Today we continue with the second half of our in-depth analysis of last weeks pre-season game against the Bengals. Here we go.

Saints Defense First Drive

• After Mehlhaff finally boots one into the endzone for a touchback the Bengals start from their own 20 yard line. Their first play is a run to the right side. Randall Gay makes a nice tackle coming in for support as the play only gains 3 yards.
• Another run up the right side and Chris Perry hits a big hole and gains 13 yards for the first.
• Ryan Fitzpatrick, now the quarterback, tries the left side but Harper and Porter are all over it. Nice coverage. Very un-Jason David like.
  
• The Bengals then try a run up the middle but Fujita does a great job stuffing it at the line.
  
• On third down Fitzpatrick completes one to Chatman who is in the gap between the line of scrimmage and the secondary. Vilma brings him down from behind just shy of the first down. Bengals punt.

Review: Glad to see the defense still looks good after the half. The run defense wasn't so hot but, and I can't believe I am going to say this, the pass defense came through for us. I think Vilma has been looking pretty good but he just does a lot of things that don't usually get noticed. I'm a fan. I think it would be safe to buy his jersey.

Saints Offense First Drive

• Saints take over at their own 28. Sit back and relax, because the Pierre Thomas extravaganza is about to begin. It starts with Thomas to the right side for 5 yards. The O-line (Nicks, Bushrod, Lehr, Strief) does an awesome job of making room and they actually force their will on the Bengals plowing them all to the right side. Had Reggie been out there, he might have actually cut it back to the left side and been gone, as there is no one there. I am starting to wonder if maybe the problem with the run game lies completely with the first team offensive line. 
• Brunell throws a quick one to the right to Meachem for 4 yards.
• Third down and two tight ends. Pierre tries the right side, gains the first down, sheds a tackle and spins away from a second before being taken down for a gain of 14.
• Play action. Brunell completes one over the middle to Terrance Copper. Pierre Thomas does a great job blocking in the backfield and keeping Keith Rivers away from Brunell. The kid does it all.
  
• They give it to Thomas again up the middle and he gains 9 yards after avoiding one tackle. To be fair, the tackling looks weak.
• Brunell is forced to roll left and overthrows Copper in the endzone on what seemed like an improvised play.
• Third and 1 as Pierre cuts it back to his right and up the middle for 4 yards and the first.
• Brunell hurrys a throw to Pierre Thomas who is covered. Pass incomplete.
• On second down Thomas takes it up the right side. He eludes one tackler, barely keeps his knee from hitting the ground, then fumbles the ball as he spins and falls down. Bengals recover.

Review: Ugh. Not that I think the fumble will really cause Payton any distrust, but everything was looking so good. Had that fumble not occurred, I think all Saints fans, myself included, would be up in arms about letting Pierre start and referencing this very drive to make our point. If Pierre is always going to fight to stay on his feet, then he needs to remember to hold on to the ball tight. Regardless, the drive looked good. Pierre looked better. By the way, I love it when Pierre uses his hand and puts it on top of a defenders head to push him out of the way as he passes him.

Saints Defense Second Drive

• Cincinnati gets the ball deep in their own zone. Perry tries the right side. Lance Schulters comes in and makes the nice stop for only 3 yards. Then proceeds to take a stupid 15 yards Uneccesary Roughness (classic movie) penalty.
• First and ten now from the Bengals 23 yard line. Chris Perry tries the left edge and guess who comes in with the nice tackle and the stop for no gain. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? It's Jason David!
• Fitzpatrick completes short over the middle for 4 yards. Troy Evans makes the quick tackle.
  
• Third down and Fitzpatrick throws a short  incompletion to Kenny Watson. Chris Reis was all over him with great coverage. Bengals...you know. Skyler Green gets nowhere on the return.

Review: This was actually a good showing for the defense, minus the penalty, particularly the secondary. They showed great run support on two plays and tight coverage on another. After going through this game in depth, I think this defense looked even better than everyone is giving them credit for. It was solid all around. Even Jason David. I am very impressed.

Saints Offense Second Drive

• Palko checks into the game now and starts from the Saints 33. The first play is a short dump off to Pierre Thomas over the middle for 5 yards. No hesitation going back to Thomas after the fumble.
  
