New Orleans Saints Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael
Media Availability
Friday, September 28, 2012
The turnovers so far this season have been higher than in recent years. What are you working on to try to fix that?
* *"I think a lot of it just has to do with execution starting with me getting some play calls in that we feel very comfortable with and just being smarter with the football."
Have you been able to figure out what's been wrong with the offense so far?
* *"Last week, obviously the fourth quarter was very disappointing for us. It starts with me. I have to do a better job. When the opportunities are there, we have to make them."
Can you put your finger on what exactly you can do better?
"I think this, and I know Coach (Aaron) Kromer has talked about this all week, it's not necessarily a consistent thing. Maybe it's one guy here on one play. It's a group thing that's happening. Sometimes it's one group. Sometimes it's another group. All the positions are contributing to it. Starting with me, we all have to do a better job."
You called a lot of first down runs without a lot of success last week. Would you say you do that to keep teams off balance?
"Obviously the more you can run it, the more it helps your protection. I think when the opportunities are there to run the ball, we have to find a way to get some balance."
With Drew Brees' speech to the team on Wednesday, do you feel like the tone changed at practice at all?
"I think we practiced pretty well. I think there's a sense of urgency. For us, it's time."
You often see defenses gameplan against specific offensive players. Is Charles Woodson an example of a defensive player that offenses want to gameplan around?
* *"Absolutely, you need to know where he is at all times on the field. Starting with their front seven, they're big, they're strong and they're physical. When you're talking about their secondary and Charles Woodson, they have great ball skills. But he's a guy you need to account for on every play and you need to know where he is. They have a few players like that."
Would you expect to see Charles Woodson covering Jimmy Graham on Sunday?
"Absolutely."
What do you think of that matchup?
* *"I think as an offense, we need to do some things to help our guys and try to find a way to get them isolated. We have all the confidence in the world in Jimmy Graham."
The offensive line has struggled a little bit so far. Have you seen a sense of urgency out of them lately?
"I don't think we can point the blame at one group here. They've had their share, but so have we as coaches and every position. All the pressure we're that seeing, it might not necessarily be the O-line that's giving in. It might be the Mike identification by the quarterback, it might be the receivers not getting open, or it might be a running back missing the blocks. All those things add up and we're working every day to try to get those all corrected."
The Packers defense has been known to force turnovers and get pressure on the quarterback. What do they do well to accomplish those two things?
"First of all, I think they have a great group of players. They like to bring some pressure, more than just the down linemen guys. They're going to bring some different creative blitzes, some that we haven't seen. They find ways to get pressure on the quarterback. Again, their secondary has great ball skills. When the ball's in the air, there's an opportunity every time for them to make a play on it as well. We have to be smart with our decisions."
