Going through the Pollard chat from the mothership (h/t BattleRedHusker) I came across this little nugget about defense and leadership.

Juan Sanchez - Houston, TX, US: Hey bernard i always wanted to know, do you defensive guys hang out? I noticed cushing is the humourous type is he funny? Also how many people you plan on laying out this season haha =D whoo!!

Bernard Pollard (12:43:42 PM): Defensively, we try to do something weekly during the season, and I think that builds team camaraderie and builds trust among players. It's needed on the team; you need to get away from family and kind of hang out with guys outside the football field. But I think DeMeco does a great job. He's the coordinator of that. Sometimes we go by position, sometimes we go as a whole defense. Like I said, he does a great job of building trust and everything else between the guys.

I think this is great to hear.  Leadership on the defensive side of the ball has been a topic of some discussion around here of late, and of course Trent Dilfer seems to think we need more personalities (which I assume means leaders) in order to contend.  So it was nice to hear a respected player, known for his plain-speaking, give the inside scoop on who is a locker room leader.

If you don't already have a man crush on DeMeco, you really should.

EDIT: And Pollard, too, for that matter.