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Q & A with Coach Payton
NewOrleansSaints.com
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 1:00 PM
New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton spoke with the media following the first half of his team’s final two-a-day practice day for the 2007 preseason. Payton gave some injury updates, announced a few roster moves, and addressed some of the things that can be expected from the Black and Gold as they ramp up to the regular season, set to kick off in just over two weeks.
The following is a transcript of Coach Payton’s media session:
Opening Statement:
“We released three players this morning – Matt Baker, quarterback; Nik Sobic, offensive guard; Jake Kuresa, center. We’re down three there and we’re probably not looking to sign to fill those spots as much as we are just reducing the numbers. This afternoon we’ll work specifically on Kansas City and we’ll be inside.”
When will you make your roster cuts?
“Probably either Friday or Saturday with the first wave of cuts. We already started this morning so we’re a little ahead of schedule, but we’ll meet and spend a lot of time after this game.”
Do you expect Brian Simmons to get in there with the first team a lot more this game?
“We’ll see how Mark (Simoneau) is doing. We’ll see where he is from a health standpoint. Brian got a fair amount of snaps last week as well, so we’ll see in regard to how many snaps he gets with each group.”
Can Brian Simmons make a run at the starting middle linebacker job or has Simoneau earned that?
“Simoneau has earned everything he’s gotten and Brian has come in and picked things up quickly. We have good competition there and at the same time, we’re not going to concede or come out and say anything before the start of the regular season. Mark has done a great job of preparing just as he did last year, only he’s been with us a full season. In Brian’s case, he was limited some in the spring but he’s getting a lot of good work right now. We’ll see where it leads us in the next two weeks, but I would just say that Mark has done a real good job of handling everything we’re doing. He knows exactly what we’re doing and his play has improved consistently. Brian is gaining more confidence with everything we’re doing in regards to getting the defense aligned and getting the calls in, so we’ll keep evaluating those two just like everyone else.”
What is Mark Simoneau’s injury and his status?
“His status is that there’s a good chance that he’ll go in this game. He had a knee bruise and it’s not that serious. He’s one that shows up on the report, but fortunately for us it’s not as serious as some of the other injuries that we’re waiting on now.”
What about Ninkovich? Where is he at this point?
“He’s working through his rehab. He’s still got some time to go and he’s working hard and he’s just missing snaps and missing playing time, but there’s nothing he can do about that now. He’ll just continue to rehab and we’ll see where that takes us.”
What’s the latest on Marques Colston?
“He’s questionable for this week; I might hold him again. I don’t think it’s real serious. I think resting it over the weekend helped and him being off of his feet helped. He went through some of the walkthrough this morning. If it were a regular season game, I think he’d be able to go but there’s a good chance with a short week that I might sit him again and then play him next week against Miami leading up to the opener.”
Is Hollis Thomas at the weight you want him to be at?
“He’s getting there. We had weigh-ins today and everyone made their weight. Hollis was a little over but he’s getting there. He’s moving in the right direction.”
Does it look like Scott Fujita is ready to get back?
“He’s real close, so that’s good news.”
Will he play this week?
“I don’t know yet. We’ll see how he does this afternoon when we’re inside in pads. I’ll know tomorrow after today’s practice.”
Will the starters play three quarters this week?
“I don’t know that it’s three full quarters. We’ll probably get through the half and then with some of these guys make some substitutions and with others continue into the beginning of the third quarter for maybe one series and then make the rotation. As you’re looking at the whole group, I’d like to get them a drive in the third quarter where they're in the locker room and then they come back out. Within that whole group there will be some substitutions that will take place.”
At this point of the preseason, do you think the team is ready to get on with the regular season?
“I think there’s always that anticipation of the start of the regular season. And as that draws near, the anticipation grows. That being said, there is still quite a bit of competition for some of these roster spots and we’ve got a lot of things that we need to clean up before we start the regular season. That’s why we’re practicing and playing these preseason games.”
Is the punter position one of the more competitive ones on the roster?
“It’s pretty close. Those guys are battling and it’s been a good competition. It’s been healthy and I think they have both responded well so we’ll see how that shapes up.”
Will that come down to one of the last cuts?
“There’s a good chance we’ll wait until the last cuts with that position.”
Will Fred Thomas start this week?
