New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Junior Galette (93) emerges from the smoke for the start of a NFL football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Buffalo Bills in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La. Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. (Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON)
Saints pass rusher Junior Galette spoke for the first time since he remarked last week that he preferred his current defensive teammates over ones he previously played with. He named two former teammates in his comments: linebacker Jonathan Vilma and pass-rusher Will Smith, who helped the Saints win Super Bowl XLIV the season before Galette arrived in New Orleans.
The comments provoked a strong reaction in news and social media. On Friday, five days after Carolina beat the Saints (5-8) by 31 points, Galette spoke to reporters again:
-Galette said he is day-to-day after missing practice Thursday and Friday due to a knee issue. “It feels better today than it did yesterday.”
(Are you surprised how your comments blew up?)
“It’s the media. Everything blows up in the media. it is what it is.”
(How it blew up on Twitter?)
“I haven’t really been on Twitter since then, so I don’t really know how it blew up. I don’t really know. I am just here trying to get better each day and try to be the best right now. That’s all that matters me.”
(Did you get any feedback or backlash inside the locker room about your comments?)
“Backlash? I wouldn’t say any backlash.”
(What about feedback?)
“Yeah, I definitely got some feedback. I get feedback from most interviews I do. So it’s nothing new. … I get feedback from most interviews I do. It’s nothing new. All I’m focused on is (the Saints’ Monday night game at) the Bears right now and trying to get this win.”
(Has this been a different atmosphere this week than any other you’ve been around?)
“It’s hard to say. We haven’t lost this many games I feel like since I’ve been here, or consecutive home games. [NOTE: The loss against Carolina was the fourth-straight the Saints had at the Mercedes-Superdome. The Saints hadn't lost four games straight in New Orleans since 1999.] So I think that’s probably what the main problem is. We’re losing. We’re not winning. So … not everybody is happy and joyful when you’re losing. It’s a business of winning. It’s a fun game, but it’s a serious business, so we have to win games.”
(What’s missing?)
“I don’t have the answers. I know that for a fact. I don’t have the answers. And just all I can do is go out there and give 100 percent and just try to — if someone’s down — try to lift them up as much as I can. You know — just be a leader on this team.”
(Are y’all shell-shocked after last week?)
“I wouldn’t say shell-shocked. But it’s the NFL. If you don’t come out and play your A-game and make mistakes, I feel like if the opposing team is on their A-game, you can get exposed. It’s the NFL. … I saw (2-11) Oakland beat (7-6 San Francisco) the other day. So I’m not really shell shocked. You have world-class athletes on both teams.”
(Are you ready to go out there and hit somebody?)
“Of course. Anytime you lose, you’re ready to get out there like, ‘Man …’ You play a Sunday game, you want to go out there on Monday and try to correct some of the mistakes you made.”
(Moreso this week?)
“Anytime you lose, you feel the same, you feel terrible. You try to get over it … and try not to think about it after 24 hours. But all week, you’re thinking about, ‘That was embarrassing,’ regardless. You just want to get out there and get this win out the way. That’s all that matters.”
(What was the most important thing you got out of the feedback from your teammates after your remarks last week?)
“My teammates will always have my back. That’s about it. They always have my back regardless of what’s going on outside the world. The locker room’s always going to have my back. We’re going to have each other’s back.”