First things first, sorry for being out of the Yard for so long. I've been trying to spend as much time with my friends and family in my brief off season and I neglected to blog. I'm back now.

I've been in Jacksonville for the last three weeks which means I am finally adjusted to the time change. It always takes me about 2-3 weeks to get my body on east coast time so now I'm going to bed and getting up at the right times. We've been doing our conditioning program since March 16. That's when Coach Del Rio said he wanted us back so we could start working out together and building our team chemistry. Being in California was great but I'll be honest, I missed my teammates. It's been great getting caught up with the guys again. We said goodbye to each other Dec. 29 and even though you stay in touch with some of the guys during the offseason it seems forever since we actually saw each other. And some of those guys are no longer here so it's sad in a way. When you come in as a rookie you hear all the time from the other guys that the NFL is a business. That kinda hits home now when some of the guys who were inspirational to you and helped you are no longer here to help lead the way. It's part of the game, but it's a new part for me. On the other hand, it's a cycle and there are going to be new faces coming in and a new rookie class that I'll be excited to play with. On top of that we have a few new coaches too - a new strengtn coach, new defensive coordinator and new special teams coach. I've met with all of them and I'm just excited to get ready for OTAs and mini camps and start competing on the field.

Hey Yardbarkers,

I recently hosted the first rookie dinner for linebackers in Jacksonville in five years. I found out the last time they did it was when Daryl Smith. Kinda funny how it all happened. For about three weeks I was hearing it from some of the veterans in the lunch room - "hey rook when we going out?" I'd say whenever you want. Then I'd get it again a few days later, same response. Meantime, a couple of the guys told me the linebackers don't do a rookie dinner so I figured we were in the clear. Then one day I got it again in the lunch room and I said whenever you want and they said "Friday. Where you taking us?" It literally went on for about three weeks before they made me play that card.

I was worried that they were going to make me take everyone to the Capital Grille or Ruths Chris or one of those nice steakhouses, so as a joke I said Cheesecake Factory and they said "cool, Friday night, Cheesecake Factory." I thought there was no way they would go for that, but it was great. They took it easy on me.

Then it was on me to get everything lined up. I got the limo to make sure no one was driving and set the reservation for 8 people at 7:30. The limo arrived at my house at 6 and then we rolled to get the rest of them. By the time we got everyone in the ride it was almost 9. Some guys just weren't ready and sent us to get someone else and one guy lived in a gated community but didn't leave our name at the gate so security had to track him down, it was funny. The limo ride was the best part of the night. We were playing music and laughing, it was just a lot of fun. The best bonding experience we had all year. We see each other at work and then we go our separate ways. It gave everyone a chance to see where each of us lived and we all saw another side of each other. It was definitely the closest we've gotten all year.

When we got to the restaurant the vets started ordering all sorts of appetizers, stuff I knew they wouldn't even be eating. They just kept saying put it on his tab. In the end we ate so many appetizers no one really ordered dinner, they just grabbed a bunch of food to go. I was lucky, I've heard stories of tabs that were 11 grand, but they all took it easy on me. They only got me for $1,800 with the limo. The main thing is we had a great time together and we were all laughing about it the next day in the locker room. It was a different connection and we all said it's something we need to start doing every 2 or 3 weeks in the future.

What's up Yardbarkers? This may sound funny coming from a Trojan, but I want Oregon State to beat Oregon this weekend and get to the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl is a great, don't get me wrong, but if this senior class goes to the Rose Bowl again it will be the only bowl game they ever experience and I'd like the guys to get the opportunity to experience something different. When we went to the Orange Bowl it was especially exciting because it's a game I've seen on television growing up and for some of us it was a first time going to Florida. And we were doing it together. It was a great bonding experience and we all have lasting memories of that trip. When you go to a different bowl game it's not only exciting to play in a new game, but it's almost like going to a foreign place. The environment is different, you see new people, hear different accents, try new food, see new fashions, everything is different and to experience that as a team is really special. Plus, I would like to join them and experience something new myself and turn it into a mini vacation. The Rose Bowl is an unbelievable game and it's really fun to play in, but I just want these Trojans get a new experience.

I had a cool experience today, a bunch of my teammates and I went to the Navy base in Jacksonville. We met some of the captains and guys working on the jets and helicopters. They brought us in and put us in the flight simulation and let us do takeoffs and landings. It was amazing, you could see birds and waves - you start thinking it's real, but it's all simulation. I have always thought I was a pretty coordinated person, but this made me feel like I had never played a video game before in my life. They even asked us before we started if any of us had played XBox and we all raised our hands, but there's no comparison. I was amazed at the physical training these guys have to do. They teach them how to eject, if there's a water landing, how to get out, blow up their life vest, blow up the raft and do all of it with 40 pounds of gear on your back. If you have a parachute landing in the water they teach them how to stay untangled. It was incredible all the stuff we saw. There is so much training and knowledge these guys have and it was important for me to see how these guys work to protect our country. We had lunch with the guys and got a chance to ask them questions. For example, when we're late to work we get fined. I asked one of the guys what happens if they're late to work. He said one of the punishments they have is they only get bread and water for three days. Wow. It was really cool getting the chance to meet them and laugh with them and let them know how much I appreciate all that they do to protect our freedom.

