I left as the champ, ... I've got to return as something else. I can't still be the champ two years later. Everybody and their mama wants to be the champ of something. I've given the championship belt up.

I think both teams turned out pretty well. Champ is a great guy and a well-proven player. They knew that when they got him. He's gone to four or five Pro Bowls. And with me coming off my first Pro Bowl, they knew what they were getting.

You're used to doing one thing, and you turn around and turn into a grinder -- 3 yards a carry.

He might think I'm the devil, but Shaun Alexander is a great back. For the longest time, people said he was soft and couldn't do this and couldn't do that. Right now, he's the league MVP. Maybe we need all to adopt that mentality of him staying fresh by running out of bounds and not taking the extra pounding. That got him the league MVP. I'm sure everybody will like to be in his shoes.

I feel pretty sore today, but I feel all right. The shin is still the same. It's sore, but it will be all right,

It's just maturity, ... It comes with age. I've always been a leader on the field, but as a spokesman or voice of the team, I always was doing my own thing. As a spokesman for this team, I just had to take on a different role.