If I took just one thing away from the first weekend of padded practices, it's that it was very physical. But I love it. It's a sport we love to do, and finally, I haven't been in pads since January 1, since the Rose Bowl. So right now it's fun to get in them.
I think the thing about me, and I'm sure it's this way for every rookie running back, is you get acclimated to the speed, but still on a couple runs you think you can make it to the outside, but the speed of the defense is so much faster in the NFL. It's kind of fun, actually, sticking your foot up and getting north and south. Honestly, it's been fun. It's been fun banging heads with teammates and stuff and having a good time.
After tonight's walkthrough it'll be five days in the books, and I feel good. I honestly feel good and I'm taking care of my body. Liquids -- I'm drinking a lot of water and Gatorade -- and getting in the cold tub and stretching. The key is stretching.
One thing for me is I've been able to work with Peyton after practice. It's honestly a blessing just to see that he really cares for you to get to know the offense and he really wants you to excel.
Mostly what we work on is pass protection, because I've got to protect that man. Us running backs have got to protect him back there. It's the NFL, so it's somewhere around the area of 60 percent pass blocking and 40 percent running the ball. Especially when you have a quartebrack like Peyton, we're going to put the ball in the air. Especially when we've got the receivers that we have. Us running backs have got to pass protect.
For me, every time I get home, I'm making sure I'm hitting the playbook just so I don't let anybody down.
Thanks for all your support, it's been great to see so many fans during practice. It definitely makes it fun.
