Saints special teams coach Darren Rizzi speaks with the media ahead of the Titans game in Week 1.
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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:04 >> Fire away.
00:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:07 >> What are some of the challenges that might present themselves if JT Gray isn't
00:11 able to be out there for you on that special season?
00:14 >> Yeah, I mean, listen, one of the things I've talked about is I think we've done
00:17 a really nice job roster wise this off season, both through the draft and
00:22 free agency of kind of getting a lot more core players or
00:27 guys that have the ability to play for core throughout our roster.
00:31 You look through our DB group, you look through our linebacker group in
00:33 particular, there's a number of guys throughout this preseason,
00:37 whether you notice or not, JT's not a guy that got a lot of reps,
00:41 maybe in the preseason games,
00:42 was really testing more some of the younger guys in the free agents.
00:46 So listen, what remains to be seen whether or not JT's gonna be out there,
00:49 but obviously he's a difference maker.
00:52 So if he is, that's great.
00:54 If he's not, just like any other week, we'll have a contingency plan.
00:58 But he certainly brings a different aspect to our special teams,
01:03 both as a leader and as a performer.
01:05 And so we'll kind of see how that plays out.
01:09 >> Darren, have you ever gone into a season with a rookie kicker and
01:12 a rookie punter?
01:14 >> I have, I have at the Dolphins before.
01:16 It comes to mind, we had one year where we had Andrew Franks was a division three
01:21 rookie kicker and Matt Dar was a punter.
01:24 So hey, listen, it's a little hairy, there's no doubt about that.
01:28 Listen, like any position, no matter what position you play,
01:33 as a rookie, you're always gonna have some growing pains.
01:35 And so I think sometimes with the kicker and
01:37 punter, it's kind of a little bit more into the spotlight than other positions.
01:41 If you're a rookie left guard, the general fan maybe not see your errors,
01:45 so to speak.
01:46 But if you're a rookie kicker or punter,
01:49 it's kind of out there under the microscope for everybody.
01:53 We have a little bit of a unique deal, Lou is a 30 year old rookie, so
01:56 he's got a little maturity about him.
01:57 And Blake, he's obviously got a really good, like I've talked about before,
02:02 real good personality about him too.
02:04 So, but listen, I'd be lying to you if I told you that there's,
02:08 that certainly hasn't crossed your mind on a daily basis.
02:11 But I'm excited for both guys.
02:13 And listen, there's nobody working harder than those two guys right now.
02:17 So, but I have been in that position before and
02:18 it's definitely interesting to see at least.
02:21 >> Do you make it a point to maybe talk to them a little bit more during the week
02:25 than you might if you had veterans who kind of knew what they were getting into?
02:29 >> Yeah, I think there's a lot of things you take for
02:31 granted with veteran specialists.
02:33 Phil Galliano and myself kind of go through all the contingency plans every week for
02:39 everything that could potentially happen in the special teams game.
02:42 Whether it's on field goal or punt with a new guy out there.
02:45 And so when you have a veteran guy, sometimes through repetition,
02:51 you just kind of get in a comfort zone.
02:53 Where as a rookie, they may have somebody come up for the first time in the game.
02:56 And so we're trying to make sure that we cover all those different scenarios and
02:59 situations.
03:00 That's kind of been the biggest thing for me this week, is kind of just make sure we
03:05 cover all the bases for maybe a situation that a rookie hasn't been in before.
03:08 That you really can't create in a preseason game,
03:11 until you're under the fire in a regular season game.
03:13 So listen, both guys are extremely talented at situational stuff.
03:18 Seems to come up on special teams more than any other thing.
03:20 So, and it certainly comes up early in the season.
03:23 You guys have all watched the college football game the first weekend.
03:27 You look through those games, and I know I'm sitting at home.
03:29 As those things are going on, you're watching all those scenarios come up.
03:32 And you start to think about it, okay, this happens to us, A, B, and C, and X, Y,
03:36 and Z, and how we're gonna handle it.
03:38 So that's kind of been the thing you can take for
03:40 granted sometimes having a veteran guy in those spots.
03:44 >> In a game like this, where you have two really strong defenses,
03:47 how much more magnified does flicking the field, controlling field position,
03:52 for these special teams, not be common in a game like this?
03:55 >> Yeah, DA and I had that conversation last week.
04:01 You look at the way the teams are built, and
04:04 I think it's always important, naturally, right?
04:08 But particularly, I mentioned the college games this past weekend, and
04:11 I'm watching, and the field position becomes huge in all those games.
04:14 You're watching that Clemson-Duke game, and
04:17 Duke's turned the ball over back in their own end, and things like that.
04:20 So how the field completely gets flipped, and
04:24 again, kind of going through all those scenarios.
04:26 But listen, our coverage, our point coverage, our kick coverage,
04:30 is gonna be at a premium.
04:32 Our return game, given our offensive good field position,
04:34 is gonna be at a premium.
04:36 And I kind of feel like, and I said this to the guys in a special teams meeting,
04:41 early in the season, in the NFL, you see a lot of big plays on special teams.
04:45 And then it kind of levels off for a while, and you see it again at the end of
04:49 the year, because the rosters and injuries and everything.
04:51 But you cannot simulate regular season special teams in the preseason.
04:55 You just don't get those opportunities.
04:56 So things like field goal protection and
04:59 punt protection, and some of the guys that weren't out there on kick coverage,
05:02 and things like that.
05:03 So this is gonna be the first time we're doing things,
05:05 maybe at a live speed, on some level.
05:09 So all those things get magnified.
05:11 And certainly, anytime you can make a team go the long way on offense, or
05:14 you can create an offensive position for your own offense,
05:18 that's a big, big part of the game.
05:20 So there's no question, it gets magnified.
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