New York Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles
Conference Call with New Orleans MediaWednesday, December 13, 2017

What do you think about the job John Morton has done for you this year?
"I think he has done an outstanding job. John came in as a first time coordinator and to put the pieces together like he has, especially on the fly early in the year (is impressive). His communication has been great, his play-calling has been great, and his selection of putting guys in the right position. We are very happy to have him."

What did you see in him to make that hire?
"Personality-wise we clicked the same way. I liked the way his personality was on how he went about things. He was kind of guy we were looking for to light a fire under our offense."

What are some of the challenges you see with Bryce Petty, a young quarterback, facing this Saints defense?
"It's his first time starting this year. Obviously, anytime you go 12 or 13 games with your starter and then he goes down, the guy that comes in doesn't have all the reps. He has been in the system for a little while, so he will get all the reps this week. Coming out, he just has to play his game. It is going to be a challenge regardless of who he plays, but he just has to stay within himself, understand the offense, and execute."

As a defensive-minded guy, what jumps put at you about this Saints defense?
"Outstanding. I love the corners. They have great man-to-man corners. Obviously, (Cameron) Jordan speaks for himself and the rest of those guys up there with (Sheldon) Rankins and everybody. (A.J.) Klein, (Manti) Te'o, and Craig (Robertson) are all playing well. They have a very good team and the safeties are smart, and they hit hard."

What do you think about the job La'Roi Glover has done for you guys?
"I am very happy to have him. He brings a wealth of experience, he is a very good teacher, outstanding at teaching the guys off to the side along with Robert Nunn. He's come in and brought a wealth of experience, and understands the little things because he has played the position. He can teach those guys some things somebody else can't."

Alvin Kamara has certainly gotten a lot of attention in New Orleans and beyond, but you also look at Mark Ingram II and the way he's played this year, what have you seen from Mark Ingram? It seems like the deeper he is into his career, the better he is getting.
"He looks outstanding. He's healthy and he's in shape. Whether they are running the ball or catching the ball, those guys are probably the best one-two punch in the league right now. It's hard to tell who is doing what because they both break long runs, they both break tackles, they both block, and they both catch the ball well."

Obviously, Jamal Adams has been playing pretty well, but back in the draft, how closely were you guys looking at Marshon Lattimore?
"It was close because he is an outstanding football player. For what we needed, Jamal fit us, but Lattimore, and he's playing outstanding right now, was a great football player coming up in the draft. It could have went either way, but we needed some things out of Jamal that we took, and we're happy with him, and I know they're happy with Lattimore."

You were in Arizona when they drafted Tyrann Mathieu, you obviously have a little more LSU flavor in the secondary now. What is it about those LSU guys that has attracted you?
"They put out a lot of DBs. They put out a lot of DBs, every year, and all year. They all can run, obviously Tre'davious (White) came out as well. They all can run, they all can hit, and they all can play. That's a good place to look for defensive backs."

How has Morris Claiborne done this year after some early struggles in his career?
"Mo has been healthy for the most part. He got nicked up a little bit during the year, but he's helped us a great deal and to see him healthy, and to see him playing like he wants to play, and how he normally plays is great."

How much time do you spend self-scouting your team's own tendencies and what can a play-caller do to protect against some of those things that other teams may pick up?
"You self-scout yourself all the time, after every weekend. I will look at film and self-scout ourselves all the time. It's a long year and you try to tweak some things and not have the same things, but at the same time, you don't want to confuse your team. Everybody self-scouts themselves all the time and we are no different."

When you look at comparing recent results versus the eye test with the Saints, they've lost two out of three and they have had some guys injured so that could create the conditions for doubt and uncertainty at a critical point in the season. As far as just the eye test and watching them, what are you seeing?
"They play smart football. That's the mark of a Sean Payton team. They are very fast, they're very explosive, they're very strong, and they get after it on both sides of the ball."

So you don't see a team that looks that vulnerable even though they have lost two out of three and are trying to plug guys in?
"We have lost our own share. I do not need to see what somebody else did in the loss column."