[VIDEO] Jonathan Vilma looks very comfortable in the role of mentor, leader and coach. As the lockout drags on, players are organizing themselves to get ready for the upcoming season without access to their coaches or team facilities. The teams with the strongest leaders have a definite advantage. The New Orleans Saints benefits from strong leadership on both sides of the ball, and you can see the results in their player-organized workouts.
Vilma, the Saints Pro Bowl linebacker, explains, “May and June is usually the time we have our OTAs and minicamps. We have a good group of guys, about 70 to 80 percent of the guys coming in. You can call me a ‘coach’, we’re trying to teach the guys and Drew [Brees] is doing the same thing on the offensive side.”
Vilma was acquired by the Saints in 2008 from the Jets for a fourth round draft pick, which has turned out to be a tremendous bargain for New Orleans. In his three seasons with the Saints, Vilma has totaled 347 tackles, 7 sacks, 17 pass deflections, 5 interceptions and two Pro Bowl appearances. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams relies heavily on Vilma to run the defense on the field, making him responsible for many of the team’s audibles in the Saints’ complicated 4-3 defense.
Vilma is committed to doing everything he can to get himself and his team ready for football, as soon as the league is ready to reopen the doors. Getting back on the field is his only focus. “That’s all I want to do. This is my career, this is my life.”
He is clearly encouraged by what he has seen from the players and the fans, saying “If you look around the league, teams have really gotten together. The fans have shown me nothing but support. Unfortunately, there’s a business side.” And to the fans, his message is simple – “Stay strong. We’re hoping the same thing that the fans are hoping, that we’ll have football this season.”
When asked about the most difficult lesson he’s had to learn in football, his response was equally simple, “The business side of it. As much as you give your blood, sweat and tears on the field, there’s almost an impersonal level that you have to take when it comes to contracts, trades… you see your friends come and go because of the business side of it. That’s probably the toughest thing I’ve had to learn.”
Hopefully, the lockout will be over soon, so that Vilma and the rest of the NFL players can get back on the field. And the fans can get back to watching the game they love, instead of watching the courts and hoping.
