But that is hard to do at the bowling alley and even harder to do on the football field, something Jackson was reminded of this weekend when the Panthers fell 27-22 to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2. Carolina fought back from down 27-3, but just like Jackson trying to catch Horn on the lanes, it’s not always easy to overcome.
“We fight, but we just got to start fast, don’t put ourselves in position to have to come back,” said Jackson, before adding a bit of encouragement for his team—”but if need be, it’s obvious we can.
“For me personally, it’s almost like, I go into the game like, all right, what are they doing, like paying attention to every small detail. So once we get into the flow of the game, I’m comfortable, I’m relaxed, and I just feel like we all got to go in there, but it’s different for everybody. Like, for some people, they might need to be nervous, so you know, excited, whatever, so it’s kind of like find your routine and just go with it.
“So at the start of the game, for me it’s more about just being calm and relaxed. At the end of the day, it’s football, like no matter if it’s a Super Bowl or Week 1 preseason, like 5-yard hits is a 5-yard hit, 10-yard dig is a 10-yard dig, don’t make it more than what it is.”