Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale

We were fired up, obviously, with the win last week. I thought our guys played really well. You've got the same guys stepping up, and others are joining them now. Continue to do a tremendous job of taking the football away. The big thing walking away, leaving the parking lot, the fans were incredible. I mean, they were the 12th guy, definitely, for us defensively. When you've got 80,000 people like that cheering for you, it was an awesome experience for everybody involved.

With that, I'll open it up to questions.

Q: What can you put your finger on with the turnovers of why they're coming?

A: If I could do that, we'd have a crap ton of them – I tried to clean that up – of takeaways every year. I think it's guys taking advantage of the situations. They're becoming better finishers at the football. You see everybody else, like (safety) X(avier McKinney) has punched the ball out, we've talked about (inside linebacker) Bobby (Okereke) punching the ball out, now you have (cornerback Cor'Dale) Flott in the Washington game punching the ball out right at the right time and things like that that we're doing more often and having opportunities to do more often. The interceptions, they've just been good plays and the guys are studying, communicating so much better the last month. It's been fun to watch.

Q: What do you attribute McKinney's play over the last month to? It's not that he was a bad football player, but he's raised his game to a point that I'm not sure he's ever played at this level.

A: I think that it's—he wants to win. He said that, 'I want to win.' I think that he's taking the steps in what he thinks he needs to do to help us win. I mean, he's communicating better, we're communicating better. He's really enjoying the process of the game prep. When we talk out on the field, I always tell him, 'Here's what I'm thinking,' like, in a walkthrough and stuff like that, and try to get him to play the game. He's enjoying that. He and Bobby Okereke, they love doing that.

We're going to need him this week, because this offense we're getting ready to face, it's a beast. It's tough, because it's a regular pro offense with really good skill players, starting with the quarterback, then the receivers, and Alvin (Kamara) at running back, and then you bring 7 (quarterback Taysom Hill) into the game and it's a completely different animal. It's almost a different game plan, if you will. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. It's going to be a great challenge.

Q: You obviously had (defensive lineman) Dexter (Lawrence II) on a pitch count last week. Did it surprise you how effective he was able to be even with the limited snaps?

A: Nothing surprises me with Dex.

Q: Regarding Dex, to do what he did last week and play – and obviously he's not 100 percent, guys know he's not 100 percent – what kind of message does that send to the rest of the unit? Does that help kind of lift everybody else up?

A: Sure, it does. Sure, it does. I mean, if you and Dex were walking into someplace, wouldn't you feel a lot more confident walking in with him than without him? That's just who he is.

Q: What did you think of (cornerback Deonte) Banks' play the other night?

A: I thought it was awesome. I thought it was awesome. He is just growing and growing and growing every week as a corner and starting to see things faster than what he has seen before. You're starting to see that in his play. I love the fact that he had 12 tackles, because I challenged him all week on making some tackles. I said, 'You're going to keep getting tested out there until you start tackling people.' So, I thought he stepped up and played really well.

Q: How much different are the Saints than Green Bay as far as what they do schematically?

A: Completely different. Completely different. And it's who they have in the game.

Q: Why do you think (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux)'s play is resulting in production of big plays? A forced fumble, another sack – half-sack.

A: I think that's a great question. We've talked about it before, and I've thought about it even more. I said that the guy has no ceiling. You remember me saying that before. The reason why he doesn't have a ceiling is because he doesn't allow himself to have a ceiling. He's in here working every day. He and (Outside Linebackers Coach) Drew (Wilkins) are in there watching tape from everything from A to Z because that's what he does. He's dropping in coverage, and they handle all that. So, I can't say enough about his work ethic, and he has that knack. To me, he's a finisher at the football, whether it's a sack, a strip sack, or the play you saw on Monday night when we had (Packers quarterback Jordan) Love held up and he dug the ball out. He's leading the defense. I mean, he's a vocal leader out there. Like I already said, it's crazy, because the guy is only 22 years old. He's becoming that football savant in the NFL where he sees things before they happen. He knows what's coming. That's a testament to, like I said, he and Drew Wilkins, and how hard they study the game. It's fun to watch.

Q: Where do you see the biggest jump in his play this year on the field? What is it that he improved on that you think has allowed him to do that?

A: I just think that he is... The biggest jump?

Q: His technique?

A: Yeah, I mean, it's definitely technique. I think it's also that rookie year, how their body wears down. I'm not saying rookie wall, for anybody that says that. Their body wears down because they go from their summer, their last year in college, all through the fall, they go right into training for the Combine, they come right here for OTAs. There's never a break. Even the break that they have when we all break at the end, it's shorter, and then it's a season longer than anything they've ever experienced that first year. So, when there was a break finally, I think he recovered right, and he worked out. He attacked his workouts even harder because he had that break where he could do it. It wasn't just constant. Like I said, I just think the guy's a finisher at everything he does. So, whatever his challenge that he gives himself or we give him, he accepts it, and he attacks it.

Q: Is his ability to kind of see things before they happen, you mentioned that, is that something he's always had? Or is it just because he's watching so much film? A: I think it's a little bit of both. He made a lot of plays in college, so I think that you see a guy like that, and I told you he's an old-soul guy, he's really worked hard. We're all starting to see the rewards of how hard he's worked.

Q: There's been this new focus on hip-drop tackles. Where do you stand on those, and do you think that they should be banned?

A: Obviously, not on my hip (laughter).

