Danny Clark set to step up into a leadership role

By Hugo Guzman  |   Tuesday, July 05, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Oakland Raiders
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!
Oakland Raiders linebacker Danny Clark is poised to step up into an even larger leadership role this season. While the offense fields most of the marquee names on the Raiders' roster, Randy Moss and Kerry Collins just to name a few, it is the somewhat soft spoken linebacker that hopes to step up into a larger role and help this team compete for a playoff spot.

Danny Clark is an intense player who is nicknamed the "Hammerhead" by fellow players and coaches. He is relatively unknown in NFL circles, playing four seasons as a backup and special teams ace for the Jacksonville Jaguars before moving to the Oakland Raiders last off-season. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan made the fateful decision to move him from outside linebacker to inside/middle linebacker. In his first year playing on the inside, he played well enough to start all 16 regular season games and tallied the most tackles on the team (129). However, Clark himself admitted that he was not as vocal and influential with his teammates as he could have been.

Clark hopes to change all of that this year. He has already begun to push his teammates in off-season workouts and seems to be settling comfortably into his role as one of the leaders on the defensive side of the ball. However, he has stated that he is not interested in becoming a superstar. He told a local newspaper that,"It won't be just one superstar, it's going to be team defense. You are going to see bumblebees after somebody knocks the nest down. Guys will be flying everywhere."

Don't be surprised to see Danny Clark develop into a marquee NFL linebacker this season and the Oakland Raiders bounce back defensively after finishing the 04' season 30th in total defense and 31st in scoring defense. If that does end up happening, somebody needs go over and shake Rob Ryan's hand for putting Clark in a position to shine.
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report