Sports Story of the Week
What we can learn from a third string NFL Quarterback.
Last night Case Keenum, the number 3 Quarterback on the Chicago Bears, got the start against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night football. It had only been a mere 1,009 days since his last start.
Quarterback injuries is a big story in the NFL this year. Too many teams are working on scrambling with their number 2, 3, or even looking at what to do in the lead position for the rest of the season. The Bears are no different. When their star Caleb Williams got hurt, and then their number 2, Bagent suffered a concussion in the loss to Minnesota Vikings and wasn’t even certain to be cleared before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3.
So the start went for this Monday Night Football game went to the number three guy, Keenum. He has been around the league for more than a decade, been part of seven different franchises and has more game experience than the combination of the current number 1 and 2.
Case Keenum took advantage of the opportunity. He prepared all week. It is reported that he even put his phone in Do Not Disturb mode only allowing calls from Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson and his wife. Full Focus. Full Preparation. Full Committment.
Then on Monday night, Keenum did the next step. He executed. He threw for 247 yards and 2 Touchdowns, also rushing for 1 touchdown himself. He led the team to a 27-7 win. Or as we now know them, ‘Da Bears thanks to Saturday Night Live and the rendition of the rabid Bears fans.
In the locker room, Keenum received the game ball and ended his hype and inspiring moment saying, I may not be a cowboy but this ain’t my first ** rodeo!
The win came from great game plans, great execution, and a full team effort. The team was able to prove that they are more than Caleb Williams, they are truly a team.
The 3 Lessons from ‘Da Bears
1. Adjust to the talent and make them comfortable
The game plan was scripted to make sure that Keenum was comfortable quickly. They let him do what he knew, they didn’t try to stick to the same plan they would have with a more dynamic Caleb Williams. The same goes for teams in business. You have to make plans and assignments that adjust to the natural strengths and talents of your team members. Not who you wish you have, but who you actually do. Allow them to put full effort into those areas and give them space to get comfortable, get confident, and find success.
2. You see the success not the preparation.
The 2nd string Quarterback was also injured last week. He was cleared for the game but only would have one practice to prepare. So they went with the Veteran that could. What we don’t often appreciate in what looks like an overnight success, or luck, is the effort people give to preparation. With leaders and teams, its easy to play the comparison game, and expect that low effort gives high success. That is rarely the case. The truly elite leaders and teams give a high level of diligent preparation to anything that they are doing, whether they expect it to be hard or not. The 3rd string Case made mention of that in his post game presser- how hard the preparation for the NFL season has been all these years where he didn’t get the opportunity to play. When you are prepared
3. They had fun.
After 1,009 days of not starting, Case Keenum was awed by the moment. The Billie Jean King quote, “Pressure is a privilege, and champions adjust.” certainly fits here. He took the pressure of starting in the prime Monday night game and play a game that he has dreamt about, so he made sure he had fun doing it. Too often we take the pressure of the expectations of our performance and allow that to overtake the fun we can have doing it. This doesn’t mean every part is fun, as I am sure that getting hit at 38 years old was not fun, but the feeling of stepping up to a challenge, being on the sideline, and having impact, was fun. Fun is observable… and contagious.
