Part 2 - The QB Connections Red Zone

Dear QB Connections,

Last week we introduced The QB Connections Red Zone — 20 Essential Strengths and Skills for Success as a QB and Beyond — and we started with the first 10 yards: the 10 Essential Strengths. If you missed it, here’s the post:

This week, we’re going the last 10 yards: the 10 Essential Skills for Success as a QB and Beyond.

These skills are practical behaviors that are important in the QB room and on the field —and they translate directly into leadership, relationships, and career success when the pads come off.

For each skill, you’ll see what it potentially looks like As a QB and After, framed as why the skill matters and what it tends to produce, and we include a related post. Even though these related posts were created before the QB Connections Red Zone was created, they are well-aligned with the Essential Strengths and Skills.

The Last 10 Yards: 10 Essential Skills for Success as a QB and Beyond

1) Building Relationships

As a QB: Building relationships creates trust and chemistry across the entire ecosystem around you—linemen, receivers, coaches, staff, trainers. When people feel connected to you and to each other, communication improves, effort rises, and performance becomes more consistent—especially when things get hard.

After: Building relationship capital is often the fastest path to opportunity. Strong relationships create trust, generate referrals, and open doors—whether you’re building a career, a business, a team, or a community.

Related Post: Relationships are “The Game” →

2) Finding Mentors and Sponsors

As a QB: Learning from coaches and veterans accelerates growth because it shortens the learning curve—you get to borrow experience instead of earning every lesson the hard way. And earning advocates (“sponsors”) matters because someone believing in you often translates into more reps, more responsibility, and more chances to lead.

After: Mentors help you think better; sponsors help you move faster. A personal “board of advisors” provides perspective, while a few true sponsors can open doors and advocate for you when you’re not in the room—especially during transitions.

Related Post: Russell Wilson’s “neutral thinking” (learned from Coach Trevor Moawad) →

3) Communicating for Impact

As a QB: Communicating clearly helps the whole offense operate faster and calmer at the same time. When the message is simple, confident, and consistent, teammates believe, align, and execute—especially in tight moments when your leadership counts even more.

After: Communication is how ideas become action. Clear storytelling and messaging builds credibility, drives alignment, and persuades stakeholders—whether you’re interviewing, leading a meeting, selling, fundraising, or simply trying to move a team forward.

Related Post: EJ Perry chases a dream (the power of story + putting yourself out there) →

4) Analyzing Situations

As a QB: Film study and situational diagnosis help you “see it before it happens.” When you understand tendencies, coverages, and the logic behind defensive behavior, your reads get cleaner, your decisions get faster, and you make fewer unforced errors.

After: The ability to separate signal from noise is a career superpower. Strong analysis improves judgment, reduces costly mistakes, and helps you spot patterns and opportunities early—whether you’re evaluating people, markets, customers, or strategy.

Related Post: Film Session #2 (Survey | Data | Insights) →

5) Managing Risk

As a QB: Understanding risk in context helps you protect the ball while still staying aggressive. Knowing when to take the shot—and when to check it down—keeps drives alive and preserves momentum. It’s not “avoid risk,” it’s “choose the right level of risk.”

After: Good risk management keeps you moving ahead, maximizing upside, while protecting your downside. Whether you’re changing careers, investing, starting something new, or making a high-stakes decision, the best outcomes often come from taking the right risks at the right time—without gambling the long-term.

Related Post: Get Moving (Andrew Luck + the long-term cost of “ignore it, tape it, repeat”) →

6) Aligning People

As a QB: Alignment turns a talented collection of individuals into an execution machine. When everyone is on the same page—especially in chaotic moments—the offense plays smarter, makes fewer mistakes, and the wins (or loses) as a group.

After: Most breakdowns in work and life are alignment breakdowns: unclear expectations, mismatched priorities, misaligned incentives, and assumptions that were never spoken aloud. Leaders who create clarity and alignment reduce friction and unlock performance.

Related Post: The Importance of Belonging (Comfort, Connection, Contribution) →

7) Pursuing Feedback

As a QB: Pursuing feedback accelerates your development because it gives you the truth more quickly. Feedback—when paired with repetitions—creates growth. The most consistent QBs are often the ones who seek coaching, apply it, and keep refining.

After: Feedback is a growth advantage. People who actively seek it learn faster, lead better, and build stronger teams. It also signals humility and professionalism—two traits that compound trust over time.

Related Post: Russell Wilson’s high gear is neutral (Momentology: “Listen, Look, Leap”) →

8) Listening Intently

As a QB: Listening intently helps you learn faster and lead better. Hearing what coaches and teammates are really saying—then clarifying and confirming—reduces confusion, speeds adjustments, and builds trust because people feel respected and understood, and there are no surprises.

After: Listening is one of the most important, and most underrated, leadership skills. It’s how you uncover what people actually mean, what they care about, and what’s driving their decisions. Great listeners build trust, navigate conflict better, and influence more effectively.

Related Post: The Importance of Belonging (leaders build environments where people feel heard) →

9) Being Consistent and Systematic

As a QB: A consistent weekly process—training, practice, film, game, etc—builds dependable performance under pressure. Consistency, and your system for it, is what makes you steady, reliable, and unfazed in the moments that matter most.

After: Consistency is what makes results compound. A clear operating rhythm—priorities, ownership, scoreboards, reviews, follow-through—creates reliability and momentum in teams, careers, and businesses.

Related Post: Get Moving — “a little, consistently” →

10) Asking for Help

As a QB: As QBs, we are expected to be leaders, and we often fail to ask for help. Asking for help provides you clarity and demonstrates your humility. It prevents mistakes, helps you adapt faster, and often strengthens trust—because it signals you care most about “getting it right.”

After: Asking for help is a powerful force multiplier. It can unlock learning, introductions, feedback, and support that you simply can’t access alone—and it’s especially important for men who were trained to “handle it” quietly. Asking for help isn’t weakness; it’s strategy, humility, and a powerful form of connection.

Related Post: Your prescription is inspiration (Alex Smith’s story reminds us how help from others can change everything) →

What’s to come?

The QB Connections Red Zone framework isn’t just a list you read once and move on from. It’s a framework for “success as a QB and beyond.”

Our goal at QB Connections is to help you build these 20 Essential Strengths and Skills so you can excel at them—while you’re playing and long after— through tactics such as:

• Media (like this newsletter) that help you personalize these elements

• Stories and examples from real-world QBs and leaders

• Small-groups that create real connections and support your development

• In-person meetups that offer chances to “go deep” on these elements

• And more…

We look forward to helping you succeed in the QB Connections Red Zone and to bringing these Essential Strengths and Skills to life with your engagement and help!