To all the fans that helped vote me to my first Pro Bowl: Thank you.
I honestly can't thank you enough.
I know last year I said I wasn't going to miss another Pro Bowl, but I honestly didn't think people would remember that tweet. Obviously that wasn't the case, but I stuck to my word.
I'm very honored. It's a dream come true. Getting to the league, period, was a dream come true let alone being a top-10 pick. I entered the season with five goals, but I only achieved three of them. I won't tell you what they are, but we're still chasing them. Hopefully we can get those soon.
One of them was making the Pro Bowl, which I wanted to do my rookie year, but it didn't happen. I just think it was God telling me my time wasn't then.
Now, it's my time.
I'm a lot smarter on the field this year. Just knowing the play before the snap, being patient with my reads. I also feel like I've grown into my own as a leader. I knew it would come with time. I feel like sometimes people try to force themselves onto others. I honestly feel like you're either born with leadership or without it. It's a very unique tool and I'm very fortunate to have it.
I pride myself in doing everything – a guy that can cover in the back end, go sideline-to-sideline, go down and hit, make the calls and lead by always doing the right thing on and off the field. I always want to do everything.
I guess you could say I'm an old football junkie with new swag. I've always watched guys like Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Bob Sanders. The list goes on and on. Those are great football players that come downhill, make plays on the ball and love to play the game. It's very simple.
I'm just so passionate in what I do and I feel like I play the game the right way and how it's supposed to be played. Anytime I'm on the field, I don't take it for granted. It's everything. I'm very fortunate to have a father that went through it before I did and he's helped me so much along the way.
He's always in my corner when I've needed him. Whether it's good or bad, he's going to be honest with me. He's always been honest, as has my mother. She's more into football now and tells me what's going on and what I could've done better. I appreciate both of them.
As a team, we definitely have some steps to go. We're missing a couple pieces, but we're going to figure it out. Hopefully next year is going to be that year for us and so on. I understand the Pro Bowls and the individual recognition, but there's nothing like a team goal being achieved. Sooner or later, that goal is going to be achieved.
To the Jets fans reading this: I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I love you guys (and gals). Whether it's good or bad, I love every moment with you. I might be biased, but I think we have the best fans. I couldn't be in a better place to play than New York.
I can't believe it's almost my third year. And I know I have a long time left in this league, but I want to be remembered as a guy that left it out there, a guy that did the right things on and off the field and, hopefully, one of the guys that helped change this organization and brought home a trophy.