• Palko checks down to Thomas on a flare to the left. With plenty of room to work with and nice blocks from Matt Lehr and Tim Duckworth, Pierre turns it into 25 yards up the sideline. He does that hand on helmet thing to another would be tackler. Watch for it, its funny! It's almost like he uses them for more speed as he pushes off of them.
  
• Meachem shows off his running ability on a reverse. He gains a respectable 13 yards.
• Palko takes too much time in the pocket and is sacked by Keith Rivers.
• 2nd and 18 as Palko completes a short one over the middle to Thomas for 3 yards.
• Palko tries Thomas again on a short dump off. Not much doing.
• Mehlhaff nails a 45 yarder. He then kicks a blooper to only the Bengals 16 yard line. He is visibly upset as he walks off.

Review: More awesomeness from The Flying Frenchman. The drive just stalled at the end as Palko couldn't find anything downfield. This offensive line deserves some credit for working hard and looking pretty solid out there. None of Thomas' success would exist without some good play from those guys. Mehlhaff shows some inconsistency. I don't think it is looking as good for Mehlhaff as it once was.

Saints Defense Third Drive

• After a false start, the Bengals have 1st and 15 from own 30 yard line. Jeff Rowe now takes over for the Bengals and tosses one quickly to the right. Aaron Glenn, looking great in run support, wraps him up quickly for a gain of only two.
  
• The Saints line flush Rowe out of the pocket and forces him to scramble right and throw it away.
• Rowe tries over the middle on a crossing route but Glenn is on top of him and breaks it up which is good because the Saints sent eight guys in to rush and didn't have much help in the secondary. There had to be someone else open downfield that Rowe just didn't see. Bengals punt and Skyler Green lets it bounce before fielding it and losing 4 yards. Not pretty.

Review: Gotta love three and out. More straight up solid play from the defense. This drive was all Aaron Glenn. There isn't a doubt in my mind that Glenn makes this team. He looks better and better every week. I don't think he will start but its great to know he's there. Honestly, seems like you take away Jason David, and this secondary doesn't look half bad. We should probably give it a little more time and observation though.

Saints Offense Third Drive

• Saints start from their 12 yard line and Palko throws a quick pass to Meachem to the right. He gets six yards as the defender drags him down by his pants, ala the Coppertone girl, as Meachem refuses to go down.
  
• Next is a hard run up the left side by Lynell Hamilton for six yards.
• Palko completes a pass to Lance Moore for 14 yards.
• 1st and ten now, as Palko throws a bad pass nowhere near Terrance Copper that almost gets picked off.
• Lynell Hamilton takes it up the middle for 7 yards. He looks very powerful. End of third quarter.
• On third down with 3 to go Hamilton takes it again, this time to the left side for 4 yards, picking up the first.
• Palko throws an interception on a deep pass intended for Terrance Copper. The throw was into double coverage.

Review: It would have been nice to see this drive continue. Hamilton was looking pretty impressive. As bad as I feel for Pierre Thomas and Aaron Stecker, I will feel even worse for Lynell Hamilton who will most likely not see any playing time with this team though he looks pretty good. I can't find anything in Palko to get excited about.

Saints Defense Fourth Drive

• We have to pick up this drive from 3rd and 7 since the broadcast team favored doing some piece on how Fujita would make the best Olympian over showing us the first two plays of the drive. And what a wonderful place to pick up from, as we're just in time to see the dynamic duo of Jason David and Josh Bullocks get beat on a 9 yard pass that keeps the drive alive. They were both right there and still couldn't make a play! How much longer must we suffer? Even on a night when everyone else is looking great, these two manage to suck. Who are we going to make fun of after Payton hopefully cuts these two?
• First down now and a short completion to the right side for three yards.
• Another Rowe pass to the right for 10 yards as Craft is no where near his receiver.
  
• After a Kenny Watson run for only two yards, Rowe dumps it off over the middle for 9 yards and a first down.
• On first down now and Bobby McCray shoots through the gap and gets the sack for -8 yards. I can't say enough about how fast he is.
  
• Rowe completes a short dump off to Kenny Watson but the Saints react quickly and McCray and Harris stop it for -1 yards.
• More pressure from the line again as McCray, who is forced to take the long route behind the quarterback, doesn't give up and eventually beats his man deep in the backfield and gets to Rowe to disrupt the pass. Bengals punt.
  

