Sports Radio Interviews

Jonathan Vilma is a hero in many ways

Jonathan Vilma was used to winning in college; he was on one of the most prolific teams in college football history, the 2001 Miami Hurricanes. So winning is normal to Vilma. He started his career in New York with the Jets, was NFL defensive rookie of the year and was living the life in New York. Not everything works out though and things happen for a reason. Vilma is not an out spoken guy, he is a quiet leader. Being in New Orleans is a perfect fit for him. I have spoken with Vilma many times and he is not a Shockey type of guy, he is a leader and a winner, but not a screamer. Nothing could have worked out better for him then winning the Super Bowl in Miami, with family all around him and even practicing the week before in his old locker room at the U. He wasn’t a quiet guy on the field during the Super Bowl making some great plays and being the anchor for the Saints defense.

Being close to family was good for him considering what he and his family went through weeks earlier with the devastation in Haiti. Vilma is from Haitian descent and is doing what he can to help including fundraisers for the people of Haiti. He had a great platform to speak his mind during the time before the Super Bowl and did just that. He also made sure to be with family beforehand. Vilma is a true leader and a great spokesman for the Relief in Haiti.

Jonathan Vilma joined Myers & Hartman on Fox Sports Radio and talked about the big Super Bowl win, playing against Peyton Manning, the onside kick, and the relief efforts in Haiti.

Asked if he ever thought about being a Super Bowl Champion right now after leaving the Jets:

“Yeah, to be honest with you this was the reason I came down to New Orleans. I wanted to come down here and make a difference. You get to a point in your career where you stop worrying about the personal accolades and you start worrying about the team accolades. The only thing you want to do when you are worrying about team goals is win the championship. We went out, set out as a team and we did a great job this year.”

Asked about being the underdogs per Vegas going into the game and playing with a chip on their shoulder:

“It was the reverse It was Coach Payton saying look we are not underdogs we are a better team, we are very capable of winning, we have been in tight games before, we have faced tough opponents before, we have faced great quarterbacks before and so this is nothing new to us. This is not foreign territory, as much as everyone is making it out to be our first time in the Super Bowl and how we are going to act. It’s just another game on Sunday, and granted you win the game and you are Super Bowl Champs. We were not fazed at all by that and we were ready to go out there and play.”

Asked to talk about the onside kick and how it all went down with Coach Payton and Williams:

“That’s part of the game right there. We liked the call; we loved the call to be honest with you. We knew that he was going to run it and he said if we don’t get it make him right. Get the ball back defensively and make a stop, you know do whatever we had to do to hold Peyton Manning and that offense. We loved the call because that lets us know that hey we are coming to win the game, we are not playing conservative football, we are not just showing up just to say we made it to the Super Bowl, but that we want to play and we want to win.”

Asked about the great quarterbacks that they beat on the way to the Super Bowl and the way they controlled Manning:

“You know I think what we did more was just be ourselves. I say that, it starts with the aggressive play calling by Gregg Williams, who did a great job all year calling plays for us. Then us going out there and executing. I think once we did that and we said let’s not worry about who the quarterback is and let’s worry about how we can affect him. Let’s start calling it that way and playing it that way and I think that’s what really changed the game.”

Listen to Jonathan Vilma with Myers & Hartman on Fox Sports Radio

Tags: Gregg Williams, JonathanVilma, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Peyton Manning, Sean Payton, Super Bowl, University of Miami