Dennis Allen discusses the Saints win over the Panthers and what the team needs to improve on.
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00:00 Look, obviously it feels good to win, particularly here at home.
00:04 I don't think that we played as well as we need to play.
00:11 We played well enough to win this game, but we certainly gotta play better,
00:15 particularly on offense.
00:16 I don't think we played the way we need to play offensively.
00:19 I thought the block punt was a big play in the game.
00:25 I thought defensively we came up with a couple of red zone stops that I
00:29 thought were big in the game.
00:31 And then our ability to finish in the red zone today was kind of
00:37 the deciding factor.
00:38 I think we were three or four, I think that's what it was, in the red area today.
00:43 So we finished drives and scored touchdowns down there.
00:47 So there's some positive things, but
00:49 obviously there's a lot of things we gotta fix.
00:51 >> What didn't you like about the offensive performance?
00:55 >> Well, I didn't think we had really hardly any rhythm early on.
00:58 Well, I shouldn't say that.
00:59 I thought early on in the first quarter,
01:02 I thought we did a good job on the opening drive.
01:05 Basically being able to run the football, we were converting early.
01:10 We stalled in the red zone, and then we missed a field goal.
01:14 And then I think for probably a significant portion of the game,
01:18 I just didn't think we had great rhythm offensively.
01:24 I thought our guys in the fourth quarter responded,
01:27 we got the big play to AT.
01:29 Then obviously we scored down there in the red area.
01:34 And then we had fourth down stop, basically down there in our red zone and
01:39 get another touchdown to kind of finish off the game.
01:44 >> It looked like Derek and McQuay had an exchange of words.
01:47 Is it concerning at all that your quarterback's running on a couple of these
01:49 things on the field?
01:50 >> Not a little.
01:52 This is a highly competitive business that we're in.
01:55 So I don't think anybody gets too sensitive.
01:57 Guys wanna win, and that's really what this is all about.
02:03 So look, we addressed it.
02:07 It's as far as I'm concerned, it's water under the bridge.
02:12 Let's move on.
02:13 You know what I mean?
02:13 Let's move on.
02:14 >> But when it's two team captains yelling at each other,
02:17 want us to be held back,
02:18 you don't feel like that's a concern for team chemistry overall?
02:21 >> I think if you're ever in a highly competitive environment, and
02:25 things aren't going the way that you want it to go, yeah,
02:27 there's sometimes that you get frustrated.
02:29 You lash out a little bit.
02:31 I'm glad that both of them have the balls to at least stand up and fight.
02:39 You know what I mean?
02:39 So this isn't like a,
02:44 I mean, my wife and I argue.
02:50 It happens.
02:52 So let's don't make too much of it.
02:54 >> So you would say that this is something that you've seen before with teammates
02:59 and team captains?
03:00 >> Look, these kinds of things happen on the field.
03:04 They happen on our sideline, they happen on our opponent's sideline,
03:10 they happen in other NFL games.
03:12 So I wouldn't read too much into it.
03:17 I think that's two highly competitive guys that wanna win.
03:19 >> But with the, I'm sorry?
03:21 >> Yeah, can I finish?
03:23 >> Yeah, okay, yeah.
03:25 So I just think when you have competitive guys and
03:28 things aren't going the way that it needs to go, guys,
03:34 they get pissed, sometimes they express their emotions.
03:39 Then you get over on the sideline, you calm down, and
03:41 then you come back out and you regroup and you go.
03:44 And that's what we did.
03:46 >> Sorry, but with that situation and
03:48 then the fans even trying to cheer for James a couple of times, the way that-
03:52 >> Listen, stop, okay?
03:54 Stop.
03:55 We're making way too big a deal of it.
03:57 Let's move on.
03:58 >> Dennis, how would you assess Derek Coggs' play today?
04:00 >> Yeah, I think up and down.
04:03 I think much like the whole offense, right?
04:06 Up and down. There were some good things.
04:07 There's some things that we need to do better at.
04:09 So that's how I would assess it.
04:11 >> Dennis, were you limited at all or
04:13 a little more conservative than maybe you might wanna be because of Derek's injuries?
04:18 Did that play a role in this?
04:19 >> I don't really think so.
