Sean Payton - Wednesday post-practice interview

Written by Justin Macione (New Orleans Saints) | Wednesday, 26 August 2009 15:40 | Saints News

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Opening Statement: This is what we have today injurywise; (Scott) Fujita went today and is going to be fine. (Pierson) Prioleau went today. We held Pierre Thomas out. There's a good chance we'll probably hold him out of the game this weekend and give that knee some rest. Charles Grant got some work. He'd be questionable. Billy Miller got work. He'll be questionable for Saturday's game. Stanley Arnoux is out. Jammal Brown, out. Reggie Bush started and then we held him back. He'd be questionable for the game right now. Anthony Davis did not go. Lastly, Darnell Dinkins is probably about a week away with his ankle. Finally (Darren) Sharper did not practice. He's questionable for the game. Chip Vaughn and D'Juan Woods didn't practice. We mostly worked on third down and nickel work with some two-minute at the end.

Q: Do you want to feature Reggie more in this game?

A: I know I'm probably not going to be able to get Pierre work in this game. My goal is to get him some work in that last preseason game. With Reggie, we'll see. It's really the calf. He's making progress and at the same time it's like a hamstring where you have to be careful that you all of a sudden don't reinjure it.

Q: Did Malcolm Jenkins bank up his right hand a little?

A: Yes, it's nothing significant. They put a piece of protective padding on his wrist.

Q: Does Tracy Porter have the same problem?

A: Yes. He should be fine.

Q: Would you work a three-headed monster in the backfield?

A: I think a lot of people do.

Q: Why has it become popular?

A: You play a long season and I've just been taught that at that position you have to stack it up and have some depth. You're going to have some nicks along the way. I think the exception to the rule is the team that can feature just one back the whole season. When you understand what they do well and try to highlight what they do well it's very common. You can go through every team and see a rotation of some sort even in Minnesota where there's more than one back. It's a tough position.

Q: Is the nature of the game changing where you aren't seeing one bell cow back on a team anymore?

A: There's always room for a player like that (Jim Brown), but certainly with the size and speed, the health is a big issue for most teams at that position.

Q: What does Mike Bell bring to the table differently than Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas?

A: If you ask me what his strengths are I'd say Mike Bell is an upright runner who stays the course. He's pretty physical when he hits the hole. I think he has pretty good acceleration. He can lower his pads. Those are some of the things if you are paying attention to practice and watching us, you can see it in the goal line. Those are some of his strengths.

Q: Do you have any long term concern with Darren Sharper's health?

A: No, I just want to make sure he's healthy before we put him back out there.

Q: Was it a slight concern at one point with the rotation in the defensive line, especially for the first four games?

A: It was a little concern coming into the spring. Here are some of the things we've taken a look at now. (Anthony) Hargrove has taken some work with (Sedrick) Ellis at the three technique You've seen Ayodele compete at the nose position (Rod) Coleman's a guy competing for a position There are more guys taking snaps and getting work now to make it a positive.

Q: Are you happy with the blocking of the receivers?

A: Last weekend's game I was. Last weekend's game it was good. It led to some long runs. Devery (Henderson) does a good job on Mario (Williams), the defensive end at the point of attack and (Marques) Colston ties up the corner. I thought it was improved last weekend.