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Anderson, a four-time Pro Bowler, has proved to be a key cog in Baltimore's offense, stepping in and filling the right tackle spot. He had started five straight games on the right end of the line prior to last Sunday's game, which he missed with a sprained ankle.

Anderson told me he's feeling better this week, and hopes to be back out there today against the Eagles.

I had a chance to sit down with the 6-foot-5, 340-pound gentle giant and talk with him about his routine on gamedays, and what superstitions get him ready for kickoff.

What's your typical morning like the day of a game? What's your schedule like?

"I usually get up early. The last five or six years, I have some therapists of mine that come from Atlanta, they fly up. They did the same thing when I was in Cincinnati, they flew up. They work on me Saturday night, then I go back in on Sunday morning and get a little more therapy, whether it be a small massage, stretching, a couple other things we do. So I just get up, do some therapy, grab something to eat then head to the stadium."

What about breakfast? Do you have a big meal before a game or do you just grab something quick?

"I've changed, man, because at one time, I couldn't eat anything pregame. So my first six years I would barely eat anything. But then in the third quarter I'd find myself starving, and my energy's low. Then when Marvin Lewis came in [to coach the Bengals], he brought the whole Baltimore thing, he had omelettes and stuff, so I told myself I'd eat an omelette. I'd do what I called 'eating breakfast to enjoy breakfast' before a game. We were in Arizona, I had a big ass omelette. Second quarter, 100 degree heat, I threw it up. That's the last time I had an omelette."

"So then, I got my boy Brian Simmons, former linebacker with the Bengals, I started watching what he eats. Brian would have a bowl of oatmeal, fruit, lots of carbs. So now what I do is oatmeal, baked potato and spaghetti is all carbs. And I try to eat later now because we eat so early at like 9:00, at 2:00 you're back hungry again, you know what I mean? So what I do now, I take me a plate, take it to the stadium. I've got a routine now where I wait til about 10:00 to eat, just all carbs. But it was funny, I saw last week -- Ray [Lewis] eats the same thing."

Really? And you guys hadn't talked about it until then?

"We'd never talked about it and we eat the same thing. Spaghetti, oatmeal and a potato."

A bunch of the guys have told me that when they're out there before a game for warm-ups, they like getting hit by a teammate. They need to get hit to feel game-ready. Is that the case with you?

"Nah, don't hit me. I don't need a hit. You see all the guys smashing facemasks and things, I don't want that. I tell all the guys 'Don't hit me.' I get enough hits during the game."

Do you have any superstitions before a game, something that you do every week whether it's in the locker room or out on the field?

"What I've been doing for years now is I have me a little pocket bible. And I always read some of the psalms. A lot of times, people think of the Bible, they think of the Bible as not a masculine or tough thing, but you go through the books of psalms, and there's a lot of tough stories in there. David -- one of the toughest guys ever. I find something that's dealing with strength, courage, toughness, going into battle. It's funny, I pick up the Bible, go to the psalms and read the first one I see. And it's usually a good one. So I've been doing that six, seven years now."

So you find that reading a psalm gets you pumped up?

"Yeah, it does more to me than music. People that listen to music, as soon as you take the music off, there's no more music. But if you read something, then you can remember that when you need that courage. Because I don't care who you are, those five, 10 minutes before a football game, those are the times that makes football players who they are. Some of the emotions and thoughts going through your head -- some guys be mad, some guys be excited, some guys be nervous. Just all kinds of emotions. And every position needs a different kind of emotion.

"If you're a defensive lineman, you want to be pumped up, you know? Furious, angry. As an offensive lineman, you need to have aggression, but controlled aggression. Meaning, you've got to be in tough-guy mode all the time, but you've got to be able to think. Because my job is to protect somebody. You know what I mean? I can't be out there wild and crazy and not know what the guy next to me is doing because I'm in this whole thing by myself. We're in a cohesive group, and our job is to protect 'The President'.

President Flacco?

(Laughing) "President Flacco."

Check out the gameday superstitions and rituals of:
Fabian Washington
Mark Clayton
Adam Terry
Jim Leonhard
Ray Rice