The NFL regular season ended less than two months ago, but the most telling sign of the Cowboys’ offseason may have already come. Last week, defensive end Jason Hatcher spoke about how he wished Dallas had a true leader in their locker room. He said the Cowboys lack a player like Ray Lewis who everyone in the locker room listens to, which is obviously a problem for the team. DeMarcus Ware disagrees with Hatcher.
“The thing is on our team, there’s not a guy who is just a straight up, solitary leader,” Ware said according to the Dallas Morning News. “I think it comes as a whole. You got to look at it as we have (Tony) Romo, we have (Jason) Witten, you have me, Bradie James, Sean Lee. Everybody has their role and they take on that leadership role when it’s needed. Every team doesn’t need just a one-time guy who is like the leader of that team. If everybody is checking everybody, that’s all you need. There comes a time to step up when it’s time to step up and get the job done.”
Ware was one of the names that came to mind when I read Hatcher’s comments. The fact that a player on defense didn’t consider him to be a leader surprised me a bit. The guys DeMarcus mentioned may have leadership qualities, but Hatcher’s comments make it pretty obvious that the team lacks a true leader.
If a team has a leader, everybody knows about it. It’s not something that needs to be explained. If Hatcher says the team has no leaders, than the Cowboys have no leader who is vocal enough to make an impression. That’s a clear sign that someone needs to step up and fulfill that role in 2012.
