RealGM

By MARK CANNIZZARO
SEARCH IS ON:Jets coach Eric Mangini said being comfortable with a player's character and work ethic is just as important as his ability.
April 27, 2007 -- Although the early morning light was shining into most of the offices at Weeb Ewbank Hall yesterday, Eric Mangini's corner office was rather dark and, as usual, the white projection screen on one wall was pulled down with some player data beaming on it.

The NFL Draft was two days away and Mangini was in his typical ultra-preparation mode, refusing to leave one detail without full inspection.

During an exclusive sit-down with The Post yesterday, Mangini didn't reveal exactly the player the Jets will select with the 25th overall pick in the first round tomorrow.

He did, however, make it unmistakably clear what kind of player the organization will draft.

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http://www.nypost.com/seven/04272007/sp ... izzaro.htm

Pretty much goes in line with my philosophy regarding football players. It's not like the NBA where one or two talents can carry an otherwise crappy team to dominance. The NFL is all about a system in which every player's actions and decisions affect every other player on the field. Because of that you need someone you can count on for every play to have the character to play hard and play smart and be focused. Individual Talent comes after those things in my opinion.

Zerostatic wrote:Pretty much goes in line with my philosophy regarding football players. It's not like the NBA where one or two talents can carry an otherwise crappy team to dominance. The NFL is all about a system in which every player's actions and decisions affect every other player on the field. Because of that you need someone you can count on for every play to have the character to play hard and play smart and be focused. Individual Talent comes after those things in my opinion.

I agree to a certain extent. Of course the NFL and the NBA are different in so many ways but the original idea to really look for high character guys and smart guys from big programs can certainly be translated to the NBA too. Look at San Antonio or Dallas, two of the dominating franchises in the last decade. They found players that are hard workers, care about winning, are high character, team players and it paid off on the court. Not that this is the only way but it is a great idea to start a plan for building a team. Sure, you have to have talent, without a doubt, but the original idea should also be a role model for other NBA franchises (Knicks)...

this is a smart way to do things, football is truly a team game, and sometimes smart players who trust and play as a team are better than individual talents....

just look at the spartans in 300