I miss the guys more than anything. That was such a special year. You've probably heard guys say that, but everybody took all the individual goals and selfish goals and for one year put them all aside and put the team first. That's a special feeling when you can do that.

The big thing that sticks out in people's minds is how dominant our defense was in 1985. But I think a lot of people forget that we did lead the league in rushing for the fourth year in a row. We led the league in time of possession, and we were second in the league in scoring. That makes your defense pretty good.

I also think those first couple games of the year, if you look back on that, we were behind. We were behind in Minnesota, we got behind in Tampa Bay. The offense really stepped up to the plate. We scored points.

You can talk about all the things that made Walter Payton such an interesting and special person, but for people who haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time with him, it's really hard for them to understand. I was lucky because Matt Suhey was my roommate for a lot of years, and Matt and Walter were close. In those days, the only one who had a single room -- I think they all have single rooms now -- but the only one who had a single room was Walt, so he was always in our room all the time and I got the chance to spend a lot of time with him. The toughest guy I ever played with. He played 13 years and missed one game. I fell on his ankle one time, he came up with this grimace and never missed a play. And just the spirit that he had was special. Very special.

In the first playoff game, we played the Giants, and I played against two All-Pros. I played against not only Lawrence Taylor, but I played against Leonard Marshall.

The next game,we played the Rams, and I had Gary Jeter, who was kind of their sack guy and had like three sacks the game before.

The Super Bowl was actually easier for me as far as matchups. Not to say the guy I played against was easy, but from what the other guys were, reputation-wise, I looked forward to that one.

He (Miami quarterback Dan Marino) was my roommate at Pitt, so we're very close. That whole Miami game, he teases me because he takes a look at my Super Bowl ring every time we're together. I wear it on purpose when we're together as well. On the side of our Super Bowl ring, it has "18-1,'' which was our record that year. On the other side, it has "Attitude'' and then "Team.'' He says, "You know what? I'm that '1.''' And I say, "What would you rather have, bro, the '1' or the ring?''

Absolutely. Absolutely. I think if Jim McMahon could've stayed healthy, we could've won more than one Super Bowl. I know Jim probably feels the same way.

I was lucky. I had great parents. I didn't have to look far for role models. They were right down the hall.

My dad was a tough guy. He was a steelworker for 34 years. Every male member of my family -- my brother, my uncles, my grandfather -- worked at Armco Steel for 44 years, so I came from a steel mill town. It was a way of life. My dad used to take me into the mill when I was a kid and say, "Son, you never want to come in here.'' It was quite a motivator that sports was a way out.

I thought I could've played longer. I wanted to. But after I hurt my back a second time, I went to see a lot of doctors. I just felt like I wanted to be able to walk when I was 50 rather than be hunched over.

I work for HealthSouth, the leading provider of rehab services throughout the country. We're based in Birmingham, Ala., which means I've been commuting, and now I'm going to move there.

I played probably 30 pounds heavier than I am now. I had a big beard I used to grow halfway through the season every year, and I think people remember those very cold games in Soldier Field with a left tackle with long hair and beard. Now they see the clean-cut corporate guy, so sometimes they don't recognize me.

I think it's my kids being born and raising them. Just being there for them as much as I can is probably the most memorable thing outside of football that I've done.