2008 Season Was Something To Build Upon 

Our season is over, my season is finished, and as I look back on 2008 I think it was a good year for me, but it wasn't a satisfying year because we didn't go to the playoffs. Winning is the only goal in the NFL, and we didn't win enough to make it to the post-season.

For me, personally, I thought I did well. Coming back from knee surgery, I was able to go in all 16 games and I don't believe I missed a snap. Those are all positives for me. It was good to know mentally that I could handle the grind of the game physically. That was gratifying to know.

I'm looking forward to next year. I'm looking forward to being two years out from the injury. They say that a player takes two full years to recover from the kind of knee injury that I had, and I think that is going to be the case with me.

Instead of rehabbing throughout the off-season, I'm going to be working on getting stronger, faster and more agile. I spent all of last year working to get back to where I was prior to the injury. It was a mentally-testing experience, and it was good for me to get over that hump.

We are very close to being a Super Bowl-caliber team. We had so many close losses and so many games in which we led in the fourth quarter and just couldn't hold on. We need to finish better. We need to make that play here or there that turns a game in your favor.

It is going to be an interesting off-season. The way my contract is constructed, I can't sign with any team, including the Saints, until March 1, when free agency begins. I would like to stay with New Orleans. That is my first choice. I hope we can get something worked out and I'm optimistic that we can.

But I can't do a thing until March, so it's an unusual situation. It's going to seem like a long time before I can really get settled for the 2009 season. I loved the first year in New Orleans on the field and off. I love the fans and the community here. It is a great place to play football.

I'm still in the recovering mode as far as my body after the season. I'll take a few more days and then start getting into the kind of shape I want to be in for next season.

In the meantime, I will follow the playoffs. I said I wouldn't, but I can't resist. I'm a football fan, and as much as it hurts, I'm going to watch the playoffs and enjoy them as much as I possibly can.