PRESS CONFERENCE SAINTS - HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON - ingles

Super Bowl XLIV – Monday, February 1, 2010

QUOTES FROM NEW ORLEANS SAINTS PRESS CONFERENCE

HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON

(Opening statement) “We just had a real brief practice. We came up here to the indoor facility, and got some good work in. Tomorrow will be Media Day for our guys, and then we will get into our routine on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and a walkthrough on Saturday. I think the schedule and the practice times have been posted.”

(on how the Saints’ day went) “Today went pretty smooth. The flight coming here wasn’t pretty long. We were able to get everyone into the hotel and get over to the University of Miami’s locker room to get the lay of the land. Guys got changed there, and we bused up here to get our practice in. We wanted to get a workout in today. We felt that was important. Overall, it went pretty good.”

(on how the club’s travel logistics went) “Actually, it was pretty smooth. When you get the itinerary down and the players are adaptable, it just involved us busing up here to practice. We knew going in this week that this would be the rain plan. The weather forecast for the balance of the week, after tomorrow, is pretty good, so these fields will dry up well. It was good that we had the (Dolphins’ indoor) bubble to use today.”

(on if the Saints will use the Dolphins’ indoor facility again) “The league has a schedule for both teams in the event of rain. This provides you the ability to practice and get your work done.”

(on how injury to DE Dwight Freeney affects the Saints game plan) “I wouldn’t be able to comment on a potential injury to someone on the other team. The focus for us is just getting a good week’s work done, and I wouldn’t want to speculate.”

(on taking the New Orleans job after working with both the Giants and Cowboys that have a lot of history) “In the early stages, what’s important is the message and the time spent with (General Manager) Mickey Loomis and ownership in regards to their commitment level. When you take over and get a new job, more often than not, it’s because they’ve had trouble in the past. I think what’s important is trying to quickly identify what’s kept the team from being successful. I’ve said this before, it’s also important to be able to identify who is having success. You’ve heard me talk about the Patriots, and paying close attention in our industry to organizations or teams like New England, and really studying closely the reason they were successful. It’s pretty good business practice to do that. You start with the team aspect of it, of trying to get players who put the team ahead of their own accomplishments, their own itineraries. That’s easier said than done. With that being said, that’s where we started in 2006 in trying to build this the right way. In the beginning, it had a lot to do with the people in the interview process, of feeling confident that there was a willingness to take the steps needed, the commitment needed to be successful. You trust your gut that way, and you start working.”

(on the Saints’ Pro Bowl players dressing as bellhops when the team arrived at the hotel) “We had a group of players come down early. The Pro Bowl players came down yesterday for last night’s game, and the league did a real good job of working through the logistics and getting the players there. It’s unique in that they’re arriving ahead of the team. You never lose track of the job you have. For about a half-hour today, those Pro Bowl players earned some pretty good tips with our players getting off the bus and handling the luggage. They did a good job. We’re always one to steal a pretty good idea. I think Bill Walsh a long time ago had a pretty good idea, and we just took it like one of his offensive plays and ran with it.”

(on what he identified from Anthony Hargrove from the DVD he sent out) “I think it started with the face-to-face interview. People in all walks of life, at times, can hit rock bottom or maybe exhaust their opportunities. There is part of us that wants to make sure you give someone a second chance, and it starts with evaluating the sincerity of someone eye-to-eye and having the belief or having the same confidence in that person that you would want for him to have in himself. Starting with the visit and laying out the structure for him, what we would expect and our expectation level. To his credit, daily he lives that. Daily he recognizes this opportunity. When that happens, there’s more of a reward or gratification in what you do than the second-round pick who comes into the league. In other words, it’s a good story, and it gives you confidence in the human spirit and what someone can change in their life despite the mistakes they’ve made prior. It’s easy to be proud of a guy like that. He’s had to battle and fight, and I think it’s a good message.”