Review: I think this drive is very telling. This was the Bengals longest drive of the night play-wise. Bullocks, Craft and David, who all saw a lot of time in the Saints secondary last year were all out there against the third team and still having trouble. What does that say? Bobby McCray saves their butt however as he was a monster on the last three plays. Can't wait to see what he brings this season.

Saints Offense Fourth Drive

• Saints start at their six. Hamilton runs for two yards.
• Palko looks good as he avoids a safety and shows some nifty moves eluding would be tacklers and running for 9 yards. A personal foul call takes the Saints to their 32 yard line.
• After a botched snap, Palko fires a bullet to the right side for Buck "Naked" Ortega for 17 yards.
• Hamilton then makes a short three yard catch on the left sideline.
• Palko goes to the left side again and finds Meachem for 7 yards and a first down.
• The Bengals' Angelo Craig notches a sack for -4 yards. Duckworth failed to pick up LB Corey Mayes who broke through the line, caused disruption and barely missed the sack himself.
  
• A draw to Hamilton up the middle for six yards.
• Palko, looking solid on this drive, fires another rocket, this time to Todd Blythe, over the middle for a gain of 15.
• After scrambling left Palko throws a short 6 yarder to Hamilton. Holding on Bushrod.
  
• 1st and 20 now as Palko throws another dump off to Hamilton who has room to turn it into 16 yards.
• Palko throws two straight into tight coverage. The first one should probably have been picked off.
• Saints go for it on fourth down but Palko is forced to scramble to the left and throw it away.

Review: After a nice start to this drive by Palko, the Bushrod penalty and some poor passing decisions kill it. Tyler is just too inconsistent for my taste. A couple of nice hard passes mixed in with poor decisions and botched snaps. That's just not gonna cut it. Bushrod has been the culprit on quite a few penalties this pre-season and really needs to fix that.

Saints Defense Fifth Drive

• Carson Palmer's younger brother Jordan comes in to lead the charge. First play is a run up the middle for a gain of two.
• Palmer completes a short one to the right but Chris Reis is right there to bring him down quickly.
  
• Scrambling left, Palmer gets the needed 2 yards for the first down.
  
• He follows that play up with an interception to Lance Schulters to end the Bengals night. Jason David, whose receiver it was, was behind the play, but Lance, probably figuring David wasn't going to do anything, decided to jump the route and pick it off.
  

Review: Good sign from Schulters. Maybe he is the help this team needs over the top. He was very aggressive on the interception as Jason David stood there and watched. Literally!

Saints Offense Sixth Drive

Nothing important to report about the final drive. Lynell Hamilton runs for 2, 3 and 3 yards to run out the clock.

That does it. I was very happy with the teams performance after watching the game the first time. Having taken a closer look I have to say I am ever happier. There were a lot of good signs and we can only hope that this is a better representation of what we can expect from the defense and the team in general this season.

"Reality Bites" was the appropriate theme of yesterday's practices, despite the "Edge" theme on the coaching staff's shirts today. I think we all need to come back down to earth and shake the Shockey hangover.

Consider some of the lowlights of the day:

• Reggie dropped a few punt return attempts. This, of course, comes after expressing his desire for a larger part at that position.
  
• Marvin Mitchell easily intercepted two Brees passes.
• Pierre Thomas fell flat on this face tripping over pads.
• Shockey dropped two passes early afternoon, one for an interception.
• DeMario Pressley and Jon Stinchcomb struggled.
• Andy Alleman had a very bad practice. Larry Holder says he got beat on nearly every snap.
• And of course...Jason David got burnt by Lance Moore.

It's not all bad of course, and I am being uncharacteristically harsh, but after all of the excitement and high hopes, today's performances should have sobered us up a bit. There is still much work to be done. Shockey's arrival seemed to have jump-started the hype machine and that is the last thing we need. 

Great news about Tracy Porter yesterday. He wasted no time getting back out on the practice field. All thats left is to get Ellis back out there. It inevitably comes down to Glen Dorsey. Whenever he signs, look for Ellis to sign within 24-48 hours of that, if not sooner.

With Eric Johnson gone, that leaves Billy Miller, Mark Campbell, Buck Ortega and Ronnie Ghent fighting it out. Seems Ortega and Ghent would have to really impress to win out a spot over the other two guys. Johnson seems like a good guy and I hope he gets a chance to catch on with another team.

