If you’re in first place, you know you’re doing something right. We’re happy about it, but we’re not content at all because we still have the whole second half to play.

I’ve been looking back at the things we could have done differently in our two losses. The good thing is, it’s not so much what the other team did, but mistakes we made. And that is something we can control going forward.

I know there are some things I can do to make myself better, and I’m pretty sure everybody else feels the same way.

This is a team that can get to the Super Bowl. I know that. People haven’t talked much about us this season until we beat Arizona last week to go to 6-2, but I feel we’ve played with some of the best teams in the league already.

This team definitely has the chemistry, and that’s the most important thing. We have a genuine love for one another. We go out and play hard and believe we can beat anybody if we play as a team.

That’s the No. 1 thing.

A big part of our success has been the play of Steve Smith. He had his work cut out for him, winning back the trust and respect of the players, and we did a great job staying together as a team and staying the course. The guys did a great job of taking him back in, and that started with the way Ken Lucas took him back, like the true man that he is, and forgave him.

It’s the really tough times that define you as a team, as a family. That’s when you know what you’re made of, and if we can get through that, we can get through anything.

Steve is truly a special guy, and not just as a football player. He has so much confidence in everything he does. He truly believes that no one can stop him, and his confidence never sways. That’s what it’s all about.

As for me, I rate my performances by the mistakes I make but also by the number of tackles I get. I don’t like to think of myself as a freakish athlete, though some people do. I’m an effort guy, I go out there a give the maximum effort every time, scratching and clawing to get to the ballcarrier. That’s what it comes down to for linebackers.

I’m hoping to get to the Pro Bowl this year. That would be a true measure of consistency. Last year I wasn’t even an alternate, and I admit I was disappointed. How many times in your career are you going to make 106 solo tackles? The Pro Bowl is an annual event, it shouldn’t reward what you did three years ago. I looked at the linebackers who went and I couldn’t believe that Patrick Willis was just an alternate. He led the league in tackles!

Though making the Pro Bowl would mean a lot to my career, when you win games, that’s the greatest reward, especially if you can win a Super Bowl. That’s truly my focus; when you win, all that other stuff comes along with it.

Still, it’s something on my mind. Make a lot of tackles, get to the Pro Bowl. That’s a goal and a dream.

Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Jon Beason writes a blog for playerpress.com at www.jonbeason.com.