*Green Bay Packers wide receiver Chad Lucas writes a diary for Packers.com, chronicling his NFL Europe experience as a member of the Amsterdam Admirals. Last week, Chad set an NFLE record with four touchdown receptions in one game against Berlin and subsequently received the Offensive Player of the Week award. This wee, Chad writes about the record, his team, the upcoming game versus the Rhein Fire and friend Therrian Fontenot, and his rise as one of the league's top performers. *
I always dreamed of having big games, but I never could have imagined I'd catch four touchdowns in one game. The most I've scored at any level is two. I did it in high school and in college a couple of times plus a couple of weeks ago against Frankfurt. I knew it might be that kind of day after I scored the second touchdown. We still had some plays that we hadn't run that I thought we could score on. Luckily (Head Coach Bart Andrus) called them and I made the plays.
I think I have scored so often in large part because of our quarterback, Gibran Hamdan, who is over here for the third time. He's been a leader for us all year. He puts us in position with checks at the line and things of that nature. And we're making the plays. It's not just me; it's everybody.
This week I have the chance to play Therrian and his team. It's going to be great. Therrian and I are great friends. We both want the best for each other, but we're going against each other, and it's going to be very competitive. I'm sure he's going to give his all just like I'm going to give mine.
I'm going to just approach this game in the same way I've been approaching the last couple of games and hopefully I'll find the end zone. I'm not going to slack off or put extra into anything; I'm just going to do what I've been doing, focus on the game, and hopefully we'll come out on top.
The media coverage has picked up dramatically since we lost our first game. Everyone has been saying since training camp that we have a prolific offense. We're doing what we knew we were capable of right now. We're trusting each other on the field and all the work has paid off. Individually, I've done more interviews this week than in previous weeks. I've done a couple with Amsterdam reporters and a couple from back home.
It's been very special. One of my mentors (former NFL wide receiver) Reggie Barlow always told me that hard work pays off. The first two games I was kind of down on myself because I didn't make any explosive plays, but I kept working hard at practice everyday and doing scout team stuff after practice. I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to play and I'm taking advantage of it.
When I first found out I might be going to Europe, I really didn't want to go. I talked to some people from the Packers personnel department, and they told me that this wasn't going to be a vacation but an opportunity to show people that I deserve to play in the NFL. So ever since then, that's how I approached it. Even after the Packers season, I took maybe a week off and started training again. I've been approaching it seriously from the time I found out I was going because I realized what it could mean for my career.
I've been more consistent now than I probably ever had been in my career. I'm proud of that and I want to keep that up for the reminder of this season. If I can keep it up, I don't know what might happen. I just want to continue to what I'm doing and then carry it over to Green Bay. That's a big part of what this league is about - coming over here and gaining confidence. Hopefully, I'll take the confidence I've gained and be able to bring it back with me.
To my family I love you and thank you for all of your support. You've been calling, and I know you wish they could be over here watching me, but thank you for watching every game on TV.
