I did alright against Baltimore but I could have played better. My goal is always to get on the quarterback. I had two sacks and a strip but I know I missed at least one or two tackles that I wish I could have back.

Playing without Troy back there was tough. TC was great filling in, but Troy is our inspirational leader, he leads by example. He’s a playmaking guru, one of the best safeties in the game. TC did a great job but Troy is Troy.

I also thought Dennis Dixon did a great job. The short time he had to come out of nowhere and be the starter was crazy, the way he played shows you what type of quarterback he can be and I think he’s going to be a great quarterback.

We had our chances in this game, now we have to put it behind us. It’s time for December football, that’s when you have to put yourself within arm’s reach of making the playoffs. We have to have a big December.

Every game is important and we have to take it one game at a time. We can’t look ahead at all, we definitely can’t look past Sunday when we have Oakland just because of their record. We know they’re going to come to play. Every game is going to dictate what happens to our season, how far we can go. Everybody knows that every game is super important.

As for me, I’ve been banged up quite a bit this year but I’m staying positive. I’ve still got a ways to go and a whole lot more to do this year.

Also, I will be on ESPN Radio today at 5:30 p.m. if you get the chance listen in

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

During the bye week I got a lot of rest in and spent time with my cousin Brian on Halloween. We went out in town and had a lot of fun, saw a lot of funny costumes, it was great.

I definitely feel refreshed. Anytime you can get a week off, even though I do love football, it’s always great to get some time away.

We play at Denver on Monday Night Football and that’s definitely exciting. Monday night it’s the only game that day, it’s like the game of the week. You know everyone will be watching and that makes it more exciting.

I got a shot in my ankle today. They took 10 CCs of my blood, and they have a machine that takes the plasma out. Then they injected the plasma into my ankle. That helps speed up the process of healing. It helped me to a speedy recovery the last time I hurt my ankle.

It’s really gotten better and I’ve been working out on the Nordic track, walking in water, rotating the ankle to make it stronger, icing it, doing exercises to help loosen it up.

I had to wear a boot for a week but I got that taken off and now I can get around on my own. But I still can’t run on it. It’s day-to-day right now whether I will play on Monday. Last time I hurt my ankle it was touch and go on Wednesday, but by that Sunday I was ready to play. So I have hope.

I was really happy that Florida State beat North Carolina State this week. Bobby Bowden gave me a scholarship out of high school. It’s a tough time for him right now, they’re talking about letting him go. I just hope he finishes the season strong. He’s too much of a legend to go out with people talking like that about him. I’m definitely a big supporter.

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

We have a bye this week, and it’s really beautiful timing for us to have a bye because I hurt my ankle.

Minnesota ran a reverse and I had contain on the play. I was on my way to make the tackle but our DT thought he was gonna make the play, too. He didn’t mean to but he rolled up on my ankle, so it came from friendly fire.

It’s a Grade 1 sprain, not a big deal, and it’s the other ankle from the one I hurt earlier in the season. I should come back faster than I did from that high ankle sprain. I should be able to make it back for the Denver game, which will be Nov. 9 on Monday Night Football.

The defense came up really big against Minnesota. Brett Keisel had a big strip on Favre and LaMarr took it to the house, that was huge. One thing about our D, we’re always trying to give the offense a shorter field, we want to make it easier on them by making big plays. Coach Tomlin loves to call them splash plays. A splash play can change the game and make it a turning point.

During the bye week I’ll pretty much just sit around the house and take care of this ankle. I’ll be on the couch catching up with my shows, like “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Entourage.” I also like the show “Crash” on Starz. I’ll be looking at those and seeing some movies, like the new Jamie Foxx movie “Law Abiding Citizen.”

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

We have a bye this week, and it’s really beautiful timing for us to have a bye because I hurt my ankle.

Minnesota ran a reverse and I had contain on the play. I was on my way to make the tackle but our DT thought he was gonna make the play, too. He didn’t mean to but he rolled up on my ankle, so it came from friendly fire.

