New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton

Opening Statement: From a schedule update, today was our first day of working primarily base, first and second down. Tomorrow we’ll have more of a meeting/walk through. Tomorrow, we’ll list player participate. The way the schedule works out, the league’s asked us to report that beginning tomorrow. I thought we had a good practice today. We have our work cut out for us in this game. It’s an excellent team we’re playing. We’re going to have to play our best football game of the year. It should be a good environment.

Q: How much can Mike McKenzie help in a limited time of preparation?

A: That’s a good question. On a short week, Mike’s someone who’s a quick study. We’ll just try to get him up to speed as quickly as we can and he’s always picked things up fairly quick.

Q: Are things different for him picking up the defense with a different defensive coordinator?

A: Yes, obviously the terminology to some degree is different. But, he’s someone who I think is a quick study and has been when he came here from Green Bay, with the system change here, he’s someone who picks things up pretty quick.

Q: How much further along is Chris McAlister?

A: I think the second week, as much physically, him being back on the field now and into the second week of preparation, I think that aspect of it for him has been good. He had good work today. I think he’s a lot further along than at this time a week ago when everything was new.

Q: Is there a similar adjustment period with Mike McKenzie?

A: Yes, I think to some degree. His workout that we held. He was in good shape, so I think anytime you go from not being in a camp. It’s a little different if you’ve gone through an offseason program and training camp and I think it’s a little bit slower if you haven’t gone through a training camp from a repetition standpoint and getting yourself into football shape.

Q: How interested are you in seeing how Bill Belichick defends your offense?

A: He does a great job when you look at this team each week defensively, you have different packages. They play a 3-4 defense. They play their nickel. They play almost every defense you can imagine and they do a great job of mixing it up, giving you things you haven’t seen before and like I said, we’ll have our work cut out for us. This is a team where if you’re looking at it over the last ten years has been certainly the model of excellence. You have a coach who is going to be a Hall of Fame coach. You have a quarterback who’s going to be a Hall of Fame player. You have a receiver who is going to be a Hall of Fame player in (Randy) Moss and the way (Wes) Welker plays if he continues the same thing. There’s some young players that have really stepped up on defense for them. (Jerod) Mayo’s one of the better linebackers we’ve seen all year and we’ve seen some pretty good inside linebackers. I’m sure we’ll get a multiple amount of looks and disguise. They do it as well as anyone.

Q: With the setbacks that Malcolm Jenkins had with an ankle injury, how well has he played recently?

A:  I think the initial part of the season you saw him make plays in the kicking game. Those are things that jumped out at you. He just keeps working at getting better. I was pleased last week with his reps. He’ll be challenged in a much different fashion this week, so it will be a good challenge for him and the rest of these guys that are lining up in the secondary.

Q: Is this an opportunity if you play well for Drew Brees to receive some of the same recognition that Tom Brady has?

A: I think all of us are trying to get where these guys have been and where they’re at. They’re in the front when you look at Super Bowls played in, postseason games won, playoff records. There’s some numbers there that are unbelievable, certainly I’ve used this analogy before, if you come into a program a few years back like we were, you have to pay attention to the Microsoft’s of the world. If you’re someday wanting to compete in that industry. They’re certainly at the top. I’m sure Drew and a number of our players view it as a challenge and certainly a tough team to be playing.

Q: Is it tough for your team or your players to not press so much in the preparation since they want to impress?

A: I think in the preparation, there’s certain things you want to do. Repeatedly each week whether it’s a defensive scheme or offensive scheme or something you do in the kicking game, each week you’re trying to change your wrinkles and certainly this is a week where we have to pay attention closely to our self-scout, paying attention to what we’ve shown on film and what they’ve seen as they break down us as a team, a staff that will be extremely prepared in terms of all the looks, how they want to defense, sesame way offensively and in the kicking game. We have to be real thorough in our self scout.

Q: What type of pressure do players like Randy Moss and Wes Welker put on a secondary?

A: First off, they do a good job up front in protecting, allowing if you look at some of the routes downfield that they stress you vertically and underneath, Welker can take over a game and so how you match up and how you decide to defend. Kevin Faulk has been an exceptional player in the role he has been used in there and then again, you’re looking at a quarterback, we haven’t seen someone of his caliber in a long time. There are different threats. There really aren’t many weaknesses when you look at them and that’s why they’ve been one of the top offenses and why they’re at the top of the league in most categories this year. They do a great job with scheme. They do a great job with tempo, all of those things. You just can’t settle into one aspect of what they’re trying to do offensively.

Q: Bill Belichick said that the Saints were the best team in football, including the Colts. How do you address that comment with your team?

A: I really haven’t discussed it. I think that’s something that…The main focus for us in our preparation. Certainly when you’re playing a good team like this there are certain things that are going to be said and there will be a ton of praise all week long from both sides. By Monday you guys will be tired of hearing how good New England is from me and probably vice versa.

Q: Is there a better tandem than Randy Moss and Wes Welker right now?

A: I don’t think so. If you just look at the numbers. I think it’s all that statistically speaks for itself. I don’t think so. I think these two are the best. There’s a carryover effect with what they’ve done offensively. They’ve had some change in coordinators, but the system’s never changed. Tom (Brady) has been in the same system for quite some time now and hasn’t had to deal with a new offense. It shows up on tape.

Q: Given the magnitude of interest in this game do you think the noise level and the buzz will approach that of the reopening of the Superdome?

A: I’ve had a chance three or four times to answer that question now with the last Monday night game and when we played the Giants. Each week and I’ve said that before progressively, the games become bigger on the schedule and certainly when you get a team like New England, I think when the home schedule came out for our fans, there were some pretty good teams for them to see with the season ticket. If you just looked at the postseason from a year ago, the teams that have played in it, who was playing here in the Superdome and certainly New England for anybody is right at the top of the list. I think city to city, wherever they go to play, I think the teams view them the same way and view them as the team that’s been at the top of our league the last ten years. If you look at wins, Super Bowls, playoff wins, take any number of statistic you want. They’ve been at the top.

Q: Did you see an extra bounce in your team’s step when they got on the practice field today?

A: I think having the twp days where the players just got in and got a lift and the film study, I think that all of us are creatures of a routine. It’s a little different twofold this week. It’s a Monday night game which is a change. Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. Usually you have to maybe condense or change your workweek during the Thanksgiving weekend because you’re playing on a Sunday and you have to cut back on how much you do on Thursday, but with a Monday night game, we set the routine where today was base. We pick right back up Friday and really try to get into where Friday’s like a Thursday and so as much as anything for the players or coaches, it’s trying to get into our schedule and get onto the next game and that’s basically where we’re at right now.

Q: Is it more difficult to get ready this week because of the hype surrounding the game?

A: I don’t think so, because honestly we’ve had this similar buildup in games we played already and I think that as you play later in the year and you begin to start looking at all the significant reason why games are important, naturally people get excited. When a team like the New England Patriots are coming to town, you can understand the excitement for the fans and knowing that they’re going to see a real, real talented team.

Q: Has Bill Belichick proven that he’s the best coach in the NFL?

A: I think so. I’m always guarded about the best at any position when you talk about players, but certainly he’s a guy that when his career’s over with will be a first ballot Hall of Fame coach. I don’t see how you couldn’t think otherwise. He’s a guy that you worry about you outcoaching you on the coin toss. He’s very good and he’s done it over a long period of time, not just one year, but two years, but he’s done it with a lot of different people. I think that track record over the long haul speaks for itself.