New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
2017 Training Camp Presented By Verizon
Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Opening Statement
"We acquired LS Jon Dorenbos in a trade with Philadelphia. TE John Phillips went to reserve/injured and we terminated the contract of DE Jason Jones. So we are actually one under our count at 90 right now."

Do you feel this solves the long snapping situation?
"Yes. You are paying attention to the teams with two. It is not just the teams with two it is the teams with two that are in a competition. There is a sense of urgency when a couple of other teams, Chicago for instance lost a long snapper. This was something we have discussed for a little bit and kind of came to fruition yesterday."

Will you have him ready to go for the game on Thursday?
"Yes."

What were the qualities you saw in him that you liked?
"His consistency. He is a veteran player. There is a presence about him. He has done it over a long period of time. He went through an injury a year ago, but he is healthy now. I think his experience will be important. Especially for a young kicker. It is a little bit more subjective when you are especially able to look at time, location of his snaps for punt, for field goal, it may be a little easier to evaluate then others that are not as clean. For us it was really paying attention to the numbers and his experience all factored in."

Did you give those bubble guys more work in practice in order to give them more opportunities in this last preseason game?
"Yeah, absolutely. It is the number one thing we are thinking about each night. It is not much scheme, but it is making the right decisions. And making sure you are getting enough of these opportunities to evaluate them and hopefully those can become more clear when it comes to the final countdown."

When you are looking at some of the guys that you would like to contribute on special teams, is it easier to evaluate those guys?
"I think so. I (am) waiting for a player to make it in the kicking game. Every year I have been in this league, I've seen a guy return a punt or just really jump out at you. So we're looking for that. So when you see it, the more opportunities they have the more chances are you get to make the right decision."

How do you think Bryan Braman looked his first game?
"Good. Really good."

What are your impressions of Arthur Maulet so far?
"He missed some time early on. But fairly positive. I like his stature and build. He's learning a lot. I think his natural position's inside as a nickel. He'll receive a lot of work this Thursday night."

Can you talk about John Fullington and his versatility?
"He is one of those players that has missed some time. He can play guard and get you out of a pinch at tackle. He is smart, so he will receive a lot of work."

What do you think of Mathew Stafford's pay scale?
"It is not surprising. There is a premium at that position. It will be a year or two and someone else will break that benchmark. It is good to be Tom Condon."

Can you shed any light of personal usage in the game?
"We have not had our meeting yet. We are trying to get a number of players work that you are still trying to complete an evaluation on. With that being said, there'll be a few guys like (Ryan) Ramczk or (Coby) Fleener that still need some work. There will be a handful of guys that fall into that category. Max (Unger) will receive some work. Manti Te'o will receive some work. There'll be some young players. We have a couple of young safeties. Vonn Bell's considered in that. It will be players specific on who we think needs more game action. And I'm sure there will be a couple players who won't see any."

Is it a tough week for you to cut so many players, who might be able to play in the National Football League?
"Yes, it is. The positive is that we are working with heavier roster than prior years. The problem is that Friday and Saturday you are releasing 15 more than you normally would at that point at 75 (in previous years). There is a lot invested out here with these guys. Every one of them has been through the offseason program for the most part, every one of them has been lifting, running and every one of them has been at all the practices and so there is that sense of urgency, obviously on their part. I would say that pressure on our part to get it right, to get the right 53 and then to get the right practice squad. That is what keeps you up at night."

Would you ever keep a guy just on special teams?
"No, we have done that. Courtney Roby was an exceptional special teams player and he went to the wide receiver meeting room and played some receiver. But we absolutely have."

Are you just evaluating Michael Mauti on special teams?
"He factors in at two spots, Linebacker and the kicking game. It's a little bit harder for us to get (Bryan) Braman snaps at the linebacker spot right away, being that he's just been here for a week. That being said, you want to know what's the other role. Braman's been a guy to rush the passer in his career. A couple of these guys are DB's, couple of these guys are receivers. (Jake) Lampman is a guy that a year ago he made and we actually activated him in some games. He would've been a fifth receiver in the game, but nonetheless those are valuable snaps. At the end of the game, if you can look down and see that this player has played 18 plays, that is significant."

How has Michael Mauti looked?
"He has looked good. I think coming back off what he went thru in the offseason has been challenging. This week of practice has been good, so we will see how the game goes."

Is there any one positon group that you guys are looking at and having a hard time deciding who is getting cut?
"We are deep at safety and we are deep at running back. We have some tough decisions to make on the defensive line. Those come to my head right away."

Where do you see (Delvin) Breaux on the active roster?
"I think his will be fairly easy. There's a reserved/injured designation we can use. That means he has to be on the active for a day and then go to that. With the timeline of his injury, it fits that tag. Terron (Armstead) and some of the other guys we will look at more closely."

How to you value the runs from Mark Ingram II and Zach Line during the preseason?
"I think there are some things when we watched it that we could've blocked better. It was limited exposure so you are wanting to see closely, why'd we gain three yards instead of five yards, why'd we lose a yard on screen. Those are all things we look at. We are receiving a ton of work out here and I think we have a pretty good idea of where we're at with these two players."

You are planning on putting Delvin Breaux on the Injured Reserve?
"Yes. We have not done any of that yet. He fits that, with the timeline of his injury it fits perfectly. But he's different than say, Terron (Armstead) who might be ready earlier than that six-week window. I think Delvin's situation is a little cleaner in regards with a timeline."

Don't you have PUP (Physically Unable to Play) availability for Terron?
"Yeah, we would use that. We wouldn't use the injury designation. We would just leave him on PUP without having to protect him on a roster spot."

Are those the only two guys?
"those would be the only two guys that Mickey (Loomis) and I have talked about."