To say that Sam Darnold has had a rollercoaster of an NFL career would be a massive understatement. He entered the league with strong promise as an uber-talented top-five pick, only to fall from grace and bounce around the league.
Darnold licked his wounds, got back on his feet, and slowly but steadily fought his way back to a starting role. More than that, he helped the Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl in his first year with the organization, much to his critics' surprise.
Notably, not even hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy has been enough to change the narrative around him, but he couldn't care less. After dealing with so much scrutiny for all these years, next season won't be any different for the USC product.
Sam Darnold couldn't care less about the doubters, and neither should the Seattle Seahawks
“I don’t allow myself to really pay attention to anything like that,” Darnold said (h/t Seattle Times). “If I do catch wind of it, I have my process on how to handle that. Like I said, it’s just about handling my process and doing it my way, so that when I get out there, it’s not about what I’ve done or what I’m going to do, it’s about what I’m doing right now.”
This right there is how pretty much every professional athlete should deal with criticism. Of course, there's a fine line fans and analysts often cross, but even there, they should always take the high road and just focus on the task at hand.
Darnold is humble and mature enough to acknowledge that this is bigger than him. He's not there just for his own personal gain, but also to help an organization stay at the top as a veteran presence, and this is how you lead by example.
It would've been much easier for him to let the Super Bowl win get to his head, inflate his ego, and start firing shots left and right. Instead, he's keeping focus where it matters and not making a big fuss about whatever the media or some fans say or think of him. Do you trust him? That's great. Don't you? So be it.
Of course, the outside noise can also help a team when they use it as motivation. The Seahawks should have a big chip on their shoulder given all the bulletin-board material the naysayers have given them after winning the Super Bowl, but that should never be at the forefront of the message.
Pros shouldn't need additional motivation to get the job done. They're getting paid millions of dollars to fulfill their lifelong dream of playing football for a living. That, plus their own legacies, should be motivation enough to be at their best every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Sam Darnold has been on both ends of the spectrum in the league, and his experience has only made him appreciate what actually matters. He knows better than anyone else that the league won't wait for anybody, and whatever you did in college is meaningless unless you also earn your stripes on the field every day.
Whether he's a top-tier quarterback is a debate for another day, but the talent is undeniable, and his numbers last season weren't half bad, especially in the second half of the campaign and the playoffs. But regardless of how anyone may feel about him, there's no way to disrespect someone who has been through what he's been through in this league.
Veterans lead by example, and he's teaching his younger teammates how to zone out and not let the doubters get to their heads. That also wins games.
Add us as a preferred source on Google