New Orleans Saints Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael

Conference Call with Local Media

Thursday, December 22, 2016

How have you seen Coby Fleener grow over the course of the season?

"Yeah I think that the more he's been a part of this program you see him growing each week and I think we feel really good with where he's at. We've had to ask him to do a lot with some of the injuries that we've had there. He's taken it all in at a good level."

Aside from third down troubles, what do you think led to the troubles against Tampa Bay last time?

"Third down and then all of a sudden it's what you said and you just don't have the number of plays that you want too. So your time of possession is down. There were a lot of things. They played well defensively and we just hurt ourselves often. We know we have a big challenge this week."

Is there anything beyond execution that can help you get more plays?

"I think we've looked at the film and then you pay attention to what they're doing this week and that's why you have meetings, get into the meeting rooms and see what problems we can correct."

What do you think about your top three receivers Brandin (Cooks), Michael (Thomas) and Willie (Snead)?

"Well, I think that we go into a game usually with more than that active and I think they all have a role and so I would say that among the whole group (I'm) real excited about all of them. I think that they're great teammates, they're great people and I think that it's a group of guys that I feel real strongly about."

What do you think the Tampa Bay defense does really well?"

"I think as a team they're playing really well. They are doing a nice job rushing the passer. They're getting pressure inside, outside and they're doing a nice job in the secondary keeping the ball in front of them. They're taking the ball away and they're eliminating the explosive plays. As a whole unit they're playing very well."

How much do you guys want to show you can play well in back to back performances on offense?

"I would say that's really your goal every week and unfortunately we had a couple weeks that we didn't play up to our standards, but we expect that we're going to play at the high level every week."

What did you guys see in Cameron Brate when you had him here briefly?

"It was short, but I think he's a guy that we felt good about and we were excited to have an opportunity to work with him, but we felt like he was going to have a chance to help the team, but unfortunately that didn't work out."