Never be afraid to do something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.
Yes we have a new play caller and with that comes new wrinkles but none of this means anything if guys don’t go out and execute, which is exactly how we can get things turned around. We have a lot of talent on our team and it seems like our talent has not come together and produced like it is suppose to. Why you ask? Well I like to look at this like a chain. A chain has a bunch of links in it. Each link represents the individual and the chain represents the team. When you have one weak link in the chain, the whole chain is week. So when you have one individual on your team that is not preparing and focusing on what he needs to do, the team is not as strong as it needs to be. We must work harder so that our team is as strong as possible. There is no I in team and if we continue to work together and stay together, good things will happen. There is no magic call that will work so no matter who calls the plays, we have to execute it and make it work for us. Hopefully as we continue to grow as a team, we will continue to get stronger and stronger.
“A lie has speed, but truth has endurance” –Edgar J. Mohn
On Sunday after the game, I had a reporter come up to me and say something really stupid. He said that he talked to several fans who felt that because I had a torn biceps tendon in my arm that I am not playing hard and it’s hurting the team. Hmmmmmmm now this was right after the game in our locker room and I really don’t think he talked to anybody that fast. Well, to be honest, I think he was lying and through his own curiosity and little knowledge about the injury wanted to say how he was feeling. We have good fans and I know they appreciate guys hanging in there to fight for the team and not giving up. I really don’t know what this guy was looking at and it’s obvious that he didn’t pay attention to me during the game because I played the same after the injury as I did before the injury. To him I say, I only know one speed and that’s full speed and going as hard as I can. My arm is not a factor and did not slow me down. A lot of athletes have played with a torn biceps tendon and this is nothing new that I am playing with one also. I really wish reporters would do their research before coming into the locker room and lying on our fans. No fan will ever see me play half-hearted so next time go to someone else who has not played 14 years in the NFL or to someone who doesn’t know his body the way I do. I have played with many injuries and believe me, I would not step on the field if I felt as if I would hurt my team instead of help it. This is really funny when my own teammates say to me after seeing the film that they don’t believe I’m hurt because I played stronger with the injury. LOL. Go figure.
This past Sunday was a cool rainy day but it was nice to see all who came out. We really appreciate the support from the fans that battle the weather just like we do to watch us play. I did notice that the stadium had a lot of empty seats. I guess there is really a difference between a fair weather fan and a die-hard fan. Die-hards will be there no matter what the weather is or the record is. They just love their burgundy and gold and support us no matter how things go. Fair weather fans do just that, show up when the weather is good and on occasion wear bags on their heads. I feel that when someone wears a bag on their head that you can count them as the opponents fan because they definitely don’t bleed burgundy and gold. Fair weather fans will also give up and sell their tickets, which gives away their support, but I guess if you are not all in you cannot help the team anyway. Believe me when I say that we want things to be so much better but you have to play with the hand you are dealt. We are 2-4 and there is nothing we can do about that now. To all the fans that are with us and willing to stay around until things get fixed, I would like to say thank you. What we are going through is not easy but we will stay together as a team and try to fix it with the best of our ability. It takes all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams — to win games. Right now, all three phases have not come together and they must in order to be successful. Last week I talked about the character of this team and in saying that, nobody will give up on getting things right and winning games. I really hate it when we disappoint our fans and ourselves by not winning. Kansas City was not the better team and I will always feel and believe that.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts” —-Winston Churchill
Monday night we play the Philadelphia Eagles and this will be a big game for us. Hopefully we can get things turned around and back on track. Philly has been a tough opponent for many years and this game will not be an easy task. We have had their number in recent years but this is a new year and teams are not the same as the year before. In order to win we must be good in all three phases of the game. Containing Donovan and Michael will not be easy but we will be ready to give our best effort. The whole country will be watching and we will need all of our fans to be in the stadium early and for them to be as loud as possible. Philly is a good team and in order to beat a good team we must be solid and eliminate the mistakes that have cost us in all the games we have lost. If Philly started 2-4 last season and made the play-offs then why can’t we do the same thing this year? Monday night is going to be crazy with excitement.
Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.
I know by now that everyone has heard the story about the Heene family. Upon leaving practice last Thursday, I looked at my phone which receives CNN reports and noticed that there was a report of a six year old boy who was trapped in a balloon and floated into the Colorado sky. My heart dropped upon reading this and I felt so bad because I couldn’t imagine this happening to my son who is five. I immediately said a prayer for the little boy and that he returns home safe and sound. After getting home, I turned on CNN and watched the balloon race across the sky and said to myself, man this thing is moving. There was even a picture of something falling off of this balloon and I was like, please no. A little while later it was reported that the little boy was found at home safe and sound hiding in the attic over the garage. Then came the interview and I was like hmmmmmmmmmmmm this doesn’t seem like the reaction I was expecting and then came the most fake cry I had ever seen from the dad. I knew right then that this might not be as it seems and that this was going to be one of the saddest things in the end. I finally knew it was a hoax when the little boy came out and said that the dad said it was for a show. LOL.
People will sometimes do the craziest things for fortune and fame. I guess the dad thought that this was a good way to get his balloon invention out there and some television coverage as well. As a parent, you should never ever put you children in a horrible situation and now that is just what it is. Why put your child in an attic to hide out for hours and then lie that he was floating away in a balloon. What was even more suspicious was the telephone calls made right after the boy supposedly floated away. The parents first called the FAA, followed by a radio station with a helicopter and finally 911. Wow. The 911 call is a must listen. Well, I feel the parents will be charged but I’m just glad the little boy is safe and at home. Hopefully the parents have learned a lesson from all of this and they can still be a family and teach their children good morals. Everything turned out well and all that prayed for this little boy’s safe return home had their prayers answered in that the little boy turned up safe and sound. Now we must pray for the whole family to heal because the devil is always at work.
My son DaVaris and his Cougar teammates won their conference last Friday night which should give them a home game in the first round of the play-offs. He plays for Vernon Hills High School in IL and has had a great year and is only a junior in high school. He has offers from Miami, Illinois, Wisconsin and Nebraska so far with a bunch of other schools sending mail and should come along with offers later. He is such a gifted athlete and way more athletic than I was when I played high school ball. He runs a 4.46 40 yard dash and has a 37 inch vertical. Hopefully before his senior year we will have him running a 4.3 and running by everyone a little easier. He had to play quarterback some this year because they don’t have anyone to throw him the ball. I will get a chance to see the play-off game because it is on our bye week. Thanks to all of you who have tuned in on the school website on Friday nights to watch him play. Good job Cougars!
Shake It Off And Step Up
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule ‘braying’ – or – whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened…and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back…a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back…HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!” he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought “panic” and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP! You’re right! It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him…all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. THAT’S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity…THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US! Remember that FORGIVENESS–FAITH–PRAYER– PRAISE and HOPE…all are excellent ways to “SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP” out of the wells in which we find ourselves! —-Unknown
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Phillip Daniels