New Orleans Saints Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael
Post-Practice Media Availability
Friday, October 5, 2012
Is it fair to say that Mark Ingram's yards per carry average is not very telling because of how he is used?
"You would say that if you're using him in short yardage and he's getting two yards, you're happy with him. That's going to hold up his yards per carry. I would say the number one thing is giving him more opportunities. We feel like he's slowly progressing along. The way we rotate those guys, it's a good problem to have. They are all part of the game plan. Having an opportunity to get him more calls, starting with me getting him on the field and calling those run plays, would help him out."
When the passing game is having success and the run game is more inconsistent, what is your philosophy? Does running more often help the running game?
"I think we always go into the game plan, and you would say if you look at statistics and you said when have been the most successful, it's probably still been about 35-40 passes and somewhere between 24 and 30 runs, so we have always been heavy on that end. It's not something we are going to give up on. We are going to keep doing it. As the game has gone along, you get a feel for how it's going. If you don't feel like it's going well, I think you're going to rely more on throwing it and vice-versa. If we're not throwing it well but we're running it, let's stick to that."
Is this the most you guys have struggled on first down runs?
"I don't know if it's the most but I would say that it's something that this year we haven't been great at and we have to get better at."
Is there any reason that this team has performed so well in prime time games over the years?
"The players are excited about it but I don't know if there is anything in particular other than that history tells you we have played well in these games."
With Drew Brees going for the record of most consecutive games with a touchdown pass this weekend, he always says 'we' but how important is that to you?
"Everybody is aware of it but it hasn't changed what we're doing game plan wise. It's not going to change what we call. I think it is just something that naturally will take care of itself throughout the course of the game. For him, it's an honor. Like you said, he always gives the credit to the whole team."