It’s a Grade 1 sprain, not a big deal, and it’s the other ankle from the one I hurt earlier in the season. I should come back faster than I did from that high ankle sprain. I should be able to make it back for the Denver game, which will be Nov. 9 on Monday Night Football.

The defense came up really big against Minnesota. Brett Keisel had a big strip on Favre and LaMarr took it to the house, that was huge. One thing about our D, we’re always trying to give the offense a shorter field, we want to make it easier on them by making big plays. Coach Tomlin loves to call them splash plays. A splash play can change the game and make it a turning point.

During the bye week I’ll pretty much just sit around the house and take care of this ankle. I’ll be on the couch catching up with my shows, like “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Entourage.” I also like the show “Crash” on Starz. I’ll be looking at those and seeing some movies, like the new Jamie Foxx movie “Law Abiding Citizen.”

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

This last game against Cleveland was probably one of my best of the year, but I don’t worry about that. I just go out and play the game. My job is my main concern, I’m just thinking about what I can do to help the defense, not how many sacks or tackles I have.

I think we played well on defense but you can always do better. I know I left a couple of plays out there, missed a couple of tackles. I definitely learned something from this game. The defense still has a lot more growing to do, but as the season progresses we will get better. I still think we’re good but we have strides to make.

Minnesota comes to town this week and they have so many weapons, they’re like an army. They’ve got Brett Favre, Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe is playing amazing right now and their defense is in the top five in the league every year. They’re a complete team and we definitely have to bring our A game.

You know the Vikings are strong if they can beat Baltimore coming off a loss. The Ravens almost never lose two in a row, so to beat them after a loss, that’s impressive.

To me, Adrian Peterson is the best back in the league. He’s just unreal, a hell of an athlete. The whole defense has to work to stop him. You have to swarm to him and wrap him up when you tackle because you know he’s going to break some tackles.

It’s a great year for football. Especially in our conference, on any given Sunday any team can be beat, no matter how the team has been playing. You have to have respect for every game. Every team has playmakers, just like we do. That’s the NFL.

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

I love Pittsburgh. We have some very loyal fans. When we were in Detroit, it was like a home game. A home away from home. In the stands you could see more yellow towels than anything.

When Detroit got a call on the field, you heard more booing from Steelers fans than celebration from Detroit fans. That’s when you know you’re part of something special.

Even the cops are nice to us. I love my neighbors, they always invite us over for dinner. They love my child and they have really embraced us. It’s like having a second family.

I love the Penguins, too, I always go to the hockey games. The Pirates got better this year, it’s only a matter of time before they’re back in the playoffs – I hope. I really miss the open part of the stadium in left field, it’s a great place to watch a game.

This week we’ve got Cleveland and it’s a big game. We have a lot of fans in Ohio, so this game means a lot to them. We don’t want fans celebrating in the Dawg Pound when we play there. Also, it’s a conference game, and it’s very important that we win conference games to get in better position for the playoffs. You have to dominate in your conference before anything else, so it’s very, very important and the coaches and players take it very seriously. Every game is important, though.

I was fortunate enough to get a big sack against Detroit when they were trying to come back at the end. Coach LeBeau did a great job of calling the defense. I left a couple plays out there over the course of the game, but I think we all came together at the end.

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

Losing this game was definitely a tough one to swallow. Hopefully we’re going to take it out on the next team we play, San Diego at home on Sunday.

We looked at a lot of game film and the coaches were very critical in evaluating us. Anything they can do to make us play better. After a loss like that the best thing you can do is learn from it and forget it. Leave it behind and go on to the next game.

We need to learn to finish games. We let the Bengals have two late TDs, and the same thing against Chicago. We’re playing good, we’re just not making enough plays. No excuses, we just have to get out there and do it.

Against the Chargers we definitely have to get some pressure on Phillip Rivers. We didn’t get any pressure on Carson Palmer, and Rivers is one of the best passers in the NFL and he has some of the best weapons. He’s unbelievable, especially when there’s no pressure on him. We also know what Darren Sproles can do so we definitely have a lot of work to do.

