Dennis Allen speaks with some members of the Saints media at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 >> Can you explain what you liked about Clint Kubiak and
00:03 kind of specifically try to identify?
00:06 That's such a wide spread system that's now on half the different offenses in
00:10 the league, but what part of it you feel like it'll be the Saints version of it?
00:15 >> Yeah, well, look, I mean, I would say this.
00:19 Initially, I'd say I've kind of followed the Kubiak family.
00:23 Gary played at Texas A&M, so I grew up watching him play football.
00:29 He was coaching at A&M when I was playing.
00:31 Clint was probably running around out on the field at that time.
00:34 And so I've kind of followed that family.
00:38 I've followed that system of football.
00:40 I've been against that system of football.
00:43 And I think it's really difficult to defend.
00:46 And so that was kind of the initial thought that drew me to Clint and
00:52 that system, and then just getting an opportunity to visit with him.
00:56 And then doing my background research and
00:58 people that I've talked to that have worked with him, or he's worked for.
01:03 This guy, he's highly intelligent, he's creative, and he's a grinder.
01:13 He's gonna work to find the answers and the solutions.
01:18 And so I'm excited about what I think he can bring to our organization.
01:24 >> What can you say about where you guys stand with Marshawn Lattimore?
01:30 I know his contract got tinkered with.
01:32 I mean, have there been talks with him about staying together, possible trade?
01:36 >> Lattimore's on our football team.
01:38 He's a good football player.
01:39 He's been a good football player for us.
01:41 And so obviously there's a lot of things that happened
01:45 throughout the offseason, but Latt's a big part of our team right now.
01:51 >> In talking to Clint, who has he said he's excited to work with on this offense?
01:56 >> Well, look, I think the interesting thing is when a new group comes in,
02:00 they kind of look at your team and
02:04 they look at it from a positive perspective.
02:08 And so the exciting thing was, I think the offensive staff as a whole
02:13 was really excited about working with a lot of the pieces to the puzzle that we
02:18 have on offense.
02:19 And so, look, I think that brings an excitement to me in terms of
02:26 what I think we can do offensively.
02:27 >> How big a part is getting the run game back going and
02:31 getting this offense to where you want it?
02:33 >> Well, look, I think we threw the ball fairly decently last year.
02:36 And so I think where we weren't as good as being able to run the football.
02:40 And I think that's an important piece to playing good, productive offense.
02:45 I think that helps the quarterback out when you're able to run the football and
02:49 then all of a sudden you come off a heavy run fake.
02:52 And you're able to throw a play action pass and
02:55 create some explosive plays down the field.
02:57 So I've always felt like that's important in being a balanced offense,
03:04 being able to run the football and then being able to throw it when you need to.
03:08 >> The Kuviak name kind of has some weight to it when you're talking about
03:11 NFL rushing attacks too.
03:13 >> Yeah, well, look, it was amazing when I first started the whole process.
03:17 And Clint was a guy that I was interested in.
03:19 I really didn't go to Clint's stats, I went to Gary's stats.
03:25 And I looked at all the top offenses that he's been a part of.
03:29 And so I kind of started there and then you go and you start following Clint and
03:37 what he's been able to accomplish and who he's been around and who he's been with.
03:41 And you get excited about the vision of where we think this thing can go.
03:45 >> Did you see if Gary was interested in coming or
03:47 even not for the coordinator position, just to roll on top,
03:50 because you, Brian, Bill, Ken, and I worked together.
03:52 Is that something that might interest, interest them?
03:54 >> Yeah, look, I think Gary's comfortable living the retired life.
04:00 And yet I think there may be some things that we can lean on him for.
04:05 Obviously, he'll hire his son, so
04:10 he's gonna be around to help out if we need it.
04:14 >> You obviously didn't make many changes to the defensive staff then.
04:18 The one element, you guys changed a lot of personnel in the defensive line last year.
04:22 You brought in a new defensive line coach.
04:23 I mean, why didn't you get the run defense where you wanted it to be and
04:28 how far off do you think that is?
04:30 >> Yeah, well, I don't think it's as far off as many might think.
04:36 Obviously, look, we played really good run defense for a long period of time.
04:43 And so obviously, anytime there's a drop off in that area,
04:46 it's a little bit of a cause for concern.
04:50 But I feel good about where we're gonna be in terms of being able to stop the run.
04:55 And ultimately, look, ultimately the job of the defense is to A,
04:59 get the ball back for the offense, which I felt like we did a pretty good job of
05:03 taking the ball away, and B, eliminate points.
05:07 And I feel like we did a pretty good job of doing that also.
05:09 So although I think we need to improve in the run game,
05:13 I think there's some things that we need to be better there.
05:15 I think we need to improve in terms of our ability to rush the passer.
05:19 And I don't think that we played as well as I think we're capable of defensively.
05:27 And yet I still think we were productive.
05:29 >> Did you feel that the loss of Malcolm Roach to injury during the season had
05:33 any impact on that sort of down return?
05:35 >> Yeah, well, yeah, I mean, look, I think Malcolm's one of those players that
05:42 he's got some hidden production, and not just hidden production, but
05:47 there's also an element of the type of leader that he is.
05:51 He brings an enthusiasm to the defense.
05:57 And yeah, I think when you lose a player like that,
06:01 particularly at a position like that, defensive line, and
06:05 in particular inside a defensive tackle, those guys are hard to replace.
06:10 >> Can you speak to how important this offseason is for
06:11 Penning just considering it's his first offseason early,
06:14 it's to work on technique and- >> Yeah, look, I think it's huge.
06:16 I mean, I think, look, here's the good news.
06:18 The good news is that he's coming in with a clean slate.
06:23 He's coming in healthy.
06:25 So he's gonna have an opportunity to go through a full offseason program,
06:30 both from a lifting perspective and from a practice perspective.
06:34 And I think those are two critical things when you're talking about still a young
06:38 guy, I know this is going into his third year, but
06:40 he missed basically his whole rookie season.
06:44 And then last year, he missed all the offseason program before
06:50 being put in as a starting left tackle.
06:52 So I think this is gonna be an important offseason for him.
06:56 And I think being able to start on a clean slate with a lot of new guys on you,
07:02 I think will be beneficial for him.
07:04 >> Speaking of health, how's Ryan Ramchick doing?
07:06 >> Yeah, look, I think Ryan's getting better.
07:08 He's obviously, he's got a knee that he and
07:13 we are gonna have to manage, but we feel much better
07:18 about where he's at today than where he was maybe a month, month and a half ago.
07:24 >> Dennis, we've seen a handful of head coaches start to not come to this event,
07:28 and smaller stats here.
07:30 Why is it important for you guys to kinda show up in front of them?
07:33 >> Yeah, look, I think the biggest thing for me is being able to,
07:39 I've seen some of the tape on these guys, not to the extent that I want to.
07:44 But I think the biggest thing is kinda being able to put a face to the film.
07:51 And really get a chance to kinda begin the evaluation process,
07:58 not from a physical athletic standpoint as much.
08:03 More so from the type of person that he is, how well does the kid learn?
08:10 What are the things that are important to him?
08:13 Where does he see himself in terms of his development?
08:16 So I still feel like this is an important part of the evaluation process.
08:22 >> Is some of the athletic stuff, has that become obsolete at all with the tracking
08:25 and some of the different data you guys can get?
08:27 >> No, look, I don't believe it's obsolete.
08:29 I mean, I think there's still some things that you can gather from this.
08:33 I think this is a, look,
08:37 it's one thing when you're watching a guy on tape and on film.
08:40 And then all of a sudden you see him live.
08:43 It's like going to a live game.
08:45 It just looks different and you get a better feel for
08:49 what it actually is rather than just watching it on a TV screen.
08:56 >> I know obviously a lot was made about Jameis at the end of the season.
08:59 But are you able to share a little bit about kind of where things stand with him
09:02 going into the offseason?
09:04 >> Yeah, look, yeah, I think Jameis is still under contract as we sit here right
09:10 now and there's a lot of things that happened throughout the offseason program.
09:15 We'll see how those things play out.
09:18 But as we sit, and look, I know Jameis has said, I wanna go and be a starter.
09:23 And obviously that's something that he aspires to do and
09:28 we'll see how things play out.
09:31 >> You mentioned Ramchak.
09:34 How did the team come out of the season health wise overall?
09:38 I guess there's probably always a few surprises about surgeries and
09:40 things like that.
09:41 >> Yeah, there was nothing after the season that
09:47 came up of any significance where we were having
09:52 major surgeries that we didn't know were gonna take place.
09:57 I'd say we probably had a handful of surgeries that
10:03 the guys had that we kinda knew was coming.
10:08 And so we'll manage that.
10:12 I don't think, Other than probably Nephi,
10:19 I don't know that we have anybody that I expect to not be ready for training camp.
10:25 There's gonna be some guys that would be minimal to limited throughout
10:30 the offseason program, OTAs, mini camp.
10:32 But as we sit here right now, I think he's the only one that I think's probably
10:37 not gonna be ready for the start of training camp.
10:40 >> Is Ramchak part of that surgery group, the minor ones?
10:44 >> Yeah, he had a little clean up in his kneecap.
10:47 >> I know there's reasons to take training camp out of town because of
10:51 construction, so is that something you felt this team was ready for?
10:55 Would you have wanted to do that regardless as a coaching decision?
10:58 >> Yeah, look, I like training in New Orleans.
11:01 I like training in the heat.
11:03 I like being able to have the fans come out to practice.
11:05 And yet, that heat element is a major factor in terms of recovery and
11:12 things of that nature.
11:13 And so, and I think every now and then it's good to have a change.
11:19 And so, kinda excited about it.
11:22 The motivating factor for it really was all the renovations that we've
11:30 got going on at the facility.
11:31 But I kinda like the thought of taking the group out of town and
11:38 hauling them up in a hotel.
11:39 And our guys really developing a bond during that time.
11:48 >> I also like the thought of getting out of the well.
11:50 >> [LAUGH] >> Yeah, they did that for you.
11:52 >> [LAUGH] >> There's been a lot of talk about
11:55 culture, buy in and stuff.
11:56 And I know Mickey talked about talking to the players.
11:58 But what's your role in that, in establishing the culture and
12:01 establishing the buy in, now that you've got the two years under your belt,
12:05 that you feel like you need to do?
12:06 >> Yeah, well, I think it all starts with me.
12:10 And so, yeah, I think setting the mindset for
12:16 the type of team that we're gonna be.
12:19 Having that filter down through coaching staff and
12:23 the veteran players, leaders on our football team.
12:27 And we've gotta make sure that we're holding everybody accountable to
12:30 the standard that we need to have to have the type of success that we want to have.
12:36 And look, everybody wants to win.
12:42 And I think it's my job to teach what it takes to win.
12:48 And then everybody's gotta be held accountable to that standard.
12:53 >> And when you went through the off-season review process,
12:56 what were some of the things that you checked off, self-review?
12:59 Like, this is something I wanna do better in year three.
13:02 >> Yeah, well, I think that.
13:05 I think holding everybody accountable to the standard at which we need to be held
13:10 at, and holding coaches to that standard.
13:17 And then the coaches holding the players to that standard.
13:20 And players holding each other to that standard.
13:25 And like I said, I think that all starts at the top, and that starts with me.
13:29 >> You had mentioned at the end of last season that with a playoff appearance,
13:33 there was the potential that Marshawn would have been ready,
13:35 could have been ready for that game.
13:36 Did you feel the same about Michael Thomas, or
13:38 was that injury timeline at a different place?
13:39 >> Yeah, I think it was probably at a different spot.
13:42 >> How's he doing now, health-wise, and kind of where do things stand?
13:45 >> Listen, I mean, where he's at exactly in the process.
13:50 He's in the recovery process, he's in the rehab process.
13:54 I can't speak to exactly where he's at, but
13:59 I know that the reports I continue to get from the trainers is that
14:04 he's making progress.
14:06 >> Did he end up having surgery?
14:08 >> I'll be honest with you, I can't remember.
14:13 I don't think so, but I don't remember.
14:18 >> We'll take one or two more.
14:20 >> You mentioned earlier Marshawn and right now, just as a coach,
14:24 what is that process like of figuring out who's on the roster?
14:27 And specifically with him, if you guys do decide to move on or trade,
14:31 that's a really big decision, what kind of goes into that?
14:34 However, whatever you end up.
14:36 >> Yeah, I mean, I think really it's about,
14:39 I think it's about guys that we feel like can help us win football games.
14:48 Guys that we feel like can continue to build the right type of culture here.
14:55 And guys that are willing to do the things that it's necessary to do to succeed.
15:01 And so, look, like I said, I mean, Marshawn's part of our football team.
15:05 He's been a big part of our football team.
15:07 Unfortunately, the last couple years, health has been a big factor in that.
15:13 And so I think the biggest thing is, let's get Marshawn healthy and
15:18 let's see where we're at as a football team.
15:20 And we'll get the right guys out there that give us a chance to win.
15:25 >> Does health feel like a future concern for him at all?
15:28 I mean, I know they were- >> No.
15:29 >> Really unique injuries.
15:30 >> Yeah, I don't know that those are necessarily predictors of
15:36 future injury issues.
15:39 And yet, look, I think anytime you have some injuries,
15:43 those all factor into any type of decisions that you make.
15:47 But like I said, look, he's a good football player.
15:52 He's made a lot of football plays for us.
15:54 I've been with him for a long time.
15:55 And I think he is a guy that can help us win.
15:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]