Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll
Conference Call with New Orleans Media
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
With Drew (Brees) needing surgery today, does that make this a little bit difficult to prepare for, just with the fact that he's been the guy there for 13 years now and they haven't really had a whole lot of other people run the offense?
"Yeah. It does. We have to kind of wait and see. You know, it's a little bit like the first game of the year (to) kind of see how they (come out), any adjustments they may make. Drew has been such an incredible player for so long and he and Sean (Payton) have been so connected for so long. We've seen Teddy Bridgewater play before, and now we're seeing Taysom Hill. We see that they've got some other things that they can do with these guys, and we just need to wait and see, and be ready to adapt as the game opens up."
What impresses you about Teddy Bridgewater having seen him before?
"Consistency. He runs the game well. We've played against him before in big games and he just runs the game well. He's in control, in command. You can count on him. Over time he's a winning quarterback and over time he's got more touchdowns than picks and he's a very reliable quarterback and player."
Are you approaching this game as if they're going to play both guys, or are you thinking maybe it's just going to be Teddy?
"We're preparing for everything. We have to."
What are some of the challenges that a guy like Taysom presents?
"Well, I've really been impressed with him just as a ballplayer. Let's go the other way with that, too. Sean (Payton) has done a great job to make him a role player that with an expanded role. That makes him an issue. And that's no surprise that Sean would figure that out, but it's a problem. And he's just a good ballplayer. I think, probably (what I) like best about him is he's tough. He's a tough guy, and he blocks you, and he'll give you great effort when the ball is in his hands and all that. It just gives them some flexibility. They're down to two quarterbacks, so they got to figure out what they're doing and we'll just have to wait and see. (It's) interesting."
Has anything in particular stood out about the Saints defense through the first three games?
"Well, just offered last year in watching them throughout the year in the summer and all of that, I think Dennis (Allen) has done a really good job of playing to the strengths of the players. They're really aggressive. They hit you, they run well to the ball, they do their stuff. The multiple stuff that they do around the base defense, they're on the attack. And I really like the way they play. The first game was such a crazy game with the big plays and all. The stats don't bear it out, but I have a lot of respect for the way and the style they play. I think they give you a lot of problems."
A bit of a random question for you here. The defensive line coach, Ryan Nielsen, you coached him at USC and you helped him get his first coaching job. Do you remember – it was his GA job at Idaho, do you remember what went into that?
"What went into getting him the job or just supporting him as a coach?"
Just how you played a role in helping him get his start as a college coach?
"First off, Ryan was a great team guy for us. He was one of the guys that we relied on early in the program when we were developing the new approach and all that. He has always been such a good guy and he was such a hard worker that it was natural that he would kind of fit into being a coach if he wanted to do that. So, he had my support from the get-go. And when the opportunity (at Idaho) came up (for him), I just remember calling on his behalf. But for me, it's once a guy becomes one our guys, I'll do anything to help them. And Ryan is that way, will always be that way with us. Just the connections that we made early on (at USC). I'm sure he's doing a fantastic job on their staff, as well as coaching guys up. But, no surprise about his success."
What did you see out of J.T. Barrett with his short stint in Seattle?
"He did a nice job jumping in. Good ballplayer. (He) Really handled himself really well. Smart, got along, worked hard, focused, all the really good stuff. And we have not, we've been kind of in and out of the third quarterback thing. So, we just kind of, I was feeling that one out right now until something settles in, but he did a nice job."