As for my ankle, it’s not 100% but I can play with it. It’s nothing I can’t deal with. That’s football. I think in another week or two I’ll be fine. I feel like I’m slow right now. I’m not holding anything back, but I know I could be better and run faster if I’m healthy.

We held an event for war veterans at Heinz Field the other day. We had a kicking station and a passing station among others. I played quarterback for a bunch of guys. They were real aggressive going up against each other, some of these guys just back from the war. It was a little crazy but it was all in good fun and everyone had a good time.

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

I just got off the phone with Coach Tomlin. He calls all the time, he’s a real regular guy, very laid back. When he calls we don’t talk about football, he pretty much just wants to know what’s going on in my life and how he can help. He’s a guy who’s always willing to help out no matter what.

You gotta love playing for a guy like that. He’s just a good guy. Some coaches can be real mean, but Coach Tomlin tries to be a player’s coach and tries to relate more.

You have to respect and want to play hard for a guy like that.

It’s different when you’re on the field, though. One thing about Coach, he doesn’t get business and friendship confused. Just like when you go up against one of your friends in practice, on the field you have a job to do. Coach Tomlin won’t take it easy on you. It’s all about business, but for him it’s about being a player’s coach at the same time.

I thought training camp went very well. It was shorter than last year but overall I think we did good together as a team. I learned to get better in every facet, I went at it pretty hard and tried to take full advantage of my opportunity.

We didn’t do much rookie hazing but the Rookie Show was the best. A rookie named Andy Schantz did an impersonation of Chris Farley from Saturday Night Live, doing the “Van down by the river” thing. That kid did it almost as good as Farley, I couldn’t believe it. The rookies did a great job. The team also brought comedians in and that was amazing, too.

In the preseason we’re just trying to take it game by game, slowly get ready for the season. Even into the regular season you’re still growing together as a team, getting chemistry together, stuff like that.

Even though we have a lot of veterans, this team still has to vibe together more and get in the groove with things. We’re trying to do that now, we’re searching for it and we’re going to get it.

I also just want to thank all the fans who are reading my blog and those who came out to see us. You’ve been great to me, I’m loving everything and just giving it my all on the field.

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

I’ve been working out hard and now I’m in cooldown mode, still working out but letting my body rest to prepare for the storm – two-a-days. Just taking it easy, enjoying my last couple days with my son before I go to Latrobe.

I’m looking forward to seeing all the guys again, I know everyone’s been working hard and will be ready. It’s time to build that camaraderie, get ready to do our thing for the season. A lot of people think two-a-days is just grinding, but there’s also some time where guys hang out and get to know each other better.

Two-a-days are like going out in the wilderness with your family. You end up being closer teammates because of it. It’s hard but there’s also a lot of messing around, like guys going to the movies together when you finally get a day off. It’s not like that during the season, each guy has his own life and go their separate ways on days off.

What I don’t look forward to are the potholes. In Latrobe the main drag was real bad for me last year. I messed up the front end of my car, and in my spare time I had to hustle and take it to a car place to get fixed.

One thing I know is that Coach Tomlin won’t let us have big heads. He always keeps us humble, always grounded. He’ll have us ready no matter what.

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

I am working out real hard right now so training camp seems like nothing.

I’m working out twice a day at FIU and API with Stephen Tulloch, Renaldo Hill, Mario Henderson and Max Jean-Gilles.

We start out early with some running, do individual exercises, lunge jumps, stuff like that, a lot of plyometrics. Loosen our hips. Then go home, take a nap, back to the gym for more exercise, eat, go to sleep, wake up early and start the whole process over again.

At the end of the day, when we were celebrating winning the Super Bowl, Coach Tomlinson asked me if it was worth all the work we put into it.

I said yeah, it’s worth it.

