Alvin Kamara Says He Implored Saints to 'Get Their Swag Back' After Cardinals Loss

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara is the best offensive player on the team, so he took it upon himself to say something to his teammates after their disappointing 42-34 loss to the Arizona Cardinals this past Thursday.

Kamara explained to reporters on Wednesday that the Saints need to adjust their mentality and "get their swag back," and that's why he gave a postgame speech to the team.

New Orleans fell to 2-5 as a result of Thursday's loss. The team has struggled with defense and turnovers, and it's also one of the most penalized groups in the NFL.

Kamara feels that the difference between this year's unit and other Saints teams from the past is the way they respond to adversity.

"Even when we were down, it was never like, we were looking at the score. It was like, 'Well, alright, s--t, let's go play football.' It wasn't a score thing, it wasn't like what the other team was doing thing. It's like, let's go out and execute, and ... we're gonna like the result," Kamara said. "I feel like, just honestly, we haven't really been playing like that. It's been like, we kind of, it's just of a little bit of a panic, a little bit of a, 'oh s--t, we're down.' Like, man, we don't play like that. I still don't have that kind of mentality."

The sixth-year running back appears to be taking on more of a leadership role, and he said he felt it was necessary to speak up after a disappointing loss.

"You come out of a game you feel like you should have won, you kind of have some mistakes that cost us the game and you don't feel good," Kamara said. "It's easy to kind of go in there, and it's like, that quiet. That quiet in the locker room, waiting for somebody to say something. I feel like you have a lot of those moments, but I just felt compelled to say something, so I got what I had to get off and I left it at that."

When asked directly why he felt motivated to speak to the team, Kamara gave a lengthy answer and said, in part, "It does so much to lead by example, but sometimes people gotta say s--t. So I felt like I had to say something. ... What I said, it wasn't me talking at people. It was like, 'Shoot, hold me accountable, too.' If you don't see me with that swag and that energy and that pride I'm talking about, then tell me and call me out. Because I'm going to do the same thing to everybody on the field. Because I know what it takes to be what we want to be."

The Saints will look to bounce back from their early-season disappointments when they face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.