Jason David Owning his Suckage

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With the boos still ringing in his ears two days later, beleaguered Saints cornerback Jason David agreed with his harshest critics Monday.

"Looking at it from a fans point of view, I'd probably boo myself, too," David said while sitting in front of his locker during the lunch hour. "The fans have a high expectation, and so do I and the coaching staff.

"This is the NFL. It's part of the game. There's no one to blame but myself. I'm the only who can really stop the boos. It has nothing to do with the coaches. It has nothing to do with the players. It's pretty much just me."

David proved to be the object of the fans' ire on a night when an entire defense put up little resistance in a 31-27 exhibition loss to the Houston Texans at the Superdome.

The boos rained down early on David after a 14-yard completion from quarterback Matt Schaub to wide receiver Andre Davis six minutes into the game. More boos came one play later when Texans wide receiver Kevin Walter converted a short pass in front of David into a 17-yard catch-and-run.

The boos reached a crescendo moments later when Walter beat David for a 26-yard touchdown reception.

It appeared David got beat in man-to-man coverage. But players and coaches came to David's defense Monday, noting that the Saints were playing zone coverage -- and safety Kevin Kaesviharn failed to drop deep enough into the secondary.

"Jason played bad technique; Kevin played bad technique," Saints defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs said. "If we execute properly, it could have been an interception, but (even if not picked off) it's not a completion and touchdown."

David's poor performance against the Texans didn't help his chances to win a starting job opposite veteran cornerback Mike McKenzie, let alone earn him a spot on the 53-man roster.

Suffice it to say David likely dropped on the depth chart going into the Saints' third exhibition game against the Cincinnati Bengals at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium.

"Jason has had a good camp," Gibbs said. "He did good at Arizona (in the Saints' first exhibition). Unfortunately for him, and everybody, he reverted back and lost his technique against Houston, and when you do that you're going to be exposed.

"He certainly is someone who doesn't need to be exposed."

Whether David can make up ground in the coming weeks is uncertain. Second-round draft pick Tracy Porter might have earned more playing time against the Bengals now that cornerback Usama Young is expected to miss at least two weeks with an injured hamstring.

Plus, the competition in the secondary got a little tougher Monday when the Saints signed veteran safety Lance Schulters.

"Jason just needs to keep playing hard and trust his technique," Gibbs said. "When you do that, good things happen for you.

"He made a lot of plays for us last year. What we all remember are the bad plays. That's a position where you have to have a short memory. But it's also a position where if you don't play technique, if you don't play with the right leverage, if you don't utilize your help, then it's a lonely spot as well."

No lonelier than Saturday night when David felt the wrath of frustrated Saints fans.

"That was an experience (Saturday) night," David said.

One, he'd obviously like to forget.

"C'mon people," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "We haven't even started playing games that count yet. It's extremely unfair. We're talking about the first quarter of our first preseason game at home. The bottom line is we all need to improve -- offense, defense and special teams. We shouldn't be hearing boos, especially at this time. We should be hearing encouragement.

"(Fans) should trust our team and our coaches to do the job that is expected of us. If a guy is not making the plays he needs to be making, you can be sure that he'll probably be replaced or pushed in a way where he'll start making plays. If he doesn't, he won't be playing anymore. But, if he's on the field, he's the best guy for the job. Or he wouldn't be on the field."

Veteran defensive back Jason Craft said booing comes with "the territory of playing out on the island," a phrase typically associated with playing the cornerback position.

"As a corner, you have to block it out," Craft said. "That's the corner's life. All I can say to him is to stay positive, keep his head up and go out and make plays until he starts hearing the cheers again.

"You've just got to go out there and make plays and try to get people off your back."

For David, that process began Saturday night when he went home and watched a DVD of his Super Bowl XLI season with the Indianapolis Colts.

"I just have to remind myself what type of player I am, where I'm making plays and having fun," David said. "I can't let the game get to me too much where it's not fun anymore.

"I'm at a point now where I have to do whatever it takes. Obviously, the time at practice I'm giving or the meeting room time I'm having is not enough, so it's up to me to be a professional and do what I'm supposed to do."

As far as opposing quarterbacks throwing his way and wearing a bull's-eye on the back of his No.¤42 jersey, David said bring it on.

"I'm up to the challenge," he said. "I've had bad games before, and I've had bad seasons before in high school, college and at Indianapolis. The one thing I pride myself on, or what I did well during those times, is lean back and figure out what I'm doing wrong and just bounce back.

"Hey, if I was a fan, and if I loved the Saints as much as they do and I was as passionate as they are, I'd boo me, too. That's part of the game. That's part of the business. That's fair. I'm the only one who can stop that. I'm not one to point the finger at anybody. It starts with me and ends with me."

Brian Allee-Walsh can be reached at ballee-walsh@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.

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