Sean Payton Post-OTA Practice Press Conference

Saints News

Post-Practice Press Conference Transcript

Monday, June 15, 2009

Opening Statement:

"We had one roster move: Alex Fletcher goes on reserve/retired and we signed Digger Bujnoch at center. Alex has a medical issue and unfortunately for him he can't continue to play. I'd rather not go into the specifics but it's pretty serious. He talked with me after practice Friday and let us know that he had to stop playing. Clearly we understand why."

Was it an emergency thing?

"No. He has one kidney and the one kidney he has needs some work. That becomes an immediate stop to playing football. I think he's going to be done playing football."

How had he been playing?

"He was doing good. He had come in as a young player and was upset and disappointed obviously but knows he has to get this thing better."

Where was Marques Colston today?

"Marques called and told me he'll be here tomorrow. He missed today."

Did Robert Meachem get injured today?

"No, that happened last week. It's a slight hamstring. We put him through the walk-through and individual drills and then eased off the team work."

Was Nick Leckey here?

"Leckey had spurs in his ankle operated on. He'll miss the remainder of these OTAs and will be healthy in plenty of time for training camp."

Is Randall Gay feeling better?

"He's much better. You mentioned Meachem, you mentioned Leckey. Paul Spicer is still battling a groin and Dan Campbell is still recovering from his knee."

Was that your first work in two-minute today?

"Yes. Today was two-minute installation. It was installed today and it was the first time that we've worked it. We'll work it again this week. We need a lot of work with it."

Barring any surprises do you expect a roster spot to go to either Courtney Roby or Skyler Green as a kick returner?

"That's a good question. I think that will sort itself out. In my mind, I have not decided that one of those two are going to get a spot. Those guys are certainly competing for a spot. I tell these guys every year that they're not just competing against their own position group, that there's a lot more to it than that."

Is there anyone else on the roster that would be the full-time kick returner?

"Pierre Thomas is a returner and we've used him pretty consistently. At punt returner, we certainly have experience with Reggie Bush back there. Those guys are looking to make a roster spot starting with their return skills and then of course their ability to play receiver."

You've been working with Tracy Porter as a punt returner and it looked like at times he's had trouble. Will he continue to work on that?

"He's someone that is going to be one of the guys that will get reps. He just has to continue to work on being more consistent. The one day out here he struggled with wind and the next day he did better without the wind. He just has to be more consistent for us to feel confident in him doing that on an every-down basis. He's someone that did it in college and he'll be a candidate once we get started."

How much more confidence do you see in Sedrick Ellis this offseason?

"From a mental standpoint, he understands what we're doing. He's in pretty good shape, maybe a little heavy. When you watch him and you watch the film of him, he's certainly focused on what we're doing. He's playing with confidence and he gives us someone with explosion inside. He played quite a bit last year and barring the injury would have played most of last year."

How do you feel about the Rod Coleman experiment?

"The big thing when you start talking about a veteran player like Rod Coleman is just monitoring and managing the reps. It's the same thing with Paul Spicer, Dan Campbell, Darren Sharper; there will be a handful of these guys that we'll probably back off some in training camp with one practice rather than two and just understand where their body is at. Right now, we're still in the midst of OTAs and we have a long way to go."

Has Coleman looked rusty?

"No. He's had some days where he has played well and he got nicked up a little bit here in the middle part of the OTAs, but for a guy that has been out a year, it's a little more challenging. The key is to get him ready for that month of training camp where he's competing for a position."

After missing all of last season, how important are these OTAs for DeMario Pressley?

"I think they're real important because he's that far behind. He has his body in better shape and has had a pretty good offseason. I'm anxious to see him - and I think there a few other players where the pads will define how he fits. It's hard for some of these linemen to get a true measure outside the mental aspect of what they're doing because of the uniform and the type of practices that we have to have. He'll be one that we'll take a good look at this fall."

Can you tell that he's picking up on things even playing without pads?

"He seems to be picking things up from an alignment standpoint. It starts with knowing what to do and we've talked about that. In order to properly evaluate someone, that's probably the first thing that can eliminate some players. If they don't know what to do then we can't put them on the field."

With the depth you have at receiver, will someone like Paris Warren really have to contribute on special teams and has he done that before?

"He has played some. He's going to have to be able to jump out. These guys all understand that their role - not only as a receiver - but how can they supplement what they do as a receiver and give you more versatility. He's one of four or five of those receivers that will be in that camp and we'll try to make sure we get plenty of looks when we get into training camp of how these guys look as gunners and jammers, how they do covering kicks. Again, it will come back to the amount of snaps and their value; he'll be one of those players."

Will you continue to emphasize the two-minute drill these last three days of OTAs?

"We will. We think it's one of the more important installations. Most of the games we play come down to a team having to score or us having to score. Of the 16 games, it's probably going to take place at least 12 or 13 times. Occasionally you're not in that situation. It's an important aspect of the game."

Do you make it the last thing you install?

"We have more installation still. We have two or three more installs this week, but once we install something we continue to practice it. Today it was two-minute, tomorrow we'll be working on some short-yardage but we'll still come back to two-minute."

So is the two-minute as much for the defense as the offense?

"It's for both sides of the ball, working with the communication that goes on and the huddle calls and being able to in a loud environment handle it and get lined up in the correct place on defense and execute the right play on offense."

Was it a little ragged today?

"I think so. It was the first day and one of the comments that we talked about after practice that this was a Monday after a weekend practice. It was a little sloppy. If you're not on it and if you're not paying close attention in a drill like that, it will show itself."

I know without equipment it might be hard to say, but have any of the backup offensive linemen had a good showing?

"It is hard because right now you're looking at the mental aspect of what they're doing. Leckey has had some experience and prior to his surgery was doing a good job. I think Jermon Bushrod is going to have a chance to define himself in this camp. It's going to be an important one for him obviously. Zach Strief has played a little bit more than Jermon but all of those guys are competing and trying to work on the technique that they're being taught. There's a lot more individual work done here than the team aspect of it. It's probably too early and too hard to begin to grade how they've been doing."

How has Chip Vaughn been picking things up?

"Fairly well. He's a guy that has good range and good straight-line speed. We need to bring his weight down a little bit. He has an understanding of what we're doing. He's behind, as most rookies would be, but he does have good speed and I like his size."

Does he look good instinctually?

"I don't know. It would be too early to say with him other than there has been some things that we've seen that we have liked. I think Usama Young has done a good job with the transition; he has kind of jumped out at us with that move and I think that move has really helped him. We've been encouraged seeing him at safety."

Which of the young guys do you see competing for a spot at the weakside linebacker position?

"Jo-Lonn Dunbar has taken snaps there and then you have a guy like Jonathan Casillas who has taken snaps at the other outside linebacker spot. Anthony Waters has taken snaps at the Mike; Marvin Mitchell has taken snaps at the Mike. If you're looking at a guy like Mark Simoneau, he's working backup Mike and backup Will. He's kicking back and forth. Most of those guys can play one or two spots, so the young guys - Mitchell, Dunbar, Waters and Casillas and some of those guys are competing not only at linebacker but they will be with their special teams ability."

Have you been surprised with the transition Usama Young has made?

"As you guys ask the questions, I'm trying to think of some guys that have stood out. It's a little bit easier at safety or receiver in these type of practices. He has done a good job and I'm encouraged with his play. He has picked it up, he has range, he has a pretty good feel. You don't know how it's going to transition when you make a change and he seems to have handled it pretty smoothly."

Do you think this weather had anything to do with the practice being a little sloppy?

"I don't know. It's warm, but I just thought that we've had better practices. I hope we finish better with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday."

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