ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: What do the Saints bring in the return game?
TOUB: “The Saints are very good across the board. They have great personnel, they fly around, (and they’re) very well coached. (Saints Special Teams Coordinator) Darren Rizzi does a heck of a job; he has those guys flying around. When you watch the tape, it’s really impressive. On the return game, (Saints WR/RS Rashid) Shaheed is very good. I mean kick return (and) punt return, so smooth, he can hit north to south, he can get around you, got great speed, good decision-maker. He obviously had a muff last week but that’s an outlier for him really, we know – we have a lot of respect for him, he’s a very dangerous returner. They’re good across the board.”
Q: On Matt Araiza’s importance last game.
TOUB: “Yeah, he (Matt Araiza) had a great game, he had four punts – four inside the 20 (yard line), 50.0 gross (yards) and 50.0 net (yards). I mean, that’s pretty darn good numbers, I thought he was definitely a contender for AFC Player of the Week, I thought, on special teams. Obviously, I think – I can’t remember who got it – oh, Tennessee kid, the kicker got it at Tennessee (Titans K Nick Folk) it was well deserved, too. He (Matt Araiza) had a great game, he was important in that game for us, he flipped the field. We made him go the distance there, we got the ball back and then we scored with (Xavier) Worthy’s touchdown right after that so we had a big hand in that. Matt played an important part in the guys going down and downing the ball, so it was big.”
Q: On Harrison Butker’s missed kick.
TOUB: “I knew it was a hard (kick) – it’s going to be good if he (Harrison Butker) got it. I thought he had a real good shot at it, it was just half a yard short when you go down and look at actually where it landed. It was so deep that the returner couldn’t even get to it. We knew a returner was in there (and that) we had to cover that kick if it was short but the chance that we had – I mean, it was a perfect setup. They weren’t going to get the ball, they weren't going to get the ball with the field position, the time was going to run out. Pat (Patrick Mahomes) did a good job there, getting us in a situation, he’s so smart (laughter), he gets us in – he knows exactly what to do there, when we want to try a long one there so it’s perfect.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: How difficult is it to lose a piece like Rashee Rice, hit the reset button and pull off what you were able to in that situation?
NAGY: “Well, there’s emotions that go into it, number one, that’s the human element. Then, there’s the coaching part and then the players aspect of being able to understand personnel-wise. He (Rashee Rice) was obviously a big part of that gameplan, and he always is. That’s why throughout the week it’s important to make sure that guys are – even if it’s not in practice, (they’re) somewhere at practice getting reps in certain positions. There’s a little bit of juggling that goes on in a short period of time – personnel-wise – and then understanding who’s going to run the next route that was in Rashee’s spot and if you take that person from a route, then you’ve got to replace him. It’s kind of a domino effect so I thought that (Wide Receivers) Coach (Connor) Embree and the wide receivers, tight ends (and) (Tight Ends) Coach Mel (Tom Melvin) – I thought everybody did a great job of getting back into the swing of things that a lot of people don’t see but guys have got to always be ready.”
Q: Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen offers a lot of unscouted looks. How do you go about preparing for something like that?
NAGY: “You want to make sure you – 30,000-foot view-wise – have a ‘good versus all’ concept. When teams and coordinators have different looks, you don’t want to get caught with something that you think they’re going to give you and then it’s something opposite. I think we’ve done a pretty good job with that this year of making sure the guys feel comfortable and then when a play is called, they can go out and execute in a quick manner.”
Q: As a former quarterback, how do you get a quarterback back into rhythm when things aren’t going as planned?
NAGY: “Staying calm and going back the basics. We’ve had a lot of great things happen in this offense because of him (Patrick Mahomes). There’s a lot of things that happen within one play, whether it’s a protection, whether it's a throw or whether it’s a wrong route that happens on an interception. So, just understanding that part of it and then resetting and using that next play mentality. Pat’s – there’s no one better than him because he’s so competitive and he wants to be great, so he puts a lot of pressure on himself in a good way. It’s a healthy pressure because he wants to do great, so we just want to make sure that we balance that, keep it contained and then go out there and cut it loose.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “I just got done talking to (ESPN’s Play-By-Play announcer) Joe Buck and (PFHOF QB) Troy Aikman. (It) brought me back to the days when I was in the NFC. (I) used to see those guys all the time in New York. With that, I’ll open it up because it’s time to talk to you guys (the media).”
