Tag: speech

WATCH: Demario Davis addresses Saints pregame huddle for maybe the last time in 2023

WATCH: Demario Davis addresses Saints pregame huddle for what may be the last time in the 2023 season

The New Orleans Saints have underachieved this year, but you can’t put the blame on Demario Davis. The veteran linebacker has continued to step up when his team has needed him — proving yet again why he’s such a valuable leader in the locker room. He leads by example and works hard to elevate those around him.

And on Sunday, Davis delivered his traditional pregame speech to his huddled teammates for what may be the final time during the 2023 season. The Saints will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the archrival Atlanta Falcons. A win won’t clinch a playoff berth either, but the roads to the postseason all start there. Hopefully Davis and his Saints teammates can do enough to win the day and see if their season will keep going.

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WATCH: Dennis Allen addresses the victorious Saints locker room after Week 17

WATCH: Dennis Allen addresses the victorious Saints locker room after Week 17 vs. Buccaneers

It’s not often we get a look inside the New Orleans Saints locker room, but the team shared head coach Dennis Allen’s postgame speech after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Allen gathered the team around and praised their effort in practice before handing the microphone over to Demario Davis.

And Davis brought in his own special guest: veteran safety Johnathan Abram, who got the starting nod at free safety while rookie draft pick Jordan Howden was dealing with an illness. And Abram’s words were powerful.

Abram thanked his teammates for their support in a big spot and urged them to keep perspective about what’s next: competing for a win in the regular season finale. He acknowledged that the playoffs are still just out of grasp but made it clear he’s going to push to reach the postseason, and by all accounts that’s something the locker room can agree on.

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WATCH: Dennis Allen addresses the Saints locker room after Week 15 Giants win

WATCH: Dennis Allen addresses the Saints locker room after Week 15 win over the Giants

Dennis Allen had a bit of a pep in his step after taking down the New York Giants on Sunday. The New Orleans Saints head coach addressed his victorious locker room in the minutes after the final whistle, expressing his appreciation for the total team win — while keeping focus on what’s next.

The season isn’t over. All three games left on the regular season schedule are critically important as the Saints compete for the NFC South title. But it’s worth taking time to celebrate success.

Allen turned the podium over to team captain Demario Davis, who emphasized the importance of preparing for Thursday night’s game with the Los Angeles Rams. It’s never easy to play on a short week, much less flying cross-country to do so, knowing a playoff team is up next. But that’s the challenge. It’s the assignment. And the Saints are doing everything they can to be ready for it.

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WATCH: Dennis Allen addresses Saints locker room after their win over the Colts

WATCH: Dennis Allen addresses Saints locker room after their win over the Colts

It’s always good to see a victorious New Orleans Saints locker room. The team shared a look into their postgame celebrations after Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, including a speech from head coach Dennis Allen.

“Congratulations to everybody in this room. That was a good team that we played,” Allen said, pacing the room. “And that was a good team win that we had. And everything didn’t go exactly like we wanted it to all the time. We had to overcome a little bit of adversity at times. But that’s what good teams do. They overcome adversity when it hits.”

And the Saints did that. They overcame a 10-point deficit in the second quarter for the first time this season and just the second time with Allen at head coach; in eight other games, that proved enough to knock them out. Hopefully it’s the start of an upswing for them.

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Dennis Allen says Ronald Curry addressed offense at halftime vs. Jaguars

Dennis Allen says Saints passing game coordinator Ronald Curry addressed the struggling offense at halftime vs. Jaguars

It’s no secret that the New Orleans Saints offense didn’t do enough with the opportunities they were given on Thursday night — especially in the first half, when they managed to score just six points against a couple of Jacksonville Jaguars touchdowns.

They went into halftime facing a steep deficit in a high-stakes situation. The team needed leaders to step up. And Saints head coach Dennis Allen shared a message from passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry after the break.

“It’s all about execution,” Allen told Amazon Prime Video sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung. “It’s like R.C. said in the locker room to the offense, ‘Let’s go out there and make plays that we’re capable of making.’ That’s what it’s about.”

Now, that doesn’t exactly sound like a big rah-rah speech or fire-and-brimstone sermon, but it’s notable that Curry was so vocally involved. Saints fans have been calling for Curry to have a shot calling plays instead of offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael early and often this season. Curry has been repeatedly spoken of highly by other members of the coaching staff and he’s called plays in each of the last two preseason series, so he has some experience.

The offense might not be better with Curry at the controls, it’s theorized, but it can’t be worse. Maybe Curry is more involved already than we’d be led to believe. Or maybe Allen’s comments shouldn’t warrant such a deep dive.

What’s important is that the team do what they can to win this Jaguars game, and Allen has a list of areas they can improve in the second half: “We’ve got to win situational football. Third down, red zone, we’ve got to be able to score points. We’ve got to be able to convert on third down, we’ve got to be able to kick a field goal. I mean, it’s the little things like that we’ve got to be able to do to give ourselves an opportunity to win a game.”

Facing a two-score deficit and the threat of a losing record for the first time this season, it’s obvious that pressure is building for Allen and his staff. This isn’t the outcome the Saints expected when they hired him last year or pursued his choice of quarterback this offseason. He’s running out of time to return the results they anticipated.

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WATCH: Demario Davis gets the Saints ready to take on the Packers

WATCH: Demario Davis gets the Saints ready to take on the Packers

The New Orleans Saints hit the jackpot when they signed Demario Davis as a free agent back in 2018. Not only does he lead the team on the field, but has taken over the role from Drew Brees in delivering the pregame hype speech.

