Saints head coach Dennis Allen in his postgame interview with the media in Week 15 versus the New York Giants.
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00:00 Look, it was a good team win.
00:02 I thought all three phases contributed to the win.
00:05 I thought some of our veteran players stepped up and played really well in the game.
00:10 I was proud of our guys to come out and play the way they did today.
00:15 Look, now we've got to get ready on a short week to fly out to LA and play against the
00:20 Rams.
00:21 That's all things considered.
00:22 Is this as good as your team has played across the board?
00:28 Yeah, I thought our guys played well.
00:30 I thought offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game, I thought all three phases.
00:36 Look, I think there's been a couple other games, New England, whatever, where I feel
00:42 like we've put a complete game together.
00:44 I do feel like this was a complete game by our team.
00:46 Dennis, how about from the start, especially seventh time on the fourth court, playing
00:50 an entire game with the lead?
00:53 Yeah, it was good.
00:56 I mean, to be able to play with the lead for the entire game, I think that was good for
01:03 our team.
01:04 Our team's battled adversity and had to play from behind.
01:08 In this game, to start off with a lead, I thought that was good.
01:10 I thought, look, third down, we were six of 11.
01:17 They were two of 16 on third down.
01:19 I thought that was a big factor in the game.
01:23 I thought our red zone offense, again.
01:25 We were two of two down there in the red area.
01:28 Some things that we said we needed to get better at and improve on, we've done that.
01:31 I know you can never pinpoint what leads to games like that, but what did you sense this
01:36 week that was clicking in?
01:38 Yeah, well, look, we've got a good veteran group, and they understand what's at stake.
01:45 They had a good week of practice and went out and played well.
01:49 I thought some guys had to step up.
01:51 Landon Young, stepping up in place of Ryan Ramchak.
01:54 I thought, overall, I thought the protection was really good.
01:57 I don't know if I'm going to get any questions about the quarterback this week, but I thought
02:04 the quarterback played really well.
02:07 Make sure we get that on record.
02:10 It was an effective game in all three phases.
02:16 Was it the best game that they played all season long?
02:20 Well, look, probably statistically.
02:22 I mean, 218 yards probably is not.
02:25 Nobody's jumping off the table with 218 yards, but three touchdowns, no interceptions.
02:33 I thought the protection, again, was outstanding in the game.
02:36 It gave him some opportunities to get the ball down the field.
02:39 A 134 quarterback rating.
02:43 I thought he played well, and I thought the players around him played well.
02:47 That was the pass rush.
02:49 You had some difficulties this year with quarterbacks escaping.
02:52 Obviously, that didn't happen today.
02:54 Was there something different about how the pass rush?
02:57 Well, without really getting a chance to kind of look at the tape, it's hard for me to say
03:02 exactly.
03:03 I thought our guys did a good job of understanding rush lane integrity and how we had to rush
03:11 this quarterback.
03:12 Then when we did get him off the spot, guys were able to finish and get him on the ground.
03:16 I think that's really been probably the biggest difference.
03:20 Really when you look at the last two weeks, is I think we've been able to finish much
03:27 better on the quarterback when we've been able to get him off the spot.
03:31 But certainly, this was probably our best day in terms of being able to get after the
03:36 quarterback and being able to finish on the quarterback.
03:38 Did you change anything about the plan or approach that led to that?
03:41 No, not really.
03:42 I mean, look, we had a significant amount of pressure.
03:50 We had some four-man rush.
03:51 We mixed our packages up just a little bit.
03:54 Look, I thought we did some things on first and second down too where we were kind of
04:00 able to affect the quarterback a little bit.
04:05 And look, I think on the back end, our guys, for the most part, they got a couple of plays
04:10 there in that last two-minute drive where the quarterback kind of extended a little
04:14 bit and was able to find some guys late down the field.
04:16 But I thought overall, our ability to eliminate the shots down the field I thought was really
04:22 good for us defensively.
04:23 Talking about really on offense, does that exist on defense too in terms of getting the
04:28 job done?
04:29 Look, I think momentum's a real thing.
04:33 I think confidence is something that's – confidence breeds confidence.
04:41 So when you go out there and you make some plays, you become more confident.
04:46 And then you tend to make more plays, which makes you even more confident.
04:49 I thought both sides of the ball had a little bit of that going on today.
04:52 You brought up the quarterback.
04:53 We didn't ask.
04:54 Are you irritated by the amount of criticism that he gets?
04:58 I just think it's unfair, my personal opinion.
05:02 But I know everybody's got the right to their own opinion.
05:05 But I thought he played really good in this game.
05:09 I think just like with everything else, I think when you play that position, you're
05:14 going to get your fair share of criticism.
