It's not like Mom, Scott and Jeff can drive up with food and they can all have a cookout, ... Pretty much everybody is better off staying put. I'm not just talking about my family. |
It's only one win. But it gives us a lot of confidence. |
It's only one win. But it's a real big win. |
It's the hand we're dealt. We've put ourselves in this position, and we've got to find a way to get out of it. |
Last season, expectations were high and it was a bad situation. If we can't compete at a high level, I can walk away and my legacy will speak for itself. |
Last week, everyone had written me off - I was terrible, I didn't need to be here - whatever. But I knew my abilities, this team knew my abilities, Mike knew. None of them gave up on me. All last week I knew the people who count care about me. I just wanted to prove to them that I still had it. |
Losing is no fun, but I'm sure having a lot of fun with these guys. I'm trying to rally the troops. I'm not a big vocal guy; I just want to do it by example. I know it's difficult sometimes. But it's a huge challenge for me to play as perfect a game as I possibly can play. Because I think more so than any other time in my career ... I have to play a perfect game in order for us to win. That's a big challenge. |
Losing my father (Irv) was very difficult. It took a lot away from me. I didn't realize how much I played for him, that the reason I was playing was because of him. |
maybe I say that was of all the seasons I played professional football the most challenging and the most fun. |
Maybe we don't get back to the Super Bowl, I don't know that, but I'd like to think we can compete for it. I want to feel like we can compete for the Super Bowl, not just say that to say it. |
Mike and I talked yesterday after the walk-through and he called me in the backroom and said, 'You know we have a young team and we've had this conversation probably the last three or four years, but I really want you to feel that you don't have to do too much,' |
Mike had his mind made up Saturday, but we didn't know until Sunday. Until I went out there and took the first snap, you don't know. I might have just gone, 'I can't do it.' Once the newness wears off and the toughness wears off, 'I just can't do it.' And I was probably as immobile as I've ever been. I couldn't do anything. |
More than anything, do I want to play? There's no guarantee next year will be better or worse (from a team standpoint). No one knows that. We run the risk of having the same situation. I don't know what we're going to do personnel-wise, and it's not for me to decide. My commitment has to be to myself and how much am I willing to give to this team. |
Most of those people are still there because they have nothing to go home to. |
Moving the ball between the 20-yard lines is important, but not as important as getting it in the end zone. |