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With the season on the brink and the possibility of slipping into the off week without a win, Tony Hills felt compelled to say something.
Things were looking bleak, and he couldn’t sit silently anymore. He used to be more vocal earlier in his career, but that hasn’t been his style of late. But he couldn’t sit by anymore. So he stood up during halftime and delivered a speech that resonated deeply with the team, especially members of the defense.
“Big Deacon Brother Tony Hills,” defensive end Cam Jordan said of the backup offensive tackle. “He definitely came in with some old-school brimstone and fire. … You know, it’s refreshing and yet it fires you guys up.”
Hills felt like the team wasn’t playing to its standards. So when he stood up, he let the team know about it. He told his teammates it was time to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they were fit for the fight.
Fueled by Tony Hills' passionate halftime speech, Saints defense steps up to help deliver first win | Saints | theadvocate.com
I told my wife during the game yesterday that this guy looked to be completely zoned-in and hyped up from the sidelines, as if the game meant something more to him than normal. He looked like a coach out there whenever the cameras showed him, even looking visibly upset and animated following a bad play in the second half.
I knew something just seemed "different" about that #76 guy on the sidelines yesterday. He just appeared to be way more into it than you'd normally see from a backup on the sidelines, and now we know why.