NOPF:Haslett discusses win and playoff hopes

[TK]

http://www.neworleansprofootball.com/120103haslett.html

Haslett discusses win and playoff hopes

New Orleans Pro Football

On Monday head coach Jim Haslett spoke with the media following his team's 24-20 victory at Washington.

Opening Statement: "I will start out by giving you the injury report. Aaron Brooks came through fine. Boo Williams' eye was OK. Dale Carter is still out. James Fenderson re-injured his ankle. He will be day-to-day. Cie Grant injured his ankle and more than likely he will be out. Zach Hilton strained his knee. I'm not really sure, but he could be a week or two. Kendyl Jacox is still out. Michael Lewis felt better today, but he will be day-to-day. Fred McAfee is out (with a sprained ankle). Donte' Stallworth and Willie Whitehead will be day-to-day."

Q: Did the team run today?

A: "No."

Q: Did Donte' Stallworth do anything?

A: "Donte' worked in rehab today."

Q: How have you addressed the running back situation?

A: "Lamar will be the backup this week. We will see whether or not James Fenderson can go this week."

Q: Is Lamar in a cram session to know the offense?

A: "Yes, but he would be able to play in the plays that he knows. He ran the same offense in Green Bay, so he has a pretty good understanding of it. He is a pretty smart kid."

Q: How does the injuries affect your special teams?

A: "I thought Al Everest did a nice job yesterday. Cie Grant got hurt on the first play of the game and I think James Fenderson got hurt on the third play. Then, Freddie (McAfee) got hurt. We keep a list on the sideline and I couldn't keep track of who was playing. I think credit goes to the guys who stepped in. We had all of our starters playing special teams. Derrick Rodgers was running down on the kickoff and punt teams and played every snap on defense. Sedrick Hodge, Darrin Smith and other guy had to step up. They will have to do it the next couple of weeks until guys get back. They did a nice job while they were in there. They didn't complain about it. They liked doing it and they did a nice job when they were in there."

Q: How do you address the tight end situation?

A: "That is something we will address. We will see how Zach is later on today and tomorrow. There is always a possibility of picking somebody up if needed."

Q: Are any of the injuries suffered in the game going to be season ending?

A: "I don't think they are season ending, but they could be out a week or two."

Q: How did you assess the game on film?

A: "I thought the game was pretty good after looking at in on film. The big thing on offense is that we didn't turn the ball over. We only had one penalty on offense. I thought they did a nice job. We had 23 first downs. We moved the ball and ran the ball well. I thought the offensive line played outstanding in both the run game and pass protection. They did a nice job in both. We struggled a little bit early in the first half with the passing game. In the second half, everybody started clicking. Aaron threw the ball well. Boo made some nice catches. The receivers made some nice catches. Jerome (Pathon) made that nice slant. I thought the passing game really picked up in the second half. We scored six out of the 12 times that we had the ball. Fifty percent is pretty good. We could have scored 30 points, but we missed the two field goals. We scored 24, which should be good enough to win. I thought we made great strides there. On defense, the big thing was that we only gave up 13 points. We didn't give up a lot of big passing plays. We gave up the one long run, but it was really the defensive end's fault. Besides that, I thought we the corners struggled a little bit early tackling. They came out in the second half and did a nice job. We gave up the one long run on special teams, but besides that they played pretty well. The long run was uncalled for. We had a game on twist and one missed tackle. We didn't really execute it properly. I picked up the paper this morning and some people said that it was an ugly win and that it was sloppy. It was anything but that. I thought it was a good game. I thought it was well executed.I thought the Redskins had a very nice game plan on offense to keep us away from (Tim) Hasselbeck. They threw quick. They threw screens. They tried to keep us off balance by running the ball on draws. I thought Rick (Venturi) and his staff did a nice job of adjusting to what they were doing in the second half to take away all of the stuff that (Washington) was doing. I thought our coaches did an outstanding job of playing a little chess game with them. I thought Coach (Steve) Spurrier and the Redskins had a nice game plan on both sides. I thought our coaches did a good job."

Q: You said last year after the season that you would like to be in the same position this season. Do you like your position?

