You may be doubting Quintin Demps after his disastrous day in the NFC Championship game but he isn't.
You're probably thinking about those horrible plays he made in the big game against the Cardinals. He couldn't get it off his mind for month.
"I was going through it for about a month", he said when asked about how he dealt with the poor performance against Arizona.
He's got the February edition of Sports Illustrated opened up wide in his locker.
It's opened to the "Who's Hot, Who's Not" section. His picture is in there under the "Who's Not" section.
He was beaten by Larry Fitzgerald on a flea-flicker and he cheap shotted quarterback Kurt Warner in a moment of frustration.
Demps says that's why he has chips on his shoulders and the only way he can get them off is by performing at a high level.
Here is Demps in tight coverage on rookie Jeremy Maclin.
You could understand why he was down in the dumps for a while, but an unexpected opportunity showed up when Brian Dawkins signed with the Broncos.
"My first thought was like, 'Wow, [Dawkins] isn't going to retire an Eagle,' " Demps said. "But then about a week later I was fired up, thinking, 'It's time to go; they're telling me something.'
"You never replace a Brian Dawkins. I'm just going to take what I learned from him, and I'm going to run with it. I learned the same thing I learned from Jim's illness. You have to cherish it. You can't take this for granted that you're a starter because any given day somebody can take your spot."
Demps is confident he can do the job and so is Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.
"I like Quintin Demps a lot," Johnson said after the team's morning workout yesterday at the NovaCare Complex. "Of course, you know how I feel about Dawkins. . . . But I do like Quintin Demps, and I think the guy loves to play football and he has that same enthusiasm like Dawk does. Dawk is a special guy, there's no question about it. But I do like the way Demps is playing, so I feel pretty good there as far as safety goes."
He's been living at the Nova Care complex, looking at video and working out in prepartion for the upcoming season.
He knows the key to his success will be how well he masters Johnson's system. He's got great instincts and a sense for the football. Demps can get his hands on the football and turn games around.
