83 Degreez: Finally Back on the Field

After a long wait, I finally have something to talk about on the field after Monday’s game. It felt like it was my first game all season. I was really excited to be back out there with my teammates. I was talking to “Q” [Quinn Sypniewski] before the game and told him to be just like gnats on the guys we block, to keep them off the ball, keep them off Willis the whole game, because we knew we would be running the ball. I just wanted to finish every play and block to the whistle. When my assignments came, I just wanted to make sure I did it right.

We obviously had a lot of success with the run - as you saw, Willis McGahee had 138 yards and a touchdown. I felt like I made an impact in the running game. That has a lot to do with liking the guy that you’re blocking for. I really like Willis. I think he’s a class act, and I like the way he plays. He plays with a lot of enthusiasm and runs the ball hard. You see him taking a lot of licks, but he always gets up and keeps moving. I think he exemplifies a championship running back. Willis is the type of back that really puts a guy like me in the right spots. When you’re blocking, you can come of the ball hard and hit your guy, but it’s really about technique and staying low with your pads. That being said, he’s got to react to the block. When he does that, the defensive player reacts, and then I react with the block. When he’s making those proper cuts, he makes my job easy.

I scored a touchdown, too, and to do so in my first game back was huge. I felt like I’d missed the whole season, like I said. Even though I only came out of the game with two catches - I’d love to have 15 - I feel tremendously blessed to get in the end zone that soon. Honestly, it really wasn’t just me, though. It was the great play call and the other 10 guys on the field that made it happen. I couldn’t have caught the ball if Kyle [Boller] didn’t put it on the money. He couldn’t have thrown it if the line didn’t block and the backs pick up the blitzes. And then you have Q, who’s been holding it down for the last 11 games since I’ve been out. When they called the play, everybody jumped on Q and left me wide open. It was like playing catch in the back yard.

My fiancé and my son were at the game. My brother and his wife came down from Peoria, Ill. Two of my cousins and their wives were there. It was good to have the family in town, but that of course meant that we were deep at my house.

There were also a lot of people watching at home. Because it was Monday Night Football, everyone back in Atlanta got to watch it, my new family in Belize got to watch it. Really, I was just relieved, and it felt great to get all the text messages and voice mails from my friends and family after the game. My son is only two, but he’s already saying, “Daddy, I want to play football.” To have him see the highest-rated show in the history of cable television, I can tell him one day that he was there and his daddy scored a touchdown.

That’s the interesting thing about football. So many people grow up playing the game and wish they could be at this level one day, but they could just never make it. But, by the grace of God, these 63 guys are here with me in the locker room. We’re not just playing for ourselves. We’re playing for all the kids around America, for all the adults that wanted to be at this level. And, we’re playing for just the pure fans that are glued to their TVs every weekend. Believe it or not, a football game can be a great date. Instead of a Blockbuster night, what about a Monday Night Football night? It’s just entertainment.

That’s why I get so frustrated with all the stuff in the NFL about limiting the touchdown dancing and choreographed stuff, or even how you wear your uniform. I’m not a flashy guy, but I have my own style. You saw last year I did a little dance after a few of my touchdowns. I just think that’s fun. Still, you may have seen me pointing at the sky when I scored Monday, and that was planned. I just thought that I was so blessed to be able to make an impact. I could have been put on IR [Injured Reserve] at any time. They could have just said, “Get another tight end.” But they didn’t, and I got to play again. I thank God for having another plan for me, and I thought I needed to recognize that.

I took the kids from Thurgood Marshall High School roller skating this week. We had a DJ and a radio personality from 92 Q donate their time and services for the kids. I teamed up with Downtown Locker Room again and went to Shake and Bake roller rink. The kids had a wonderful time, just skating all day. I got a chance to talk to them afterwards because I really wanted to let them know how proud I am of them. They’re 12th-graders now, but when I started working with them, they were 10th-graders. When Darnell Dinkins started working with them, they were freshmen.

It’s amazing that they’ve literally just grown up in front of my eyes. There has been such a tremendous turnaround. Attendance, grades and attitude has gone up across the board. To me, that’s huge. These are kids that have to work sometimes during the school week, but they are still minding their grades. I’m glad to have been a part of their life.

I’d like to again thank everyone for taking the time to read the blog. I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and is getting ready for a great Christmas. Whatever it is the Lord chooses you to have, no matter what it is, always feel blessed to be able to wake up in the morning. It’s a blessing to be alive, and that lesson is highlighted with the passing of Sean Taylor. We lost a big contributor to the NFL, and my heart pours out to his family. I think anybody who’s ever lost a loved one or a friend knows what it means to be in a situation like this. I feel like every day you have a chance to breathe fresh air is a blessing, so make sure you don’t take it for granted.

I’ll be back next week. Talk to you later.

- D. Wilcox #83