Davon Godchaux – September 10, 2020
Thursday, September 10, 2020
DT Davon Godchaux
(We were kind of in our feelings or it was a conspiracy that you weren’t a captain. How did you take it?) – “I didn’t take it no type of way. It was a team vote. It’s what the players voted on; but I still feel like my leadership role is a big part of this team as a defensive lineman. Being my fourth year is coming on, I still feel like my leadership role is important. I’m just focusing on the team, just focusing on having a great season.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores talked this morning about in-game adjustments and how players might have a tendency to stretch the truth by saying ‘I got doubled on that play.’ Everyone comes off the field saying that. I’m curious, how difficult is it for you as a player to process and recall how a particular play went in the heat of the moment, and how do you escalate that knowledge and the concern of that play to the coaching staff?) – “I just try to look at it on the iPad when we get to the sideline. But in the game, I don’t worry about, ‘oh, I got double teamed,’ or this or that. I just try to look at it when the coaches come and say ‘hey, look at this play. I think you could be a little bit tighter. I think you can be a little bit more violent.’ I just look at it on the sideline and adjust to it. I don’t worry about it in-game because if I do, it will bother me on the next play. I just take it one play at a time.”
(What do you think football is going to look like tonight?) – “It will be straight. It will be crazy like going into New England on Sunday and seeing the game without no fans. It’s going to be crazy; but you’ve got to bring your own energy. That’s what – fans or no fans, I think each and every game, guys will have to bring their own juice. It’s going to be an interesting one on Sunday – not having fans for the first time, it’s going to be crazy; but hey, you’ve got to bring your own juice.”
(LB Kyle Van Noy said something to the same effect yesterday. He said without fans, it may not be a road game for you guys. He’s played in that stadium so many times before, it’s probably different for him; but how much do you guys really have to bring the juice for each other as teammates?) – “You see it in the bubble with the NBA. You see No. 1 seeds going down. There is no home-field advantage. We know we’re in New England, realistically; but at the end of the day, there are no fans, there is no crowd noise. I think they can do crowd noise in their stadium; but at the end of the day, there is no fans. Those fans make a big difference, but at the end of the day, who wants it more is the team that’s going to win the game.”
(Where do you guys feel the program is as far as the rebuild?) – (Laughter) “Rebuild? I wouldn’t call it a rebuild. I feel like a bunch of guys are hungry man. Me, myself, (Kyle) Van Noy coming from New England, ‘E-Rob’ (Elandon Roberts), Bobby McCain – you’ve got a lot of guys on this team. I think the whole 53-man roster, including the practice squad – they are giving us great looks at practice. A lot of people are hungry. A lot of people are ready to win around here so I’m excited about it. I’m excited about Sunday, the first game. You have a lot of rookies playing in their first NFL game with this whole corona pandemic. No fans. But at the end of the day, like I said, you have to bring your own juice. I’m excited for Sunday.”
(Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban said a lot of great things about DT Raekwon Davis. He also said the goal with him is to get the production to match the physical ability. When you’ve watched him these last five weeks, has he been someone who really wants to do well? Just your views after watching him up close the last couple of months.) – “I guess you guys just have to wait on Sunday to see him. It’s going to be interesting, just him growing in training camp each and every day with the play calls and things like that. Like Coach Saban said, he has great physical ability. He’s 6-7, 328 (pounds). He’s a big guy. That speaks for itself. I guess you guys have to stay tuned in on Sunday and see it.”
(LB Kyle Van Noy said yesterday that his goal is to help you guys win a playoff game for the first time in 20 years. Is that something you all as a team have talked about, circling that as a goal?) – “I’m just taking it one day at a time. Everybody has their different goals, but I’m just taking it one day at a time. I’m pretty sure each and every body is. You’ve got to win the first game to win one playoff game. We haven’t played the first game. We’ve got to win this one on Sunday. They all count just like a playoff game. You’ve got to win those to get to the playoffs. This week is going to be a big week against the New England Patriots. It’s a division game, so I’m very excited about it. Like I said, I’m just taking it one game at a time.”
(Coming into Year 4 for you now, this is your seventh game against the Patriots. They’ve got a lot of continuity up front with the guys you match up against, G Shaq Mason and C David Andrews and G Joe Thuney. How different is it for you to prepare for a team that you’ve seen so many times and guys you’ve gone up against so many times?) – “Don’t get lulled to sleep. I think a lot of people, when they see the same guy each and every time, ‘they’re like I know this guy. I’ve been playing against him for three to four years. I just see them on Sunday.’ That’s where a lot of people go wrong. I’m going to use the word of being complacent. Don’t get complacent. They have some great guys up front. They play together well as a team. At the end of the day, you just have to stay hungry and never get complacent. I know I’ve played those guys for going on four years. Everybody has an offseason, everybody either gets better or they get worse. I just kind of take that same approach each and every game.”
(I’ve got to challenge you on something you said – this franchise is not rebuilding?) – “Nah man, we’re trying to win. Hey, you all said last year we were tanking. You all said that last year we were tanking. I (have) never tanked a day in my life. I work too hard to tank. You see me out here in this 100-degree weather. I work too hard to tank. I’m not going to practice this hard to go out there on Sunday and lose. No way in the world. I work too hard to tank.”
(One guy that’s not going to be the same for the Patriots is the quarterback for the first time in maybe the majority of your life. Do you all have to remind yourselves that it’s not Tom Brady playing quarterback for the New England Patriots anymore?) – “I think somebody asked Coach (Bill) Belichick that one time. Tom, he moved on. I’m just kind of focusing on Cam Newton. At the end of the day, Tom did wonderful things for that franchise; but at the end of the day, we’re focusing on Cam Newton. We know he’s a superstar. At the end of the day, we’re focusing on him, locked in on him and his intangibles that he can do – run and pass the ball. I think it’s going to be interesting him playing in a new offense in New England. We’re just kind of locked in on him, just focusing on him.”
(I know you get excited going into any regular season; but compare the feeling this year when you guys brought in a lot of new players as opposed to last year when a whole lot of big name players actually headed out the door?) – “Last year it was guys you’ve been in training camp with, in OTAs, and they kind of got traded or whatever. It was kind of crazy; but at the end of the day, it’s a business. This is what we all signed up for. We know the protocol signing up to play football, signing up to play any professional sport. It’s a business. One day you may be here, one day you may be gone. At the end of the day, my advice to people in this league – new rookies coming in – is just being consistent. You’re always being evaluated, whether you’re taking a walk to the bathroom or going out on the practice field. I like to tell people, just always stay consistent with who you are, what you’re doing on the field and what you’re doing off the field. I kind of try to take that approach each and every day. Somebody is coming for your spot each and every day. I kind of take that same approach, whether I’m on the field or whether I’m off the field. I tell those rookies the same thing.”
(You mentioned defending QB Cam Newton earlier. How is it defending a guy who can throw the 60-yard deep ball and at 6-5, 250 pounds, can still try to run you over? How do you go about that as a defender, defending that type of guy?) – “I don’t listen to anybody when they said ‘Cam, he lost it.’ I look at it like this dude was an MVP in our league. This dude was a Super Bowl runner-up. He led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl. I don’t look at it like this guy lost it. Last time that I checked, he still can make every throw. He still can outrun people. I’m still taking that same approach on Sunday. He’s a professional. He gets paid just like I do. At the end of the day, he’s a professional in this league, so I kind of take that same approach. Don’t underestimate anybody. I’m taking that same approach to Sunday’s game.”
