00:00Ce dimanche soir dans le SNL, on est dans la visio du soir en compagnie d'un joueur des Jets.
00:05Il s'appelle De Mario Davis. Il joue linebacker et je suis très content de pouvoir discuter avec lui.
00:10De Mario, bonjour. How you doing?
00:12Bonjour, bonjour.
00:14What's up, my man? Are you OK?
00:17I'm blessed, bro.
00:18Happy to be talking to you. Listen, quick question. Have you ever been on French TV before?
00:24I think so. I think so.
00:26When I was playing with the Saints, we came over to Paris a couple of times.
00:31Of course, of course. That's the benefit of experience.
00:35And you know what? I was going to say, I mean, I'm super excited for you to be on the
00:39Jets again.
00:40But you left the Saints one year too soon. They're coming to Paris to play this year.
00:45Yeah, man. Yeah, I did. Everything happens in the right time.
00:50And man, you guys are going to have a great, great treat with the Saints playing over there in their
00:53game.
00:54Yeah, hopefully, for sure. Well, you know what? I'm sure you get enough experience now.
00:58Just call up the boss and have him bring the team to Paris next year.
01:03That's possible. You never know.
01:05We'll see about that. We'll see about that.
01:07All right, De Mario, I want to talk some football with you.
01:10You started playing in the NFL in 2012, a long time ago.
01:13How do you last so long in this thing?
01:15I am extremely blessed to be able to play this game for 15 years when the average career is less
01:24than three years.
01:27I think it's a testament, number one, to just the blessing of above.
01:32I'm a big man of faith and I definitely couldn't do it apart from God.
01:37And it's a commitment to getting better every year.
01:40I'm never riding on the season prior.
01:44I'm putting the work in to try to get better.
01:46I'm trying to be better in my 15th season than I was in my 14th season.
01:50And then how can I make sure that my body lasts and execute and moves in a way that allows
01:56me to execute and reach my goals?
02:00And I have an incredible team that has been around me that I see somebody on my team at least
02:07six days a week.
02:10And they make sure I'm right.
02:11They make sure I'm healthy.
02:12They make sure my body is primed and ready to go each and every Sunday.
02:15And we're just going to continue the process.
02:18I see that's super interesting what you're talking about, the amount of work you put in.
02:22Because, you know, here in France, lots of kids, you know, are dreaming about playing in the NFL someday.
02:28But it seems to them that the door is so hard to open.
02:32So what advice would you give a young kid in France who's trying to make it happen?
02:38Always be the hardest working person in the room from the time you're young.
02:42If you have a dream, hold on to it.
02:46And always be willing to outwork everyone around you, no matter what's going on.
02:51When I was young, I made up my mind that I wanted to go to the NFL in the fourth
02:56grade.
02:57And no matter what anybody told me, I believed in that dream.
03:00But I also put the work in.
03:03After practices in high school, I would be out there running sprints.
03:07I would get up on Saturday mornings.
03:09I would run stadiums, run S's in the stadium.
03:12When I got to college, I wasn't that strong.
03:15After everybody would leave the weight room, I'd be in there for hours after they were gone, building up my
03:19strength.
03:20When I didn't know how to study film, I wouldn't ask my coach, teach me how to study film.
03:25So for the young people, I would just tell them, be the hardest working person in the room and never
03:30stop believing in your dreams.
03:32You know, the NFL is getting bigger and bigger out here in France.
03:35But there are still lots of people joining us on the train, you know, from soccer or basketball or whatever.
03:40And could you, for those people, explain what your position as a linebacker does on the field?
03:47Yeah, so on defense, a linebacker at my position is pretty much like the quarterback on defense, responsible for calling
03:57in the play, to get everybody lined up.
04:00You get everybody on the front that's lined up.
04:03That's the defensive line.
04:05Then you get your secondary line on the back end for the coverage that's guarding all the wide receivers.
04:10And then your job is just to run wherever the football is and bring them to the ground.
04:14And because you're in the center of everything, you're probably in the middle of almost every play.
04:18General question about this Jets team.
04:20Like, you have so much experience.
04:22How do you feel about this specific team?
04:24Oh, I feel very confident about the team this season, really because of the amount of work that we put
04:29in.
04:30This team is really banked on putting in the work to create the results.
04:34From the time that we were in OTAs and training camp, we were really laying a foundation that was based
04:39on grit and work and making sure that we're prepared to execute each and every Sunday.
04:46And we have the talent to do it.
04:48We have the world where two and three players deep in every position.
04:53And we have a group that's committed to doing the work.
04:56And that's what we really take pride in, that our goal for the season is to be a feared football
05:03team.
05:03And the only way that we can be that is putting the work in each and every week.
05:08And that's what we're in the middle of right now.
05:10Some of the practices here, 15 years, these are some of the hardest practices that I've been a part of.
05:16And it's because of the mental strain and the strain that's on your body to make sure that you're performing
05:23at a high level and the competitiveness of it as well.
05:27So all of those things, the mental strain, the physical wear and tear on your body, and the competitive level
05:33of the practices, they're very challenging.
05:37But that work is what's needed for us to be what we want to get to.
05:41And that's what I'm confident in.
05:43Demario, finally, one last question.
05:46If there was one thing you could wish for in your career, what would it be?
05:52One thing I could wish for in my career is that the Jets play in France.
05:57That'd be awesome.
05:59There you go.
06:00We're going to wish for that.
06:01All right, man.
06:02That was a pleasure talking to you.
06:03Thank you so much.
06:04Merci beaucoup.
06:05Thanks for the time, man.
06:06Merci beaucoup.
06:07Bless you.
06:08You too.
06:08Bye-bye.
06:09Bye-bye.
06:10Bye-bye.
