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Q&A with Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
by David Lawrence,
Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 8:45 AM



What prompted the change at cornerback to release Chris McAlister?

“A lot of it is really just trying to watch and evaluate where we see these guys. In the end, it was just our evaluation, as it would be with any change.”

Will Scott Fujita be a game-time decision?
“We’ll see where he’s at.”

Is he out of the hospital?
“Yes. He’s here rehabbing and we’ll see where he’s at this week.”

Did Jabari Greer suffer a setback at some point with his groin injury?
“No, he’s still been working through it. He’s another guy that we’ll just see where he’s at.”

I think Mickey Loomis said that Greer is still a couple of weeks away. Is that accurate?

“There are two aspects to a groin injury. There’s the groin and then the abdomen area. In one aspect he’s getting better and the other, we’re still working on. We’ll just keep updating with where he’s at. He did not practice today; that’s what we do know.”

Especially facing a running back like Michael Turner, how concerned are you with your depth at linebacker?

“More than anything else, we know they’re a real good team in regards to their ability to run the football. They ran the ball very well against us in the first game. Certainly that’s an aspect that we’re trying to work on and improve on. That’s something that they’ve done ever since Mike Smith has been there. The offensive line has been together and they have a number of running backs that are a threat. The fullback is probably one of the best in the league. There’s a commitment by them to run the ball consistently week in and week out, and we understand that.”

What do you guys like about Marcus McCauley?

“He’s someone that can run and cover. We’ll see where he’s at in regards to reps and what our plan is. We had good grades on him and we’ll take a peek at him.”

Did you want someone that could help on special teams more than McAlister could?

“That wasn’t necessarily…certainly you want someone who can help in the kicking game, and he may have those opportunities, but that wasn’t the major reason for the signing.”

Did you ask Darren Sharper about him at all?

“He was drafted by Minnesota, but to answer your question, no.”

Can you pinpoint any areas where you have evolved as a head coach that have helped you this season?

“I think there’s an experience factor that goes in from your first year to your second and third season. I think it’s to some degree no different than a player. The minute that you stop trying to improve and stop trying to learn and get better, you go the other direction. I think overall, just having been through a number of situations in games, you’re always working to improve. From an experience standpoint, there are certain things that you become more familiar with and yet you’re always looking to analyze how you’re doing things and whether you can improve certain schedules or game day mechanics. There’s a lot that goes into it and fortunately for me I have a real good support staff in the coaching staff that we have here.”

Did the Minnesota loss register with you at all? Do you feel any relief in having one more game of pad for the home-field?

“The reality of it is that it’s a game-and-a-half right now, if you’re looking at the whole seeding process. That being said, we can’t control that so the focus really shifts to the next opponent. To answer your question, certainly you pay attention to how the NFC is playing and yet not at the expense of paying attention to the opponent that we’ll play next. Our focus really is square on Atlanta. We had trouble playing there last year. They’re a team that has lost two games at home since Mike has been there, period, and they play very well there. It’s a tough place to play in and we’re going to have to play better than we did the last time we played Atlanta at home here on Monday night to have a chance to win this game. We turned the ball over. There were a number of things that we didn’t do well and yet we were able to overcome those things in a win. But we didn’t win the turnover ratio; we gave up big rushing plays and we gave up a handful of opportunities. To credit Atlanta, they were able to take advantage of those things. Those are the things that we’re working to correct for this week’s game.”

How much does it help that you’ve prepared for Matt Ryan and you’ve prepared for Chris Redman when playing the Falcons in the past?

“You really begin your preparation with the offense. Certainly there are differences and nuances…you never want your starter out and yet the focal point really is the offense with a number of things. We talked about the rushing game, the big-play abilities they have and the skill on the outside. They have a number of talented receivers, a tight end, and we’ve talked about the experience of their offensive line. When you look at preparing for a team, you have to prepare for the system and what you’re seeing. The other aspect of it, you just have to be able to adjust.”

A win this week would clinch a first-round bye. How important is that?

“In ’06 we had that bye and we think that is important. We talked last week about these small steps along the way, and the only step we can take this week is this game against Atlanta and that step would secure a bye in that first round. And I think that’s significant when it comes to guys that are injured and getting guys healthy and back for the playoff game. That is an important step.”

How have you weathered the storm of injured players on defense?

“I think that it’s the reality of our league. If you were to go through and take the 31 other teams today and look at their injury lists, that would be more of the norm than it would be the exception. But I think that guys have filled in and been able to come in and make plays. We talked about it two weeks ago in the New England game where we had some guys step up and play and last week was a tough game and we got some turnovers late which were significant. It’s an ongoing process and one of the things that’s unique to our league is that week by week, certain guys may be active or inactive; it might involve the decisions in the kicking game. You have to be somewhat flexible and we’ve been able to do that and yet it’s a challenge again this week when you look at who’s practicing and how you’re preparing. It affects you in base defense, it affects you in nickel and then it also affects you in the kicking game because you might be playing a certain player like Troy Evans more snaps in defense and you have to figure out how that impacts your special teams. All those things become somewhat challenging as we meet at night and try to lay out who are going to be our core special teams players and who we see playing in all the different situations. That’s the challenge of a 53-man roster.”

