Saints defensive coordinator Joe Woods talks about the team's slow starts and the challenges the Panthers present on Sunday.
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00:00 I'll take it.
00:01 >> It's always colder in the Manhattan.
00:04 >> What's that?
00:04 >> It's always colder in the Manhattan cuz it's like-
00:06 >> Yeah. >> In the shadow for
00:07 like 12 hours a day.
00:09 >> I feel you.
00:09 Well, I'm from Pittsburgh, so.
00:11 >> There you go.
00:11 >> Like summer's a little bit.
00:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:17 >> I feel like we've asked this low star question so many times, but I mean,
00:21 obviously there's an energy level, there's a leadership level.
00:24 Why doesn't that translate to playing with the same sense of urgency in
00:28 the first quarter as they obviously show once they're down?
00:31 >> I mean, it's something we're trying to figure out.
00:34 And I think football's a game of momentum.
00:38 And when you go back and look through the first 15 plays,
00:43 I mean, it was like boom, boom, they scored.
00:45 It was 14-0, 21-0.
00:47 But when you look within those first 15 plays,
00:50 there was three or four plays where we just weren't clean.
00:52 Examples at first right now, we had a little adjustment,
00:57 a little check that we wanted to make based on what we saw.
01:01 And it just didn't get communicated cleanly or quickly enough.
01:04 So in that situation, if we do that, we start it down, we get off the field,
01:10 the entire game's different.
01:11 So it's like little things like that are happening.
01:14 So I always, from my standpoint as a coach, I always look at what am I doing?
01:19 How can I make it cleaner for those guys to where we get in these situations that
01:23 the execution is better?
01:25 And that's what we're all doing as coaches.
01:26 That's what we're doing as players.
01:27 We just gotta find a way to just start better.
01:30 >> How much of that feels scheme and plan and that kind of stuff?
01:37 I know Colin Saunders mentioned something about pre-planning for
01:41 what they're gonna throw at us.
01:42 I think DA mentioned that a month ago,
01:44 the first 15 script being ready for what we're gonna see.
01:47 Like how much is that and how much is guys just not playing as well in
01:52 those situations as they later play?
01:54 >> I'll take the words DA always uses.
01:56 We don't have a contract with them, so we don't know what they're gonna do.
02:00 Normally within the game early, you see some plays that maybe you didn't see on
02:07 tape, some unscathed looks.
02:09 So for us, you have to just rely on the rules.
02:12 You have to rely on your rules,
02:13 you have to rely on your technique to make those plays.
02:17 So it's something you're gonna have to deal with every week.
02:20 And from us, from a scheme standpoint,
02:22 we don't get real creative with what we're doing.
02:25 We may tweak things differently based on what teams do.
02:27 But again, it's just for
02:30 us to push this to be cleaner technically early in the game.
02:33 >> I mentioned that there was an adjustment that didn't get
02:37 properly communicated.
02:38 What's the usual sort of chain of communication in order to make sure that
02:42 adjustment gets in?
02:43 >> Well, it depends on what the adjustment is.
02:45 But normally it's gonna be second level to first level.
02:48 Sometimes it's the secondary to the second level of the defense.
02:52 Depends on exactly what it is.
02:54 But big thing is, is the defense you wanna communicate, right?
02:58 You want guys talking based on what they're seeing.
03:01 And again, early in the game, you're gone, the adrenaline's gone.
03:05 We just, like I said, we just have to be a little bit more relaxed.
03:08 Make sure that we execute the things that we've seen during the week.
03:12 And again, we were just a little bit late with making that adjustment.
03:17 >> Are the slow starts the main reason you guys have maybe taken a little bit of
03:21 a step back here the last few weeks?
03:23 Or are there other areas you can point to as well?
03:25 >> Well, that's what it feels like.
03:26 We get behind and then we get in a dogfight and we fight back.
03:30 And then we just, we fall short.
03:32 You always look back at, yeah, we could have made one or two plays here.
03:36 We wouldn't have been in that situation.
03:37 We're down by a couple of touchdowns.
03:39 And the game would be different.
03:40 So again, it's just, we all know it, coaches, players.
03:44 We're working on it.
03:45 We just have to be better.
03:47 >> So you've been a little bit banged up, Hoskey's now hurt.
03:51 You're all left, but what are your kind of secret pass rush at this point?
03:56 >> It's just NFL, you know what I mean?
03:58 You're gonna go through injuries.
04:00 It's always the next man up mentality.
04:03 But we have capable players in multiple positions up front.
04:07 So like I said, we'll put a good plan together for
04:10 them just in terms of what we're gonna do with the pass rush games,
04:14 what we're gonna do with our pressures.
04:16 But I feel totally comfortable with the guys we have playing.
04:19 >> Even you had so many replacement guys in this last game.
04:22 Was there anyone who particularly graded out well and really stepped up to that?
04:26 >> I'm just trying to think back to anything the coach has said.
04:33 I'm really concerned about my position and what's going on there.
04:36 But not anything on top of my head, I can tell you.
04:42 I've been making it up, I say so.
04:44 >> Appreciate that.
04:44 >> Yeah. >> Appreciate you.
04:45 >> Is Carl Branderson getting more attention from opponents recently because
04:50 he had such a big start to the season?
