New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams
Media Availability
Friday, September 16, 2011
Did you lament the lack of big plays by your defense in the Green Bay game?
"What we didn't match in that game was that we turned the ball over and we had to go out and get another possession (and didn't' match). When it becomes a lights out game like that with two big-time quarterbacks, whoever capitalizes on one of those quarterbacks making a mistake (has an advantage). We didn't give Drew (Brees) one more chance. There were some positives in the game. It was a real high-paced, high-energy first quarter. We had to force them to kick a field goal on a couple of those drives down there and we didn't do that. From the second quarter on, I liked what I saw in our guys in their eyes. I liked what I saw in our staff and how they adjusted and really in the second half, I felt good, especially in the fourth quarter, I felt good about how we played the last seven, five, four minutes to get us into an overtime game situation. The game changes. Whenever you're in that track meet game…I thought Sean (Payton) did a great job on how he and I have to be in synch. Is it going to be a track meet game? Is it going to be a slug out type game like it was the year before 14-9 with the Vikings. There were a lot of good things in there and we have to know that our quarterback is so good, so don't be afraid of jumping around. Don't be afraid of anticipating a big play. I thought Aaron Rodgers did really well. There were 12 throws in that game you could put in a jar, but he put it in a thimble. You see the earned catches. Those are things we call an earned catch and earned play. There are a couple things we would like to have back, the one with (Randall) Cobb where he ran the wrong route as he admitted and was able to make a play. If there was anything that irritated me at times, it was our inability to stay on our feet at times. We had too many people on the ground, whatever the field position was. Green Bay did too. I went back and looked at it. When you're playing with really good athletes on both sides of the ball, especially at the receiver position which both teams have, you need to keep your feet on the ground. There were a couple crucial situations where they were able to make plays."
How did you feel about the performance of the defensive line?
"We had a couple guys that struggled, but a guy that would be good for you guys to keep your eyes on…I thought Turk (McBride) played pretty well. I thought had a really solid game. In fact, I thought that was the best game since he's been here. It's good for me to have confidence in him. We situationally roled a lot of people. Drew does it here and Aaron Rodgers take linemen out of the game and we have to do some good things coverage wise to cause them to hold onto it a little bit longer. If you go back and time the passes, you'll see they were really, really quick throws they were doing and that negated some of the linemen."
Does Jay Cutler hold onto the ball longer than Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers
"But from their fifth game on last year…It takes a while to grasp a Mike Martz system…I have tremendous respect for Mike. We've gone against each other at a lot of different stops. You can see from midseason on, he really had a grasp of the offense and took control of it. He did very well against the Falcons. He's released the ball quicker this year than last.. There will be some opportunities there. I think the young tailback (Matt Forte) from down here is special and is the real deal. Every time Devin Hester touches the ball he's a threat. I've taken a lot of kids from the University of Miami. I've been down there on that campus a bunch scouting kids. I was real impressed with him when he was coming out. He talked about even playing defensive back, so I had to do my homework on him from a defensive back perspective. They have some explosive players and they're doing a good job of adapting to their system. I think Mike Tice is a really good coach too. I worked with Mike in Jacksonville. Those guys are playing better up front. There's been a switch of what they wanted to do personnel wise and schematicwise in a Chicago Bear offense. We have our work cut out for us. It's going to be a fun game."
