Bush Journal: NFC Championship Game
We are one win away from the Super Bowl! Has it sunk in it? Yes and no. I don't want it to set in and let the hype and emotion of playing in a NFC Championship game take over, because we want to treat this like a normal game and focus on the opponent. We need to keep our composure against the Bears.
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We expect a great game from their defense. They'll come out hard and we know that. They've been on a roll all year and are playing well. This is going to be a long, hard-fought game.
For us to win, we can't turn the ball over. Their defense is like a second offense. They get turnovers deep in opponents’ territories and can easily score on defense. We really have to be sound and not turn the ball over. We are going to have to make some big plays on offense.
We have some plays set up, depending on which defense they run, but at this stage we aren't going to change much. We'll stick to our fundamentals. We have a few different plays, but we aren't going to put in a new offense -- that would just create confusion for us.
It might snow this weekend in Chicago. I've never played in snow. I did play in a game after it snowed during my sophomore year at USC, but not during the game. I don't care if it snows or not, we are still going up there to win, it's still a 100-yard field and its still football -- none of that changes.
As for the game against the Eagles, everybody remembers the hit I took in the first quarter. It was the hardest hit I've ever taken. It was a good hit and if I was on defense, I would have done the same thing. But it takes more than that to keep me down. It's not how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up.
Initially, I popped right back up, but I didn't register it in my mind right away. It knocked the wind out of me, so I had to catch my breath. It was sweet to come back out and score a touchdown. It just showed that I'm a fighter and I'm going to keep coming at you.
We also had a miscommunication toward the end of the game and unfortunately it was a play by me. Any time there is a fumble on a pitch, it's the job of the running back to secure the ball. The most important part is it didn't cost us the game and we lived to see another day.
It's just like what happened to Tom Brady against the Chargers. He threw three interceptions, but came through when it mattered. It's those mistakes that we have to eliminate to beat the Bears.
