EDITOR'S NOTE: Wide receiver Jacoby Jones will be providing periodic diary entries for HoustonTexans.com to give fans insight into the life of an NFL rookie.
Coach Kubiak told me last week to bring my game up for the regular season. He told me the intensity was going to be a lot higher. It definitely was. Everything picked up a lot against Kansas City – they especially hit a lot harder in the regular season, that's for sure.
I was antsy before the game, but the fans made a great environment here at the stadium. I saw a whole bunch of number 12 jerseys in the stands with my name on them. That felt good, man. It shows me that I have fans that show me some support.
I feed off that type of thing and I love the fans, too. But that right there really makes me realize that I've come a long way from growing up in New Orleans and being at Lane College. A long way.
I had one punt in the game that I thought I might do something with, but it didn't really come together. And other than that, Kansas City did a great job of hanging the ball high and covering.
I went into the game thinking I would be doing the same things I'd been doing in the preseason, but I was trying too hard to make a play. I wasn't really patient enough on the punt returns, so I'm going to try to correct that this week.
But I'm not worried I didn't make it to the end zone. I'm just glad we got the 'W.' I could have had no catches or nothing good in the game. I could've not even played. If we won, that's all that matters.
Going against cornerbacks like Ty Law and Patrick Surtain, I mean, it was a great challenge. It made me test where I'm at and step up my game. They weren't talking rookie trash to me or anything like that at all; they were some laidback corners. And I think I did pretty well in the game. You know, I played my role. Got a couple of third down catches, tried to do what I could do on the punts. Helped the team get a 'W.'
After the game in the locker room – oh, man. I wouldn't say it was overwhelming, because we know we can win, but it felt pretty good, though.
And that game was great for Mario Williams. That's his way of showing the media, "I told y'all so." The man can play. If you get off his back, he's going to show y'all. He can play, man. No doubt about it.
I saw some of the comments y'all wrote for the first couple entries I did. I just want to say thank you, because like I've said, I love the fans and there's nothing better than having people that support you.
Carolina's a good football team, but hopefully we can keep our momentum and keep doing the good things we've been doing on the road on Sunday.
Jacoby Jones diary archive:Entry 3 - 9/5
Entry 2 - 8/28
Entry 1 - 8/22
Got a question for Jacoby? Post a comment, or send an e-mail to editor Nick Scurfield at **nscurfield@houstontexans.com*.*