This time last year I was working out with James Harrison. That guy is a monster. He pretty much put me through every type of hell possible. We were going twice a day, cardio, running, lifting, eating, then starting the whole thing over. We would get late-night massages, then wake up at 7 and do the whole thing over again.

I would have done that again this year but I wanted to try something different. You don’t want it to get stale.

So before we’re locked away for training camp I thought I would share my five favorite places to hang out in Pittsburgh.

1) Paradise Bowling Alley in Neville Island. I average about 170-180.

2) Andora. A restaurant near where I live. The food is amazing. I like the Ahi tuna.

3) Capital Grill. I like the Delmonico steak.

4) Bettis’ Grille 36, right by the stadium. I like the lobster ravioli. Jerome was there one time when I went in.

5) Red Lobster.  I’ve been going there since I was a kid. It’s a place I can’t get tired of.

As usual, I’d like to thank the fans. I appreciate your support and for coming here to check out my website.

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

We just got our Super Bowl rings and man, it’s like having two rings put together. It’s huge, man. It’s about as wide as a golden dollar and it’s got 63 diamonds.

You’ve heard of a 10-table ring? This ring you can see from 20 tables away.

I met the President and that was crazy. You can tell he’s a busy man, but he was so polite and generous with his time. He was asking everyone questions, joking around and had a handshake for everyone.

I think now I truly understand how magical it is to win a Super Bowl. It changes your whole swagger and makes me want to win another one so bad. It’s what you put in all that work for all year. It’s just great when you’re walking around town and everyone is asking you about how it feels to win it, how’s the ring and whatnot.

I never thought I would see this day. Now I hope to win another one, and I hope to have another 10 years in the league. That would be good.

On the field I’m a starter now but I can truly say that I miss Larry Foote. He was a good guy who helped me out a lot and made it fun. He was always happy, always joking around. He brought a lot of camaraderie with the guys.

I’m not going to change anything as a starter. It’s still football, nothing has really changed. Even last year I was playing a big part of the games. So I don’t think I need to change anything.

We just finished our last OTA today and are free until July 31 when we report for training camp. I’m headed down to Florida. I’ll probably take a week off then start doing some serious training to get ready for two a days.

All the stuff that comes with winning a Super Bowl hasn’t changed me much. I’m pretty much a homebody anyway.

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com. Follow him on Twitter as lawrencetimmons.

When the Cardinals came down and scored, it was crazy. We were backed up and I didn’t know what was going to happen. But then Tone started making catches, and when he caught that TD pass I got butterflies. It was crazy, man. I couldn’t believe it, it was like nothing I had ever been around before.

After the final whistle, I was jumping around, all the guys were hugging each other. It was beautiful man, people came out of the stands and it was a great moment to celebrate.

Since then I’ve just been playing house, really, chilling with the baby, cleaning up, paying bills, ordering takeout every day. I’m still in Pittsburgh, tidying up because I won’t be back here for a few months. I’m going to Tallahassee first and then to South Carolina.

The parade was crazy, like the Macy’s parade in New York. I’ve never seen that many people come out for an event. There’s nothing like it, the fans were going wild the whole time. I can’t believe they could scream for that long. Every time somebody did something, they would scream.

This is such as great feeling. I still can’t believe we won it. I’m so overwhelmed, it’s just crazy to win a Super Bowl when you’re 22.

We were in Tampa, but it was like a home game for us. Every time we did something on the field, I could hardly hear myself talk. Every time the Cardinals did something, you could hear just fine. Our fans are the real deal.

James interception return was a big turning point. At first, I didn’t see what was going on because I was rushing and a guy facemasked me pretty bad. I didn’t see a flag so I started to plead my case to the ref, then a split second later I saw James running with the ball and I knew I had to get on my horse. I saw a lineman coming at an angle and I got a good shove on him. I just ran downfield trying to get a block because I knew we needed six points and didn’t want to settle for three. We just sold out, got all our blocks in and James did the rest.

There was definitely a sense of relief after that play, it killed their offensive momentum.