04:53 >> I mean, it feels like it,
04:54 just in terms of some of the protection things that we're getting.
04:58 He's a guy that plays with his hair on fire, 100 miles an hour all the time.
05:03 He's really good for us just in terms of we can do pass rush standpoint.
05:07 But I feel like he's getting a little more attention with the protection.
05:12 >> Is Cam gonna have to follow a reduced snap count schedule until that ankle
05:17 pulley heals?
05:18 >> Yeah, he's, I mean, he's been doing it a long time.
05:23 So he knows how to handle his body, he knows where he's at physically.
05:27 So that's something that will work out as we continue through the week,
05:31 just in terms of what his snap count is.
05:32 Like I said, for him just going out there playing was really a miracle.
05:38 Didn't think he was gonna play, he went out there and played.
05:41 So I anticipate he'll play a little bit more this week.
05:43 >> So Carolina's still struggling a lot physically.
05:46 Have you seen some strides from our show from week two to now?
05:49 >> Yeah, I think for them, obviously they're going through some things
05:55 within their organization, within their team.
05:57 I think it's probably a focus for them to get the quarterback going.
06:02 So I felt like if you look at this last game,
06:06 this day ran the ball a little bit more.
06:09 Going back when we played him,
06:11 he was a lot more mobile in the pocket than we thought.
06:14 So you still see him keeping plays alive.
06:16 You see them doing more things, getting them on the perimeter with bootlegs.
06:20 Some play action where they can protect them a little bit better, or
06:23 to spread out the formation, so he can ID things, get rid of the ball faster.
06:27 So I feel like offensively, they're kind of putting them in a position where
06:31 they feel like he can have success and protect them a little bit better.
06:34 >> Joe, Zach Vaughn had some reps on the edge.
06:39 Some of us saw him do a lot in college.
06:42 >> Yeah. >> Not necessarily as much in the pros.
06:44 So what kind of went into that decision and how you think he did it?
06:47 >> Yeah, he has versatility.
06:49 And we have a guy like that, there's a lot of things you can do from a game plan
06:55 standpoint in terms of pass rush, in terms of things you can do on coverage.
06:59 Because you know he's a linebacker.
07:01 So there's some things that we build in for him for that reason.
07:06 That's one of his strengths.
07:08 So, but he does a good, he had to rush off the edge.
07:12 He does a good job when we put him in those positions.
07:14 >> And then Paul Sandipo, he's getting a bunch of promo votes right now.
07:18 Just kind of curious what you thought of his season so far.
07:22 >> I think he's playing really well.
07:24 I think he's challenging receivers.
07:27 I think he's taking advantage of his opportunities.
07:31 And that's the only thing I ever ask him is just do your job and
07:35 make the plays you're supposed to make.
07:36 And he's been in a position, he's taken away the ball for us.
07:40 But I think he's having a really good season.
07:42 >> Not having Marcus for the next couple of games, being on hire,
07:46 just kind of talk about confidence level in Jordan and
07:49 Lonnie maybe to fill in, step up in that role.
07:51 >> Yeah, definitely have confidence.
07:52 I mean, it's unfortunate for Marcus, obviously.
07:55 He's one of the leaders in the room for us.
07:57 But we have capable players in the back end.
07:59 We have guys that have played throughout the season.
08:02 With Jordan and Lonnie, we have Jonathan Abram as well.
08:06 So all those guys, they're ready to play.
08:08 We're rotating them in practice.
08:10 And we feel comfortable playing those guys in multiple positions in the secondary.
08:14 >> Tyron was nominated as the club's all-time big man of the year nominee.
08:22 And I imagine a veteran like him in a season that's kind of at its ups and
08:26 its downs is really important.
08:27 Can you speak a little bit just to the important things?
08:29 >> Yeah, just having him in the room, just a sense of calm for us.
08:32 And I remember, I went on a pro day way back.
08:37 I was in Minnesota.
08:39 And I went down to LSU and I took him out to Outback Steakhouse.
08:42 So he remembers it, I remember it, man.
08:44 But this from where he's come from, when he was a player at LSU,
08:48 everything he's done in the NFL.
08:50 You need pros like that on your team, especially in tough situations.
08:55 Cuz those are the guys that the younger guys will look up to.
08:58 Those are the guys when they speak.
09:00 You know it means something.
09:02 So just being around him and having him,
09:04 just the calmness that he creates in our room has been great for me.
09:07 >> You couldn't find anything more exotic than Outback?
09:11 >> [LAUGH] >> I was on a limited budget.
09:13 >> [LAUGH] >> Do you remember the name of
09:16 the restaurant from, do you have that kind of memory with prospects?
09:19 Or was the Tyron dinner a special one?
09:22 >> No, it was just him, cuz he was such a unique player.
09:26 Coming out of college, the Honey Badger, all that stuff that was going on with him.
09:30 He's one of the hottest players in college football.
09:33 So I was down, man, I can take this guy out for dinner, stuff like that.
09:36 So it was just one of those things I remember.
09:38 >> Landon had a dinner with him, it was probably a coup, right?
09:42 >> Was that?
09:42 >> I said Landon getting to be the one to have the dinner on Friday night was
09:46 probably a coup, right?
09:47 >> Yeah, it was exciting for me.
09:49 >> Great.
09:53 >> Thank you. >> Good night.