Was I hurt sometimes? Yeah. But not to the point where I couldn't play. I think we all go through it. Some guys escape it. Some guys don't. There's no secret formula.
I believe this, we are all gifted for the talent - God blesses everybody with a talent. Mine was to play football. Some are to be scientists. Some are to be doctors. Sometimes because of the situation you grow up in, you can never display your talent because you can't get out of that situation.
When you're an athlete, the one thing you're concerned about is injury, because that's the No. 1 thing that can take you out.
When it gets going bad and it gets going to where all these things are happening around you, the thing that stands out most is your character. You have to make sure you keep your character and your wits about you, because at the end of the day, it might be bad for a little while, but if you're a good coach it all works out.
It doesn't matter where you grow up, what color you are, what religion you are. It's just a bunch of guys that come together for a common cause. Let's go win this game. It's called team.
When I got in this profession, as a young guy, as a college coach at San Jose State, I knew right then that I had a passion to do this, to touch people's lives, to develop young men in the game of football.
Curtis Martin just has to be Curtis Martin, and whatever that is, that's good enough. He doesnt have to be Clark Kent or Lois Lane.
Remember, a receiver can motion wherever, run wherever he wants to on the field, you can't get your hands on the guy and there is a lot of room. When you are a corner, you are playing to the boundary, which is your friend.
The job of the offense is not to score points. The job of the defense is not to stop the other team from scoring points.