“We’ll see. We haven’t decided who’s starting over that at the corner position. I’m probably not going to play Jason David – we’re probably not even going to bring him on the trip. His wife is going to have a baby Wednesday or Thursday and I’ve excused him to be there for the birth of their first child. We’ll see who we start and how we rotate those guys.”
Can you talk about the comfort level of being back here at the facility?
“Transitioning is always difficult at first because you're traveling and logistically players are getting into their housing. We all look forward to getting into a routine and one positive is that we play a Thursday game, and then we play another Thursday game, and then we open the season on Thursday. So really beginning with this Thursday’s game, Friday will be everything we would do on a Monday schedule. Saturday will be the players’ day off; Sunday will be everything we would do on a Wednesday, and so on. Basically we have two weeks to do that which I think is helpful. But it’s good to get back here and have the flexibility to go inside if we need to like we will this afternoon.”
Can you break down Fred Thomas and Jason David and how they’ve done? Is Jason Craft in that mix too?
“I think very much so. Jason David is playing with a lot of confidence. He’s gotten his hands on a lot of balls during this camp and he played very well the other night in the game. Fred knows exactly what we’re doing from a system standpoint and he’s been real consistent. In regards to Jason Craft, he’s a guy that has played a lot of snaps for us at corner and he’ll get a lot of work in this week’s game – he might even go out there and start at the right corner position. It’s good competition. We’ve got some younger guys there where Jason David has four years in the league and Fred and Jason Craft with a little bit more experience, and all of them have played a lot of football in this league, so I think it has helped us from a depth standpoint.”
Are you looking at Antwan Lake to be the week one starter?
“It would be a little early to say that. He’ll have a chance to play, but whether he will start or not – Brian Young is coming back pretty well off of the injury and we anticipate Brian being ready for that first game. He’s come along real well and he’s ahead of schedule with his rehab. We’ll see where we are two-and-a-half weeks from now, but Antwan is certainly getting a lot of experience and playing time now and I think that will serve him well.”
What kind of camp has Lance Moore had as a receiver and as a returner?
“He’s been pretty consistent. The one thing that’s important is how well a player picks up things and does he know what to do. In Lance’s case, he’s intelligent and he’s obviously got the versatility to help in the return game and as a receiver and that will be important. He’s done well and made an impression, I’ll tell you that.”
Can he contribute more in the receiving game than Michael Lewis could?
“Probably so. That’s not taking anything away from Michael, but as you looked at Michael Lewis and how I looked at him was as a returner first who could play receiver. In Lance’s case, he’s someone who has improved as a returner but is a little further along as a receiver. They're two different players, but finding that niche as a returner is important for us as a team both on kickoffs and on punt returns.”
Will Jason Fife get extended playing time in these next two games? How do you see that third quarterback spot playing out?
“We’ll see. We’re going to meet this afternoon and go through how we want to play these guys. Obviously if you're looking at the numbers, you're saying that both Fife and Palko are competing for a third position, but I tell our players all the time that they're competing for a position with each other and they're also competing with the rest of these backup quarterbacks around the league that might be waived. We spend a lot of time looking at these other preseason games and identifying players that might become available.
“That’s not unique to the quarterbacks – that goes for each position. I think it’s important that the players don’t start looking at the roster and try to figure out how it’s going to shape up because they don’t know who they're competing with outside of who’s here. There are other players that they're competing with.”
“That being said, I’d to get some more work with those young guys. How much we’ll play them, I don’t know yet for Thursday.”
Are you happy with Jamie Martin?
“Yes. As I said after the game, the challenge at that position is all the other spots around you. I was happy he came back and settled in and played better in the second half. Certainly there are some plays that he’d want back and we’ll work on correcting, but he’s someone that knows what he’s doing. I think he can play better and he feels that way as well. It’s tough, but that’s the job of the backup. He’ll play again this week and get some work this afternoon with the second group and we might even put him in with the ones as well.”
Do you have any thoughts on the Michael Vick situation?
“Obviously it’s disappointing for all those involved and disappointing for the league. Certainly for Atlanta, it’s a tough deal. The image of what we do and how we conduct ourselves whether player, coach, scout, I think is pretty clear in regard to the league office and what they're looking for from an NFL employee. It’s really a privilege to be in this league. It’s a shame when something like this happens.”
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