A: "Last year we had a little bit better record. I think we just need to continue doing what we have been doing and improve in every area. The big thing is that three of these last four games are at home. Hopefully, this home field advantage will help us and we can take advantage of it. The key to these games down the stretch is that we can't turn the ball over. We were plus three yesterday. We forced three turnovers yesterday and didn't give any away. We didn't score any points off the turnovers yesterday, but they lost the ball, field position, and opportunities. That's what it gives you. If you start capitalizing on those turnovers, then you are getting double the effect. I think if we can continue to do what we did yesterday like eliminate penalties, take care of the football, and execute on all three phases, then you should have a chance to win them all."

Q: I know that there is going to be a lot of talking coming up about the team's collapse the last two Decembers. What are you thoughts on that?

A: "You have to write something. You have to say something. That's what you get paid to do, so you will bring it up. I don't think that is an issue because every year is different. Every year at this time it is different. Every team is different every year. Last year at this time, teams were winning divisions. This year none of them are winning divisions. It's totally different every year. Every team in this league is good. Every team has a chance. The Redskins have great talent. Why have they lost some games lately? They lost to us. It was a hard fought game and they lost at home. They lost to Miami because a guy dropped a punt at the end of the game. They lost to Carolina on the last play of the game. You are looking at a good football team that for whatever reason can't finish."

Q: How much of the NFL is based on motivation?

A: "Everybody is motivated in different ways."

Q: Does being in playoff contention give you more motivation than not being in contention?

A: "I think that plays into it. Usually players like to go out and play for something. This time of the year guys really separate themselves. Some teams are in and some teams are out. Other are on the brink and some have their hopes up. You know what kind of team that you have by whether they play hard and if they are fighting down the stretch. That is something that they should do. It is something that they get paid to do. That is why they are out there."

Q: Do you think it is harder to play teams with losing records down the stretch?

A: "You just take them game by game. You don't do that because at the end of the season those records might change. You look at it now and say they have a losing record, but at the end of the season they might not have a losing record. You can't count things out until the season is done. We are playing a good football team this week. They are the team that is the defending champion. The team has a lot of talent. They are very dangerous. You are going to have to fight your butt off to win this game and the team that makes the least mistakes is going to win it. That's the bottom line. It doesn't matter how many wins and losses a team has. It's going to be a hard fought game this week and we are going to have to be ready to play."

Q: Is there a part of you that is out to prove people wrong that the team won't collapse like the previous two seasons?

A: "I think you are always out to prove people wrong. You are always out to prove that you have a good football team. I think we have a pretty good football team. We have done some things in the last couple of games that you can't do to win. Against Philadelphia, we turned the ball over three times. It's hard to win when you turn the ball over three times. I would say down the stretch in this next month that if we take care of the football and eliminate mistakes then we will have a chance to win every game."

Q: Did you do anything in practice this week to eliminate the pre-snap penalties?

A: "Not necessarily. We talk about paying attention to detail all of the time. The week before we did the same thing by not turning the ball over or having any penalties in practice. This week we did the same thing and it didn't carry over into the game. I think it is more about how you focus when you get out there."

Q: Which of the three phases are you most banged up right now?

A: "All of the skill people on offense because we lost two of our backup running backs in James and Freddie. Freddie is probably one of the best special team's players in the league. Zach is our third tight end. We have a couple of wide out nicked up in Donte' and Michael."

Q: How big was Keyuo Cravers' return?

A: "It was a nice return. He did a nice job. I thought he did a nice job of letting them set up the blocking. Keyuo made really good decisions. I was really proud of him because it was windy and cold. The punter is a good punter. He punts some punts where the ball kind of floats out. We knew that going into the game. They do a reverse punt inside of the 20. He drops the ball like they do in Australia where the ball is down and the punt up kind of floats. We told him going into the game that if you don't feel comfortable catching the ball, then get away from it and don't let it hit anybody. He made good decisions. He caught a couple of them and he got away from a couple. I thought Keyuo made really good decisions with the football and when he had the ball he got positive yardage. On the kickoffs, he really set up the blocking really well."

Q: Would you say that Keyuo is your fourth returner?

A: "Yes."

Q: How did Sedrick Hodge play yesterday?

A: "He did a nice job. He played third down because Darrin Smith played this week. Sedrick was physical. He tackled well. He played with power. He cause the interception that Fred Thomas returned. I thought Sedrick had a good game. He was very active."

Q: Are you surprised at Deuce's health compared to the work he has been getting?