I am excited to see Keith. We probably text every other day, but I haven't seen him since July. I don't know how well he can talk with his jaw wired, but it will be great to spend time with him. I will give my Road Dawg some love and hug him up. It sounds like he'd doing great under the circumstances, but it's gotta be tough when you can't eat, talk or play football. He is truly one of my best friends so it has an impact on me when he's hurt like this. We had been looking forward to this game, playing against each other. He had hit me in the summer and said we play you guys up in the jungle. Well, we call our place the jungle too. I told him we'll just have to see what cat is faster that day. It was our usual fun little trash talk sessions. So something will be missing with him not being in the game. Like I said though, I'm thankful he's doing as well as he's doing. I remember when the injury happened. We had a night game and I was at our hotel watching that game, looking for #55, but didn't see him. I thought maybe they had him out in nickel, but then I didn't see him in base either. I knew something was up. I thought maybe he got yelled at in a meeting or something, then at halftime they show this hellacious hit and I thought WOW. Then they slowed it down and the announcer said Keith Rivers is out of the game. They still didn't know what his injury was. I texted him right away and said are you alright? He hit me right back and said it's broken in two places. I said what's broken, he said my jaw. It just got me upset, that's my boy. But for him to text right back like that made me feel better that he was okay. As long as I have known him I have never played against him so I'm bummed he won't be on the field. But I'm sure he'll use this time to take his mental game to the next level. I have no doubt. As bummed as I am that Keith won't be on the field, this is a huge game for us. We need to get a win.

This past weekend I went to L.A. We had practice on Thursday and then I jumped on the first plane out of Jacksonville and headed back to Los Angeles. When I got into town, I went to the campus to see a lot of my old buddies and teammates that I played with. I basically just hung out for the most part, in familiar territory. Knowing where I was at all times was nice. I definitely also ate at all the restaurants that they don't have out here in Jacksonville -- I went to Roscoe's Chicken N' Waffles, In-N-Out Burger, and Jack in the Box. I watched the USC football game but Sunday I didn't get a chance to watch any football, I was just hanging out with a whole bunch of my buddies. Everyone you talk to on a bye week, they're doing this, they're doing that, but I was in a hotel room watching TV. And if I wasn't in a hotel room I was hanging out with old teammates and seeing people who I don't get a chance to see on a weekly basis. That's kind of it! I flew back home last night. This morning we had a light practice, kind of to just get the jitters out. Tomorrow we're back on regular schedule...

We have a big one again this weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sunday Night Football, big game on national television and our first night game. I watched the Monday Night game seeing how physical that game was and I got so amped up watching it. I kept thinking this is what the NFL is all about. We're playing well and are starting to come together as a team and now we get to play on Sunday Night with Al Michaels and John Madden and the whole nine yards. Not that many people get to see us play each week so it will be great exposure for our football team. If you're watching football at 8:30 eastern on Sunday night you'll be watching us and learning what we're all about. I'm really excited and I'm looking forward to seeing some of other guys like Troy Polamalu, catching up with him. I'll get to see Dennis Dixon, I've known him since high school and Brad Davis from UCLA. That's another cool thing about the NFL is seeing people you've played with or you've known for a long time and competing against them at the highest level. I got a chance to see the Steelers play Monday Night. I've been watching Monday Night Football for most of my life and I still have fun watching it. There is the time to watch game film and study the Steelers, but Monday Night wasn't that time. I just relaxed with one of my teammates and watched it like a fan. It was fun to watch a great game. I love that style of defense, physical, fast, smart defenses, that's how we play defense. And to see all those great defensive players on the same field was great -- Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, Troy, Larry Foote, James Farrior, Ed Reed. It was amazing. It was a great defensive game and being a defensive player I loved that game. If you don't like hitting, don't like physical football then Monday Night's game was not the game to be a part of. The cool thing about having Tuesdays off is that we can stay up past our bedtime and watch Monday Night Football. Game starts at 8:30 back here and doesn't get done until close to midnight. Knowing we don't have that early morning means we can take in the whole game.

We've won two in a row and are now 2-1 in the division. I know we expect to win each week, but in my short time in the NFL I have learned wins are tough to come by. It's all even, every team has a first round draft choice, every team has free agents they signed, everyone has a salary cap. It's the best of the best so week after week it's tough to win. I was talking to one of my buddies the other day and we could easily be 4-0. The Buffalo and Tennessee games came down to the last few minutes. On the flip side, we could be 0-4 too. Our games have been close. We all expect to win, you put in all the hard work, spend time away from your families preparing for the games, but in the end a win is a win. You celebrate them for a day when you get them, but then you get right back to work for the next one, never losing sight that this is the NFL and wins are very tough to come by.

I'm still lovin that SC game last week. The boys looked awfully good last Saturday, just gotta keep it rollin. I must say it was very weird seeing an SC game in the Coliseum and not being in it. It is the first time I've seen a game there from the outside in. It was cool though. I watched it from our team hotel and I was in SC stuff from head to toe. My beanie, my shirt, my SC sweats. I left no doubt, I was SC'd out! There were a bunch of guys on the team talking trash leading up to the game, mostly SEC guys, all the Florida guys. They just kept saying you're not good enough. They knew afterwards. I haven't heard much from them since then.

Here we are three weeks into the regular season and I must say it is much different than preseason. Obviously the games count and you have fewer guys on the team and you're going against the starters, guys who've been in the league for 6, 8, 10 years so there's a definite increase in intensity. The hours we put in are intense too. When you get done with camp and the two a days you figure it's downhill after that, but really it gets turned up. The focus changes from working on your own skills to focusing on a different opponent each week. I am at the facility every morning at 6 am ready for my 6:15 workout. Then it's breakfast, treatment and meetings beginning at 7:45. We get out of meetings about 10:45 and head to our 30 minute walk through. Then it's lunch, practice and film and meetings after practice. I generally get out of there about 5-5:30. When I get home I'll pop in the game film and watch 1-2 games of our opponent. I'll watch the special teams and the offense. That's usually 6:30 to 8:30, then I'll eat and start winding down, do a little channel surfing and land on whatever looks interesting. I'll end up on ESPN a lot to catch up on what I missed during the day. Then I go to bed just before 10 so that I can do it all over again.