QBREES9

New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams media session
transcript:


New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams

Thursday, December 31, 2009


Can you talk about this Carolina team offensively?


“They’re good. John Fox teams are very well coached and very well versed. You look at a John Fox team and a Jeff Fisher team, there’s a similarity in coaches that are going to pound you with the run. They’re as conservative as they can be with turnovers on the offensive side of the ball and be real good on third down. That’s what the magic formula they found since we played them earlier in the year is that they’ve done a real good job in the last four or five weeks of protecting the football, giving their, front two guys and the other backs, everybody’s that has touched the football has done a good job when running, maybe when they haven’t blocked the play very well, but their backs have done a great job. Our works cut out for us. When I look back at this month of December, one of the things I told them (players), with our guys about is that who’s more battle-tested than us. We’ve played four weeks to the very last play of the game. We did that in overtime in D.C. We did that in overtime this past week. We did it to the last sack in Dallas and did it to the last play in Atlanta, when Jon (Vilma) made the play. You have to learn from those things good and bad, but really good championship teams have got to play that way in the kind of playoff atmosphere under that kind of pressure. Those teams that I have coached or been a part of have been able to make plays in the most stressful time of the ballgame and at the most stressful times of a season. We’ve actually played a lot of guys. From a positive respect here when you look back at the season and we’ve worked our tail off and earned the right to be here sitting at 13-2 now is that we’ve played so many guys on defense at every position. We’ve had to play guys, that’s going to be good when it comes down to having to spell somebody after this break and getting a playoff run, of having time under pressure in ballgames means something. From a positive perspective, I kind of feel like I have a better feel for them too. I’ve had to learn and feel off of them too and get a few for them for who I can trust, who I can’t trust and who I have to give more help to and who that I can lay out there on the line by themselves. I think that was one of the things I learned best from Buddy Ryan in years ago when I worked with him is that you turn a guy like Will Smith loose, maybe you have to protect the tackle by putting a particular defensive tackle on a move a little bit more. Maybe I have to roll coverage to this corner. Maybe I have to do this to this linebacker and not put him in a bad situation. Playing these guys has been real good for the staff. I’m real proud of the staff on how hard they’ve had to work in ballgames. They’ve done a very good job in communication with me in ballgames to make adjustments to at least give us a chance to play a close game. When you look at that, we’ve won games by landslide. We’ve had to come from behind in long deficits and we’ve had to win very, tight, close games and overtimes. From that point of view, this has been a good kind of a training camp type of season for the type of season we’re getting ready to go into after this game here.”

What have been some of the problems in your run fronts? Is it technique?


“Some of it’s basically when the score is close enough that you can give a younger coach or younger players the opportunity to run. When a team can run a ball thirty plus times in a ballgame, it means the score is close enough to allow them to do that. When you get two scores and get ahead you don’t see that. When we were playing earlier in the year, we were playing feeling like they have to get back into it with quick strikes and throwing the football. When you’re playing close ballgames you’re going to get more rushes against you. We have to do a better job of playing on first down. On first down you have to stone it, put it behind the down and distance and I know Sean (Payton) talks about that. We didn’t do that as well last week as we had earlier in the year. Now we have a few guys healthy and we do that.”

Is tackling a problem?


“Tackling, we’re still recognized as one of the better tackling teams in the league, but still by my standards it’s not good enough. We have to tackle better and we’re trying to measure yards after contact. That’s a YAC stat. A lot of people call it yards after catch. For us it’s yards after contact and we’ve been working very hard on that. We’ve been one of the top ranked teams in that stat. The last couple weeks we haven’t done as well. When you have leaky yardage, maybe that’s what Sean’s talking about. It puts them into a situational advantage on third down. If I could say some things right now we have to do a better job on third down. We will be better on third down when the cover guys get healthier. They’ve had a good week of practice this week. They’ve been having some good practices. Our rush has been negated by a couple things too. It kind of works hand in hand.”

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dizzle88

[QUOTE=QBREES9;188817]

“Tackling, we’re still recognized as one of the better tackling teams in the league, but still by my standards it’s not good enough. QUOTE]

too right the tackling is not good enough, i haven't seen a runningback bounce of so many tackles since walter payton

Cruize

The only good thing about the defensive dropoff is Williams is almost certain to be back next season. Of course, a Super Bowl title could change that. But, then I wouldn't care if he left. LOL. WHO DAT!

ScottF

Agreed. Especially since he laid a giant egg in his heroic return to DC.

I am not sure if I agree that we are one of the better tackling teams in the league. Across the board, but especially at DB we need to wrap up better

bobad

Williams will be back next year, for better or worse.

Williams, or someone, needs to teach the players how to tackle. All that
hitting looks cool, but wrapping up is way more effective.

Did anyone notice Williams seems to blame the offense for the big running
yardage against his defense?