Veteran leadership
Thompson or any other general manager that thinks veteran leadership - anywhere on the depth chart - is overrated should talk to Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams. If it wasn't for Vinny Testaverde's seven-game stint with the team last season, Williams might still be an underachiever.
"I think he's probably impacted my season the most this year than anybody because of the conversation we had before he left," Williams said of the now-retired Testaverde.
"He really left me with some things that really touched me and stayed on my heart, as you can tell from this season."
Williams wouldn't say specifically what Testaverde told with him, but Testaverde informed the Charlotte Observer of the the main thrust of their conversation.
Testaverde, now 45, played his 21st and final season with Carolina.
"When I got there last year, it was the first game at Arizona. I handed the ball off to him, he'd run 10 or 12 yards and put his hand up to come out of the game," Testaverde said.
"After a few weeks, I said, 'You have all the ability to be a great running back, but you need to get in shape and you need not to want to come out of the game.' "
Testaverde, a workout freak himself, told Williams how his former New York Jets teammate Curtis Martin stayed healthy for so long and never wanted to come out of games.
"From what I can tell, he is in much better shape," said Testaverde. "I have to take my hat off to him because he looks phenomenal this year, as well as the rest of the team. I'm happy for him because he's such a great kid."