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Does this feel just the same as ever?

“Yeah. The offseason went by fast. A lot of crazy stuff happened obviously, but here we are- first day of training camp. Obviously we are getting in a little earlier than everybody else because of the Hall of Fame Game, but everybody is ready to go.”

Everybody else had the experience of coming here and Sean Payton not being the head coach. You just had it for the first time. What was it like?

“Well the fact that I haven’t been able to talk to him either, makes me feel that I’ve had a little bit of that (experience). Normally I would be talking to him pretty frequently. That’s going to be an adjustment, there’s no way around it. I feel like we were prepared to an extent last year when he got hurt, I believe that was week six against Tampa. There was a stretch there for about four or five weeks, especially early on, where he had had surgery and was on crutches, really was spending a lot of time in the training room trying to rehabilitate and do all those things. He was in there for six hours a day, so there were times that he wasn’t able to be present in the meetings or on the practice field or he would just kind of be on-and-off. In those situations it was Pete Carmichael taking over, calling the plays in practice, and obviously Gregg (Williams) running the defense. So I feel like we kind of just picked up and kept the train moving forward. We were exposed to that a little bit last year with Sean’s absence in that stretch and if anything I can say that maybe that was a blessing in disguise for what we are going to face this year with his absence the entire year.”

What are your early impressions of Joe Vitt as the head coach?

“I’ve known Joe Vitt for a long time. We all came in together in 2006. In fact, a lot of these coaches have been here for that stretch of time, including players. I feel like we have all been through so much together, both the good and the bad. Certainly we’ve been to the mountaintop together, and I think we all know what we’re made of. We all know what to expect from each other and we also know that we can lean on each other at times. This is going to be tough, especially during camp here and the first part of the season as we try to reestablish our identity and just kind of get into the flow without having Sean Payton here. Now listen, I’ve got all the confidence in Pete Carmichael, Joe Lombardi, Aaron Kromer, our entire offensive staff. I haven’t had the chance to be around Steve Spagnuolo a lot yet, but from everything I hear and certainly from playing against him, there’s no guy that I have more respect for on the defensive side on the ball than him. I know he conducts himself as a true professional, he’s a great teacher, and he’s got a great track record. And so as I look at our team and the systems that are in place or are going to be in place, I’m very confident with where we’re at and where we’re headed.”

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TheOak

I am excited about his excitment

Wilde18

Good interview. He is a leader, his positive attitude is good for the team and the fans


Somewhere over the rainbow!

Rugby Saint II

Face of the franchise and heart of the locker room.