New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton

Conference Call with Local Media

Thursday, September 13, 2018

What have you seen out of Myles Garrett and how good do you think he is at this point?

"Well, I've seen tremendous growth from year one to year two. He dealt with some injuries last year, but in this preseason, obviously after one game in the regular season, you're seeing someone who's healthy, strong, is playing with confidence, and very disruptive."

What is Jarvis Landry adding to that offense?

"Well, first there's a toughness and competitiveness about this player that you really appreciate from afar. He's someone that I think is very good with the ball in his hands once he catches it and he's a guy that (can) block. He'll do all the things necessary to win and that's a sign of a good receiver. His toughness, his YAC, he has real strong hands, and a good caching radius as well."

 You've seen a lot of Gregg Williams' defenses, what are some of the critical things to do to be able to take advantage of what they like to do defensively?

"Well, I think the first thing you want to avoid is minus plays because of the amount of pressure and zone pressure. You have to be able to recognize what it is he's trying to do and then there's opportunities for big plays. Then when they play in a softer zone, you have to be smart and patient enough to move the ball down the field. It's really recognizing what it is he's trying to do relative to the down and distance and what you have called. It is a challenging defense and it forces you to really go through your protections, (and) your run game. All the things that you want to do offensively get tested a little bit."

You've talked about wanting to use your best 11, but you rotated linebackers quite a bit on Sunday. What went into that decision?

"I think the feeling is we have a handful of guys that are playing well and trying to settle in on making sure we get the right guys out there and still have a chance to play with some combinations. We have a few those guys that have played Mike and or Will or Sam and or Mike. It's just trying to find the right group in base and the right group and nickel."

What did you think of the linebacker play on Sunday?

"There wasn't a lot positive defensively Sunday, but today is Thursday. Today's Thursday, so we're talking about Cleveland."