I’m beyond excited to be chosen to play in the Pro Bowl because I know what an honor it is. When I got the call I just couldn’t believe it. Just the fact that so many players want to go and never get the chance, it’s just wild. Coach Kubiak called and told me and I was just stunned.

My parents were with me so the first person I called was DeMeco. He’s going too so we were both excited, and we’ll celebrate closer to Jan. 31 down in Miami. It’s such an honor, but we have a huge game to get ready for on Sunday, we understand the importance and we know we have to take care of business first. We’ll rejoice after the season.

We need to win and we need the Jets and either Denver or Baltimore or both to lose. When I look back at some of the games that we could have won, if we had won just one we’d be in good shape, and if we had won two of them we’d already be in the playoffs. It’s crazy but hindsight is 20-20 and we know we put ourselves in this position. But we also know we are a playoff-caliber team and that’s what’s so frustrating. We know how good we are, and I think if we get into the playoffs we can definitely do some damage.

You just have to move forward and hope for the best.

I don’t think the Patriots are just going to lay down. Everyone knows how competitive that organization is with Coach Belichick and Brady. You never know what’s going to happen, but no matter which 11 they put out on the field, we have to prepare to play all out and take care of our business.

I’m not preparing for anything in the future except to play on Sunday and win on Sunday. All we can do is take care of what we can control and hopefully we’ll be fortunate enough to get into the playoffs.

I love the little time we actually spend on the field. That’s what we practice all week for, all off-season, those 60 minutes in those 16 games. It’s fun to go out there every single play against a new bunch of guys every week and try to earn their respect and show them how you can play the game.

This is definitely a respect league. In my experience almost all of the players have a lot of respect for each other because getting to play in this league is a position you have to earn. It’s special to go out there with these guys every week. If there’s a player that’s dirty everyone knows about him and just kind of stays away from him.

As a rookie I’m in awe every week playing against guys I’ve been watching on TV. I know how fortunate I am to be playing with them. Last week I was talking some trash back and forth with Deion Branch. He was a Super Bowl MVP and there I was talking to him on the field. It’s all done with respect, though.

I think only one guy on our team has a Super Bowl ring. That would be Jeff Zgonina, our backup nose tackle. He’s been in the league like 18 years and got a ring with the St. Louis Rams. He talks about his experiences when someone asks him, and he’ll talk about what that Rams team did to get the job done, how they worked on the little things. That helps us.

We have three games left starting Sunday in St. Louis. There are a bunch of 7-6 and 6-7 teams in the AFC and a couple of them are playing each other. So we have to win out and hopefully we’ll have luck on our side. Things can happen here and there and you never know.

This is what happens when you lose games that you should win. Instead of having our destiny in our own hands we’re struggling for a playoff spot.

I feel very honored to win the AFC Defensive Rookie of the Month award. I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job and things are headed in the right direction, but I’m not there yet. Slowly I’m getting to where I want to be.

The more you play in this league the more knowledge you gain, the better you play. The physical tools are always there. Once you learn more about the game, you just get better.

One of the biggest things for me was just the game slowing down. At first I wanted to go out there every play at full speed and make every tackle. Now, I understand more of how the game is played, down and distance, when to go all-out and when to wait and feel out the play.

We’re 5-6 and I definitely feel like we’re a better team than that. But you are who you are and that’s our record right now, that’s our situation. We put ourselves in this position and now we have to get ourselves out of it.

The best thing we can do is win our next game and be 1-0. It’s a cliché but we really do have to take one game at a time if we want to get to where we expect ourselves to be as a team.

Jacksonville beat us last time and it was a real close one. They’ve got Maurice Jones-Drew, a mobile quarterback in David Garrard and a lot of other weapons. They’re a very strong team and tough to stop.

If we’re going to have a different result against them we have to get back to studying the film, then executing our game plan. And we have to do it better than last time. We have to play better.

The Colts were a good team but I thought that was a game we should have won. That offense is going to be tough to stop, it’s legit. Peyton is the best quarterback in the game, the guy knows how to win. The whole game you think you got him, then they squeak it out in the end.