04:22 I don't really think so.
04:23 I just think we struggled to kind of get into a rhythm.
04:25 I don't think our execution was where it needed to be.
04:29 I did think we ran the ball well early on.
04:31 And then obviously we weren't really able to throw the ball as well as we needed to.
04:37 So then we began to get a little bit more loaded boxes and
04:39 things like that that made it a little bit more difficult to run the football.
04:46 And then look, when we needed to go make a play to try to end the game,
04:50 we made a play to end the game.
04:52 And so I thought that was positive.
04:55 >> Dennis, what do you think of the kind of hustle played by Ibo?
04:57 >> I thought it was awesome.
04:59 I think it's something we talk about all the time, defend every blade of grass.
05:03 And he easily could have just allowed him to go into our end zone
05:08 without having to pay the price.
05:13 He hustled down there, stopped him short, and
05:16 then were able to get a red zone stop.
05:19 I think that's part of the culture of a winning team,
05:25 and I thought that was exactly what we're looking for.
05:29 >> Dennis, going back to your opening statement,
05:32 you guys ended up in a three way tie for first again today.
05:34 But I feel like the last couple years there was a sense of the division hasn't
05:38 gotten away from us, if we can get healthy, if we can play our best football game.
05:43 Do you think this year it's even more about this team needs to start playing
05:47 better than just surviving long enough to let the stand-
05:51 >> Well, yeah, look, I mean, yeah,
05:53 obviously I feel like we need to play a better brand of football.
05:56 And that's what we're gonna continue to work towards doing.
06:01 But we talked about winning this week, and we took care of goal number one.
06:08 And now we'll move forward and worry about next week.
06:11 >> Can we give you guys a little bit of a spark with that third down catch?
06:15 >> Yeah, I thought that was a hell of a catch.
06:16 For him to go up there like that and then bring it in through contact
06:23 is something that we've missed a little bit, and it's been nice to see.
06:29 >> It was kinda hard to tell cuz Carolina was struggling on offense quite a bit.
06:33 But did you feel like your defense gave one of its better performances in
06:36 the last month or so?
06:37 Or- >> I thought particularly in
06:39 the passing game, I thought we did a good job.
06:40 I felt like, again, I feel like there were some opportunities
06:45 to get the quarterback on the ground that we didn't.
06:50 And they ended up converting a few more first downs via his legs than I would've
06:56 liked, and then we had one misfit on a run, which ended up being an explosive run.
07:02 But I thought overall, I thought they did some nice things.
07:06 And I feel like kinda once we got him into a passing game mode,
07:11 I thought our guys took advantage of it.
07:14 >> With Jimmy kinda giving you what he's given over the course of the past couple
07:17 of games, touchdowns in the red zones for each of those, do you feel,
07:20 what would you say your assessment is for
07:21 the earlier decisions of him being inactive in red zone trouble?
07:25 >> Again, I'm not- >> Time for that.
07:27 >> Let's start focusing on what we need to do moving forward.
07:31 And I think we've all been through those decisions and
07:37 thought through all those things.
07:38 But he certainly has given us a little bit of an uptick last couple of weeks.
07:42 >> What did you see on the block point?
07:44 How did it help the way he's played?
07:45 >> Well, look, honestly, I'm not sure exactly how it got through.
07:49 I know Nephi got through pretty clean and did a heck of a job taking the ball off
07:54 the foot, and then D-Jack was there to pick it up and run it in.
07:57 I thought it was, obviously,
08:02 the design of the rush was good and the execution of the rush was good.
08:07 >> Coach, at what point does winning no longer cover over the multitude of
08:10 the scenes when it comes to football?
08:12 How do you approach the message to this team after the win,
08:14 even though you had a good margin of victory on the scoreboard?
08:17 >> I'm not sure I understand the question.
08:21 >> So you win by a big margin, but it's kind of an ugly game.
08:24 At what point does winning not cover up for a lot of the issues?
08:28 >> Listen, every game that you play, whether you win or lose,
08:31 there's gonna be good things that happen in the game.
08:33 There's gonna be some bad things that happen in the game.
08:36 There's never been a game that that hasn't been the case.
08:39 But ultimately, this game's about winning.
08:43 And so we won a game today.
