New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen
Conference Call with New Orleans Media
Friday, November 11, 2016

What did you think about the 49ers game?
"I thought the positives were that we took the ball away four times. I thought limiting them to three points there in the second half was a positive. I think ultimately the final measure is you want to win the game and do enough things to win the game. I think collectively as a team we were able to do that. Were there certainly things that we need to improve on and get corrected – absolutely. But it is obviously better to be able to get those corrections after a win."

What did you see out of Sheldon (Rankins) and Delvin (Breaux)?
"I thought I saw two players that were going to be contributing factors to our success on defense. Both of them, I thought, had a little bit of rust they needed to get knocked off, and I think obviously some of the conditioning aspects of playing the game. That was probably not the easiest team for them to come back and play against with all of the no-huddle and up-tempo that we saw. I thought as the game wore on that both of them got better and better as the game wore on. I thought it was a good start for them. When you really look at it, it was really kind of a good start of the season for them."

How important was the Sterling Moore acquisition for you guys?
"I think it was a really important acquisition. Sterling is one of those guys that's a savvy vet. I think he understands what his strengths are and what his weaknesses are, and understands how to play the game within that room and really specifically within the cornerback position. We got a lot of young guys in there so having a guy in there that has kind of been there and done that in a lot of different systems has been a real plus for us."

How much harder would your job be if you didn't have Kenny (Vaccaro) out there for a few games?
"Here's what I know – I know that we have a tough challenge in the Denver Broncos this week and that is really what I am focused on. I am not focused on anything else. Whatever else comes down the road, we always take those things and deal with them as they come down the road. Right now, I think our best thing is let's focus on what we have to do to try to win a game against Denver."

What have you thought of the pass rush so far this year and how can you get better in that area?
"I think that is certainly an area that we need to improve on. There have been times when we have done a pretty good job of that. I thought once we got San Francisco into a little bit of a dropback passing mode, I thought we were able to affect the quarterback a little bit more. The game of football defense, it is about the team. We need 11 guys out there contributing together. Pass rush helps pass coverage, but by the same token, pass coverage helps pass rush. The more that we can get the quarterback to have to hold the ball and not be able to get the ball out of his hands quite as quickly, I think that is going to help us with our ability to affect the quarterback."

New Orleans Saints Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael
Conference Call With New Orleans Media
Friday, November 11, 2016

Where do you think the offense is at the halfway point?
"I think as of late the last few games what's been nice is having a little bit better balance and really been running the ball well and again that comes with those getting more opportunities, pleased, but it's a long season and we still have a long way to go."

Do you guys just have too many weapons for defenses to stop?
"I think that we just do a good job, Drew (Brees) does a great job spreading the ball around in the pass game and you know we have a good group of running backs that we like and our offensive line is playing at a high level right now and I think that's a credit to the players."

How would you compare this year's performance compared to 2011?
"I think (they're) two different teams. I think that we're probably a bit of a younger team now, but I think we're growing and have guys that are working that want to be better every day. We have some great guys (now) and in 2011 we had a great group of guys as well."

How much pride do you take as a staff knowing that this offensive group is so young?
"I think the thing about these guys is they love the game. They're hungry to learn and they just go out every day and want to compete and those are the guys that we want to have."

Is being under the radar a good assessment of your public perception?
"I would say among the group here there are a lot guys on our staff and a lot of players that deserve credit. This is a team thing and if you were to ask my wife I'm probably more of the stay at home (type) and just try and do our own thing a lot of times, but we just have such a great group of guys that I don't know if any one person deserves credit any more than the other."

Can you identify something that you would say is part of your personality or your offensive philosophy?
"I would say that we came here in 2006 and we kind of got together and said what are some of the things Drew (Brees) did in San Diego, concepts that he really liked and I was familiar with that and obviously Sean's (Payton) background. It was just kind of something that's been built over the years and it continues to grow and it's going to have kind of our base, but every year we're still studying and researching and seeing what other teams are doing and we're not afraid to steal good ideas."

What have you seen that makes Zach Strief so consistent?
"I think this; I think he's a player that takes great care of himself. He's a smart player and is intelligent and he studies an opponent every week and he knows what he has to do to be successful, he works at it, he's the type of guy that you want to have and he's playing at a high level right now."