two wildcard games his entire time in the league?

Absolutely - Dick Butkus.

Was 10 games under .500 in his career and NEVER appeared in a playoff game with the Bears.

Would you ever doubt he was a team leader - I don't think so.

 

[TheCount]

So even after this year, Witten needs to produce at a pretty high level for another 4-6 years to pass Gonzalez for most catches. I really hope he can do it.

 

[Hoods]

And by then, all the news, radio and tv media outlets has their story lines for the next few days. An undisputed locker room leader would have helped to stop it before it happened.

He's a leader and a leader will go over to calm the situation after it happens. An undisputed leader injects himself into a situation before it becomes something worse.

He did. He literally walked over to Dez and they exited the lockeroom. Did you not see that clip?

 

[khiladi]

He was around during the Wade era, supposedly when the inmates were running the asylum. I thought Garrett was needed to clean up the culture. Dez blew up last week and supposedly it's all Hardy's fault. So is Hardy the leader of the rebel alliance or what?

 

[daveferr33]

Absolutely - Dick Butkus.

Was 10 games under .500 in his career and NEVER appeared in a playoff game with the Bears.

Would you ever doubt he was a team leader - I don't think so.

Good point.

 

[Reality]

He did. He literally walked over to Dez and they exited the lockeroom. Did you not see that clip?

You need to go back and read my posts .. I said a leader deals with a situation AFTER it happens. By then, the media has their story lines and every media source out there was talking about Dez for the next couple of days. An undisputed leader would have intervened the moment he saw things were escalating, helping to calm the situation and prevent the story line from forming. Instead, Witten just looked for a few seconds, then returned to his interview. Again, go back and read my posts.

 

[khiladi]

I love Witten, but I personally have more of an affinity for Jay Novacek. I think a huge hit in the Dallas offense was a result of his back injury and his loss, which led to Dallas trying to find solutions via guys like Bjornson and Campbell. You could see the effects of an injured Jay during the last SB season, along with the loss of Norv.

Aikman use to work these guys out from what I recall pre-draft.

They always talk about the big-3 in Dallas, ignoring Novacek. That guy made every clutch play for us. I think in today's era, with the open passing game he would have been absolutely ridiculous.

 

[BHendri5]

I agree an disagree with the article. Yes he I one of the leaders on the team and he is a leader in some aspect, but the way this article is painting him, I disagree he is not.
There are so many definitions to being a leader, everyone has their own definition of what they believe a leader is, some definitons crossover into others but there is not one clear definition

 

[Hoods]

You need to go back and read my posts .. I said a leader deals with a situation AFTER it happens. By then, the media has their story lines and every media source out there was talking about Dez for the next couple of days. An undisputed leader would have intervened the moment he saw things were escalating, helping to calm the situation and prevent the story line from forming. Instead, Witten just looked for a few seconds, then returned to his interview. Again, go back and read my posts.

I disagree. But even if that is how an "undisputed leader" would normally handle that situation (as if there is a right answer), it's silly to suggest that an undisputed leader is without flaws and would handle every situation perfectly.

 

[CF74]

Maybe it's just me but I suspect he's cracked a few skulls in that locker room...

 

[Rockport]

Believe what? That leadership in the locker room, or lack thereof, does not severely impact what happens on the field? Absolutely. Now I only played ball up to the college level but it was talent that won for us, not the direction/impetus of those we considered great leaders. The Baylor locker room had great leaders and great jerks; most of us, though, were just focused on doing our job.

We can all believe that leadership means everything but in the end, it's a myth perpetuated by those who would like for it to be so.

No, that you believe Witten is not a leader in the team.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

No, that you believe Witten is not a leader in the team.

I don't remember saying that.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

No, that you believe Witten is not a leader in the team.

I re-read the original post I responded to and determined it sounded like I was saying Witten was not a leader. To clarify, I agreed with the poster's opinion that it was a good article. I then proceeded to comment that I believe good leadership (Witten) or bad (Hardy), it all comes down to players and their talent.

For the record, Witten is one of the greatest players to wear the Star; probably top three in terms of dedication, commitment and talent.