Timeless reminder: ‘Result is not always the end-all’
After the buses emptied at Halas Hall, the caravan headed for the Gold Coast, a party of five with a late dinner date at Maple & Ash. Mitch Trubisky was coming off the biggest win of his NFL career, and the moment was worth embracing.
This was Dec. 10, 2017, immediately after the Bears had hammered the Bengals 33-7 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Third-string quarterback Mark Sanchez had promised a celebratory feast if the Bears reached 30 points.
So off the quintet went — Trubisky, Sanchez, fellow quarterback Mike Glennon, quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains — for an enjoyable evening away from the building.
Still, four days after that meal, when I approached Sanchez at his locker stall for some color on that field trip and what it ultimately signified, he immediately threw up the stop sign.
“No, no, no,” he said. “Nope. This is getting blown out proportion already. It was just a good team-bonding thing. That’s it.”
Sanchez’s hesitance proved startling. The Bears had snapped a five-game losing streak. Their rookie quarterback had propelled the offense to 482 yards and produced the team’s most
lopsided victory in five seasons. And, oh — important context — the Tribune was in the middle of a yearlong “Chicago Hope” series on the advancements and struggles and behind-the-scenes moments of Trubisky’s first season.
But Sanchez had no interest in planning a parade after a solid defeat of a 5-7 opponent. It just wasn’t practical. And for a ninthyear veteran who had experienced so career many highs and lows were been blown out of proportion, he was determined to keep everything rooted in reality.
Rather than detail the dinner or conversation or energized atmosphere at Maple & Ash, Sanchez instead emphasized how Trubisky had to remain immersed in the grind, how he had to continue investing in his weekly preparation routine, how he had to finish the final few weeks of a losing season with the same concentration and energy he would bring into a playoff week.
“It’s him understanding what this is about,” Sanchez told me. “It’s not just, ‘Hey, you won. Gold star. Who cares how you did it? Here’s a dinner.’ It’s not like that. That’s not the carrot.”
That was just about all he wanted to say for my story that week. But then we talked for 12 more minutes, an animated backand-forth on the importance of retaining perspective and providing context with everything. Especially with quarterbacks.
I wondered why he seemed so averse to praise the blowout win and Trubisky’s production. He wondered why I seemed so eager to play up one late-season victory for a last-place Bears team.
“It’s one win. Our, what … fourth of the season?” he stressed. “So what am I going to do? I don’t want to sit here and tell you, ‘Wow! What an incredible experience!’ Dude, get out of here. … Listen, man. We’ve got a long way to go. All of this seems a little premature. We got a win. And we went to eat. There’s no big story here. In my opinion.”
In full disclosure, I reminded him that the Bears organization had lost 40 of its previous 54 games and hadn’t experienced a three-game winning streak in more than four years. A successstarved city was entitled to embrace its hopeful moments and was itching to do just that.
On Halloween, when no one answers the door at 10 straight houses but then a full candy trough awaits at the next stoop, the natural urge is to take three or four, right?
“I get it. You’re looking for things to highlight,” Sanchez said. “I’m just saying don’t put this win too high. Let’s not overdo it. Do
not overdo it. This isn’t some landmark thing.
“There are still a million things we need to get better at. That’s this league. That’s this position.”
All this is a healthy reminder as fans continue to process the incredible 27-23 comeback win over the Lions in Week 1, working to contextualize the three fourthquarter touchdown passes Trubisky threw and what the rally could mean in the big picture for this team and this quarterback.
The film from the game, of course, confirms Sanchez’s timeless reminder.
There are a million things to get
better at. That’s this league. That’s this position.
In multiple conversations during that 2017 season, Sanchez frequently emphasized the need for a quarterback to cherish every victory, to understand the difficulty of achieving those in the NFL.
Yet after the Bears had gone 49 days between wins and then returned home from Cincinnati with that overdue feeling of satisfaction, Sanchez wanted any exhilaration from the victory to be coupled with perspective.
Yes, he said, that offensive outburst provided validation that the hard work for Trubisky and the offense produced results.
“It’s a healthy reassurance that things are working right then,” he said. “But the result is not always the end-all. It is the bar and it isn’t. You still need to coach and correct and praise the process of it all. … It’s not just the winning or losing, although quarterbacks and head coaches are judged that way.”
Sanchez made it clear he was proud of Trubisky, that the rookie seemed to possess a mature understanding of the process and that his improvements were undeniable.
“He’s kicking butt,” Sanchez said. “He’s doing really well.”
He also agreed the entire quarterbacks room took great pride in seeing the collective hard work turn into on-field growth, particularly in such a dominant win.
“Of course. Of course,” he said. “But everyone understands that. I just think it’s awfully premature to talk about this as something bigger. It’s one game. Mitch is improving. Now just keep it going.”
His last reminder to me that day was that the NFL had a cruel way of turning excitement and hope into disappointment and anxiety. Quickly.
A wonderful day at the beach always has the potential to turn into a distressing downpour with one bolt of lightning and a gushing storm cloud.
Rarely, Sanchez said, does the success from one game guarantee achievement in the next.
Two nights later, the Bears went to Ford Field. Trubisky threw three interceptions, fumbled once and led only one touchdown drive in 10 possessions during a 20-10 Bears loss. There was no steak dinner on the back end of that trip.
The following week, Sanchez found me in the locker room and playfully elbowed me in the shoulder. When I looked at him, he shrugged and walked away. No words were necessary.
That’s this league. That’s this position.