Mickey Loomis, New Orleans Saints executive vice president/general manager, discussed Paulson Adebo, Taysom Hill, and the team's win over the Chicago Bears in an interview with Mike Hoss, voice of the Saints, on the Saints Hour on WWL on Tuesday Nov. 7.
Later in the program, Loomis and Hoss were joined by Steve Jordan, six-time Pro Bowl tight end and father to Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, to discuss Cam as well as his own football journey.
Loomis started off by discussing the game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
"I would say we didn't play our best," he said. "In fact, there was a lot of things left to be desired both offensively and defensively, and the special teams as well, and yet to get a win is a good thing."
Loomis also discussed Adebo's performance. The third-year cornerback was namedthe NFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday after coming up with two interceptions and a forced fumble/fumble recovery. Loomis said the team expected a breakout season out of Adebo last year but that he was hampered somewhat by injuries, but that the team saw the same signs in this year's training camp.
"I don't think any of us are surprised by the level of production," Loomis said. "Obviously, when you have such a big game with two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, three passes defensed, I think he had (seven tackles), it was a spectacular game for him, but I don't think any of us are surprised by that. And my expectation is that he would continue to play well for the rest of this year."
One of the biggest differences in the Saints performance this season from the previous season is creating turnovers which Loomis said is "the most impactful stat relative to winning." The Saints GM said the team tracks a stat they refer to as missed opportunities for a big play and that it was indicative of some of the team's struggles the previous season.
"I would say a year ago we had a lot of those numbers, missed opportunities for a big play," he said. "And this year, we've had some missed opportunities, but we've cashed in on a number of them evidenced by 12 interceptions and six fumble recoveries."
Field position played a part in the Saints victory as the team frequently held an advantage over the Bears in large part due to "hidden yardage," Loomis said, coming from special teams, penalties and where you start drives from.
"The only disappointing thing is that good a starting point that we have, that we didn't cash in and create more points, particularly in the second half," Loomis said. "So, we've got to get that cleaned up, but I feel like the offense is becoming more efficient, but we're not there yet."
Someone who played a large part in the offense against the Bears was quarterback Taysom Hill. Hill contributed as usual in a variety of categories throwing a three-yard touchdown pass, rushing 11 times for 52 yards and catching four passes for 13 yards and a touchdown. Loomis discussed how his role developed and how he went from special-teams contributor to the jack-of-all-trades role he plays today.
"That becomes a product of A: the skill set, and B: the willingness to do whatever it takes to get on the field and to contribute," he said. "And look, Taysom gets an A+ in both those categories. He's got a tremendous skill set and then he's got a tremendous mental ability to contribute in all these areas and a willingness to do it."
With the Saints turning their attention to their game on Sunday, Nov. 12 against the Minnesota Vikings, Loomis said the team needs to play better than it did against the Bears to get a victory.
"We have to play better," he said. "And obviously, we've seen signs of it, we've seen flashes of it, we've seen quarters where we've played well, we've seen halves that we've played well, but there haven't been a lot of games where we played well the entire game, and so we need to put one of those together. It'd be the perfect time to do that on the road against Minnesota, another NFC team with the same record."