05:16 When somebody plays really good, I think we need to make sure we recognize that he played
05:21 well.
05:22 Did you play with a sense of urgency from start to finish?
05:26 Yeah, I did.
05:27 I did.
05:28 So yeah, it was a good game for us.
05:29 Same question, did the officials give you an explanation for the personal foul called
05:36 on A. Taylor?
05:38 Did they think he lowered his head?
05:43 Yeah, I really didn't ask.
05:45 I didn't agree with the call.
05:47 And so I was more expressing my feelings than asking what they saw or called.
05:54 It was a big play in the game though, really.
05:57 When you really look at it, that's a big play.
05:59 The fact that he's played with so many injuries, you've seen quarterbacks do this in this league.
06:06 Do you think he's displayed, I don't know if it's like uncommon toughness or real toughness
06:12 to be playing?
06:13 I think he's mentally and physically tough.
06:15 I do.
06:17 And I thought he stepped up today and made some plays and made some throws.
06:24 And obviously it wasn't perfect.
06:25 There's plays that probably could have been better.
06:28 I thought some guys made some plays for him too.
06:30 And that's why this game is all about, there's 11 guys on the field on every single play
06:37 and nobody does it by themselves.
06:40 And so I thought the protection again, I thought the protection was really good in the game.
06:45 I thought guys made some plays down the field when they had opportunities too.
06:48 And I thought Derek was doing a good job of getting through his reads and getting the
06:51 ball to the right people.
06:52 How do you like the younger receivers stepping up and everything in this game?
06:57 Yeah, look, I mean, that's part of what this league is.
07:02 Young guys are going to have to step up and make some plays.
07:04 I think on the long yardage situation with A.T.
07:08 Perry being able to catch the ball, again, it doesn't happen if you don't have good protection
07:12 because it takes a little bit of time to get down the field.
07:14 But I thought he ran a good route, came back to the ball, caught it, was able to get north
07:19 and south and advance it and get the first down, which was a big play.
07:24 How close was Chris going today?
07:29 My plan was to see where he was at this morning.
07:33 If he felt good enough, I was going to get him out on the field and work him out.
07:38 And I think as he got here this morning, I don't think he felt like he was going to be
07:45 able to go out and do the things that he needed to do to be effective, particularly with us
07:51 playing a Thursday night game, trying to get him healthy and get him back in for that game.
07:56 I thought he kind of went into that decision a little bit.
07:58 You said it's different with Eric Blair.
08:00 Does the fact that he didn't practice two times last week matter at all as well?
08:05 Yeah, look, I mean, I wouldn't say that we're going to try to make a habit out of guys not
08:12 practicing and then getting out there on the field and playing.
08:15 But I felt like if he was able to go and he was able to provide something for us, even if in a
08:24 limited role, that I thought he was the option that I thought gave us the best chance to win.
08:31 Was there something in the Giants defense that made you want to exploit the opportunity with
08:35 tight ends or was there a self-scout that said you wanted to get tight ends more involved?
08:39 Yeah, look, I mean, generally when you face a team that's got a lot of exotic looks and
08:46 things of that nature, it kind of calms down a little bit when you put a bigger grouping on the
08:50 field. And so I think that was just part of the game plan to see what we were getting.
08:55 And as we got into the game, we felt like there were some things that we could do to
09:01 have some success.
09:02 How much did that help when you see Jawan deliver on that?
09:07 I thought it was awesome to see him go and make that play, you know, and then obviously,
09:11 you know, the goal line play down there to Jimmy, you know, from the half yard line was a big play.
09:17 So I thought our tight ends kind of stepped up and played well in the game.
09:21 Dennis, before y'all turned the corner, before y'all played the Panthers, y'all had two shutouts
09:26 keeping the opponent out of the end zone to grab their all year and then back to back games,
09:29 you don't let your opponent get in the end zone. What kind of corner do you think the
09:32 team was just turning this season?
09:33 Well, we've played better the last two weeks. And so, but, you know, you're really only as
09:40 good as your last outing. And so we've got to, you know, go back and make whatever the
09:45 corrections are that we need to make from this game and get ready for, you know, a really good,
09:52 you know, LA Rams team.
09:54 Dennis, it's been like almost five years since Keith Kirkwood caught a touchdown pass.
09:58 I was curious what kind of impact he has and like, what does he bring to the team?
10:03 Look, I mean, he's a guy that, you know, he's kind of been up, then he's been down,
10:10 then he's been back up. And he's, look, he comes to work every single day and works his tail off.
10:17 And he's appreciative of every opportunity he gets. So for him to get an opportunity to go
10:22 out there and make some plays is good to see. All right, guys, thanks.