New Orleans Saints Linebacker Demario Davis
Conference Call with New Orleans Media
Monday, September 23, 2019

I'm going to apologize if you already answered this, but what was the genesis of your pregame speech?
"Drew (Brees) texted us the night before, pretty much just wishing us good luck in the game and letting us know that he's praying for us. He texted us that night and then that morning I thought about it. I said, well, (I wonder) if he'd want me to do it for him. He said, 'you've got to get them hype!' When he said that, I knew what it was going to be. That's kind of sacred ground. That's a special moment for us so I knew it was important, but I felt like I could do it to."

Did you have it prepared like the night before or was it really spontaneous?
"It was really spontaneous because he texted us the night before and I didn't really think about it the night he texted us and he was like, wish you guys well. I slept on it and it was kind of a random pick a little bit, but then that morning and when I woke up I said, 'well, I guess he's not going to be there.' And I was like, 'okay, what's going to happen with speech?' So I just asked him if he wanted me to do it because I was kind of feeling like him sending that text, he kind of wanted one of us to do it, but he didn't ask. So I just asked and he was like, 'yeah, go get them hype.' I was like, okay, I'll hold it down while he's gone."

Have you had a chance to go back and watch it?
"Yes, I've watched it a couple of times."

How impressed were you?
"It went better than I could have had imagined it going. I think my teammates kind of did a big job of helping me get fuel. I could tell they were kind of enhancing my hype while I was giving it."

Now this extra added responsibility, is that going to feel a little pressure to come up with something different every week?
"I set that bar pretty high. We'll see how it goes from here."

Overall, defensively how do you feel about you guy's performance yesterday? You got a few fourth down stops. You got the turnover for a touchdown. You guys held them to 27-7 for a good portion of the game. How do you feel about the overall defensive performance yesterday?
"We knew it was going to be a physical game. A big part of it was being able to get out (them) of the run game and then trying to play complementary football and get out early on them because what they want to do is kind of grind you down and be able to run the ball in the fourth quarter. We just kind of accepted that challenge. It was good. On fourth down we were able to get some stops because they wanted to kind of be an aggressive team and just kind of, like I said, wear you down. So being able to get some big stops in the run game on third and fourth down (and) being able to get pressures on those fourth downs and get off the field was huge. The turnover for a touchdown, we kind of got robbed of one last week so we kind of had a feeling we'd have a good opportunity to get one. That was a huge punch out by Eli (Apple) and Vonn (Bell) taking it to the crib. Anytime you get a turnover for a touchdown it's a trump card. So that was big."

How different was it for you not having Alex (Anzalone) out there with you?
"He's an important part of what we do, but it's a next man up league. We've got a more than capable room. Anybody can sort of step in and we're confident in our room. Anybody can go out there and do a good job at LB. We definitely miss him, but it's part of the game."

When did you get a sense that you all were going to play that way? Did you feel like it during the week or did you feel it right after the punt return for the touchdown by Deonte Harris? Right at kickoff? When did you get a sense that you all were going to have that kind of game?
"We knew based on watching the tape that they were heavy team, how their team is built with all those big offensive linemen and very powerful backs and Russell (Wilson) being more of a game manager, that's what they want to do. They want to grind you down. So we kind of knew all week, especially later in the week, that it was going to be a physical game. So we just kind of got our mind right for battle."