JACKSON, Miss. ― On Jason David’s worst days this past season, there always was one saving grace.

And when the 2007 season ended – by all accounts a down year for David on the field – that off-the-field respite was a few months older.

Photo by Bradley Handwerger / WWL-TV.com

Jason David, 42, makes a tackle during Saints training camp in Jackson, Miss. David is in his second year with New Orleans and is fighting for a starting spot in the secondary.

You see, no matter what people were saying about him during his first year as a Saints defensive back, he could always go home and find his little baby girl lying there, waiting for daddy to walk through the door.

“It’s special,” David said of his 11-month-old daughter Jastel. “A lot of people, even though they don’t have kids, they come home to a wife or a pet or something else. You’ve got to find things that make you happy no matter what’s going on in this world.

“No matter what’s going on, find things that make you happy and excite you and keep you smiling.”

So while New Orleans’ media, national experts and Saints fans hammered away at the fifth-year pro, he had an escape. He has something that makes him smile.

That’s not to say the negativity didn’t affect him.

David finished the season with 57 tackles and three interceptions, but several teams threw at him in games and he gave up a couple of touchdowns where the receiver just ran right by him.

Though he said the season didn’t shake his confidence, it changed the way he answers questions.

A year ago, he was willing to answer any question thrown at him, including after games in which he gave up a touchdown pass.

Now, he pauses prior to answering any question. And when he answers, his voice sounds slightly defeated and he looks away, avoiding eye contact.

But on the field, he’s still fighting like he did in training camp a year ago when he won a starting spot.

That’s not a surprise to secondary coach Dennis Allen.

“I knew how he was going to react,” Allen said. “He’s a competitor, a professional athlete. He wants to win. He wants to be good. As long as you’ve got a guy who is willing to work, he’s got a chance. I think this guy is going to end up being a good player for us.”

It didn’t help that in New Orleans he plays in a different scheme than he did in Indianapolis.

“It’s hard to go out there without a full understanding of what’s needed and what you’re supposed to do,” cornerback Mike McKenzie said. “The scheme we had had a lot of nuances.”

Still, McKenzie sees a change in David. He said the cornerback who plays opposite of him on the field is asking more questions and paying better attention to the scheme.

For the fifth year, David enters camp with his job in question. This, he’s used to.

“My first four years in the league, I’ve never entered training camp as the penciled in starter,” David said. “When I was in Indianapolis, my rookie year I was competing for my spot. My second year, I was competing with a first-round draft pick. My third year, I was competing with a second-round draft pick.”

For what it’s worth, head coach Sean Payton still has faith in David, at least outwardly.

“I’m confident that what we saw on tape two years ago when he won a Super bowl with Indianapolis is something that he can give us, and I think he is too,” Payton said. “He’s had a good start to training camp and I think he’s played very well.”

And if things don’t go smoothly to begin the season, David has his family in his back pocket to keep him happy.

“That’s always good,” he said. “That always takes your mind off what’s bothering you. Nothing like coming home to your little girl and seeing her smile at you.”