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I cannot stand the Buckeyes, and having to live in Ohio and hear those people talk about their team, it drives me absolutely nuts.
I used to come to practice and go through the motions. I don't do that anymore. I look forward to practices. I even enjoy the windsprints.
When you really think about it and look at the number of quarterbacks who come through the league, not many of them have Super Bowl careers.
The thing with diva receivers is, they're productive. It's not like they're the third-string receiver who catches 40 balls for 612 yards a year.
I've played in every type of situation. But to not have one run in the playoffs where you just make one of those magical runs? That's what I want.
I don't like getting into hot cars when it's been sitting outside. You're already sweating and you get into the car and you're profusely sweating.
I personally believe that professional athletes should give back to their communities in any way possible. We are in a position to make a difference.
In this league you have to throw sidearm sometimes; you're going to have to drop your arm, move while shuffling your feet. You're never going to be set.
The best part of gameday is when kickoff finally happens. The worst part is going through all warmups and stretching and waiting and waiting for the game.
The one place where I can relax is on the golf course with my teammates and buddies, assuming I'm hitting the golf ball well. If I'm not, well, that is another story.
I've spent a number of years hoping and wanting to get somewhere, where an organization is willing to do whatever it takes to win because it's not like that everywhere.
I do not miss the hours you have to spend preparing for the upcoming season in July, in March, April. I do not miss half my day being in the gym... to get ready to play.
I know what it's like to be excited for a big game. I know what it's like to be heartbroken after losing to a rival. I know what it's like to lose a key player to injury.
Anytime you get traded, you are trying to figure out what freeways get you where, and where the meal room is, and where the locker room is, and you get yourself used to that.
Over the years, I've had teammates who decided to hang it up and I would ask them how they knew when it was time to walk away. The answer was almost always the same: You just know.
When the Broncos or the Steelers are winning everybody wants defense. When the Rams and Saints are scoring 50 points a game, it seems everybody is looking for a young offensive mind.
I know I've had many great mentors and role models and guys to look up to; guys I've learned a lot from so I know how to approach being that guy and I've been doing it for a long time.
I think a lot of guys make a mistake of training less as they get older. I think the older you get, the harder you have to train. Maybe you don't train as long, but the intensity goes up.
You can make that money off the field that you're missing on the field by doing endorsements with Sleep Number and Nike and Campbell's Chunky Soup and all the other ones you see Dak doing.
I never watched a Heisman ceremony when I was a kid. I didn't even know it was held at the Downtown Athletic Club when I was a candidate. I thought it was at Radio City Music Hall or something.
So many people get caught up in being a pro athlete and think they are better. I don't feel like I've ever changed or acted any differently because of the situation I'm in or that status I have.
I'd like to play free safety. It would be fun to read things out and break on the ball. I definitely would not want to play on the defensive line. I wouldn't want to be down there in the trenches.
I get very bored at practice because I have run curl-flat a million times, or slant-drag. There are so many parts of the game that have become so routine that you can let it bore you, and that's not good.
I have buddies who say, 'Where are you living ? Wyoming or something? Don't you still have a house in California?' I tell them we live in Idaho, and you can see it on their face and sense it in their voice: 'Um... O... K.'
Crowds, I'm not good in crowds. I almost had a mental breakdown, I almost lost my cool at Disneyland one time when the park was closing, and I turn around and saw just a sea of people coming at me and a stroller full of kids.
Quarterbacks running in the SEC typically translate over well to the pro game. If you can run, take off and get 10 yards here and there against SEC defenses, there's a good chance that you can do that at the NFL level as well.
Everyone talks about the good old days, when guys were tough and quarterbacks got crushed all the time, but back in the day, there weren't defensive ends that were Mario Williams - 6-7, 300 pounds, 10 percent body fat, running a 4.7 40.
For 15 years I have been lucky enough to play quarterback in the NFL and it has been the most incredible experience of my life. There wasn't one second that I took it for granted or failed to appreciate what a tremendous privilege it is.
That's one thing you learn as a quarterback: focus. The better you are at focusing and the more you can continue to stay focused for a four-hour stage and really be zeroed in on what is happening, the better you play, the longer you play.
Extra thick skin is something every Bruce Arians' quarterback needs to have because the stuff he says to media is rated G compared to the stuff he says to your face on the sideline and after the game in the locker room and throughout the week.
I think it's important, whether it be learning from how a guy takes care of his body, how a guy studies, how a guy is a mentor, how a guy is a leader, you take bits and pieces that fit the person you are and you don't try to be somebody you're not.
I love the preparation, the excitement of game day, the nervousness of game day. But I enjoy the day-to-day stuff. Game day is a great day but I enjoy Mondays and Tuesdays, watching yourself on film, watching the next opponent, getting the game plan.
I'm a wide-open book. I talk to guys coming out in the draft every year. I'm a wide-open book. I'll give you my experiences. And I'll tell you what I went through. But I would never project on another player that you should do this or you should do that.
When you like the coach and the guys in the locker room, and you know you can still play at a high level, and you feel like you can help take a team to a Super Bowl, and you know you're job's not gonna be as hard as it may have been before - it's just fun.
When I was a kid, I just wanted to be outside. I didn't grow up watching football. Didn't ever watch a college game. I watched 'Monday Night Football' because my dad liked it, but we didn't sit around on Sundays. I was outside, playing, training, whatever.
Football is great and I love it and I'm so fortunate and blessed to be able to do it. But I wholeheartedly believe I'm not defined by what I do on the football field. I'm defined by the father I am, the husband I am, the family member I am and the impact I have on others.
Playing quarterback is a glamorous job. It's awesome. It's everything I dreamed it would be. But after a while, it loses its glamour. Somewhere along those 15 years, it becomes a job. Especially at the end, it became work. Game day was awesome, but all the rest of it was work.
I love Sunday night after the game - you win, you go to the parking lot, you grab a beer, hang out for a little bit. Then I can't wait to get home and watch the game on my iPad. I love getting in Monday, and I can't wait to see what the team we are getting ready to play is doing on third down.
There's a point in everyone's career where they're not going to be playing as well as they should be. You just have to keep you confidence and not hang your head and realize that you're going to figure it out and that you're going to get better and that you're going to learn. Learn from all your mistakes.
I'm not going to be depressed about my career however it ends because I've met great people, I've played with great teammates, I've played for great coaches, and I've lived out a lifelong dream. But it wasn't just about a dream of playing in the NFL. It was about a dream of playing in the NFL and winning Super Bowl rings.
I've been playing quarterback for a long time, and there's a ton of expectations no matter where you are and how you got there. That's part of the game and part of the position. That's part of the reason I love playing the position, is the expectations and the pressure and all of the outside things that come along with it.
I remember after that, when it was announced I was going to the Heisman ceremony, I didn't think I was going to win it because everybody was saying there was a bias against West Coast teams. I really hadn't paid attention to it. Winning the Heisman wasn't really a goal when I was younger. My goal was to go to USC and win a national championship.
When you have to worry about some idiot making the decision on a roster move, or hiring coaches, or some of the stuff you have to worry about... when you have that added pressure and stress of not trusting the organization and knowing that they don't know what they're doing, that's just an added amount of stress you don't need as a young player.
The longer you play, the more you realize that you can't lose focus for one play or two plays or an entire drive. Those things are the difference between wins and losses. You have to figure out how to refocus after a bad play or how to stay focused when you're up in a game. Those are things you learn from experience in playing this position. I've learned a ton of ways and have different triggers for how to regain my focus if I've lost it.