Down time things to talk/think about.

[CRedskinsRule]

Man, I knew I liked Chris Samuels, and if TW listens to half of what Samuels is telling him, we will be set for another 10 years.

What It Takes: Chris Samuels - Avis Thomas-Lester

All respect to Chris Samuels!

Smartest move: "Surrounding myself with good people. I had to go through some heartaches with people who I thought were in my corner, got taken advantage of financially by trusting the wrong people. But now I've pretty much got it down. ... I have a few more people who are really on my side. ... My girlfriend Monique Cox, my parents, my godfather, Gary Pearce, we call him Pearl. He's a strong, strong spiritual man, and he tells you like it is. Sometimes when you are a professional athlete, you are famous, people just tell you what you want to hear. Well, he will come in and bust that up real quick. That's what you need, someone who can come in and really keep you grounded."

Biggest misstep: Getting caught up in fame during his fourth year in the NFL. "After I made the Pro Bowl twice, I starting feeling myself a little bit. I relaxed and off-season, I wasn't doing anything but hanging out with my friends, really didn't work out hard. That next season I came in and I wasn't in great shape. I wasn't as strong as I should have been, and I really didn't have a good season at all. Those guys were killing me out there."