Tag: Character

Chiefs DB Tyrann Mathieu praises character of rookie LB Willie Gay Jr.

Tyrann Mathieu had some really good things to say about Chiefs’ rookie LB Willie Gay after Week 14.

When the Kansas City Chiefs suited up to face the Miami Dolphins in Week 14, fans believed they were set to get an extended look at rookie linebacker Willie Gay Jr. on defense. In limited opportunities on the season, he’s flashed superior athleticism and playmaking ability — the type that you don’t keep on the sidelines.

The second-round draft pick by the Chiefs appeared to be next in line to fill in for injured linebacker Damien Wilson. Andy Reid even suggested as much during his final press conference of the week. When the dust settled Gay got the start but played just 17 defensive snaps, giving way to veteran Ben Niemann, who played 90% of the defensive snaps.

Following the game, Chiefs DB Tyrann Mathieu was asked of Gay’s development and whether he thought that he rose to the occasion in Week 14. His response should encourage Chiefs fans anxiously awaiting a larger role for the rookie.

“He’s a mature young man,” Mathieu said of Gay. “I’m so impressed with him and really his character. Not everything has gone his way this season, pretty sure he wanted to be a day one starter, but he just kept his head down. He’s always prepared at meetings, coach is calling on him, he always knows what to do, he always knows the answer. And I think that’s all you can ask from a young player is a guy that’s just committed to the team and I think Willie (Gay) shows that each and every week.”

It doesn’t appear to be for a lack of effort, mastery and smarts that Gay Jr. isn’t getting on the field more often. It’s just a matter of a rookie waiting for his time to come and it hasn’t yet. When it does, he’ll have to seize the day.

As for the outlook for the future, Mathieu is optimistic that Chiefs fans will see the results of Gay’s labors soon.

“It’s going to take, for guys like me and Chris (Jones) and Frank (Clark) and (Anthony) Hitchens to step up and continue to encourage him,” Mathieu continued. “Because I truly believe at some point in the season he’s going to make some big plays for us, and he’s going to be one of those guys we lean on, especially going forward.”

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Expect the Broncos to continue drafting team captains this year

The Broncos have made an effort to draft high-character players and it’s worked well over the last two years.

The Denver Broncos have drafted 16 players over the last two years. Of those players, 11 were team captains in college. Expect that trend to continue this year.

During his pre-draft Zoom conference call with reporters on Monday, Broncos general manager John Elway explained that the team wasn’t specifically targeting high-character players before 2018.

“We had a couple of misses back there, and I think the misses that we had were people that were character concerns,” Elway said. “I think we’ve kind of focused and turned around a little bit more than we have [in the past].”

Elway explained that in recent seasons, when the team has been losing, some players didn’t set good examples in the locker room. So Denver’s front office made an effort to bring in high-character players to turn around the mentality of the team.

“We have some really good leadership in that locker room now, positive leadership, and guys that want to win football games,” Elway said.

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Bob Quinn leads Lions to lowest number of off-the-field issues in NFL

Since his hire as Detroit Lions general manager in 2016, Bob Quinn has lead Lions to the lowest number of off-the-field issues in NFL.

When he was hired back in January of 2016, Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn has put an emphasis on character.

Quinn started that he would have a “zero-tolerance policy” when it comes to draft picks and free agency signings, and that has proven to be true during his time in Detroit.

According to spotrac.com, the Detroit Lions are tied for the second-least amount of player suspensions since Quinn’s hire in 2016, with just three. The Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, and Chicago Bears also have three, while the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals have the fewest, with only two players suspended on each team over the last four seasons.

Additionally, the Lions are also the only NFL team not to have a player suspended in the last two seasons.

Compared to teams like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets, who respectively have had 17 and 13 suspensions over that time, the Lions look like a much more disciplined organization.

The three suspensions that the Lions had over that time period were due to two players: Khyri Thornton and Armonty Bryant.

Thornton received a six-game suspension during the 2017 training camp for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and was released not long after his suspension ended. Bryant received two separate suspensions for using PED’s in 2016 and 2017, and was released immediately after serving his second suspension.

The low number of NFL rule violations and suspensions over his four seasons as general manager has proved that Quinn prioritizes character both on the field and off. This has shown with more than suspensions as well.

According to data gathered from USA Today, the Lions also have the fewest number of player arrests and citations since 2016, with just one. The lone arrest of a Lions player was on former backup linebacker Trevor Bates, who assaulted a police officer in New York City in 2019 and the Lions released him two months later.

In that same span of time, eight players on the Jacksonville Jaguars had been arrested, and seven more on each the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams had as well.

This data has made one thing very clear: Bob Quinn was true to his word. When looking at the charitable actions of the members of this organization, this becomes even more obvious. Say what you want about the Detroit Lions on the field, but the high quality of character within the organization makes them an easy team to root for.