Wide receiver continues to be one of the positions most often talked about. Arrington is still impressing people. He and Devery were participating on special teams. It may very well come down to that. Meachem has still been fairly impressive as well. As I have mentioned earlier, Colston, Meachem and Arrington all have great wide receiver builds and are very tall. They could be scary together. Skyler Green is struggling at receiver and his special teams play will probably be his only ticket in.

The kicker battle has started to heat up and Mehlhaff is in the lead. After both he and Gramatica both made two kicks, Mehlhaff barely made his third one, while Martine missed his. I think there is a good chance Mehlhaff could win this job outright. And with the depth at other position like wide receiver, it would seem a waste of a roster spot keeping two kickers. Expect only one of them to stay.

Here is the rest of what happened yesterday:

• McKenzie, Bullocks and Johnson did not practice.
• Shockey was without pads in the afternoon. Maybe that was affecting his catching ability.
• McAllister rode a bike in the afternoon.
• The team worked a bit on special teams in the morning.
  
• We saw a little bit of the kickers. Gramatica went 2/3 while Mehlhaff went 3/3. Let the battle begin.
• Jammal Brown was still out of town for a funeral.
• Jermon Bushrod filled in very nicely in Browns place. Very encouraging news there.
• Carl Nicks looked very good out there working with the second team. He made his case for player of the day.
• Carlos Robinson tweaked a hammy. This could definitely hurt his chances.
• Coach Payton was throwing balls during practice.
• Ed Orgeron is very loud on the field.
• The theme of training camp seams to be "The Edge."
  
• Skyler Green is going to have to make this team on special teams ability.
• Tuff Harris had the play of the morning with a very nice interception.
  
• The two big plays of the afternoon were back to back. Chris Reis, who stood out today, and made a sweet bobbling interception off Brunell while covering Arrington. Then Arrington made a great catch against Craft. It seems like Craft has been the culprit a couple of times so far. He did also have a nice interception today however.

By the way, I did the math on the countdown clock on the left sidebar and its not very accurate. But there is not much time until the first game, so I'm just gonna leave it up.

Must Reads

Transcript of press conference with Sean Payton.

New Orleans Saints official website notes from afternoon practice.

Times-Pic notes from afternoon practice.

Clarion Ledgers notes from the morning practice.

Larry Holders notes from the morning and afternoon practices from this blog.

Times-Pic summary of the day.

The Clarion Ledger is on the ball again with more pictures from day two of camp. Again, if anyone has some time to put some of these up in the FanPosts, that would be awesome. Big thanks to Satchmo for putting some of yesterday's pictures up!

Here are the guys from the Time-Pic with their video recap of training camp day two.

Here is Jim Henderson from WWLTV.com again  with a video report on day two at Millsaps. Check that out.

WWLTV.com has all the latest about our newest Saint, CB Tracy Porter. He answered some questions about yet unsigned first round draft pick Sedrick Ellis and about getting back out on the practice field.

"I definitely expect him to join me soon," Porter said. "I've talked to him. He and I, we're good friends. I've hung out with him. He's off doing his thing right now making sure he comes to camp in tip top shape."

"I def think it's a great thing I didn't miss too many practices," Porter said. "There's definitely stiff competition as well and those three days with the stiff comp can set you back for awhile. I'm definitely staying up to speed with what coach is throwing at me."

"They were laughing and clowning," Porter said. " 'It's about time you showed. Where you been? You took an extended vacation.' Little things like that. They're glad I'm out here and I'm glad I'm out here."

The New Orleans Saints official website had an article about Randall Gay and Jon Stinchcomb.

Here is what Gay had to say.

"Right now, no team is at a Super Bowl level, there’s a lot of work to do, you need training camp to improve in order to get to the Super Bowl," he said.

He good-naturedly said that they players were used to completing against each other and that it felt comfortable working against them since he has done it so many times in the past.

"Like old times," he said. "The good old days."

"The receivers in the SEC were so fast, that it was the same speed when I arrived at my first NFL training camp," Gay said. "The most difficult task was playing with quarterbacks like Tom Brady. Any little misstep and they’ll take advantage of you."

"The heat is something that you just have to battle through and not let it get in your head," he said. "It’s there, you know it’s going to be hot and you just have to work through it. We’ll be a better team because of it, no doubt about it."

