Well well, so it's been a few weeks since I last checked in but I hope you forgive me as I've been pretty busy. A good busy. I'm now a member of the Washington Redskins and things are going really well! I like what's going on here, it's a great team and I'm already having lots of fun. I've already played two games here with the Skins, two wins and I'm starting to get the hang of things.

It's really an interesting process now that I look back on it. Every player has his own story, but for me and and the career I've had so far, it was more about getting healthy again and getting back to how I felt a few years ago.

Three years ago, I was the MVP. Then the first game of the next season, I broke my foot and have essentially been healing ever since. The next year after that, I broke my hand in the first game of the next season, had to carry the ball with one hand even though I couldn't really guard myself and was pretty much re-breaking it every game. I didn't want to whine and complain, but it was terrible!

So as far as this season went, some teams asked me to try out and work out and all that while others were content to just talk and answer their questions. 1.) Is he going to be able to run like he used to? and 2.) Will he be able to get his upper body strong like it was? I enjoyed the opportunity to show them a couple of drills so they could see if I could still do what I used to do. But like I've been saying for a little while now, my foot is finally healed and people were seeing me run with the bursts I used to have. I think they still assumed something was wrong with me.

Since I was still healing and getting back into shape as training camp came around, most teams already had their guys. So unfortunately in my case, somebody had to be injured for me to join a team. For some guys, it may have been frustrating that they couldn't control their own fate. Not for me. I actually like the fact that I don't have to be in control every day. I can just prepare myself for the next great thing, which always makes me hungry. Like I can't tell you the next time I'll run for a touchdown, but I CAN prepare for the next play. Just be ready. It keeps that fire inside me ready....be ready, be ready, be ready. And that's what I do. That's why I'm a versatile player. I keep chasing after the "be ready" mentality.

Then I signed with the Redskins a couple of weeks ago, and like three days days later I'm right back in the action. In the first game I carried about three times, and my first carry was about eight yards. It's hard to kind of grasp everything. Even running and catching and getting your wind back together. You know, all that is tough. It's funny, even that first play I ran wrong. So it's hard for a player to make plays in a whole new system in three days. You know, they told me they wouldn't put me in the game in a tough situation, like with the game on the line.

But at the end of the day, running is running. Like riding a bike. You have to fin the holes and hit them hard. I was just like I'm going to run like I'm going nuts. And ah, that's what I did. I said, ok wherever it is, I'm going to hit that thing.

So thanks for all of the emails and comments and support. It means a lot. It's really exciting to be here. I'm back from our game in Detroit now and just getting settled again, so stay tuned for more in a few days or so.
Peace and love,
-Shaun.