Dallas Clark is a very good tight end, very crafty and creative. He knows how to get open, and even when you don’t think he’s open Peyton can fit a pass into the tightest window. He can make those throws right on the dot. When you play against the best in the game you have to expect that.

I learned a lot from that game. We play them again in two weeks and it’s definitely going to be interesting.

During our bye week I took some time, went up to LA, worked out, went to a USC game and just kind of hung out. The guys just told me don’t be stupid during the bye, don’t come back more sore than when you left. Be smart about it and come back stronger and ready to play.

I’m excited about playing on Monday Night Football for the first time. It’s a big-time opportunity and I’m really looking forward to showing what I got and showing what we got as a team. We’re looking for a bounce-back game and there’s no better place to do it than on Monday Night Football.

It’s going to be a tough game, we know how capable the Titans are. Their slow start is over and they’ve won three in a row. It’s pretty much the same team they had last year when they went to the playoffs, so we know they are a very, very good team and we have to bring our “A” game.

I’m excited about the game and I know our guys are going to come to play. We have to get that winning streak going again.

Our goal is to make the playoffs, and there’s no doubt the talent is there. Now we have to pull out some wins, play smart and play hard.

As a rookie, every week is really up and down. Every single week is a new opponent, a new scheme, you’re learning new things all the time. You have to strive to find consistency, which is so important in the NFL.

It’s a long season and you have to be smart and take care of yourself. You kill yourself so bad on Sunday, it takes all week to get your body ready and put it back together for the next Sunday. Monday isn’t even the worst of it because you still have some adrenaline left over. Mornings on Tuesday and Wednesday you wake up stiff and tired, a little fatigued and it takes a while to do everything. Like get out of bed and move around. But you realize you have to get going, and by Sunday everything feels OK.

Then you start it all over again on Sunday. That’s the routine. It’s a grind but you get used to it.

Our defense showed what we can do in the first half against Cincinnati. We held them to like 50 total yards, I think. Maybe we got too confident, too lackadaisical and came out flat in the second half. Give them credit though, they hit some plays on us.

But we hung on and got the victory, that’s the most important thing.

We’re definitely on the right path, we’re clicking. That’s two wins in a row. We’re on a bit of a roll and we want to keep it going. We’re at Buffalo this weekend and they have their backup quarterback Fitzpatrick in there but he’s pretty good. He played against us as the backup for Cincinnati last year so a lot of the guys on our defense have experience against him.

One thing is, when you watch game film you realize that this is the NFL, everyone is capable, every quarterback on the roster can play. You just have to look at what they’re really good at. Carson Palmer has a strong arm, Kurt Warner can pick guys apart. You have to look at their strengths and weaknesses and try to understand how they’re going to try to hurt you.

I really like my experience so far. Everything is going really well for me from the coaching standpoint to the players. Everyone has gone out of their way to help me out and I really appreciate that. The people of Houston have been great to me and I’m falling in love with the state of Texas.

I’m working with the first team here in OTAs and for the coaches to bring me in and have confidence to put me in there right away means a lot to me. I’m just thrilled. It’s really a dream come true. I can’t wait to put the pads on and go full speed.

Working with the first team doesn’t mean I’m a starter or settled in or anything. I have to keep working and developing as a player and learn as fast as I can if I want to stay with the first team.

I haven’t found a place to live yet so I’m just hanging out at the hotel. Doing my own laundry and finding places to eat. That’s part of being a rookie and that’s OK with me. I still haven’t signed a contract yet and I probably won’t until about July. That’s normal.

My agent will take care of that. I’ll just play football. That’s what I do.

Brice McCain, a cornerback from Utah, has one locker next to me and Buster Davis, a linebacker from Florida State, is on the other side. They put all the linebackers together. DeMeco Ryans has been a big influence on me. He’s already been a big help. He’s a great pro and somebody I can look up to.

It’s boring to hear this, but mostly I’m just staying in my room, learning our schemes and trying to get up to speed as fast as I can.  I’m trying to use every waking minute on and off the field to be well prepared for our first game.  It will be special, especially since I’m going against my former teammate and roommate Mark Sanchez on September 13th.

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