Kamara: Not used to losing, must regain 'swag'

METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints moving backmost Alvin Kamara said helium needed to say thing to his teammates aft their nonaccomplishment Sunday due to the fact that helium didn't similar wherever the mentality of the squad was headed.

Instead, helium encouraged them to "get their swag back" and regain their pridefulness aft a unsmooth commencement to the play capped by the 42-34 nonaccomplishment to the Arizona Cardinals.

Kamara said helium has been connected immoderate of the champion offenses successful the league during his six seasons successful New Orleans, and 1 communal thread was the players' cognition and confidence. He wasn't seeing that successful this team, which has fixed the shot distant much than immoderate squad successful the league and is 1 of the astir penalized arsenic well.

"Even erstwhile we were down, it was ne'er similar we were looking astatine the score," Kamara said of the Saints successful past seasons. "It was like, 'Well, each right, s---, let's spell play football.' ... We haven't truly been playing similar that. It's been ... conscionable of a small spot of a panic, a small spot of a, 'Oh s---, we're down.' Like man, we don't play similar that. I inactive don't person that benignant of mentality."

Kamara said the timing of his code felt close aft a frustrating loss.

"You travel retired of a crippled you consciousness similar you should person won, you benignant of person immoderate mistakes that outgo america the crippled and you don't consciousness good," Kamara said. "It's casual to benignant of spell successful there, and it's like, that quiet. That quiescent successful the locker room, waiting for idiosyncratic to accidental something. I consciousness similar you person a batch of those moments, but I conscionable felt compelled to accidental something, truthful I got what I had to get disconnected and I near it astatine that."

When asked wherefore helium was motivated to speech to the team, Kamara's reply was quick.

"Because! It was annoying. I'm sick of that. I'm not utilized to losing," Kamara said. "Nothing successful beingness erstwhile it comes to me, I deliberation personally, says 'loser.' You cognize what I'm saying? ... Even though we've had ... each these injuries and each that, I inactive consciousness similar we tin overcome. So erstwhile I consciousness similar we mightiness not beryllium putting our champion ft guardant to bash that, that's erstwhile I get frustrated. And that's erstwhile I'm like, 'Alright, sprout ...'

"It does truthful overmuch to pb by example, but sometimes radical gotta accidental s---. So I felt similar I had to accidental something. ... What I said, it wasn't maine talking astatine people. It was like, 'Shoot, clasp maine accountable, too.' If you don't spot maine with that swag and that vigor and that pridefulness I'm talking about, past archer maine and telephone maine out. Because I'm going to bash the aforesaid happening to everybody connected the field. Because I cognize what it takes to beryllium what we privation to be.

"The past six years ... we've been good. And we've been capable to flooded it and we've been capable to beryllium a apical discourtesy successful the league successful these past mates of years. So that's what I privation to get backmost to. And conscionable saying that I consciousness like, that benignant of opened immoderate eyes. Dudes know. People know. But sometimes you request a small aftermath up."

Kamara utilized penalties arsenic an example. If cipher corrects 1 punishment successful signifier 1 day, it tin easy spiral into the games. He said that's wherefore helium told his squad that everyone should clasp one another accountable, and helium thinks his connection has resonated successful the days since the game.

"In the assemblage that we're in, we cognize ... what's atrocious and what's good, what's close and what's not," Kamara said. "Sometimes it's benignant of similar ... it's noticed. But erstwhile cipher speaks connected it, it benignant of gets swept nether the rug, adjacent if it's little."

Kamara said the imperishable power to backmost Andy Dalton implicit Jameis Winston mightiness supply immoderate stability, and he's assured they person the pieces successful the locker country to get things done.

The Saints are lone 1 crippled retired of archetypal spot successful the NFC South.

"Everybody knew what [Drew Brees] was to this team, to this city. He's gone," Kamara said. "I'm going to beryllium gone astatine immoderate point. DA's gonna beryllium gone astatine immoderate point. Cam Jordan, Demario Davis gonna beryllium gone astatine immoderate point. It don't mean that shot stops for the New Orleans Saints. It's gonna support going. Every twelvemonth it's gonna beryllium an evolution.

"... Just due to the fact that 9 [Brees] isn't here, that don't truly mean nothing. ... He's not successful determination anymore. So it's conscionable different. The radical successful this locker country are the ones that person got to measurement up and pb and volition this squad to bash what we privation to do."