08:44 Nobody's gonna apologize for winning a game today, all right?
08:48 We're gonna take the win.
08:49 We're gonna understand the corrections that we need to make, and
08:51 we're gonna work hard to correct those things.
08:53 And that's the process that you go through on a daily and a weekly basis.
08:58 >> We kind of spoke about it on Friday, but
09:01 a little bit more of an expanded role for Zach Vaughn as a pass rusher.
09:03 How do you feel that he's impacted the game?
09:06 >> Yeah, look, hard for me to comment on that right now.
09:08 But certainly, that's been something that we've kind of needed.
09:15 Maybe a little bit more speed on the edge,
09:19 especially with Cam kind of being a little limited.
09:22 So we'll evaluate the tape and see how it was.
09:25 But I would expect that we could potentially continue to see him and
09:30 a little bit of that role.
09:31 >> I know Chris was sick all week.
09:32 How, was he battling through that today?
09:34 >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was battling through it.
09:37 But he fought through it and
09:39 has held the play down there on the goal line to catch the ball for the touchdown.
09:42 So that was good.
09:45 But yeah, he was not feeling well.
09:48 >> And Steve, you kind of touched on this earlier this year, but
09:52 how did Jimmy respond when he wasn't in the lineup?
09:55 And how did he kind of- >> Great.
09:59 >> Yeah.
10:00 >> Great.
10:00 And he responded great when he got in the lineup.
10:04 He's a pro.
10:05 So said he'd be ready when his number was called.
10:08 His number was called, he was ready.
10:09 So that was good.
10:11 >> Dennis, can you talk about Jordan Hobbs?
10:13 Seems like he was all over the place today.
10:16 >> Yeah, look, I mean, just on first take after just coming off the field,
10:21 I thought there were some good things that I thought he did in the game.
10:24 I think there's some things that we're gonna need to correct.
10:27 And so I probably can't get too much detail as to exactly how I think he played.
10:33 Cuz it's kind of hard to do when you're just coming off the field.
10:37 But look, I saw some plays that he impacted the game.
10:41 And I saw some plays that I felt like, I gotta be better there.
10:44 All good?
10:46 >> Derek had 37 passing yards until the fourth quarter when you had that run at
10:50 the end.
10:51 How do you feel like he played coming off those injuries last week?
10:54 >> I think I mean, up and down.
10:56 >> How do you feel like he played?
10:57 I mean, you can address the offense, but.
10:59 >> I'd said he played up and down a little bit like the rest of the offense.
11:04 I mean, that's really, so it wasn't his best performance.
11:08 But again, we won the game.
11:12 So we'll make whatever corrections we need to make and then we'll move forward.
11:19 >> Was the early focus in the run game something that y'all were intent on having?
11:24 >> Yeah, look, we felt like that, look, this is a really good pass defense.
11:29 And their top, I think they were sixth in the league in terms of pass defense
11:36 coming into the game.
11:37 So we knew that was gonna be a difficult challenge.
11:41 And yet we felt like there were some opportunities to potentially run
11:47 the ball against them.
11:48 I thought our regular running game was much better in this game.
11:52 And particularly with us not having Taysom available to us,
11:59 we knew that that was gonna be something that we were gonna have to
12:03 really do a good job of is hand the ball off to the runners and
12:06 let them go make yards.
12:07 And I thought we did a pretty decent job of that.
12:09 >> And as with the way the crowd had been the past two weeks,
12:13 how much did you all, I mean, I know you need to win every game, but
12:16 how bad did you need to win those two games?
12:18 >> Yeah, look, I think everybody in that locker room and
12:23 everybody in the city of New Orleans needed the Saints to win.
12:27 And so I was glad we were able to do that.
12:29 >> What did you think of the front four so far from this game?
12:34 >> The what?
12:34 >> Front four.
12:36 >> On defense?
12:36 >> Yes, sir.
12:37 >> Yeah, look, I mean, once you let me look at the tape and
12:43 before I can really comment exactly how I thought, look,
12:46 I did think we got after the quarterback a little bit more in this game than maybe
12:51 what we have been able to do in the previous game.
12:54 So that did kind of stand out to me a little bit.
12:58 All right, thanks.