The Difference between Swagger and Arrogance

Good ol' Touraj Houshmanzadeh has been doing a pretty good job of staying in the news lately. He's made predictions, he's been bold, he's boycotted Madden because he's only the sixth-best receiver in the NFC, and so on, and so forth. A lot of fans have been jumping on his case, calling him a primadonna, saying he needs to shutup until he proves something, and, well, you know. Stuff like that.

So, the question arises -- what is the difference between Swagger, which for years we've been saying we need more of, and Arrogance, which is generally looked at in Seattle as a locker room buzzkill?

An arrogant player, especially an arrogant wide receiver, is the guy who insists on making himself the center of attention. He doesn't do this because he wants to be the center of attention, he does this because he cannot see a situation where he wouldn't automatically be the center of attention. 'Of course you care what I think, I'm Ocho Cinco!' Arrogance is a mix of two things -- a) pride and b) a superiority complex. Pride isn't so bad, you want a guy to be proud of his skills and his work -- but you also need a guy who can be proud of his teammates and what they can do together.

The superiority complex is where the real trouble begins. If a player believes that he truly is superior to the rest of the team, regardless of whether or not its true, he will damage that team. He will carry himself in a way that affects the others. He will be less apt to help others, because in his mind they are intrinsically less talented than him. Yes, he's worked hard, and sure, they work hard, but they just won't ever touch him. Did Chad Johnson ever imagine lowly ex-community college wideout TJ Houshmandzadeh would be getting the big bucks in free agency? No, because he's not at the same level and never can be (in Johnson/85's mindset.

Swagger, however, is different. Swagger is one of the key ingredients that this team has been missing lately. Our swagger was decimated in February 2006 and we have not recaptured it yet. To succeed in the NFL, a team has to be confident that it can win every game, they have to look at that schedule and think in their minds "Wow, we could go 16-0." The 2007 Patriots had swagger. The 2008 Ravens had swagger. The 2005 Seahawks had swagger.

TJ Houshmandzadeh has a big mouth of late, but it's not like he's getting caught saying things he didn't mean for people to hear. He didn't stumble. And guess what -- the Seahawks have given him pretty much free reign on the radio shows to do just that. To be the verbal leader that this team hasn't had in years. Houshmandzadeh is not a True #1 Receiver until he proves otherwise, but he has the talent to be respected, the boldness to be honest, and the willingness to take the bullets for a team that has had no clear, vocal leader for years now. If Housh can put up solid numbers on the field and bring some much needed confidence and swagger to the locker room, he'll be worth every penny and more.

Here's to 2009 -- the year Seattle got it's Swagger Back!