The flight home from Dallas was long. It was a different kind of game on Monday because we played good enough to win. That's the thing with the NFL that I learned last year is that you lose games by the smallest, smallest things. Any time you play as well as I think we did, usually you win, but obviously the Cowboys aren't your average team, so it didn't happen for us. But the thing about it is they are in our division so they have to come to Philly next.
After preparing for Dallas' 3-4 defense, in a sense there's an extra week to prepare for Pittsburgh's pressure, the blitz factor. Anybody who knows them knows that's what they're going to do. They're Blitzburgh. It helps us in that sense. We have to adjust our mentality though because they're a different team. I think they're more physical and I think they're tougher than Dallas, so we have to be ready to bring it for four quarters, 60 minutes, because they're not going to let up.
After the loss, I think, if anything, the team feels like somebody has to pay. Obviously we felt like we should have won that football game. I think with any loss, especially one in a game that big - Monday night, interdivision rival - you want to hurry up and get that taste out of your mouth. Obviously we're going to play a good Pittsburgh team, but I think a win against them would mean that much more. A win against a team that's not as strong after a loss in a big game like Monday might not mean as much. I think a win against Pittsburgh, being that they are a notoriously good franchise, will get our minds back right and put us on the right track heading into Chicago.
The longer you play, the easier it is to get over a loss like that. It's a long season. As much as every win or every loss counts, the fact of the matter is, whether we won or lost the game, it didn't mean we were going to the playoffs. It didn't mean we were going to the Super Bowl. So it's easier to move forward knowing that if we won or lost that game, it really didn't mean that we were going to achieve our ultimate goal, which is get to the postseason. Knowing that, it's a little easier to move forward. I think a loss like that later on in the season, depending on what our circumstances are as a team, could have been worse.
I think my playing time will go up as the weeks go on. Going into a big game like that, starting the game was nice, but we're just taking it a game at a time. I knew what my role was when I got here. I was brought here to assist West because of the fact that we do some of the same things. When you are talking about an all-around back, there's nobody better. I'm not in a situation where, coming in on a third down, I can do some things that some backs can't. It's not the same as having, like, Correll starting and me being able to come in and create mismatches in the passing game. West does all that, so I'm here to assist any way I can and again, for me, it's not really about touches a lot of times. I just want to be out there feeling like I can contribute. There were a couple of times where I was able to be a decoy or throw some blocks to help everybody else make some plays. That's the thing. We're in this business to win, most importantly, and I know that more so than a lot of people at this point.
I'm happy, but I know the better I play the more chances I'll get carrying the ball so it kind of takes care of itself as long as I go out and do what I have to do.
