When Talent Becomes Everything

Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com on how the Seahawks heve been forced to handle Marshawn Lynch during a difficult season with a difficult player:

“The tiptoeing tone apparently was set at the top of the organization, with as one source explained it [head coach PeteCarroll avoiding the issue of talking to Lynch and instead relying on others to communicate with him. While much of the problems flow from the way Lynch has handled others, the Seahawks perhaps haven’t handle Lynch in an ideal way, either.”

This is where it all leads. Time after time I’ve heard from fans in the NFL that “talent trumps all” and that players like Martellus Bennett should be kept on the team despite their difficult ways. This is where it all ends up when you do that too often. With a player that the head coach has to tip toe around just to keep him happy and get him on the field.

Time after time the Seahawks have kowtowed to Lynch, allowing him to get away with, for instance, sulking out on the field during half time rather than going in with the team. Allowing him to fail to live up to the terms of his contract by failing to speak to the media – by actually defending him on it.

Heaven forbid that the Bears ever let it get to this point themselves. Thank heavens that the indications are that they won’t.

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