Q: In what ways do you still see the effects of Saints S Tyrann Mathieu in your locker room?
SPAGNUOLO: “Listen, I’ve got a special place in my heart for (Saints S) Tyrann (Mathieu), right? He’s a special guy. It’ll be great to see him. I think the last time – I think we saw him when we went down there (to New Orleans) (for the) preseason game. Yeah, that’s the last time we got the chance to give him a big hug but (I) love Tyrann. You know, I see it every day, it’s a little thing but our DBs, before we – you guys aren’t out there until we get to stretch, right? Usually about 10 minutes before that, all of the DBs are out on the field and they’re doing footwork and (Defensive Backs Coach) Dave’s (Merritt) with them and (Safeties Coach) Donald’s (D’Alesio) with them but that was really established with Tyrann all the way back (in 2019). He was pulling those guys out of the locker room 10 minutes early and so that’s a leadership thing. I think he laid a foundation here, especially in the secondary, of some of the things that we do quite frankly and the way (that) they operate. I know those years, looking back when he was first here, (Titans CB L’Jarius Sneed) LJ was young at the time, and I remember him learning from Tyrann. Then, Tyrann left, and LJ was teaching Trent (McDuffie) so there’s been a trickle down and I think we owe Tyrann a lot for what he did when he was here.”
Q: What is the main reason that you’ve been able to be so successful against running back production this year?
SPAGNUOLO: “Every game’s different, right? So, you hope that continues. I think the guys are playing like that (locks fingers), I think the chemistry and being lock and step is really important. I just got asked a similar question by (Defensive Line Coach) Joe (Cullen) and I do think the fact that our linebackers play aggressively downhill helps us, too. I think it helps the (defensive) lineman in front of them. If we can keep doing that and making sure we don’t give up – you know, the thing that’s kind of bit us a little bit is a couple of explosive passes here and there and that would kind of get the offense going. We were doing pretty good and then (Chargers QB) Justin (Herbert) hit that slant to the slot there and Chamarri (Conner) was trying to – thank God Bryan Cook ran him down but if we can eliminate those plays and keep playing run defense like that then we can get them in longer third downs and try to have some success.”
Q: The Saints rank second in the NFL on third down. What do you see from them?
SPAGNUOLO: “Well, I think they’re really good because they mix it up. It’s not just pass and it’s not just trying to chuck it down deep. I mean, they’ll run the football and they have some really good people to do that so that’ll kind of get you on your heels a little bit. (Saints QB) Derek (Carr) knows exactly what to – I’ve always had respect for Derek Carr and how he gets them in and out – or out of a bad play and into a good one. I think that has a lot to do with it and he’s a very accurate quarterback. When you’re talking about a third-and-three or four or five, or whatever, he’s smart enough to say, ‘Hey, I’m just going to get the first down here.’ I think that’s why they’re really good.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
October 4, 2024
DT CHRIS JONES
Q: What sort of improvements are you looking to make on the defense?
JONES: “Tackling. I think we missed a couple tackles last week. (In the) early start of the game, giving up big plays, eliminating our opponent from scoring at the beginning of the game. I think that’s haunted for the last two games – first drive, starting (as) fast as we finish.”
Q: What have you seen from Saints QB Derek Carr and the Saints as you’ve been studying film this week?
JONES: “They’re playing really good football. It’s a playoff caliber team (that) we’re facing. (They have a) heck of a defense and the offense is relying heavy on (Saints QB) Derek Carr and (Saints RB) Alvin Kamara.”
Q: It seems like there are a lot of ex-Chiefs on this Saints team, do you expect to catch up with some old friends before the game?