Alvin Kamara turned some heads last week with his passionate postgame speech after the New Orleans Saints’ tough loss to the Arizona Cardinals, embracing his role as a team leader to stand up and address his teammates. And he backed it up in Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders, turning words into action to rack up 158 yards from scrimmage — scoring three touchdowns, two as a receiver and one as a runner. He was the sparkplug that ignited their 24-0 shutout win in Week 8.
His words and actions didn’t go unnoticed by the coaching staff. Saints head coach Dennis Allen praised Kamara after the game for stepping up in a big spot, telling ESPN’s Katherine Terrell “That’s what a leader does.”
The phrase everyone keeps circling back to (and that includes everyone from Allen to defensive captain Demario Davis) at Kamara’s insistence has been “swagger.” Kamara’s Saints career started off with a bang in one of the winningest eras of franchise history. He isn’t used to losing. He’s always strolled the sideline with swagger. But as Kamara noted after the Raiders game, “We had a nice performance right here. Swag ain’t shit if it’s not consistent.”
This can’t be the only game this season in which the Saints move the ball at will with their run game and stifle opponents with a relentless pass rush. Kamara’s point there is that they must keep this energy up and approach each week with the same intensity. It worked against Las Vegas. Let’s see if they can sustain it next week against the Baltimore Ravens.