A: "He is really healthy. He is into it. He has great vision right now. He is making great decisions on his cuts. He just needs to stay focused. He needs not to worry about the hype and everything else that is going on. The line will do a good job blocking for him. He just needs to hold on to the ball and run."

Q: Have you ever seen a running back go on a roll like this?

A: "No, not like the last three weeks. Great running backs usually get on a roll and stay on them like Barry Sanders and Walter Payton. They get on them and stay on them. The good teams ride them until the end. We plan on doing that."

Q: Do you plan on relying on him more?

A: "Not necessarily. We are a 50-50 run-pass team. We always have been. We always will be. We will run the ball, but we will throw the ball as much as we run it. I think the big thing is that if we can get Donte' back on the field that it will open up more avenues. We have to get Michael back. I thought Derrick Lewis came off the practice squad and made a nice catch for us yesterday. Talman (Gardner) did some nice things for us out there yesterday. We have a lot of young guys out there helping us win. A lot of guys are really stepping up to the plate right. We had guys like Keyuo Craver and Fakhir Brown step up to the plate yesterday and make plays. We need to do that in the next month."

Q: Can you plead your case on why do you think Deuce should be MVP of the league?

A: "I don't know if I am going to do that. I am not going to get into that because that will all play out itself when it is over. I think Deuce has a lot of good qualities. One, he is a great running back. He has really improved on his blocking. He did a great job blocking yesterday. He has caught 50 balls already this year. Is he a great route runner? No. That is one thing that he needs to improve on, but he is getting better at it. He wants to get better at it. He is a great kid. He is a great team guy. If he carries the ball once and we win, then that is all that he cares about. I think if more guys were unselfish like that, then this league would be a lot better."

Q: What do votes usually boil down to for MVP?

A: "Guys will usually vote for guys that they have played against. Some will vote for somebody that they didn't play against. I think Deuce's number at the end of they year will speak for themselves. He is not even the leading rusher in the league. There are a lot of good running backs in this league like Ahman Green, Jamal Lewis and Clinton Portis. It is endless. There are a lot of good ones."

Q: Does it help by being on a winning team?

A: "Winning always helps. Winning always takes care of all that. Usually the Pro Bowl guys come from winning teams."

Q: Do you sense that Deuce is becoming more of a leader on this team?

A: "I think everybody is in awe. He has always had his running skills. He has always been big and he has always been fast. I think it is just the way that he handles himself. He is unselfish. He is a team guy. He doesn't really care about the credit. He would rather have his offensive line have the credit, which they should. I think that people are in awe by the way that he handles himself."

Q: How has Montrae Holland progressed this season?

A: "I think he is playing really well. He is kind of like LeCharles last year. We threw him in there. Montrae was inactive for one game and he was our seventh guy for a number of games. He got his opportunity. He will get better. He is doing a good job. He is a good run blocker. He is learning more about the passing game, but he is getting good at it. He is a banger. He is tough. He is physical. He likes to play the game. He studies. He prepares to play. He is going to be a good player."

Q: How much does it help to have Jerry Fontenot along side of him?

A: "I think it helps to Wayne Gandy and he between him. He is in between two pretty good veterans that know what is going on. I think that it helps in the classroom because he sits next to Wayne and Jerry. He gets coached all of the time."

Q: Do you think that Joe Horn really caught the ball on the play that you challenged?

A: "No, we were going to call time-out anyway. So, I figured I would throw the flag and see if the referees could screw it up. We were going to call a time-out anyway."

Q: Did you agree with the intentional grounding call?

A: "No, I didn't agree with it. I still don't agree with it. Joe was in the area. Aaron was going down. He got hit and it was short. There was a man in the area and he was intending on throwing it to Joe."

Q: Are you concerned about the short yardage running game?

A: "We have struggled a little lately. We have usually been pretty good at it, so teams have been barring down on us in those situations. We are going to mix some things up to take care of that."

As always keep it here to NOPF for the latest on the Saints.

[bubba9497]

He got he got 4 big penalties that were boogus, and should have been penalized at least three time on two TD drives, that went unnoticed, and he has the gual to whine about an obvious grounding call.

Joe Horn wasn't with in 5 yards of the ball, it didn't reach the line of scrimmage, and Brooks was still in the pocket... IT was GROUNDING you putz