“The greatest ability is your dependability.” (Bobby Jones)
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You’ve no doubt heard of NFL players like Barry Sanders and Tom Brady. They are all-time greats.
But have you heard of Joe Thomas? He is also an all-time great. In 2023, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In football, the guys who score touchdowns are recognized and rewarded. However, it’s important to remember the guys who make those touchdowns possible. Those big guys up front in the trenches protecting the quarterback and creating holes for the running backs are vital to the success of a team.
Joe Thomas was one of those guys.
Yes, he was extremely talented, but more importantly, Joe Thomas was reliable.
Great teammates are individuals whom their team can count on in good times and bad.
Joe Thomas was a great teammate.
He was reliable even while playing a game as physical as football where injuries are commonplace.
But Joe Thomas was not common. Since the day he was drafted in 2007 as the third pick out of the University of Wisconsin, Thomas played more than 10,000 straight snaps without taking a single offensive play off to rest.
Think about that … he didn’t go to the sidelines because of an injury, frustration, or poor performance.
The Hall of Famer and 10-time Pro Bowler was on the field for every one of 10,363 offensive snaps in his career.
Unfortunately, on October 22, 2017, he tore his ACL. Not only did his streak end but so did his career. When he got hurt, players from the other team came over to encourage him and wish him well. Joe Thomas was the consummate pro, respected by opponents and teammates, alike.
In today’s “look-at-me” culture, Joe Thomas was different. He didn’t complain about playing for one of the worst teams in football or that the Browns went through 20 different starting quarterbacks during his career.
Instead, he counted his blessings that he even got to play at all and then showed up for work every single day for every single play for ten years.
How about us? Some of us have jobs that we don’t like. Some of us belong to teams that don’t win enough. Some of us have bosses or coaches we disagree with.
Do we complain about them? Do we give less than our best because we don’t get the recognition or praise we desire?
We can learn a little something from Joe Thomas, who despite playing for a flawed franchise, still did his part each and every day to make it better.
He was dependable, reliable, and consistent.
Integrity is not situational.