Carlton Davis Explains How Patriots Have Handled Disrespect Before Super Bowl

The New England Patriots have faced public skepticism throughout their journey to Super Bowl LX. Those doubters won’t deter Carlton Davis and Co. ahead of their championship showdown with the Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle is favored to defeat New England on Feb. 8, and pundits have backed the NFC champions throughout the week. During an NBC interview with former Patriots champion Devin McCourty, Davis told the fellow cornerback that the team either drowns out the noise or turns it into motivation.

“We can use it two ways,” Davis said. “We can ignore it and keep doing what we do, or we can use it as fuel to the fire, which in most cases is what we do.”

The Patriots didn’t garner a single first-team All-Pro selection after going 13-4. Davis theorized why the AFC champions have gotten overlooked compared to other top NFL teams.

“It sucks because you go out there, you put on your pads, and you make plays the same way the other team is,” Davis said. “But that other team, they may have more hype or just more clout, or people may just gravitate toward them more. Which is cool. Everyone has their opinion at the end of the day.”

Ultimately, the public discourse doesn’t matter once the game begins and they determine a winner on the gridiron. Davis hopes the Patriots prove their critics wrong on the grand stage and capture the Lombardi Trophy.

“When we step on that field, it’s going to be decided who is the better team,” Davis said. “And each of the last three games, we’ve been the better team and better defense, in my opinion. And people can’t deny that. They can say whatever they want. They can talk however they want to talk. But when we get between those white lines, it’s gonna be shown who’s the best. And we’ve been showing that, and come next Sunday, we want to show that again.”