Colts DB-Kelvin Hayden Blog-January 22
It's that time. All we talked about was when you enter the playoffs, everyone is 0-0, it's win or go home. That's all that matters. It's about who is hot at the moment, and the Jets are playing well and they've been making the plays when it's counted. We feel we're hot as well, and we're confident we can go out there and play with anybody, and we're looking forward to Sunday. Everybody left is hot at this point in the year, all four teams. It's just who the hottest is come Sunday. We just want to continue to stay hot and stay focused and be ready to go.
It's weird thinking back to the last AFC Championship and that year, because back in '06, I was a young guy, a backup, and now I'm the old guy among the DBs. My role now is to be the leader. I just want to continue to show these guys how it's supposed to be done. The thing I tell these guys is to prepare like you're a starter because you never know when you're number is going to be called. If your number is called, you want to be able to take advantage of it. That's what I went by. You never know who it's going to be to make the play this time of season.
The last AFC Championship Game was a memorable one. Coaches always preach you want to come out to a fast start, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish. With us being down 15 points going into the second half, it showed the fight and character in our team, to not give up no matter the situation or deficit. It was a lifetime experience that you can draw on and use in any category in life, that you can be down, but if you continue to fight, you can come out victorious.