After the game we went back to the hotel and everyone was just celebrating with each other. I’ve never see that many people happy before hanging out together, there’s nothing like it. You just can’t put the feeling into words. I can see why every NFL player that loves the game wants to be a part of the Super Bowl.

To experience this so early in my career is mind blowing.

Two days before the game, my friend Jon Beason [www.jonbeason.com] from the Carolina Panthers came down and gave me a pep talk. He’s going to the Pro Bowl, but he told me he would switch places with me any time. He was very emotional, told me to leave it all out there on the field because you never know when you’re going to have another opportunity like this one. He wanted to make sure I had the desire to make a big play if I had the opportunity.

He helped me out a lot. When it comes from someone like him, it always comes from the heart.

Lawrence Timmons is a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His blog for playerpress.com runs at www.timmons94.com.

I’ve never been this busy before in my life.

Besides football and more reporters than I’ve ever seen, I’ve got family and friends down here in Florida. I’ve got to go see this person, go see that person. I went to Florida State just four hours up the road and a lot of good friends have come down.

I wish I had a quarter for every time someone asked me for tickets. They give us each 15, and they’re going to my mom, dad, immediate family, Alissa and some friends. Some tickets are closer to the field than others and I have to decide who sits where. Everybody’s been pretty cool about it, though so it’s no big deal.

I was sick with a virus last week but now I’m back to normal, the same old Lawrence. I’m eating like a normal dude.

The fact that we’re playing in the Super Bowl in 2 days hasn’t really hit me yet. One thing that has hit me though is the media swarm. There are at least 500 reporters and we’re surrounded by the media all the time. I’ve never seen so many reporters before in my life. It’s crazy.

The dumbest question I’ve been asked so far was, what are you going to do if you guys lose? I mean, what kind of a question is that?

They give you some nice stuff when you play in the Super Bowl. I got a big bag of stuff from Reebok, some Steelers T-shirts and hoodies. I got a blue Super Bowl hoodie that I really like.

I have some old teammates from FSU down here staying with me, we go hang out around here. There are so many parties.

We go out and have a good time, but one way you can tell it’s the Super Bowl is how serious everybody is on the team. Practice has been going real good for me, everything seems to be slowing down right now, like nothing goes wrong. Smooth like running water. Everybody is on one accord in practice, you can tell a lot is on the line.

Coach Tomlin has planned something special for us tomorrow. We always have a mock game the day before a game, and Coach said we can bring anybody we want to practice to watch the mock game, your mom, dad, auntie, little cousin. You know that would be a special moment for everyone, make their day for real.

I’m going to get my parents and the rest of my immediate family to come. And just seeing the other guys with their family, stuff like that draws you closer as a team.

I’m not nervous about playing the game. This is what we do. And if I get that Super Bowl ring I could retire after 2 years. Seriously, people think the NFL is about the money, but a lot of guys would give money away to get a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Some guys like Jim Kelly get there 4 or 5 times and lose, then you beat yourself up about it for years.

It just goes to show that you have to be humble and thankful to be here. Stuff like this doesn’t happen too much.

I’ll try to get back to you one more time before the game, but in case I get too busy, wish us luck!

I missed practice today and yesterday because I caught a stomach virus and I can’t hold anything down. All I do is puke.

I will be practicing tomorrow, though, so I’m just going to try to get some sleep and drink a lot of fluids. I ate some solids today, tomorrow I’ll try to eat twice as much.

When you’re sick in the NFL the team doctor takes care of you. He gave me a shot in the butt to keep me from throwing up and an I.V. with two liters of saline.

Having a team doctor makes a heck of a difference. They’re great. When I messed up my groin last season, they gave me a shot (yeah, in the groin) and put me on a special rehab. It had been partially torn but in less than a month it was perfectly healthy.

I don’t like missing practice, but I’ll be fine for the Super Bowl. I feel lucky that we have a bye week, that will give me time to get that energy back.