Now, as the team gets ready to take on the Green Bay Packers, Davis prepares them yet again by getting the emotions pumping. This is a big game for the Saints as they try to get off to an illustrious 3-0 start while fending off a Packers team that is coming off of a one-point loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Rookie running back Kendre Miller makes his debut for the Saints and will likely always remember his first pregame Davis speech.

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WATCH: Demario Davis gets his teammates going in Week 2 Saints pregame speech

WATCH: Demario Davis gets his teammates going in Week 2 Saints pregame speech

Leave it to Demario Davis to get his teammates motivated before a big-time game — for him, this is a ritual he enjoys every week. The New Orleans Saints’ Pro Bowl linebacker addressed his team before kickoff with the Carolina Panthers on Monday night to continue a tradition stretching back years.

It’s an emotional game, and Davis is an emotional player. Those around him feed off that energy. He’s been a major part of the team’s success in recent years and few teams can boast someone who matches his play to his pregame talk as well as he does. He and his defense have a lot on their hands while the Saints continue to figure things out offensively.

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WATCH: Jameis Winston delivers Saints pregame speech before preseason finale

WATCH: Jameis Winston delivers Saints pregame speech before preseason finale

Backup quarterback Jameis Winston delivered a passionate pregame speech before the New Orleans Saints’ preseason finale, emphasizing the importance of the moment — for the players dressing out in this exhibition game, a couple of plays could decide their football future.

Too many mistakes could doom them. Enough good plays could win a roster spot. Either way, Winston urged his teammates to feel gratitude for the opportunity. It’s not something that comes by often in their line of work.

Winston is starting Sunday night’s game with the Houston Texans with Derek Carr and the rest of the starting offense sidelined; he’ll give way to rookie draft pick Jake Haener, who is expected to close out the night. Winston knows as well as anyone how just a few broken plays could start a narrative or turn it around. Let’s see how he does in a big spot.

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The message of Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVII rally: ‘We ain’t done yet’

The overarching message of the Super Bowl LVII rally is that the #Chiefs and their winning ways are here to stay.

As Kansas City Chiefs CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt delivered the franchise’s third Lombardi Trophy to its rightful place next to those earned in Super Bowl IV and Super Bowl LIV, he told fans that he was thankful that this championship title didn’t take another 50 years.

He only meant it as a joke, but it’s also a reminder that they’ve built this team into a perennial winner. Seven consecutive AFC West wins, hosts of five consecutive AFC title games, and three Super Bowl appearances in the past four seasons, including their two wins. In a season where the team traded away an All-Pro receiver and replaced several aging veterans from their Super Bowl LIV and LV runs, there were a lot of questions and doubt about whether the Chiefs’ run of success could be sustained.

“We started the season with 24 new faces and 11 of them are rookies,” Chiefs GM Brett Veach said on Wednesday. “And many people thought this was a retooling year.”

Hoisting the Lombardi Trophy high, Veach told the crowd looking upon the stage at Union Station the following: “This is what a rebuilding year looks like, right here.”

He’s said it before and at that moment he was saying it again — so long as Patrick Mahomes is their quarterback, they always feel like they have a chance. The star quarterback himself seems to be just as bought into the notion too.

As he celebrated the Super Bowl LVII win with his teammates, he was thinking about those doubters, but he was also looking ahead to the future.

“Before we started this season, the AFC West said we were rebuilding,” Mahomes shouted at the crowd. “I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t know what rebuilding means. In our rebuilding year, we’re world champs. . . I just want to let y’all know that this is just the beginning, we ain’t done yet.”

And Travis Kelce, in his usual candor, delivered this same message in the most impactful way of all.

“Everybody’s asking if this is a dynasty,” Kelce proclaimed. “It’s been a dynasty. Y’all just ain’t noticed it until now.”

Get used to it Kansas City, because this team, they’re still only at the beginning of a long journey.

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WATCH: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ 2022 NFL MVP acceptance speech

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes delivered his MVP acceptance speech via pre-recorded message, but it should get you plenty fired up ahead of Super Bowl LVII.

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is officially your 2022 NFL Most Valuable Player. At just 27 years old, he’s earned his second career NFL MVP honor.

Mahomes is getting ready for Super Bowl LVII and didn’t accept the award in person despite being in Arizona where the NFL Honors ceremony was held. He instead shared a pre-recorded message accepting the award, thanking God, family, friends, coaches and teammates.

“First, I want to thank God for giving me this platform and putting so many amazing people around me to help support this dream I’ve had since I was a little kid,” Mahomes said. “Without him, none of this would be possible.

“To my wife Brittany, my baby girl Sterling and my son Bronze, this crazy life that we are living means nothing without y’all. Keeping me balanced and making me appreciate every single day. No matter how I feel coming home, y’all bring me joy and make me appreciate the time I get to spend with y’all. Thank you for always being there for me through my good times and my bad. Love y’all.

“To my family, my mom and my dad, my brother and sister, thank you for supporting me every day and telling me since I was a little kid to follow my dreams.

“To the Chiefs organization, Clark Hunt, Brett Veach, Andy Reid, the staff and most importantly my teammates. I would never be standing here today without y’all giving every day everything that we have together to go for the ultimate goal — the Super Bowl. Let’s continue to go for that dream this weekend.”

Mahomes also tweeted this clip out after the MVP win was announced.

Super Bowl LVII can’t get here soon enough.

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