(on what makes Drew Brees such an ideal person for the Saints and how much he means to the community) “He is an unselfish player. He’s extremely committed to his line of work. It’s hard in a 15-minute press conference to talk about his work ethic and the way he prepares. For the fans, the persons who live and eat New Orleans Saints football, for them to have someone like that as the quarterback of their team, who is also very talented, a very good athlete and very successful, they appreciate that, and they respect that. There is a combination of character and toughness, hard work and athleticism. All of those things that would draw somebody to a player like Drew Brees, and I think it’s unique.”

(on relationship between Drew Brees and Mark Brunell, and what was the Saints’ thinking in signing Brunell) “The one thing we were looking for was someone who could still play. It’s one thing to say that we want to have a mentor, and yet our job as coaches is to make sure we are providing that. So it started with the question: Do we feel like we have a vision for the player in Mark Brunell? We felt like his arm strength was still solid. There is a confidence level about him in the huddle and in practice that is somewhat contagious. That’s a good trait to have when you are someone who could be called upon at any time. Outside of the evaluation process, the other things were things we felt good about. He has been someone who has been a key figure on this team and has a key role. He still works and prepares just like you would expect for any one of your players each week. I had to get over the fact he was left-handed – there are some twists that go along with that. Behind him, we have a young guy named Chase Daniel, who is intriguing and has done some good things. We have a pretty good mixture of some experience as well as youth. It came down to skill set first in regards to Mark. We looked closely at it, and we were able to get him signed. He’s provided us leadership in regards to that, even as a No. 2.”

(on if they will bring back Brunell next season) “Next year seems like five years from now.”

(on if he’s concerned that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ comments have become bulletin-board material) “No. Listen, I paid close attention to what was said. I think that I said this last week: Given the nature of Super Bowl week, I think that one of the first things you try to do defensively is try to hurry the quarterback, pressure the quarterback or disrupt the timing of the quarterback. I think it’s fairly common sense with defensive football. In looking at it, I don’t really pay much attention to that.”

(on if he uses that example to tell players that they have to be careful in what they say) “Any more, the regular season provides that as well as the Super Bowl. In other words, the weekly media availability, the weekly press conferences, divisional round, NFC championship round, Super Bowl – this game is covered more than ever before. I think the players and coaches understand that – how to conduct themselves and to be humble. Certainly when you look at a team like Indianapolis, who we are getting ready to play, we have all of the respect in the world for what they have accomplished. As the season was unfolding, this was a team along with us, that hadn’t lost a game. Each week, whether they fell behind and came back and won, or whether they jumped out to a lead and won, you really measure the body of work. You look at what they’ve accomplished, and it’s been rare. It’s unique, and it provides a great challenge for us this weekend.”

(on how much he has changed the playbook each season) “Each year takes on a shape of its own based on your personnel. If you go back in 2006, we had players like Terrance Copper and Jamal Jones. They were receivers you wouldn’t be able to pull up right now. Each year based on what you are seeing in the offseason and in training camp, you evolve with your personnel. It’s important as anything to have flexibility as a coach to really look at who you have and who gives you the best chance to move the football. Deuce (McAllister) played extremely well in 2006, and I thought we played a pretty good brand of complimentary football offensively and defensively, and had success. In 2007 and 2008, we were not as successful, and this year we found more balance in the running game, and we are doing a better job of taking the ball away on defense. It’s just important to pay attention to the parts. In a guy like Robert Meachem’s development after he was selected and his emergence, those are all things. Some guys, it happens quicker, and with other guys, maybe it takes a little more time. You want to have some flexibility in regards to what you are asking those guys to do based on who is doing it.”

(on if he thinks having common opponents with the Colts, like the Jets, Patriots and Dolphins, help at all with this week) “I don’t know if that’s real significant. I do think it’s fair to say that having a full season of tape study and being able to reference formations, how they played offense against certain teams, all of that goes into a good game plan. The common-opponent aspect of it, I don’t know if it is as important. In other words, most importantly are looking closely at the cut-ups. When teams get to this point in time, all of us have tendencies and things that you do well. Just because you are now at this stage, or this portion of the season, the mistake sometimes is trying to change too much. There is a reason you’ve had success, and I think it’s important in this type of atmosphere that you give your players the things they do well and the things they are able to draw on in a game like this.”