A lot of pressure's on me. |
As a quarterback you're supposed to complete balls, not rush. It's not something I'm proud of, rushing for more yards than I threw for. |
Being a backup is a lot harder than anyone anticipates. You don't get the reps, but you have to know everything. That's what he warns me about. He says, you've got to know your stuff and no one's going to know if you're preparing right until you go onto the field. |
He's taken his team to the playoffs three years in a row. No one ever seems to highlight the good points. They're always pointing at 'throwing too many interceptions, can't lead the team, can't manage it.' They never really seem like they're giving him love. |
I can't hide the fact I'm down; I'd be lying. But I know now what I need to get better at. |
I don't think it ticks him off anymore. I think Jake has learned to program critics, the media in general. |
I don't view it that way. I've got to keep proving it to my coaches, my teammates and everyone around us that I deserve to be No. 2 and that if anything happens to Jake, that I can step in there and not miss a beat. |
I shouldn't be taking sacks. I'm too good an athlete to be takings sacks. I need to get the ball gone or find a crease and run through it. . . . As you can tell, I'm frustrated more on the negative than the positive. |
I think I'll play; to (what) extent, I don't know. I'm not expecting much. I'm sure they'll tell me what's going to happen. |
I think of myself as a second-year player. Then again, I didn't play much quarterback at all last year. Am I a second- or first-year player? I don't know how the coaches view me, but I expect a lot of myself. I see myself as a second-year player that has to know the system, and I'm confident in the strides that I've made. |
I'm just glad to get it out of the way. Now I really know what I have to work on. . . . There's a lot of pent-up emotions. I was nervous. |
It was nice to take a snap running with the first team. Not that I want them to get used to me. But every little bit helps ... not with confidence but getting the anxiety off, the pressure off. |
It's a bigger test. I have to look myself in the mirror and put more pressure on myself. I think I had a step back last week, and this game, I've got to take a couple steps forward. |
It's a quick reminder that at any minute you've got to be ready. When I look back at that last week we played (in San Diego), I'm really glad I got in and got the jitters out. I could only imagine going in for the first time ever in a playoff game. You never want to see anything like that happen, even to an opposing player, let alone your teammate. But it's part of the game. |
It's very long. Very long. |