Importance of "Veteran Presence"

[TheMugwump]

Originally Posted by Chaka

I agree with this to a certain extent, but those who expect the veteran players to take younger players under their wing and groom them to eventually take the veteran player’s job is just counterintuitive to me. That’s not to say that there aren’t a few players who are just natural teachers, and are supportive and encouraging to younger players, but my operating assumption is that the vast majority of veteran players are highly competitive and mostly self-interested.

Look at Peyton Manning – a guy who had no reason to ever think his job was in jeopardy (until, of course, he got seriously injured), yet he insisted on playing every down in most games, even in blowouts. Sure, I suppose it would be valuable for a younger player to watch Manning prepare (though as I type this I can't think of any Manning backups who ever amounted to anything, so the value of this is debatable), but I wouldn't expect these guys to nurture the younger players.

I hear what you are saying, although I think at a position, say DE or DT, where there is a rotation unlike your Peyton example, there would be a lot more sharing of how to prepare your body, how to watch film, how to counter certain blocks, etc... That may just be my mental movie of it though. You're certainly correct that anyone in the NFL is super competitive and will, and should, always look out for their own job first. I think that some of those jobs are just different and lend themselves to more exchanges of information.