New Orleans Saints Linebacker Demario Davis
Video Call With New Orleans Media
Thursday, September 23, 2020

How concerning are some of the penalties from the first two games?
"I think at the end of the day, you got to find ways got to get off the field on third down when you don't get off the field on third down, they (opponents are) able to extend drives. So you just got to find a way to get off the field on third down."

Was that film session hard to watch?
"Yeah, it was hard. We didn't do a lot of good things. We were average at best at stopping the run and didn't a good job stopping the pass, didn't get off the field on third down, weren't good in the red zone, didn't create enough takeaways. You have to give the Raiders credit. They did a lot of good things. They did good things and we weren't able to stop them."

Last year you guys lost to the Rams in Week Two, the year before Tampa Bay in the season opener, you know you are good and capable of going on a run. How do you balance your confidence in your unit versus waiting for it to happen?
"I think regardless of when it happens, when you take a loss, you have to learn from it. It's just like winning, when you when you win, you don't get caught up in in the winning, you just prepare and get ready to get better and go forward the next week the same with losing. You have to turn the page and correct mistakes and get going. I think the biggest thing is what the good teams do is not let one loss turn into two. And so the best way to get that a sour taste out of your mouth is to get a victory. We've got a good challenge in front of us and we have to find a way to get that done."

You mentioned the third downs, did you find that to be more technique-related than anything, those struggles?
"You just give them credit, they did a good job on third down, they are good third down offense, they were a good third down offense last year. They did a good job of staying in front of the chains and creating a lot of third and one and third and two situations and so and when they got in them, they executed it better than we did. So you just have to give them credit. You got to find a way to get off with this, taking the ball away, sacking the quarterback, getting a pass deflection, stopping the run, whatever the case is, you just got to find a way to get off the field"

Does the short week make it more challenging to fix these things having one less day to work on fixing them?
"Preparation is the same, regardless you got three days of solid work to be able to get in. In those days, you typically have a plan and a strategy of how you're going to get those things accomplished. And so as pros in this business, you find a way to get it done."

Do you almost want to get back on the field quickly to get that taste out?
"Yes, the only way that the taste leaves is by winning and then you are able to move forward. And so you still got things that we have to do to prepare for this opponent, the next opponent and like I said, it's a tough challenge coming in. We have to be on top of our game to play well."

Moving on to Green Bay, how do you prepare for a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers so quickly?
"He's one of the top quarterbacks in the game. It makes it very challenging, playing at a high level for a long time. So you just got to understand what they do well, try to limit that it's not just Aaron Rodgers, one of the top receivers in the game (Davante Adams), one of the top running backs in the game (Aaron Jones), very explosive offense, just a whole cast of other great players on the team. It's gonna be a challenge for us and it's going to be a challenge to prepare for them and be ready, but come Sunday we'll put it out against theirs."

You talk about it being a challenge. In the media we use terms like statement wins or benchmark game, is this something like that? A statement on national tv, same record as you guys last year, two of the top teams out of the NFC?
"It's a tough challenge, they have proven to be one of the top teams in our league, year I and year out, led by a phenomenal quarterback. It is certainly going to be a challenge for us. But I think it's the most important game, because it's the next game."

How would you say their points score total so far is relavent and in what ways is it not?
"They have a very explosive offense, they have a lot of weapons and can get the ball to people in a lot of different ways and so it makes it challenging. We have good guys on our side as well, come Sunday, our guys have to be better than their guys."