Week 1 Journal Entry — “Protect Ya Neck”
The best thing that could have happened to me this season was losing Week 1.
Because it taught me early what could have killed me later.
Always protect ya neck.
I came into that Colts game thinking it was gonna be light work.
Didn’t even care to gameplan, just figured I’d load up, get my stats, win easy, and talk my s***.
That mindset right there is poison.
Once you step on the field in stat mode, you stop thinking. You stop preparing for what happens when you get punched in the mouth.
And when I got hit early, when I didn’t get the ball and went down 7-0, instead of settling in, I panicked.
I started thinking I gotta score right now.
Went three-and-out.
Then on defense, I started chasing momentum instead of controlling it. Blitzing, playing man, trying to force something quick.
Next thing I know, it’s 14-0 and I’m not even paying attention to matchups.
I’m just seeing red.
What I should have been thinking was simple:
Let your 95-speed safety guard Jonathan Taylor.
QB contain Anthony Richardson.
Take away what he’s comfortable with and make him read every play.
But I was trying to Madden my way to a win instead of coaching my way to one.
Even then, I had a shot. Down three early in the fourth, ball in the red zone, feeling like momentum was mine.
Then Trevor fumbles.
And just like that, I lost composure again.
Back to over-aggression, blitzing like crazy, horrible run fits, basically handing him the dagger.
Same mistake I made against the Ravens in the Divisional, trying too hard to get the ball back instead of trusting my defense to get off the field the right way.
That’s when it hit me.
These are the games I live for, the ones that test your control, your patience, your focus.
I only had one real dog fight last season, the AFC Championship, and maybe that made me think it’s supposed to be easy. It’s not.
You have to lock in for an entire hour.
No lapses.
No shortcuts.
The player who breaks mentally first usually loses.
I’m grateful that lesson came early.
Because it reminded me what makes me dangerous: I can lock in every moment, every play, every quarter, every game.
From here on out, I’m done chasing stats.
I don’t care if my rookie receivers go catchless. If we win, we win.
My game is built on control.
Limited possessions.
Stacking first downs.
Bleeding the clock.
Making you earn every single yard.
You want to beat me?
You better execute 12 good plays in a row because I’m not giving up chunk plays anymore.
I’m challenging myself to lock TF in every week.
People say I got a hard schedule.
I don’t see it like that.
I see opportunity.
Every game is a chance to prove I’m the one that adjusts, the one that endures, the one that finishes.
Let’s get it.
Protect ya neck.
Ke
