Opportunity doesn’t knock politely. In football, opportunity arrives in the form of a knockout blow.
Whether it be to the head, shoulders, knees, toes or any other body part Mother Goose can name, injury is what creates opportunity for unsung athletes.
And when opportunity invites itself in unannounced, the best teams aren’t those with the doors boarded up. The best teams are those who are able to adjust and compensate for their injuries.
Need proof? You don’t have to look far to find the proverbial pudding.
The two best teams in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots, are getting it done without key components of their offensive systems.
For Cards quarterback Drew Stanton, opportunity was bestowed in week two when he replaced starter Carson Palmer, who damaged a nerve in his throwing shoulder.
Stanton led the team to two victories and was in the thick of a third when he was forced onto the bench with a concussion against the ?Broncos.
Then came week 10.
Palmer went down again, this time with a season-ending ACL injury. Opportunity liked Stanton so much, it seemed, it came around for seconds.
Stanton liked it more.
The former Michigan State quarterback, who had seven starts in seven seasons prior to this weekend, rallied his team from down 14-10 to up 31-14 in under four minutes to beat the Rams.
One week later, he solidified his team’s place atop the NFC by defeating the Detroit Lions and outplaying Matthew Stafford, the quarterback who had previously replaced him in Detroit.
Like Stanton, Patriots running back Jonas Gray has capitalized on a key injury.
The rookie, who was nearly cut from the practice squad in October, made NFL history by accounting for half of the total amount of rushing touchdowns scored Sunday.
Where did he get that opportunity? From a season-ending ACL injury to starter Stevan Ridley.
Arizona and New England have succeeded because of their versatility and completeness as teams.
Stanton didn’t need to be brilliant against the Lions. He only had to throw two touchdowns on his first two possessions — and his defense held. Similarly, the Patriots didn’t flounder when Brady threw two interceptions to the Colts defense because Gray was able to get it done on the ground.
Compare that to the Broncos, who have yet to win when Peyton Manning plays poorly. Denver fell 22-7 to the Rams — led, it’s worth mentioning, by bench man Shaun Hill — on Sunday.
Manning threw for just one touchdown and two picks, and the offense struggled to compensate for injuries to starters Emmanuel Sanders, Julius Thomas and Monte Ball.
The point? Denver wasn’t built to support Manning when he and his receiving core have an off day.
It’s impossible to predict when and for whom injury will provide a shining opportunity.
But the most successful systems will rise to the challenge because players first through fourth string have bought in.
And when a man goes down — because inevitably, he will — those systems will get guys to step up, make like Taylor Swift and shake it off.
But what the most successful systems won’t do is blame one loss for a season of mediocrity.
Ring any bells, Hoosiers?
