In these situations, I always think back to how when I first started on the beat in 2001, I was fortunate that there was a locker room full of players who were accountable in good times and bad. No one exemplified that better than center Olin Kreutz. An open locker-room period didn’t go by without Kreutz being available for questions at his locker. Pick the day of the week, he was there. Not for the entire time the locker room was open. But Kreutz was there. It definitely was something you took notice of in 2002 when the team was in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, and again in 2004 when the offense was a wreck with its three substandard starting quarterbacks. If you had questions, Kreutz would entertain them. He was an example for others to follow: Be a pro, speak for the product you put on the field. Kreutz didn’t always enjoy it. There’s no way it was fun. But if he was going to be considered a team leader, he was going to be available.