Saints linebacker Demario Davis talks for the first time since his calf injury.
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00:00 faces. Smile. Beautiful faces. Good to see all of y'all. I miss
00:04 y'all. Tomorrow.
00:05 Won't be playing in the preseason game. Obviously, do
00:09 you feel like you where you need to be?
00:11 Uh, certainly it's good to be back out there with the guys.
00:16 When you spent 12 years in this game,
00:21 you know, it's a long season. And so you want to make sure
00:25 your body is fully prepared to take on that load and be your
00:31 strongest at the finish of the season. And certainly without
00:36 taking preseason reps, sometimes that can feel a little bit
00:38 different. But I feel like as a pro, you got to know how to get
00:41 yourself to optimal level, optimal performance. And I think
00:44 just what our practice is going with against our offense, the
00:49 tempo that they play at the amount of weapons that they got
00:51 over there.
00:53 You know, the way that the coaches are called to play, it
00:56 puts you in every situation that you're going to be in in the
00:58 game. And so I think, you know, in practice, I'll be able to get
01:01 enough reps that I need to be ready.
01:02 Have you missed this one?
01:06 No, you know what, that's interesting. I haven't missed
01:09 this much practice or this much training camp before. Certainly,
01:15 you know, you got to think, I don't know, you know, for
01:17 whatever reason, but you got to think man, a year 12, that
01:21 plane may need a little more runway before it's ready to hit
01:23 the sky. And I just think that I'm grateful. I'm grateful, you
01:27 know, you know, to have a staff that took something that wasn't
01:31 as serious, but you know, gave me extra time to make sure that
01:34 everything was functioning properly. And, you know, now, I
01:38 told all the guys, man, I put in all my days, I took out my
01:42 vacation days, I got them out of the way. It's time to work now.
01:45 So I'm excited.
01:47 What are your thoughts on Jalen Smith? I'm sure you've seen him
01:50 from afar, but is he coming in fit right in pretty quickly?
01:53 Oh, absolutely, man. Anytime you're able to get good football
01:56 players in this league is, it's a huge plus. So kudos to the
02:01 front office and bringing him in. A guy who's had a ton of
02:05 success. You know, I just think back to the battles that we had
02:09 with Dallas. You know, back when we were contending for
02:13 conference championships, going against them and just watching
02:16 him be out there lights out making plays. And if you watch
02:19 him on tape, man, he still got he still got that in and look
02:21 what he did his last preseason game, he still got that explosive
02:25 firepower in him. And sometimes just by ending up in the right
02:28 situation. And so I definitely think it's gonna be a good
02:31 situation for him here. And it's definitely a good situation for
02:34 us to be able to have him. So I'm excited about that.
02:36 Can you take me into the conversation that you and Jameis
02:38 were having with the officials after the red zone drill? And
02:40 what was the what was the resolution? What were you what
02:43 were you pushing for? What was your claim?
02:45 I wasn't really you don't have to negotiate, man, we down in
02:48 the red zone. And we know what garden every blade of grass,
02:51 man. So, you know, sometimes, you know, guys want to say they
02:56 in when they not in. And it was just like, hey, what the
02:58 referee you get paid to do this. He said today that they weren't
03:02 in. So, you know,
03:03 officially officially not in.
03:05 That's what the official said. Yeah, I guess it's official.
03:08 Anything different about DA as he gets ready to start his
03:14 second season as head coach compared to a year ago?
03:17 Uh, I mean, the a man like a fine wine, he just keeps getting
03:21 better with time. As long as I as I'm around him, I learn more
03:24 and more from one of the smartest coaches I've ever been
03:28 around. And I just think he he has a great ability to
03:35 understand what's in front of us is coming and kind of put us in
03:39 position for that. Make sure that we're prepped. And I just
03:41 think like he takes that awareness that he has and that
03:47 sharpness and that detailedness and he teaches it to us. And
03:50 he's always harping on sometimes it seems like the same thing,
03:52 but you'll see those same things happen in a practice
03:56 situation or in a game situation. It's like, oh, yeah,
03:58 he told us about that. And so sometimes it's a lot to keep up
04:02 with, you know, and that's that's that's a great thing
04:04 because you want your leader to be out in front of us. You want
04:06 your leader to be something that you can look to and learn from.
04:08 And it's just like, man, when he's talking, I'm taking notes,
04:12 you know, just because I don't want it to be something that he
04:15 said that I missed. And I think that just raised our mental IQ
04:20 for the game. He makes us better football players just by making
04:23 us better thinkers. You know, we all physically talented, but if
04:26 you can't think about the game situation and know what you can
04:30 and can't do while you're out there, you're gonna struggle.
04:31 So, I mean, being in year 12, having a coach that I can learn
04:35 so much from, that's one that's a blessing.
04:37 Do you sense that he's more comfortable being the head guy
04:41 than he was just starting out?
