New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen - Conference Call with New Orleans Media - Friday, September 14, 2018

What did you take away from the first game?
"All I'm going to say about the last game is we had a bad day at the office. We didn't play as well as we're capable of playing. We've looked at the tape, we've made the corrections that we need to make and we're excited about the opportunity to move on to Cleveland. We're certainly focused on those guys and certainly about the opportunity to go out and play against them."

What gives you the most confidence that it can be a one off and it can be a lot cleaner this week against Cleveland?
"Our guys are focused in on what we've got to do to accomplish against Cleveland and play well against Cleveland. I think they're locked into the gameplan. I think we've had a good week at practice and I think our guys are excited about getting another opportunity to go out there and play. We're looking forward to it."

Is Cleveland's wide receiver group, the kind of diversity they have there, do they present any unique challenges?
"Well certainly I think they're a talented group. The addition of Jarvis Landry gives them a tough, physical mentality. (He's) A guy that runs really good routes, a guy that's really good with the ball in his hands. That's obviously a good addition for their team. Being able to get Josh Gordon back is a plus for them, he's a big receiver,he's got really good speed and he's a really good down the field threat. I think the young guy, Antonio Callaway, is an explosive type receiver. I think the tight end, David Njoku, he's really a significant threat in the passing game and he's a big target. He's got really long arms, he can run really well and he's a tough out in terms of a vertical receiver."

Is Jarvis used differently there than when he was in Miami?
"I don't think a whole lot differently, obviously schematically there are some different things that they(Cleveland) do than what they did in Miami, but predominantly in the regular packages where two receivers are on the field, he's typically been the Z receiver. Josh Gordon or one of the other guys has typically been over at the action, then when they get into SUB in the three receiver sets, primarily he's (Landry)used inside in the slot and he runs a lot of their option routes and quick to secondary type level routes. I'd say that's very similar to how he was used in Miami."

With Gordon, is it kind of difficult to prepare for that guy considering how little he's played over the last couple of years?
"There's not a lot of recent tape on him in terms of the type of receiver that he is. We've had an opportunity to go back and look at some previous tape from a couple of years ago and you can really see a guy that's an outstanding talent. He's got really good speed and is a vertical threat down the field. I think having guys that can run those intermediate routes, as well as guys that can get down the field and take the top off the coverage presents some problems for the defense."

What are the challenges in keeping a quarterback from scrambling?
"You have got to have your four defensive linemen (involved) when you're in a four man rush. They've all got to work together,and they've got to understand what their rush lanes are and how you've got to be able keep this quarterback from scrambling. I think the biggest thing is those four guys have to work together. If they all work individually and everybody is just trying to win they're rush, that's when you create seams in the defense and you allow the quarterback to step up in through the pocket to scramble out or maybe even get outside the pocket to scramble out.Obviously that's been a big focus this week of not letting the quarterback run around and create plays with his feet. We've got to be aware of that. At the same time, this guy(Tyrod Taylor) is a really good quarterback, he can throw the football from inside or outside of the pocket. Which is certainly a challenge for us but his ability to use his feet is what really makes him unique." 

Are Tyrod (Taylor) and Fitz (Ryan Fitzpatrick) different in how they use their feet to scramble?
"I think Tyrod is a lot faster and he's more explosive in being able to create plays when he scrambles. Last week's game when they got a play down there in the red zone, I want to say it was about on the 20-yard line,Pittsburgh got a little high on the rush and he was able to get outside and scramble in for the touchdown. That's probably the uniqueness or the difference is that this guy when he scrambles, man there's explosive plays that are happening not just four-yard gains, five-yard gains or maybe even ten-yard gains but there are significant plays."

What makes Demario Davis a fit at weakside for you as opposed to the middle?
"He's got the speed and the athleticism to play in that position. He's played in that position before, he's worked all camp at that position and I think he's done a really good job there. I don't see the job descriptions being that unique in terms of what those guys are asked to do based on how we play defense. The Mike and the Will I think are very similar in what we do. The only position that's a little bit more unique really becomes the Sam."