hagan714

A Sitdown with Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
David Lawrence, NewOrleansSaints.com
Thursday, October 04, 2007 - 3:15 PM

How confident are you that Fujita and Clancy will be able to play this week?

“We’ll see. A lot of it is based on how they recover in the next 24 to 48 hours. It’s a wait and see. There is still some pain and soreness with both of them. We’ll know more tomorrow and as the week goes on, we’ll list them one way or the other. I think a lot of it is just wait and see.”

If Fujita can’t play, who would take his place in the lineup?

“We’ll see. We have a couple of guys working at that spot. Brian Simmons is an experienced player and we have Troy Evans as well. Those guys got most of the work today.”

Does it feel to you like the bye did the team some good?

“It’s always frustrating when you're on a bye after a loss and obviously when you're on a bye after three losses it doesn’t make it any easier. We’ll see how the timing was and if it does us any good or not.”

Did you work more than usual on the bye week?

“Maybe a little bit more. We had a schedule laid out a couple of weeks prior to the bye and we tried to stay with that. When it falls early in the season like this one, it’s a little bit harder to grab all of your tendencies and try to look at those things. Obviously there are a lot of things that we need to clean up, so our focal point really was more on the specific things that we think are hurting us right now as a team.”

Will you put emphasis on pressuring David Carr considering he’s been known to take a lot of sacks in his career?

“You have to prepare for the offense. They have some guys that are explosive and concerning. You start with Steve Smith and they do a good job in the running game. They have an experienced offensive line and are well-coached. Any time you lose your starting quarterback like they have with Jake Delhomme, there is an added amount of pressure put on you. That being said, I’m sure they’ll come in with a real good plan. They're hungry for a win just like we are. It will come down to eliminating the mistakes and eliminating the turnovers and doing a good job with field position. Those are the things that will be most important. (Carr) got a chance to play last week for them and he’ll get more comfortable in that role, as will the team around him.

With Jason David out, are you looking at more of a rotation at the corner spot or will one guy step up?

“We have some flexibility. We’ll be able to put Fred Thomas in there. Jason Craft and Fred both have experience and Usama (Young) has been playing well as well. We’ll see how the week unfolds, but we have some flexibility with those three guys. Those are the three guys you saw all during training camp.”

Is there any hesitation to give Usama Young significant time since he’s a rookie?

“I think we just have to go with who we think gives us the best chance and we’ll do that.”

What has hurt you the most in these three games?

“I think the turnovers. Our giveaways on offense and our takeaways on defense were something that we tried to improve on from a year ago and obviously we’re not doing a good enough job of that. That’s something that regardless of what you do in any other area that can keep you from winning games. That’s one area that really jumps out. Another area that jumps out is that our ability from a year ago to come up with some big plays in the passing game is something that we’re lacking right now and our inability to defend some of the deeper throws has been hurting us. Those two areas in regards to the big play and us defending the big pass and us having more opportunities at throws down the field are something that we pay attention to as well.”

Are you playing less or more two-deep coverage?

“You're playing a combination starting from week one. You have to be functional within single-safety and functional within two-deep week by week. You're never going into a game predominantly with one – Indianapolis might be a little bit more two-deep than normal because of the offense – but outside of that game, you're looking to have balance and a mix.”

Last week you said the bye week was coming at a good time. Do the guys seem refreshed?

“I think the preparation and the approach as we get ready for this game has been good. The focus has been good. I think they have a pretty good understanding of where we’re at and what’s in front of us and the challenge ahead of us. Hopefully this time off has given them a chance to reflect and all of us a chance to reflect on what’s ahead of us. Obviously we’re in a hole and we’re going to have to fight to get out of it. The only way I know how to do that is to work hard in practice, prepare better, do a better job of coaching, and execute on game day. It’s hard sitting on a bye week with that record but that’s the way the schedule unfolds.”

How many problems would be solved by beating Carolina?

“We’re just trying to get the first win. The first chance we have at that is the Carolina game. They say that winning cures what ails you, but that’s the first opportunity to take a step in the right direction and at 0-3 we need to do that.”

In the running back rotation, will you give Reggie Bush more carries or will Aaron Stecker take over Deuce’s role?

“Reggie will get more carries. Stecker will be involved and Pierre Thomas will be involved, but you’ll see Reggie get more handoffs.”

Is this his opportunity to show that he can be an every-down NFL back?

“More than he has been as a ball-carrier. We’ll still have to monitor how many runs that is, but you’ll see him more from the running back position.”

"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins