The Seahawks will look to make it three in a row while the Saints will try to bounce back from last Sundays devasting 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in which they lost future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees for an extended amount of time due to a hand injury. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and Saints head coach Sean Payton spoke with the Seattle Media Wednesday afternoon. Payton on a conference call and Carroll at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
PETE CARROLL
(On his concern for the protection issues for the offense)
“Yeah, we’re concerned. I like what we did in the second half last week. We really caught up with the rhythm and the style. Russ (Wilson) was phenomenal, but he worked together with his guys up front in really good fashion. There’s numbers of reasons why, but it’s great having Mike [Iupati] back in the lineup to give him the stats stability. We’ve got good play out of George [Fant] as well. Mike hasn’t played in a month. George [Fant] missed three weeks or something too. Those little issues can be concerns and maybe we can get better. We’re kind of counting on it as we stay together and keep making progress.”
(On how D.J. Fluker is doing)“He went through walk through and he’s going to try to get some work today. He’s giving me a thumbs up like he’s ready to go. We’ll have to wait and see how the week goes
(On how many times he’s had to prepare to play against two quarterbacks)“I don’t know, I don’t have a number for you. I can’t tell you. I know you really don’t care about the number. It comes up once in a while. It just depends on how different the styles are of the players if it makes a difference or not on how you prepare. Really, we have not seen enough of Hill to know how they would play him in this kind of situation. He’s been spotted in and out and done a lot of really cool things. He’s a great college football player and we know all that.”
(On how Teddy Bridgewater is similar to what he’s seen from him before)“He’s really, really solid. He manages the game beautifully. He’s experienced. He’s poised. Good decision maker. I’m sure, in Sean’s package of stuff and all the beautiful things they do on offense, they got a ton of stuff they’ll do with him. They won’t hold back, I don’t think. You’re comparing him to Drew Brees who is one of the all-time ever.
They might be different in some ways. In one game, one week, we’ve got to be ready for everything because Teddy can do everything. He can throw the ball down the field, he can move, he can throw the ball in the quick rhythm stuff. He has all of the ability to do that. We’ve fortunately seen him enough and played against him and we have a feeling for him. I don’t know what Sean’s going to do. Rarely does anybody know what he’s going to do come game time.
Transcript of PEte Carroll press conference
SAINTS HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON
After their game against the Los Angeles Rams the Rams elected to stay on the West Coast rather than go back home and return for Sundays against the Seahawks Here is what head coach Sean Payton had to say about the team’s decision to stay on the West Coast, Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf and other topics relating to Sunday’s game against the Seahawks
(On how it’s been staying in the city of Seattle)
“Well, we got our first practice in today. The weather was good and it was good to get outside, it feels like we’ve been in this hotel for a while.”
(On what goes into the decision of staying on the west coast vs traveling back to New Orleans) “We’ve done this before. We’ve been displaced before because of a hurricane. Of course you go to London for a week, so this made sense just from a standpoint having played last weekend in Los Angeles, and then flying right up here after that game. The facilities here have been great, and I think it was an easy decision.”
(On what kind of feedback he has received from his players on staying on the west coast)“I think we’re all kind of creatures of habit, I don’t know that you hear a lot of feedback just as much as you’re posting the schedule. They obviously understand the difference between a trip back to the central time zone, and then a trip back out. When the schedule comes out at the beginning of the year, I think the first thing we do as coaches, is look at travel and begin to look and make plans schedule wise.”
(On what was behind them coming straight to Seattle rather than staying in California)“Honestly it started with taxes. More importantly, I think the schedule worked out with Washington [University of Washington], when they practice in preparation for their game, and then when we’d be practicing, it worked out really well.”
(On if he had any connections with someone who was a member of the UW staff to make their accommodations any easier)“No, although those guys have been fantastic, having the chance just to meet some of them. Obviously they’re preparing to play an important game versus Brigham Young, almost all of their practices are over by the time we’re getting out there.”
(On who will be the starting quarterback)“We’ll get a chance sooner than later. We’ve got two guys that we’re comfortable with, have played and experience in our system. Both guys are getting work during the week here, and we’ll just see how it plays out on Sunday.”
(On why the starter isn’t Teddy Bridgewater right now)“It may be. What’s more obvious is me not answering that question at a Wednesday press conference with media calling.”
(On what he has learned about Teddy Bridgewater and what he likes about him)“I like his arm strength. He’s got really, really good leadership skills. He’s someone that knows how to win. He’s got a poise about him that’s good with the rest of the group. I think both of these guys are guys that endear themselves to their teammates, and guys that are looked up to. They’re different in their own ways and how they play, but both of them, we’re glad we have.”
(On the value of Drew Brees to the offense and franchise)“You measure that, not just in a year, you measure it over most of his career, coming in when he did, in ’06, my first year, 13 years. He’s been just that consistent performer at such a high level. Fortunately, that surgery went well. It’s something that, without putting a time frame on it, he’s going to miss a handful of games, and we’ll see how the recovery goes. When it’s on your throwing hand, a thumb is pretty impactful.”
(On what his thoughts are about DK Metcalf and watching his first two games)“We know the player well. He’s explosive, he can run, he’s a team guy – someone his teammates have had a ton of respect for. He’s very physical, he’s really good with the ball in his hands. I think that he’s transitioned into our league, and will continue to improve each week. But, somebody that has that ability to go over the top and get past you, he can run, he’s big, all of those traits.”
(On how unusual it is to see a team like the Seahawks primarily play out of their base defense)“It’s a compliment first off to the guys that are playing those positions. Those guys have done a good job, they’re in a little bit more zone at that time, a little bit more zone pressure at times, but all three are outstanding in coverage. That creates problems for you when you’re trying to look at your sub run-game plan, and how you’re going to attack it if you don’t know that you’re getting a sub defense. So, you see that a lot of times from some of the 3-4 teams, but we’re seeing it now in Seattle’s first two games.”
(On Steve Gleason being from the Northwest and his impact to the Saints organization)“He’s fantastic. His diagnosis came back in 2010, on the bus ride over to the stadium here in Seattle. I think it was the postseason game, the wild card game. When I arrived in ’06, he was a special teams player for us. He’s always around, his family is at practice, they’re at the games, and I think his legacy more so is someone who has really advanced the cause for ALS patients. It’s impressive what he’s done, and I know he’s proud of his roots back here.”
(On what he anticipates Sunday’s game to be like without their long time starting quarterback Drew Brees)“We’ve had a couple games maybe where a seed’s been locked up, he hadn’t played, and I think Carolina a few years back, he had an injury where we played in a regular season game Luke McCown. The job for us as coaches is to put a plan in place that gives our players the best chance to win. I don’t know if any one person has to change or step up but, by in large the group I think does.”
(On what he’s seen from the Seahawks’ offense and what Russell Wilson has done)“Well, they’re doing a great job with their balance, their ability to run, their ability to get the ball down the field. They’re an outstanding red-zone offense and defense. They’re situational football is fantastic. You see that kind of possession, you see that kind commitment to the running game, you see the escape plays, the down the field throws. We had the chance to coach Russell two seasons ago at the Pro Bowl and he’s a football junky, someone who loves it. You can see the command he has on film and we saw it firsthand when he was playing for us.”
(On the biggest challenge preparing for a Pete Carroll team)“Well, they’re going to be well coached. They’re going to be very disciplined in the kicking game. They’ll be flexible enough to do what they want to do each week and we try to be the same way relative to this game specifically. There was a stretch where it seemed like we were playing them once, twice a year and then that quieted down a little bit. You’ll have to deal with the elements, you’ll have to deal with the noise, all the things that make it a tough place to play.”
(On Bobby Wagner using the word command to describe what Drew Brees does the most and what it means to him as a coach)“Well, there’s so much that goes into the preparation of the work week and his schedule relative to his preparation, game plan, when it gets sent to him on a Tuesday. Wednesday comes and he’s spitting out everything like he’s had it for four or five days.
There’s so much that goes into playing that position and I think that Teddy [Bridgewater] and Taysom [Hill] are both guys that, not only having been around Drew for a couple years, but are also guys that are very committed to not only meeting those expectations, but understanding what it takes to play quarterback in this league. It’s not just come to work, practice, get the game plan and go home. There’s a lot more that goes into that if you want to play it well.”
(On what he’s seen from Jadeveon Clowney’s impact on the Seahawks pass rush and adding Ziggy Ansah up there on the defensive front)“Listen, those are two really, really good players. Ziggy is getting close to being ready and then with Jadeveon, we’re familiar obviously with his time at Houston. The start of the regular season, we opened with the Texans and they said you want the good news or the bad news. I said I’ll take the good news first always and they said well, Clowney is no longer with the Texans. I said, well, what’s the bad news. Well, you’re going to see him in week three. We have a lot of respect for him and those are disruptive players that you have to plan for.”
(On what he can tell about Taysom’s passing abilities as a quarterback in the NFL)“He’s got a live arm, quick release. He’s a really good athlete so he’s playing for our core special teams, playing tight end, playing a lot of those positions, but he’s making and practicing individual, all of that with the QBs. He wears, kind of, a lot of different hats.”
(On his go-to Seattle restaurant when he’s in town) “Something with seafood or oysters. I don’t know that I have one. We’ve stayed in a couple different places.
