As a competitor, you want to be out there in the fire with your teammates.
You want to have your hand on the ball every single play.
I was a very passionate basketball player, really enjoyed the sport. I played it my entire life.
I think anytime that you can eliminate the big hit, it's obviously not only going to be good for your team, but it's going to be good for yourself.
Obviously it happens very fast on the field during the game; if anything, it's more of a feel. You feel when the pocket is collapsing around you. You feel when someone is close to you. It is a split-second decision.
When Peyton went into the game and remained the starter, it was OK with me because our team was winning games. We won a championship.
I will always do what's best for the football team.
It's very exciting... what DeAndre brings to the game is truly special. To have the opportunity to play with a football player like that, that's what gets a quarterback out of bed in the morning.
Guys get... benched, replaced. They get injured; another guy comes in and becomes the starter. That happens all the time.
Whenever you are in a new system, and you go on summer break and come back for training camp Day 1, you don't know how much is really going to stick.
Training camp is a grind, and it truly is all about embracing that grind and coming out here and forgetting about the heat and working to get better every single day.
What I'm trying to do is maximize every day.
I had to wait my turn. I had to learn that even when you're sitting behind somebody, you still have a chance to learn something every single day.
There's nothing that can replace learning on the field.
My wife will act as the offensive coordinator at times during the evening. I'll have her read the full play to me. I'll sit there and try to picture it, spit it back out to her, make sure I'm verbalizing it the right way so that when I step into the huddle the next day in practice, things are coming out clear.
I think anytime you put the weight of the world on yourself saying, 'I have to perform,' or, 'I have to get a completion. I have to throw a touchdown,' nine times out of 10, I think you're going to fail.
You can't take a single day for granted in the National Football League. Every single day, you need to earn your spot on the roster.
A lot of people say, 'Oh, playing backup quarterback, that's the best position in the world.' Well, what they don't understand is when we leave the building at 5 o'clock on Wednesday or Thursday when practice wraps up, we still need to go home and study and prepare just like you're the starter.
I love coming to work every single day.
I love working with Coach O'Brien, Coach Godsey, and they are terrific football coaches.