Jon Stinchcomb had some quotes for us as well.

"The have ratcheted it up a bit, I would say," said Stinchcomb. "They (the defensive linemen) are flying off the ball and it’s making us all better. The battles are just starting but the pace is pretty intense."

They’re two more weapons," Stinchcomb said of Shockey and Campbell. "Obviously they’re talented players who have had a great deal of success throughout their careers. Anytime you can add players that are multi-dimensional and add that to your offense, your offense is always going to be a plus no matter how you look at it."

Reggie Bush was very talkative and forthcoming in this article from the Times-Pic about the third year running back and his expectations for the year. Warning: very high expectations below.

Bush said after Friday afternoon's practice that he would like to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving this season, preferably with his rushing total closer to 1,200 or 1,300 yards.

"I plan to be in the Pro Bowl, and I plan too, definitely, for us to make an appearance in the playoffs, if not the Super Bowl, " Bush said. "I just plan to have a really good all-around year, as a running back, and to be up there with the top three or four running backs this year."

"I definitely feel like I'm going to be better this year, just being my third year and having that experience under my belt, " said Bush, who added that he already felt smarter this season.

"You can't substitute for being around your teammates and being around your coaches in the offseason and getting a little extra film work in or a little extra weightlifting with your teammates, the little things that I think you can't substitute for if you're not around the facility, " Bush said.

Here is what Drew Brees had to say about Reggie.

"I think there's kind of a calm confidence about him that maybe is different from years past, " Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "In the past, he's kind of been that young, flashy rookie back or second-year back. But now, in that third year, I think he's placed a lot of expectations on himself. I think he's eliminated a lot of distractions, and now it's time to get down to business for him."

"Certainly I don't want him to put too much pressure on himself, " Brees said. "I think this league and all the fans and everybody probably have. The expectation levels have never been as high for a guy as they were for him over the last two years, coming out of college. You get into this league, and it's different. It's tougher. You have to probably do things that you've never done before and adjust and learn in ways that you haven't. So for him, and what I expect out of him, I expect him to just be a productive player. He's such a versatile player."

New running backs coach offered a nugget of information as well.

"I think it's a play-by-play production, " Kromer said about his expectations for Bush. "You're just looking for him to gain 4 yards on the first run he gets, and that's what we're looking for -- 4-yard gain, positive gain and to keep the chains moving."

It's now or never Reggie.

Interestingly enough, USA Today had a similar article about Reggie's teammate, Deuce McAllister. The article recalls a story in which Lebron James announce Deuce's presence at a ribbon cutting ceremony and everyone began chanting "Deeeeeuuuuuuccccceee!"

"It just shows you the respect and the love that they have in that city," McAllister said Thursday following his first practice of training camp. "You've got a mega superstar - LeBron - he ranks right up there with Kobe (Bryant), Allen Iverson and some of those guys. You say those names and I can't say my name travels like that around the world. But in New Orleans I get that unfound love, so it's definitely special, the bond that those fans and I have."

Mike Karney, who is a big Deuce fan, discussed what it was like to have him back.

"A lot of tears when he went down, but a lot of smiles this morning," Karney said after the first day of practice. "It's an exciting time for Saints football with him on the field. It's because of the person he is. He's so down to earth. He cares not just about the game, but he cares about people. That gets people to root for him even harder whether times are tough or times are good."

Sometimes, the response is, "You're crazy, man. You ain't going back to the Pro Bowl," McAllister said.

"That's fuel to my fire," he continued. "When it gets tough in that training room, that weight room, even out on the field, that's more that I can pull from and that's more that I can add to (what) drives me."

Here is another one on D. Mac, this time from The Advocate. It's, of course, about his knee(s) and the recovery of said knee(s).

I haven’t done anything yet,” said McAllister, who’s become known over the years for being brutally honest with reporters. “Yeah, I made a practice. But I practiced during the organized team activities (in the spring).

“It’s not like it’s live (tackling) or anything,” he said. “Once I go through a session where it really matters, then I’ll count it as a milestone. This was just another day for me.”

“Playing. Playing against Tampa Bay. That will be something that really means something,” he said. “Even in preseason, it means something. But it doesn’t really mean anything as far as statistics counting for a win. That’s when it will start meaning something.”

