New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen
Conference Call with New Orleans Media
Friday, September 29, 2017
What have you seen from Alex Jenkins since you've gotten a hold of him?
"I think he's a guy that's done a nice job for us. I still think he's kind of learning the game a little bit. But I see some athleticism out of him. He has a little pass rush. He got a sack in the first preseason game. I think he's done a really nice job of trying to pick up the things we're doing and he does a good job of giving us a look for our offense on the show teach (scout team)."
Did you simplify the scheme at all last week?
"No I wouldn't say that. Obviously on a week to week basis we look at the things that we think are good against an individual opponent. Then we take into account what we feel like our guys can handle from a volume standpoint schematically. As well as being able to handle what we're doing schematically but yet be able to see the picture the offense is giving us so we can understand what type of concepts both in the running game and the passing game that we might be facing on any individual play."
How encouraged are you that this defense is about to turn the corner especially when you look at how they've performed the first two games?
"I would say this, that last week was an encouraging performance. There's still obviously a few things that we have to get cleaned up. It wasn't a perfect performance by any stretch of the imagination. I just think with our group I think there's just going to continue to be that sense of urgency of each week trying to get a little bit better each week and really focusing in on that. Not really focusing on what the final outcome is going to be but let's just keep getting better every week and find those little things that we need to work on to improve and make sure we're making improvements in those areas on a week to week basis."
How do you think Ken Crawley played last week?
"I thought Ken Crawley played well. I thought he did a really nice job. He probably did not have the splash plays with the interceptions like a couple of the other guys had. But when you just look at from a consistency basis, I thought he played really well in the game last week."
How tough is that to be in a situation like his where you sort of know it's a one-week thing because (Marshon) Lattimore was trending back?
"I think I would never classify that as a one-week thing. I think what you have to do in the NFL regardless of where you are listed on the depth chart as a starter or a backup or whatever the case may be, you have to prepare yourself every week as if you're going to be the starter because you never know when your name is going to be called upon to go out there and play. And when it is called upon to go out there and play, then you're expected to perform at or above the level of the guy you replaced. To me, that's not a challenge. To me, that should be just how we go about doing our job. And that's how we go about doing our business. Every one of us that's on the 53-man roster has to prepare every week as if you're going to be the starter."
How excited are you about the possibility of getting Marshon Lattimore back in the lineup since he missed last week? How do you feel about him coming back and being able to defend against the pass?
"I think obviously every week you go in you want to have your full ammunition as far as personnel is concerned to go into the game. You know obviously we think Marshon's a talented player. He's a young player who still has a lot of things to learn but yet there's a lot of talent there. A lot of coverage skills. Having him available certainly would be a plus for us."
What has this week been like for you as coaches? Has it been pretty normal from a work standpoint?
"Yes, I think probably the biggest challenge was just getting adjusted to the time the first day or two. But really once you kind of got over here and got adjusted it has been like the normal workweek. I think it has been a really good week of work for our football team. I think we've gotten a lot accomplished. Hopefully we'll go out there on Sunday and put all of that hard work to good use and play well."
A.J. Klein was saying the other day that their might have been some issue with the youth? How much do you except natural progression to take place with the younger players?
"I think that is obviously what you are anticipating and what you'd expect is guys gaining experience that they'll continue to get better. My expectation's that these young players as we continue to progress throughout the season are going to continue to get better. The reason why I expect that is because I think all these guys are talented individuals. I think all of them are dedicated and hard workers and I think they want to be good. And if you have those qualities along with the athleticism and the physical ability to do then the natural procession are going to continue to get better."
