New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan
Post-Practice Media Availability
Friday, October 17, 2014

Did you guys take an extra-long self-scout look during the bye week at the front four and the pressure on the quarterback?

"We took a long look at about everything.  Our situational football's been really poor on defense.  So we did that.  The lack of sacks, we did go back and look at that.  The pressures are up but the sacks are down.  But there are a lot of things on the bye week as coaches that you have to look at yourself first.  It is scheme first when you look at it, what your players do well, what are they not doing well, so you have to address those and then go forward and get better."

Can you share what you and your dad talked about in Kentucky?

"Just a lot of good times.  He is not doing too well so it was all about him and just getting caught back up and talking about old times and enjoying each other."

Being a coach how much does it help to recharge during the bye week?

"I think it is unique.  When you have a chance to get away, get a little break it is awesome.  Last year I went to Key West. This year it was about family.  Then me and my wife end up staying in the same room with my dad the whole time so we got about an hour of sleep each day.  Probably not as relaxing as we were thinking but it was great to get away, get back with the family and enjoy each other's company."

What have you seen from Brian Dixon and Stanley Jean-Baptiste that gives you confidence they can take on bigger roles?

"I think both guys have been working really hard in practice with crime dog (Wesley McGriff) and Andre Curtis.  They do a great job in bringing these guys along and Marcus Ungaro (works with them as well).  We'll put them out there and they will be ready to go.  They are both young talented guys.  We are excited about them.  When their opportunities come, (Brian) Dixon has played more than Stanley Jean has but both of them are ready to go and they are going to be good players."

What more would you like to see out of John Jenkins?

"I think getting him out there, he played well two weeks ago and that was encouraging.  Hopefully we'll get some good play out of him again.  He's a young player that we're really counting heavily on our defense."

What was it about Stanley Jean-Baptiste that he really needed to work on?

"He's a real raw guy.  We got a raw kid, a piece of clay there but he has a lot of ability. These big corners are in vogue now because they do some many things to take away the vertical ball and things like that.  We're excited about his progression.  He's worked really hard but again we took a piece of clay there and we're betting on a ton with him and we're excited about how hard he's been working and training."

What are the next things you have to worry about on Detroit's offense if Calvin Johnson is unable to go?

"First of all they have Reggie Bush who's an awesome football player.  Matthew Stafford's a heck of a quarterback.  The offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi is a great coach.  He's trained under Sean Payton and Pete Carmichael so he is going to be hard to handle.  He's going to do a great job.  They do a great job with utilizing all their personnel and their weapons.  To me coaching here with the Saints, this is the toughest offense in football to defend.  He's obviously been around it so it is a great thing for him and probably bodes well for him to have a great future in the NFL."

Is there a certain advantage because you work against that offense every day?

"It is tough.  It is a tough offense to go against every day but once you start the season you are just going against the scout team and things like that, running the other teams plays.  If there is an advantage, that would be great.  We will find out."

Is it more of a chess match in this game with all the crossover between organizations?

"I think it is going to come down to the players like it always does.  I think every good system has to have great players.  We have to get there.  We haven't really done much at this point obviously but we are excited about this game and look forward to having a great game and getting a win."

What goes into the general philosophy when to press, when to have a small cushion and when to give a big cushion?  Has there been more usage of defensive backs in coverage this year than you are used to?

"No, I think a lot of time it's what type of offense you're going against or things like that.  Believe me, we don't tell a guy to drop and line up 25 yards deep.  But sometimes you look out there and it happens.  We cannot allow mistakes like that.  We cannot allow alignment issues.  We cannot allow mental mistakes.  That's what kills your defense, that's what kills every team's defense.  We have to do a better job of dotting the I's, crossing the T's and that is what they bye week allows you to do as a coach, step back, look at it, look at other teams that are doing things well.  We have to be better obviously because right now 23rd in the league is not what we came here for.  They could hire anybody to do that.  I am here to do a great job and I will."

When they drop back into that huge cushion that is kind of them doing that on their own?

"I never said anything (like that).  I said if a guy is lined up 25 yards back or something, I was just using a hypothetical (example).  If you see that maybe it is a punt return.  The bottom line is we have to do a great job.  We need to do a better job at teaching on defense and that comes down to us and we will.  We have to."

What do you see out of Detroit's defensive line?

"I've seen them on tape just a little bit.  I have not seen them much on defense.  I know they have really good football players like we do and obviously they are executing at a high level and good for them.  They are going to have their hands full with our offense too I guarantee that."