New Orleans Saints Wide Receiver Devery Henderson
Media Availability
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Did you have a pretty solid day?
"Yes, it's just another workday going out trying to get better. (There's a) lot of excitement out there today. The young guys are doing well. I'm just out there trying to get better every day."
Did the offense make some nice plays in this one?
"Yes, we made some plays in that one. We will go back and study the film, get an idea of things, get them corrected and go on from there. For the most part, we've been competitive out there."
You want to accomplish more, in taking a look at the history of the NFL and the great receivers, do you realize and understand where you rank all-time in yards per catch and also how much will fall under you in that department with Robert Meachem gone?
"That's the main thing. I know my role. I'm just trying to take it from there and get better every day. I know my game is about speed and the deep ball and I've been pretty good at it throughout my career. It's something I have to keep working on. Everything can use improvement. That's the approach I always take throughout my career, to get better every day, every year and keep going from there."
How much different do you think it will be not having Sean Payton calling plays and having coach Carmichael? It seemed like coach Payton always had a wrinkle for you, whether it was a reverse in the red zone or something to get the ball in your hands?
"I think the guys will do a good job. They've been around him (Payton) long enough. He's unpredictable, but they've been around him long enough to see what he sees and think the way he thinks. We're going to miss him, but we have to move on. We have the right guys, right system and right leadership to move forward and still be successful."
What do you tell Joe Morgan what it takes to play receiver in this league and does he pick your brain?
"Yes he does. Good guy, works hard and he has a bright future. He needs to keep working at being consistent. He needs to keep working hard every day at making big plays. He can fly. That will help him out a whole lot in the league. He does a lot on returns too. I think if he stays focused, he'll do pretty well in the league."
Drew Brees said he thinks it would be tough to match last year's statistics. Do you think you can get close to it though?
"Yes, I think so. The type of offense we have has a lot of weapons. We have Drew back there directing traffic. The sky's the limit. We have to go out there, work hard and be on top of everything."
Is it different in the meeting rooms with Coach Ellard after CJ (Curtis Johnson)?
"He really stresses that, hustling away from the ball. I'm guilty of it sometimes, where a play may be away from me and I get back to the huddle. He gets on me about it. He has a different approach than coach Johnson, but we know what he demands and know what he's talking about. He's a great guy and a great coach and he probably has a little slight different approach than coach Johnson. We understand him. We're comfortable with him. We like him. We like what he's doing so far."
As the elder statesman of the receiver corps how do you describe your leadership style?
"I think now I become a little more vocal, but for so long, I've always tried to lead by example. The young guys come to me with a lot of questions, a lot of different things. I just try to give them the right advice at all times. I want to see them do well no matter what. It's competitive, competition, but at the same time, I like to see guys get better. I like to see those guys succeed. I'm not a selfish guy. I'll help them out. That's the approach I've taken with them. They've made a lot of plays. I can't take the credit for it, but I try to help them as much as I can."
Do you laugh at it when people say you have to earn your spot on the roster?
"I've been through a lot. At this point, I know what it takes to make the roster, what I have to get better at, things I have to do and I try to go out there and try to do it."
Is this the most modest receiving corps in the NFL?
"I would believe so. I haven't' been part of another corps, but I would think so. We don't like taking credit for much, we just go out there work hard, get the job done and take it from there. We're real humble. That's been our M.O. since we've been together. We work to keep it going and hopefully we have more success."
How do you feel to have played your entire life in the same state?
"It's really a blessing. It's gone well and hopefully I can get more and more years. It's always a dream come true, just growing up watching the New Orleans Saints and being a part of it, never having to leave my home state to play football, a nine-year career, going into my ninth year here, it's a blessing."
What do you work on to try to keep improving at this point in your career?
"Trying to stay healthy, route-running, route discipline. Early on in my career, I struggled with drops. Trying to stay consistent and work on my run blocking. I just try to work on it every day and be available to the team, trying to stay on the field."
New Orleans Saints T Jermon Bushrod
Media Availability
Sunday, July 29, 2012
What do you see from this front four of this new defense under Spagnuolo as far as being in pads and experiencing this new scheme?
"Oh man, they're playing well man. They got a lot of blitzes in. Spags comes from a good defensive history, especially winning the Super Bowl back with the Giants and that defense. Last year the Rams gave us fits and he was pretty much the play-caller with that defense. We are kind of working out a bunch of wrinkles right now and we are just fighting to get the job done because once the regular season hits, we are going to be seeing kind of the same things from other teams. This is a copycat league so if somebody has success with one thing, they are going to see if they can try to get it done again. We've got to continue to be just as prepared as we can, and go out there and get it done."
The Saints fans want to know: who out of the defensive linemen, who would give you the most trouble? Who has the most upside getting after the quarterback?
"Honestly I would have to start with Will (Smith) first because he's a different type of player. But if you're talking about the newer guys, Junior Galette is a guy who's fast off the ball, they all bring their own little thing. I see a whole different rush pattern out of Cam (Jordan) this year. He's stronger inside, he's playing well, and he's doing good so far this camp man, and I'm really happy to see that. Martez Wilson is somebody who we're trying to get down there in that defensive end position because the kid gets off the ball really well, he has good hands and long arms. We battle each other day in and day out but once training camp ends and we get up into this season, I'll start helping them out a little more. I can't tell them how to beat me right now because I'm trying to keep my job."
Jermon, you look at how far you've come by taking advantage of opportunity. You're in Houston practicing against the Houston Texans and Jamaal Brown goes down. All of the sudden, you're in a preseason game blocking Mario Williams. You turn into a Pro-Bowler. What would you have to say that you still have room for improvement in?
"Everything. I want to continue to be as smart of a player as I can be. I really think it starts mentally first, getting into the books. You have to work on your technique and then bring it out there in the team periods to execute it. I want to continue to be more consistent day in and day out, that's what I fight to do. Days like today were tough and, like I said earlier, you're going to go back and forth battling with the heat, the sweat, the cramps, and all that good stuff but you have to continue to fight and hunker down, hydrate, and fight to get the job done. If we can get the job done better individually, we're going to be so much better as a team."
Can you talk about how the weather affects you guys during practice and how the rookies will never experience two-a-days because of the new CBA agreement?
"I wasn't there in 2006 when they first started in Jackson, Mississippi, but I got there in 2007 and I don't know if it was much harder than that, but it was tough doing two-a-days out in that scorching heat. I feel a little breeze right now; it was a treat if we got a breeze back then. We just have to continue to hydrate. You try to help these kids out as much as possible. You can tell them that it used to be a lot worse than it is."
When Martez Wilson comes in, does that telegraph that this is maybe going to be one of those drop back zone wrinkles? And when Junior Galette comes in do you expect and edge rush?
"No because they mix it up. If they did that, it would be a little bit easier to pick things up and alert the line about it. I think Spags does a good job of mixing it up. I was kind of teasing Johnny Patrick the other day that every time Johnny's in, he's blitzing. But obviously I don't really know what I'm talking about because he's in there a lot. I think they do a good job of rotating and all those guys can drop, they're all quick, they can stick to a man, and they can rush the passer."
How much is going against this type of defense going to help the offense? For three years you had that different look in Gregg Williams' scheme. In this one, you have kind of a zone blitz.
"I think the two were kind of similar a little bit. I'm not talking about the man and the zone coverage in the back, but Gregg did a lot of movement and all that good stuff and Spags does the same thing. We've got to continue to pick up on it so it's not blindsiding you out there. We just have to continue to get in our books, watch this film, and just try to pick up their tendencies on first second and third down."