04:43 I don't think he was. I never saw if he was uncomfortable. I
04:46 never saw it. I think he's been, you know, he's been here
04:51 before, you know, he's he's had a head coach job before. And,
04:56 you know, now, I think any, you know, uncomfortable, I feel like
05:02 that's us as players to take that off of, you know, we got we
05:04 got a talented defense, we got a talented offense, and it's for
05:08 us to be in the right position to go out and make plays. And
05:11 one thing I know, like having him as a defensive coordinator
05:14 for all these years, when we're playing good, it helps him be
05:17 more comfortable as a coach. It helps him, you know, go deeper
05:21 into his bag and play the calm and be more calm in situations.
05:25 And so I think that's what helps take it to the next level. But
05:28 I haven't sensed any uncomfort with him for him to grow from
05:32 him. You know, I just I think it's a little more swagger on
05:35 him this year, just because a little more swag on all of us,
05:37 for reasons that are undisclosed.
05:40 You know, it can be tougher. I mean, like if a coach comes in,
05:45 you know, it's hard because the last coach got fired. It's like
05:48 a little less pressure in the beginning than it is if a coach
05:51 comes in to succeed. A very successful coach who just left.
05:54 It's a tough spot for a guy like that. I wonder how do you
05:57 feel like his temperament made him well equipped to handle
06:02 that? It's a little, you know, it's a little rare, right? For
06:04 a new coach to come in after a success, right after a
06:07 successful coach.
06:07 Well, firstly, he's not a new coach. You know, he's been doing
06:12 this. And like, we're not looking in the past. We're
06:16 looking forward. Scripture I've been studying in Joshua. It
06:20 talks about what God came to Joshua. He said, Moses, my
06:22 servant of dead, get up and let's get ready to take the
06:25 promise now. And that's how I look at it. Like he's our
06:27 leader. He's leading us forward. And that's what we wrote. And
06:31 we're looking in the rearview. We're looking at what's in front
06:32 of us. And man, as I said, we got reasons that are
06:36 undisclosed. Why we excited. But we're looking ahead. That's all
06:39 we're doing.
06:40 Why are those undisclosed?
06:41 Because everybody gonna see it when it's time.
06:45 I have trouble gauging like, vibe and attitude and stuff like
06:52 that and how real that is. And you know how much we can tell
06:54 from the sound. But is that is that something that is
06:57 legitimately being sensed around here that the confidence and the
07:00 swagger of this team?
07:01 I just feel like you if you if you believe in the Saints, and
07:05 you a fan of the Saints or you who that nation you should be
07:07 excited. That's all I say you should be excited.
07:10 Demar it is when a team goes out and spent $150 million in the
07:15 quarterback does that add to that? Does that change things
07:18 inside the building?
07:18 Yeah, I certainly believe so. You have to have really good
07:25 quarterback play to be successful in the league. I mean,
07:28 you look at the Super Bowl last year, I think, you know, there's
07:31 no question that those those are two of the best performing
07:33 quarterbacks in national football league. That's why
07:36 they're in that game. So it's gonna be hard to have a
07:38 conversation where you think you can make it far without great
07:41 quarterback play in his league. But being able to grab somebody
07:44 like Derek Carr, for me, for guys like myself, and Cam,
07:48 Tyron, our job is to take that burden off of him. You know, we
07:54 just want to give him a safe space to come in and be him.
07:57 Like, I think that was so pivotal for me when I came here
08:01 is I didn't step into an organization where I felt like I
08:04 had to be the guy. It was so many pieces and so many leaders
08:06 that were in a place like all I had to go out and do is play
08:09 great football. And I put on some of my best tape and I've
08:12 ever came, you know, had some of my best years here. And I think
08:16 the same could be the case for him. And so he's been a
08:19 phenomenal football player, but we don't want him to come in and
08:22 think he has to carry the load. Like we just want you to just
08:24 come in and do you. This is a safe place. This is a refuge.
08:27 And when that time is we put it on your back, it'll happen. Just
08:30 like I didn't necessarily ask for it to be on my back or be
08:33 one of the leaders. It transitioned into that. When I
08:36 came in, I was just trying to play. And I knew I could bring
08:39 some value. And I think he knows he can come in and bring some
08:41 value. So but but but certainly that plays a huge role.
08:44 What, now you've had a couple months to be his teammate,
08:48 right? What's really stood out about him as a teammate, as a
08:51 quarterback, whatever?
08:54 Number one, I think he's a he's a team guy. And he's a
08:59 relational guy. And he's a servant leader. So he leads on
09:05 the field, he takes command of the offense. He gives guys lined
09:09 up, he's communicating with receivers, he know how to put
09:12 everybody in position. And he knows how to get the ball to
09:14 different guys in their strength. But also, he's a
09:17 relational guy. So in the locker room, he's having face
09:20 time with his own line, he's having face time with his his
09:23 receivers, he's at face time with running back, he spends
09:25 time talking with the defense, me him talking almost every day.
09:27 And so I think I think that's huge. And anytime you can get
09:33 another kingdom man in the locker room, it's gonna be huge.
09:36 I think he leaves with his faith out front. And that's one of the
09:39 most encouraging things that I've seen.
09:42 Bye.