Do you have any thoughts on being the first Saints head coach to win two division titles?

“I was unaware of that. So not really. Those are team accomplishments and there are a lot of people that work hard and yet that NFC South accomplishment is already kind of past us. There are more things for this team ahead of us and certainly you set your goals and sights at the beginning of the year to win your division, and we’re going to have a chance to play three more division games when you look at Atlanta this week and Tampa Bay coming up and Carolina. Normally you have played more games when that happens, so we still have half of our division games left, but it’s a step is what I would say. We’re encouraged with it but we understand that there’s more to come.”

Could you talk about the improved play of the secondary this year and the performance of Mike McKenzie since he’s come back?

“Overall we’ve done a better job of eliminating some of the big plays. The takeaways have been significant and if you look at one specific area where we went from being in the bottom part of the league to the front part of the league, the takeaways have been a big part of that. With some of the guys that have been nicked up, there have been other guys that have had to fill in and you still keep working with these players, especially the guys that haven’t had the reps to get them up to speed.”

How much of the success of Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem is a result of all the attention that defenses give Marques Colston?

“They’re all different types of players. They’re unselfish players and when you talk about Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem, those players have continued to get better each year. You’ve seen a gradual arrow-up curve with them. Curtis Johnson has done a good job working with that position group and those guys are hard workers. I obviously have confidence in the quarterback and have confidence in the system and the read progression, so we just keep working and they have done a good job and made a lot of progress in the early portion of their careers.”

How hard will it be to match the intensity of an archrival like Atlanta who would like nothing better than to hand you your first loss of the season?

“I think Ohio State and Michigan is an arch-rivalry. In our league, obviously you have division games and certain teams, but that swings a little bit. When we first got here, we viewed Tampa Bay as that type of team. Certainly with Mike arriving in Atlanta and the team changing – and it has changed a lot in a positive way. Quickly they have changed the way people view them; they were a contender and a playoff team in their first year last year. I think it’s more of the respect of a team like Atlanta and the job they’ve done in a short period of time. Thomas Dimitroff and the acquisition of a number of players; not only the quarterback but key players on defense. They have a lot of guys that are new to that program and have done a really good job in the last year-and-a-half. I think it’s more the respect and understanding that you’re playing a real good team in your division.”

You seem to be pushing the right buttons a lot with your decisions this year. Would you agree?

“It always starts with your confidence in your players and they’ve done a good job this year in really taking advantage of the opportunities. Each week after the game there are a number of things that you look back on and it’s never perfect, but I think the players have done a good job with those decisions. If you decide to go for it on fourth down, you’re counting on the guys blocking and the guys doing the right things. Our guys have each week been able to focus on the next week and really that’s the only thing they can do. They’ve done a good job of that.”

Are you concerned at all with your short-yardage offense?

“It’s just an area that we keep working on. We keep looking at it closely. There are a few things that I would’ve done differently in regards to scheme and type of run – that’s a pretty good front. To answer your question, we just get back to our short-yardage preparation this week, which will be on Friday, and prepare for those third-and-ones, should they come up against Atlanta, and go from there.”

What might you have done differently?

“It would just be some play decisions. Maybe a play-action pass as opposed to an off-tackle run; that type of thing. That’s a pretty strong front and they get into that Bear defense and Haynesworth is inside – sometimes you want to be able to put your guys in the best position. I don’t know that in short-yardage that we were in the best position with some of our plays. I don’t want to discredit Washington, and like I said after the game, they did a real good job. We go back and work on it again this week and try to make improvements on it and look at the team we’re playing this week. But certainly there were a couple of plays where we looked back and thought that maybe we could’ve done this and taken advantage of the look we were getting rather than just run into it.”

With the field conditions and not having played all season, how impressive was Garrett Hartley’s performance on Sunday?

“He was very impressive. He’s been practicing so well, and for us, after a period of time you see him hitting the ball and the pop in his leg. He’s a guy that confidence coming off of last year coming in midseason and going 13-for-13. Nonetheless though, with your first time out on the road with a little bit of a slippery surface, all those things were encouraging and he did a good job.”

Is he still your guy at Atlanta this week?
“That’s the plan.”

And for the foreseeable future as long as he’s going well?

“He has done a good job and we’re in a position right now where we’ve been able to keep both of those guys – both he and John Carney – and it has been a good fit. I think the two of them have really done a good job of handling this and working with each other. That has been a positive.”

What are your thoughts on the life of an NFL kicker?

“I think it’s always a challenging position because so much goes into a game and if you do this long enough, you find yourself playing a real tough game and maybe you don’t get the kick you want to win and maybe you do get the kick you want to win. The challenge of the kicker is that you might go three weeks and then be brought in to win or lose a game. Much like a lot of positions – quarterback, head coach, cornerback – the short memory that those guys have is good and they come back and hopefully when their career is over, you’re on the good end of those more than on the bad end.”

New Orleans Saints - QA with Sean Payton Dec 9

QBREES9

Good Read !!!