Ruben Brown, a multiple Pro-Bowl offensive lineman and a one-time teammate of Olin Kreutz's, was not happy with the fact that the Bears let the center go.
He worries that the Bears won't have any leaders now with Kreutz gone.
It's going to be ugly because now the leadership on that team is going to be manufactured. They're going to try to maybe put it on Jay, they might as the season goes on find another senior guy there to try to be the leader of the offense, maybe (Matt) Forte as the running back, whoever.
Look, we weren't popping the champagne at Grizzly Detail headquarters when Kreutz was let go. It was one of Jerry Angelo's bigger gaffes over free agency.
The problem with Brown's complaints is that it assumes that there is only one type of effective leadership. Kreutz was vocal and sometimes abrasive with teammates. That does work for some people, but it's not the only way to lead.
Kreutz's absence means that other Bears will have the room to stand up and take charge of the team.
It also assumes that all leaders proudly stand up and ask for their job when that simply isn't true. Manufactured leadership does not equal poor leadership. George Washington did not want to be the first president of the United States, but he still did a pretty good job starting out the country. Another Patriot, Tom Brady, only was called to lead his team after Drew Bledsoe was injured. The result? Three Super Bowl rings.
Brown is standing up for a former teammate, and that's commendable. But he shouldn't judge the Bears for a lack of real leadership before they even have a chance to prove themselves.
