dragondawg
04-17-2007, 02:45 AM
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- For the last three years, the team captaincy duties on defense were shared between John Lynch and Al Wilson. For the moment, Lynch will have to go it alone.
"Do you ever replace a guy like Al? I don't know," Lynch said. "All that he brought to us in his play and his leadership, that'd ifficult to do, but you just trust in your organization, making the decision and having an idea of how they're going to try to replace him."
The situation was much-discussed in the Broncos' locker room as the team returned to workouts Monday morning.
"Obviously you miss him and it's a big topic of conversation because he was such a well-liked guy," Lynch said.
But even without Wilson in the Broncos' midst, Lynch knows he won't have to assume the mantle of defensive leadership alone.
"I've always thought in my years in the league and in particular our Super Bowl year that you can't have enough good leaders," Lynch said after his weightlifting and conditioning sessions Monday at Dove Valley. "So when people say that one guy was the leader of the team, that's not necessarily accurate.
"I think it takes a lot of great leaders, and that's where we're fortunate here. We've got a lot of guys who spent a lot of years in the league. We've got young guys like Jay Cutler that are going to have to step into leadership roles, but there's plenty of leadership here."
On defense, Lynch feels it could come from all position areas, thanks to a passel of experienced starters.
"Champ Bailey's not a big rah-rah guy, but just by his example, the way he goes out and prepares every week, that's leadership," Lynch said. "But I think guys like Ian Gold and D.J. Williams are going to have an opportunity. Guys like Kenard Lang, Ebenezer Ekuban, they may have to step up their roles. I think everyone -- when you lose someone so key who's been a captain for so long, everybody's going to have to step up their game a little bit."
And if anyone knows how to show teammates how to lead, it's Lynch.
Away from the field, the 15-year veteran has made the cultivation of young leaders the backbone of the efforts for the John Lynch Foundation. To that end, Lynch has offered $5,000 scholarships to deserving high school seniors who excel in academics and athletics for the past eight years.
"What's really neat and what's really makes you proud is that our first three classes of scholarship recipients have now graduated from college and are now out in the real world working for big companies, doing great," Lynch said. "They all keep in touch."
Now, Lynch's foundation has set about searching for the next class of scholarship recipients from the Denver metropolitan area.
"In our time in Tampa and now in Denver, we've helped to send over 40 kids on to four-year institutions with the help of the Lynch Family Legacy Scholarships," he said. " These scholarships are rewarded based on three criteria: how they've done in the classroom, in their chosen sport and in the community.
"It's not so much for the kids that are going full ride, but the kids that maybe have missed out on that, but have distinguished themselves as tremendous leaders."
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=6722
"Do you ever replace a guy like Al? I don't know," Lynch said. "All that he brought to us in his play and his leadership, that'd ifficult to do, but you just trust in your organization, making the decision and having an idea of how they're going to try to replace him."
The situation was much-discussed in the Broncos' locker room as the team returned to workouts Monday morning.
"Obviously you miss him and it's a big topic of conversation because he was such a well-liked guy," Lynch said.
But even without Wilson in the Broncos' midst, Lynch knows he won't have to assume the mantle of defensive leadership alone.
"I've always thought in my years in the league and in particular our Super Bowl year that you can't have enough good leaders," Lynch said after his weightlifting and conditioning sessions Monday at Dove Valley. "So when people say that one guy was the leader of the team, that's not necessarily accurate.
"I think it takes a lot of great leaders, and that's where we're fortunate here. We've got a lot of guys who spent a lot of years in the league. We've got young guys like Jay Cutler that are going to have to step into leadership roles, but there's plenty of leadership here."
On defense, Lynch feels it could come from all position areas, thanks to a passel of experienced starters.
"Champ Bailey's not a big rah-rah guy, but just by his example, the way he goes out and prepares every week, that's leadership," Lynch said. "But I think guys like Ian Gold and D.J. Williams are going to have an opportunity. Guys like Kenard Lang, Ebenezer Ekuban, they may have to step up their roles. I think everyone -- when you lose someone so key who's been a captain for so long, everybody's going to have to step up their game a little bit."
And if anyone knows how to show teammates how to lead, it's Lynch.
Away from the field, the 15-year veteran has made the cultivation of young leaders the backbone of the efforts for the John Lynch Foundation. To that end, Lynch has offered $5,000 scholarships to deserving high school seniors who excel in academics and athletics for the past eight years.
"What's really neat and what's really makes you proud is that our first three classes of scholarship recipients have now graduated from college and are now out in the real world working for big companies, doing great," Lynch said. "They all keep in touch."
Now, Lynch's foundation has set about searching for the next class of scholarship recipients from the Denver metropolitan area.
"In our time in Tampa and now in Denver, we've helped to send over 40 kids on to four-year institutions with the help of the Lynch Family Legacy Scholarships," he said. " These scholarships are rewarded based on three criteria: how they've done in the classroom, in their chosen sport and in the community.
"It's not so much for the kids that are going full ride, but the kids that maybe have missed out on that, but have distinguished themselves as tremendous leaders."
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=6722