Leadership and team chemistry are the keys to the Jaguars success in 2019

Who will step up and become a leader on the Jacksonville Jaguars 2019 roster?

Leadership and a lack of team chemistry plagued the Jaguars in 2018.  It is critical that the team solve these problems in 2019. Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union stated the problem best.

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"For multiple reasons the Jaguars didn’t handle adversity well. One long time NFL veteran told me that he had never seen a team be negatively impacted by selfishness as much as last years Jaguars. There is no doubt that Marrone felt it even though he never spelled it out publicly.  Marrone knew that all the pleading from him and Calais Campbell couldn’t repair the damage from a locker room that didn’t have enough leadership to fix itself."

Leadership issues must be solved. Finger pointing, fighting, and yelling must be reduced or the 2019 season will be a sad rerun of 2018.  Jaguars still have Campbell as a model professional behavior and attitude and he will step up again.

However, he needs some support from others on the team to instill camaraderie and chemistry that leads to victories.

The team captains are considered the leaders of the team.  The coaches and other players look to them to provide leadership on and off the field role as models and advisors. Ideally the captains should be chosen by fellow players but some teams require input from coaches and on other teams coaches choose the captains.

Other leaders are often veteran players who understand the workings of the NFL. The Jaguars of 2018 didn’t have enough leaders to keep the team together when things went south.

The locker room became toxic. Let’s look at potential team captains who can change the culture in 2019.

On offense the quarterback is an obvious choice for team captain. Nick Foles is well known for his leadership qualities.

"As Justin Bariso wrote in Inc.com, “When you lead a team you are in a unique position to help people recover….when you focus on the positive you become a powerful force for good.”"

Numerous writers are impressed with Foles leadership on and off the field. This quality will pay dividends down the road.

Brandon Linder is a good choice for offensive team captain. He plays center and is the focal point of the offensive line.  He has been elected captain before in 2018 and 2017. His injury last season left a leadership gap.

Paul Posluszny was a defensive team captain for six years.  His retirement left a huge gap that Telvin Smith hoped to fill. Now both are gone. Myles Jack is a good candidate to fill that gap. He is a very good linebacker which will earn him respect from his team mates and in the middle linebacker position he calls formations for the defense.

He stepped up by proclaiming that he IS the starter in the middle and hopes to play every down.

The other defensive captain is obviously Campbell who is well respected on and off the field. The team will probably add a special teams captain as well.

In conclusion, the “C” for captain on the uniform of a player should not be the result of a popularity contest.  It is a huge responsibility. The captain must be a positive influence on the playing field and in the locker room. I am looking forward to the players who will be the leaders of the Jaguars in 2019.