Sean Payton - Wednesday PM post-practice interview

Written by Dave Lawrence (New Orleans Saints) | Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:02 | Saints News

New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Opening Statement:

"We pretty much have the same injury list that we've been operating off of. Adrian Arrington took limited reps; we're still resting Tracy Porter's hamstring along with Courtney Roby. We sat Billy Miller in this afternoon's practice just to get him off his feet and give him a breather. His knee has some swelling but he should be fine. Mark Simoneau is going to have his surgery tomorrow. Chip Vaughn already had his surgery. In regards to playing time for Friday night, the two guys that just had surgery will be out, Courtney Roby won't be ready to play, I'll probably hold Tracy Porter in this first game. We'll see where we're at D'Juan Woods; he got some reps today and looked better. We'll see where we're at with Malcolm Jenkins, just being that he has just joined us."

Can you tell what happened with Reggie Jones out there today?

"They think it's his left Achilles. We won't know until the doctors take a peek at it, but that's the early prognosis."

Will Lance Moore play Friday?

"We'll hold Lance back this week. He's the one guy I forgot to mention. Reggie Bush should get some snaps. He should be ready to go; we backed off his practice reps today but he should be fine."

How did the workouts with Derrick Brooks and Derek Smith go today?

"They went well. Those guys are both in great shape. We're not going to do anything right yet. I talked to both players and we're going to get through this game on Friday and into the weekend and then make a decision in regards to what direction we want to head."

What would trigger a move there? Would it be something you see Friday night?

"No, I think it's just a matter of timing. The obvious first thing is that we wouldn't expect either player to play in this game so there's no urgency in signing a player right now two days prior to a game. We'll see after Friday's game where we're at."

What did you do as far as working them out?

"Just linebacker drills. It was a pretty extensive workout that Joe Vitt and Adam Zimmer put them through."

Would contract terms be an issue?

"I don't think so. I think that both players are hungry and looking for an opportunity. I don't that would be a big sticking point."

What would prompt either one of them getting signed?

"With the loss of Simoneau, we felt like we wanted to take a look at a couple of veteran linebackers. We're going to get through this game Friday and see where we're at, discuss it some more, and then one way or another make a decision by Saturday."

Do you feel like there might be another team coming in for one of these players?

"It's hard to tell. I wouldn't know. You never really can tell. Certainly two players of their caliber are on the short list of a number of teams."

So is it less of an if than a when?

"I didn't say that. I said that we're going to make a decision by Saturday whether to sign a player or not and we'll get through the game."

What role would Derrick Brooks fill on this team?

"In either player's case, they would be a guy that could come in and initially give us depth because there would be a learning curve that's pretty significant this late in the process. That being said, both of them are in real good shape; both of them have played a long time and had successful careers. You wouldn't want to necessarily at the very beginning define a role but we understand that they're both experienced players that have played a long time in this league. We would only sign one of those players if we felt like they were going to play a role that we felt that we needed."

How long will the starters play on Friday night and how will you split the reps between the quarterbacks?

"Typically in this first preseason game we go about a quarter with the starters. The second wave goes the second quarter into the third quarter and then the third group will finish the third quarter and play the fourth quarter."

Will it be Mark Brunell and then Joey Harrington at quarterback?

"No, what I'll do is probably get Drew Brees some work and then get Brunell in there some with the first group and take him through somewhere in the third quarter and get Harrington about half of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter."

How much has Jonathan Vilma meant to this team since he's been here?

"Quite a bit. He's a guy that works extremely hard at his position. He's a quick study. He's one of the leaders on defense. He has been an important acquisition for us."

He said that it meant a lot to him that you guys stuck by him this offseason. Can you talk about that?

"Those are tough decisions that you have to make. They don't always favor the player but certainly with his age and where he is in his career, we felt that he was a priority guy for us to re-sign. When we made the trade for a player with one year left on his contract, we were hoping that he would be able to play and have success and if that was the case - which in his situation it was - we felt pretty good about re-signing him."

You've had people that have excelled in other sports speak to your team over the years in Avery Johnson and Roy Jones, Jr., etc. What does the team get out of something like that?

"I said this in the introduction of both of the boxers that these guys have won a lot of fights. When you look at Roy Jones, Jr.'s career, it's unbelievable. We can't have enough of those guys around our players - guys that have been competitive and in the arena. They understand the battle. It should be an interesting fight Saturday night; I haven't followed it much, but there will be a little bit more focus on our part now having had a chance to meet these guys."

Do you have a pick for the fight?

"No, I'm smarter than that."

Will you go to Biloxi to watch the fight?

"No, we have film to watch and meetings scheduled so we'll watch it on TV."

What is your schedule for tomorrow?

"The schedule tomorrow is much like a Saturday before a game. We'll have a brief walkthrough, go through the mechanics of pre-game for all these guys because it's the first time. We'll hold practice here inside and it will really be more of a walkthrough."

Are you leaning toward putting Simoneau on injured reserve?

"That's a question that we haven't really answered yet. We have discussed it, but a lot of it is going to be determined based on how we think the surgery went and the doctor's prognosis."

From what you saw from Brooks today, could he play outside still you think?

"That's his position. He moved around well. He was nicked up with a hamstring last year and another injury, but prior to that he was playing at a good level. We'll see, but that would be the position that we would start him at."

Outside of Vilma and Marvin Mitchell, who would go into the middle linebacker spot on Friday?

"Our plan initially is to start with Vilma and play Mitchell. Jo-Lonn Dunbar is a guy that could take snaps in there."

Would you move Anthony Waters inside at all?

"We'll probably leave Waters outside right now and we'll see how it goes."