Katherine TerrellESPN Staff Writer Oct 16, 2023, 6:49pm ET4 minutes read
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METAIRIE, La. — Saints quarterback Derek Carr said he apologized to offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael for a sideline outburst in the fourth quarter of New Orleans’ 20-13 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Carr appeared to gesture in frustration as he left the field toward the end of the game and spoke to Carmichael on the sideline. In a video of the encounter that appeared on social media, Carr briefly spoke to Carmichael, removed his helmet and then gestured toward the end zone after Carmichael walked away.
“I apologized to Pete on the plane,” Carr said Monday. “I spoke to Pete, but I didn’t talk about Pete. Pete and I know exactly what I was talking about and why. When the game is on the line, you need to keep track of every detail of your task. And I was a little upset about some of these things. It had nothing to do with Pete, he just happened to be the one who came up to me when I was a little angry.
Carr admitted he was “angry” after the game. The Saints totaled 430 yards of offense, but went 0-for-3 in the red zone and missed two field goals. Carr acknowledged that there were communication issues that led to some trips coming to a standstill.
“Until we come to an agreement, there will be hard feelings,” Carr said.
Carr said he spent Sunday night and Monday morning talking to receivers Rashid Shaheed, Michael Thomas and Chris Olave to try to resolve some of the issues.
“We corrected things, you just don’t want to correct them after a loss,” Carr said. “And that’s why we all take responsibility when someone points the finger at us and when we deal with each other constructively.” [they] I can’t stand it, it’s because of them as a person. We need to be able to sit at the table and have a conversation. We need to be able to do these things and move forward. It’s been super positive so far.”
Carr wasn’t alone in his frustration with a lack of attention to detail. Linebacker Demario Davis, a team captain, addressed the team after the game and asked everyone to look in the mirror and ask if they were giving enough.
Carr said Davis asked, “Did you do what you did last week, this week?” Or did you just have too much fun this week?”
Davis downplayed the speech Monday, saying he was just trying to send an encouraging message to the team, but it clearly resonated with Carr and running back Alvin Kamara.
Kamara said the preparation and sacrifice of players like himself, Davis, Cameron Jordan, Carr and Thomas is clear, but he can’t speak for everyone on the team. Only each individual knows his true level of performance, he said.
“I don’t know what everyone else is doing to prepare, but there’s a certain type of sacrifice you have to make to get out here and play at a certain level, an elite level. I just hope everyone does,” Kamara said.
Kamara said the message was given in the hope that everyone would make the same sacrifice every week.
“I think Demario said it a little flippantly, but it needs to be elaborated,” Kamara said. “Because we constantly have this conversation about preparation and guys having to execute this and that. The question is, “Okay, if it doesn’t happen, what’s the next conversation?” Because you can’t say it all the time.”
As the Saints host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night, Kamara wants Davis’ message to continue to resonate.
“Everyone needs to be able to raise their hand and say, ‘You can count on me,'” Kamara said. “Maybe that has to be the message. Can I count on you? If you can’t put your hand up and say you’re going to do whatever you need to do to be ready and we can count on you to play and give it your all, then… that’s where we have to start.”
The message in the locker room before and after the game was that everyone should do their job or someone else will.
“I think everyone got it, everyone heard it and everyone [is going to implement that]. And then the people who don’t do that, just like that [coach Dennis Allen] said there are hungry guys in this league,” defensive tackle Khalen Saunders said. “Everywhere in the league, just on this team, on the practice squad. “Everywhere you look there are people who are ready, and if that doesn’t motivate you, maybe you don’t need to be here.