Melvin Gordon III #25 of the Denver Broncos rushes during the fourth quarter against the San ... [+]
Six weeks ago, every pundit with a keyboard and an Internet connection declared that the NFL’s AFC West just might be the greatest division of professional football in the history of the game. Over-reacting is part of how many who write about sports make their living. It’s not uncommon for writers, who are, after all, more or less like normal people, to hop on the bandwagon when an engaging opinion such as this is made. Don’t want to be the only one not to weigh in!
But as of today, three weeks into the 2022-2023 season, the greatest division since the Roman Legions conquered Europe include the Las Vegas Raiders at 0-3, the Los Angeles Chargers at 1-2 and the Denver Broncos at the most unconvincing 2-1 we’ve seen in a long time. The conference leader, Kansas City, with Patrick Mahomes II, is tied with Denver as far as their record goes but is in first based on other factors.
But the point is that this conference to end all conferences has not lived up to its preseason hype, when pundits were arguing loudly that it was simply unfair for so many amazing teams to have to be in the same division.
Well, the only thing tragic about last Sunday was the way the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers played. Denver won, mind you, which is the most important thing as far as their fans feel, but the 11-10 victory over San Francisco was as fugly as they came. (Fugly is a professional sports term that means very sloppy and unprofessional, with fumbles, missed conversions, safeties etc.) With so much talent bursting at the seams, you would have thought the score would be 56-48.
Aaron Patrick #94 of the Denver Broncos dives to attempt a tackle against Ray-Ray McCloud III #3 of ... [+]
It's not just the low scores we’re targeting for criticism here. Back in the day, the great Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears teams played many a classic ending 7-3 or 13-10. Ditto for the Ohio State and Michigan rivalry of yesteryear. The difference between those games and today’s hi-tech contests involves the pre-season buildup that reaches a crescendo before a single down has been played.
It’s easy to blame social media and broadcast journalism, which have long summer hours to fill and no real stories to tell; but the disconnect owes to something larger, which is the overemphasis on big deals and big moves at the expense of team culture and the less glamorous business of team performance. Of course, team culture is much harder to discern and write about than the latest $300 million package given to the next would-be world beater who comes along.
The theory seems to be that if you can collect enough blue-chip players in your stable, you will be favored to win. Stacked teams have become the object of fascination.
In such a universe, everyone gets caught up in the off-season and what happens off the field/court/diamond, but the truth is Sundays are still all that matter. And Sunday’s are not about signing bonuses or the hyperbole of super conferences, but about practice and execution and culture.
One leader who knows something about execution and what makes teams click is Adam Contos. A former Marine who also ran a SWAT team, Contos was the longtime CEO of RE/MAX, the worldwide leader in real estate. Contos thinks that if you pitted a Super Bowl team with zero all-stars in its roster against a Pro Bowl team, the Super Bowl team would beat the collection of all-stars all day long.
Why?
“There’s no synergy among the all-stars, no culture,” offered Contos. “The same is true for business. You can go out and find the highest performers in your business, but if they're in it for themselves, if they are Pro Bowlers but not team players, your organization will lack a heart and soul – that great balance between personal accountability and shared purpose that binds a team together.”
Of course, achieving this balance takes time. It’s early in the NFL season, and teams still have time to work out the kinks and mesh into well-knit units who play at, or above, their talent levels. Perhaps one of the uber teams from the AFC will emerge to claim the crown; or, perhaps, glory will come to a team no one ranked highly in the pre-season power rankings but which is bringing its talent to bear on the days it truly matters – Sundays.
A team like, say, Miami?