Quarterback Drew Brees joked that McAllister looked so good, he probably weighed what he did in his senior season at Ole Miss.

“I haven’t gotten down that low,” McAllister said with a laugh, “but I’m probably about four or five pounds away from where I want to be as far as the season is concerned. I’m just trying to make myself as light as possible to take off as much pressure as possible on the knees and then get some of that quickness back.

“As far as going out and playing the game, I know that to be where I want to be, I have to do something ‘special.’ And that was putting in a lot of time in the training room, a lot of time in the weight room and conditioning my body and getting it ready.”

“As far as making cuts and just going out there and playing the game, that’s what I’m trying to get to,” he said. “It’s just the overall conditioning of the knees and getting into that grinding type of schedule.”

“In the morning is truly when my work is being done,” he said. “There are a set number of carries and a set number of plays that I’m on right now. We’ll just see how it goes and progress as we get closer to the season.”

“I think we have something to prove,” McAllister said. “We didn’t win it all last year, so I think we have something to prove right there. Each individual has something to prove, myself included. I have to prove that at age 29 and coming off two knee surgeries, I’m still a viable option for this team.”

Yet another story about  the "Bum Knee Club." Here are some quotes from each of the members.

"I'm ready so I want to push it," McKenzie said.

"They're doing the right thing in keeping me limited," McKenzie said. "I don't know how long they're going to be able to keep me on the side just watching."

"They told me to go after it," Vilma said. "I have a good deal with them. I told them I will honestly tell them how I feel, if I was really feeling it or hurting or anything. We don't want any setbacks. That's the biggest thing.

"I want to be ready for the first game of the season. I'm really gauging it as well as the training staff and Sean Payton. He's really watching me as I'm going and gauging how I feel and I told him I feel good."

"Right now, the only thing that I'm doing in the afternoon is the individual drills and then get on the bike for a session or two," McAllister said. "In the morning is truly when my work is being done. There are a set number of carries and a set number of plays that I'm on right now and we'll just see how it goes and progress as we get closer to the season."

"I had a little limp and I didn't realize it because it got so natural and I got so much used to it," Meachem said. "Now the limp is gone and now I feel like I'm going to play every play."

It's time once again for another installment of TE Mark Campbell's blog "Soup of the Day."

Our first three practices are in the books. It is hot as my mother’s kitchen during Thanksgiving. I tried to hide from the sun. I believe I have actually figured it out the best way to try to get a bit of a break from the sun. With an eagle eye, I discovered we have some rather large men on this team. They are a great source of shade. With that in mind, I strategically placed myself next to the big boys.

This stuff is great! He could put me out of a job.

Our second practice generally consists of more of a passing emphasis. As usual, Drew Brees was sharp today. The guy is amazing. He competes as well as anyone I’ve ever been around. Whether it’s our first practice or one-hundredth practice, he’ll give you everything at the highest level possible. He has an attitude I would tell everyone to emulate. Put it this way, I would love for my son to be like him. He would be a good man, an all-pro quarterback, and rich.

If you're not clicking over and reading the whole thing, again, I highly suggest it.

NewOrleans.com had the details on Marques Colston's shiny new contract extension.

Colston's deal is for four years worth $15 million with $9.675 million guaranteed. He will receive a base salary of $500,000 this season (2008). That figure accelerates to $2.25 million in 2009, $2.7 million in 2010, and $3 million in 2011.

Additionally, Colston has incentives for performance in the deal. They include:
**$200,000 for making the Pro Bowl
**$100,000 for 75 receptions
**$100,000 for 1,150 receiving yards
**$100,000 for 7 or more touchdown receptions

Scott Fujita had a quote in this Times-Pic article about expectations.

"I don't think playing Indianapolis that early was helpful, " said linebacker Scott Fujita. "They were very sharp. Usually they come into a season really fresh. They take care of their guys in camp, and they come out and they're like a machine. So opening up with them wasn't the best thing in the world. I think the guys liked that challenge, but we didn't do a real good job of managing our expectations last year. We definitely have to do a better job of that this year."

"Well, right now I don't think everyone has us pegged to go to the Super Bowl like they did last year, and I don't think for the most part the guys around here are going to listen to that kind of stuff. It gets to you a little bit. When it comes down to it, there's a little bit good about being the underdog and having that chip on your shoulder."