Where Was Peyton’s Matt Flynn?
A month till my birthday, which also means a month till the Super Bowl! Before the season started, I was hoping my favorite quarterback, Peyton Manning, and his team would be IN the Super Bowl. He inspired the first (and last) words of my football book. His command of his job and his team made him most like a CEO in our workplaces. I dedicated my book to him, along with my mom, who happens to share his birthday. I blogged about him on October 6, 2011. He was injured: three neck surgeries in 18 months. He was out, and as it happened, out for the season. My lesson for that blog was “do you have a back- up (person)—you probably should.”
Well, the Colts did not have one who knew the playbook, nor one who knew how to manage the team. Hence, they went 2-14 for the season. Shameful: they were a TOP team with winning records many years in a row. Sad, except that it gives them the first pick in the Draft (ahhh, parity in the NFL—gotta love it). So I was reminded of the importance of back-ups last Saturday in the #1-seeded Green Bay Packers’ game against the no-slouch-playoff-bound Detroit Lions. Since the Packers had nothing more to gain by winning the game, they rested their superstar QB, Aaron Rodgers, and put in his back-up. WELL. . .the rest is history. . .literally. Some guy we had never seen before, Matt Flynn, set a franchise record for the Packers with 6 touchdowns, and 480 yards! He was only the third QB in NFL history to do this! More history! After the game, Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy said, “Now, the whole world got to see what we see every day. Matt is talented, has full control of the Offense, and is even- keel.” Wow. Sports pundits started naming other teams who would want to get this guy RIGHT NOW for next season! It is inspiring that someone as good as Aaron Rodgers has a great back-up QB. Even more inspiring is the team was smart enough to have one, even though Rodgers is young and healthy and peaking in his performance rating and stats.
Where was Peyton Manning’s Matt Flynn? Sigh. I wrote that question in my “notes for blog” last Saturday. Two days later, the top managers are fired from Peyton’s team. The Head Coach is “being evaluated.” Coincidence? I think not. People, please take a lesson from this. Good teams find ways to win, even when they are missing their star player. Do you have back-ups for your “stars?” Those people you think you can’t live without? Learn how to live without them. Start right now, training their back-ups, letting them participate, take action. The great game of business is not really a “game,” now, is it?