Printers, Porter, D-Mac and leadership

A bit of a long read but please bear with me;

A quarterback in this league must have the respect and commitment of his fellow team mates to have any chance at success.

First read this excellent article by Steve Milton...

http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/517032

It has become clear that Casey has, unfortunately, contributed significantly to his own demise.

As the best example of leadership from a QB that I have seen in my lifetime you need not look any further than Danny McManus. Regardless of the outcome of any game, whether it was the 1999 Grey Cup or the demoralizing playoff loss to the Argos, Danny always took the blame for the loss and never any credit for the win. He put his own neck in the guillotine when clearly the team lost as a whole and he always pointed out the stellar play of his team mates rather than himself in the biggest games.

I personally met him a couple of times and he was pure class and modesty all the way. He was great with my young kids when I introduced him to them. He has been a quiet pillar in the Hamilton community for many years. He is still committed to this team. The best team mate, friend and LEADER that the Cats could ask for.

Quinton Porter has a big opportunity to step into these shoes. Casey is gone. Danny is probably the best mentor for a QB that you could ask for... Now, Quinton sometimes gets ribbed for being cerebral (reading Zen philosophy and other material) and that doesn't quite fit the athlete's "norm".

Personally, I take this as a good thing. He wants to expand his knowledge and pursue personal fulfillment. Although they are not directly related these two aspects of his life, athletics and off-field studies, may make him a superior QB. We need a person who wants to improve himself on and off the field. Someone who can relate knowledge to leadership, intelligence to performance. I feel subtle undertones that make me believe that Quinton may become a very important player here for many years. He seems to have all the tools required for great success: athleticism, motivation, intelligence, a great mentor and the desire to always improve.

I expect that Quinton, with experience, could be the next truly significant player that our team has seen in many long years.

Some great points but D Mac is now a US based scout. He won't be anywhere near players the team already has. Kahari Jones was hired to replace D Mac on the coaching staff.

Danny didn't want to coach.

Danny will reside in Hamilton during the season

and head out of town for scouting trips.

The way I heard it is that he will be based out of his Florida home and scout the eastern half of the US for the Cats. Either way… he isn’t in any kind of coaching role any longer.

Of course you are correct Zen…

I had forgotten about Khari being hired. I still believe that Quinton will benefit greatly from the exposure he has had with Danny Mac. 2008 gave these guys plenty of time to work together. Hopefully, Danny’s leadership skills were rubbing off on Quinton.

Now that Casey is gone, Porter can assume more of a command presence.

My hopes are high for Quinton.

Quentin Porter has a lot of upside…I just hope were not putting too great a load on his shoulders. Ive liked him since I saw him in pre-season last year, at which time I made the prediction that he would be our # 2 at seasons end ( I had anticipated a great deal more from CP). What he(as well as our # 3) needs is an experienced , settling presence at #2 ...a Danny Mac type...to instruct through experience ,to build confidence when things dont go as they`re supposed to ( and they will). I trust that is what is in the works with the announcement later this week of a couple of new QBs.
At any rate , I look forward to watching QPs progress.

Great reflection, you are right about DMac. I remember reading an interview (or maybe it was on TV) with Mike Mihailec. He said about DMac “I’d lay my life down for that guy” and he meant it. This is the kind of leader that is needed in the QB position.

Printers’s failings in the leadership dept are pretty obvious and Milton has pointed them out. It comes down to “all about me” syndrome it seems to me. Although he expressed it differently, Maas’s over-the-top frustration at the smallest mistakes represents different symptoms for the same disease: “all about me”.

Let’s hope that Quinton can be the generous and selfless leader that DMac was (and Khari was pretty good too) and we can put the instability at the QB position in the past.

red24