The media coverage is so much more intense now that we’re in the Super Bowl. The locker room is pretty much filled up every day now with reporters. It never used to be like that. Everybody is getting grabbed for interviews.

It doesn’t affect me at all, though. I was used to that playing at Florida State. You get a lot of attention there.

I still don’t know anything about our practice schedule except that we fly to Tampa on Monday morning.

But I’ll be back in touch before then, hopefully. So check back in and I’ll try to let you know what it’s like to be in the Super Bowl spotlight.

All the football games I’ve ever played in, I’ve never experienced feelings like I had when we beat the Ravens. Looking at our crowd, seeing how they reacted to everything, it was just mind blowing. Crazy, man.

It’s great to win a big one. There’s no other feeling like it. When Troy scored that touchdown, I was jumping up and down and screaming, everyone was hugging each other. It was great.

We knew it would be a hard-hitting affair with the Ravens and that’s just what it was. They were laying our guys out, too. Guys were going down left and right, it was a battle. We have a lot of respect for them, they came from the sixth seed and made it to the AFC Championship Game without having a break. Most people don’t know they went 15 or 16 weeks straight without a bye.

Now we have to appreciate the special opportunity we have to win a Super Bowl. We understand that we might not make it back here again, and that there would be nothing else like winning a Super Bowl.

We have practice tomorrow, so I guess we’ll go through the weekend. Then have a regular week, but I don’t know for sure. I just know we have practice tomorrow. That’s coaches for you, they don’t want anyone planning their trips or anything. You never know with these coaches.

Of course, we’re going to win. We’ve got to win. We’ve come too far to lose now, we’re playing great and it’s going to be another big battle. I think it could be decided at the end.

It should be a great game.

Playing in the playoffs in front of our home crowd was crazy, man. It was a great experience.

You can see how the playoffs are different, especially with a veteran team like we have. Everyone takes the game so serious, everyone plays so perfectly. People are way more emotional, and the older guys on this team have always shown the way. That’s why I love this team so much. No matter who a guy is, if he was drafted in the first round, second round, whatever, the older guys take it like its their job to make us better.

They say that in the playoffs, the team that makes more mistakes is the team that goes home. So they’ve been hard on us young guys. During the bye week they had me, Wood, a lot of the younger guys taking all the reps so we condition ourselves not to make mistakes. That’s helped a lot. When they put that much work in us, you can tell they really care about us, you know?

The harder you are on a guy sometimes, the better off that guy will be. They like to show us some tough love and that’s helped us a lot.

Everybody’s pumped up for the playoffs, but I know that in a game like this you’ve got to know your job. Don’t try doing someone else’s job and you’ll be fine.

I think I’ve done pretty well so far but I missed so many sacks in the San Diego game. I definitely haven’t peaked yet as a player, I need to work on second moves on the rush and I definitely want to make more big plays. Against San Diego I had the opportunity to strip the quarterback one time but I just missed. That would have been a big play and would have saved a field goal. I also could have blocked a kick, I came so close.

Guess I just need to finish stronger.

I am very lucky to be playing on the No. 1 defense in the NFL in my second year in the league. These guys make it fun, James, Pottsie, Troy, Foote, we’ve got about 20 guys on our defense who make an impression.

Against Baltimore we’ve got to really study, because we’ve already played them twice and we know everything about each other. We have to see what they’ve been doing since our last game against them. It’s going to be a tough game, but if we stick to our game plan, do what we do, we’ll be fine.

The Ravens are a “ground and pound” team, we need to stop their running game and make them throw the ball.

What I’m looking forward to is running out of the tunnel, seeing how crazy our fans get. Our fans are crazy during the regular season, I’ve never seen anything like them in the playoffs.

I think it will be a close game. It’s going to be decided in the fourth quarter, maybe even in the last minutes.

My son will be in the stands, watching. He’s only 8 months old but he’s about 25 pounds. He just took 8 or 9 steps the other day. He’ll be up there watching, and it’ll be a good feeling knowing he’s up there and we’re playing for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.