I don't know how you coach it. I really don't. So, I don't even want to—I don't make the rules. We just try to play by them. I don't think (NFL Commissioner) Roger (Goodell) is going to call me and say, 'What do you think, Wink,' before they pass the vote. I know that you don't want to see anybody get hurt. But also, being a defensive coach, sometimes it's a natural thing that happens. There's no ill intent. It's just a natural thing that happens with someone who's running away from you, especially somebody bigger and you're smaller. You just try to get the guy down. Football is a dangerous sport. We all know that. Do you want to make it as safe as you can be? Yes. So, it'll be interesting to see how they officiate it

Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka

Q: What part of the plan was turning (quarterback) Tommy DeVito into (Ravens quarterback) Lamar Jackson?

A: (Laughs) Listen, Tommy did a nice job. It was a good team win. He did a nice job just managing the game and getting us in and out of good and bad plays and executing, along with the other 11 guys.

Q: I was joking, just trying to find humor in it but his running ability, he really hasn't shown that. Just the idea of knowing when to do it and having a feel for that. Is that that something you guys worked a lot in practice last week? Did you talk about it?

A: Yeah, we emphasized it. Just the scramble drills and guys working for him and Tommy just stepping up in the pocket and if he saw a lane, being decisive and taking it. I think it's just kind of the feel of listening to your feet as a quarterback as you work through your progressions.

Re: how working on the scramble drills translated to the game

A: We've kind of always had that element of the quarterback run game. You saw it with (quarterback) Daniel (Jones), you saw it with (quarterback) Tyrod (Taylor) and now Tommy's had a couple snaps of that as well, so it's part of what we have on offense. On a given week, some weeks we like it a lot, some weeks we don't. It just kind of goes back to each week.

Q: How much harder is it playing a in dome for any quarterback? You've got a rookie who hasn't felt that yet. How do you prepare him for that kind of atmosphere?

A: His first start was in Dallas, in a dome, it was loud, one of those kind of atmospheres and this week will be no different. It's a loud atmosphere, it's a good defense so we've got to make sure to prep the right way.

Q: Are you going to use the indoor facility today to jack up the noise?

A: I believe so, that's where we're going to be at today, yeah.

Q: Curious. Obviously, Tommy went undrafted. The evaluation process from your perspective. What did you see from him? How much did you even look into him?

A: We did our evals of all the guys whether we had visits, or draft guys or guys for local pro day. We detail all that stuff out and watch as much as we can on those guys and put reports together of things that we liked. Tommy was one of those guys that was in our building actually for the local pro day, so we had the opportunity. It was different than a lot of other pro days. You get the opportunity to meet with them, have them in the meeting room, go out here and run our plays and then see them kind of throw it around a little bit, kind of get more a live picture of them. He certainly stood out and so that's why we're happy to have him.

Q: Why did he stand out? Do you remember anything specific?

A: I mean, we thought he did the best, performed the best. We thought he was one of the best ones in the classroom and then when he came out here in the rookie camp, he just kept on growing and growing and learning. He's a guy that fits what we want to do and a guy that we targeted.

Q: What specific trait did Tommy display to you that made him stand out? I mean, you see undrafted quarterbacks all the time and they look like a fish out of water.

A: When you have young quarterbacks, there's always that growth process and so you're always figuring out what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are. I think Tommy, on tape looking back, he was very comfortable in the pocket. He had a very nice, compact throwing motion. He can get out in space and run around a little bit, he's athletic. So, the things you saw in college, you try to take some of things, how they fit into the offense and as a young player, you're just constantly learning and learning and growing. For him, it was the mental side of it, so building our routine with him and how we can build and help him be a professional quarterback.

Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey

Q: When you put (wide receiver) Gunner (Olszewski) back there on kickoff return on Monday, did you tell him not to return anything, fair catch everything or was?

A: It was a decision that we made, yeah, during the course of the game. He's our primary punt returner, especially after he took the shot, so yeah.

Q: That was really the first time I can remember you guys doing that, right? This year.

A: Yeah, yeah. Different situation calls for different strategy, so yeah.

Q: I mean in that situation; I mean what's your reaction? Do you consider it a one off or did you guys get anything out of that –

A: As far as?

Q: Just the idea of getting the ball where you got the ball every time.

A: Oh no, it was more of a depth issue. Making sure that (we) keep our primary punt returner and not taking a chance at him taking a shot.

Q: Do you think that unit missed having (wide receiver) Parris (Campbell) on it?

A: You know, it's always – Parris is a hell of a football, we all know that. I mean, you watch him with the ball in his hands, you don't ever want to take a guy like that off the field but that's what the situation called for, that's just something we had to do. But no, you don't ever want to lose a guy with that kind of talent back there for sure.

Q: What happened on the punt return? What do you want to see done differently there?

A: Just got to get out of the way. It's kind of hard, you got a high, short punt. Gunner did a good job of alerting guys and pointing but I think it was just one of those deals where (safety) Bobby (McCain) was about to react and as soon as he was about to react, the ball hit him. And you see guys kind of moving away from it, but you just hope that he can react quicker and maybe be a little more animated as a punt returner just alerting the guys, letting them know.

Q: What have you seen from (cornerback) Darnay (Holmes) this season as a gunner? It seems like he's really stepped it up.

A: Yeah, he has. Darnay has worked his tail off. Darnay is always one of the hardest working guys that we have and it's starting to pay off for him. When you look at our tackle chart, it's (cornerback) Nick (McCloud), Darnay, (inside linebacker) Cam (Brown), (inside linebacker) Carter (Coughlin) and I think all of them have like seven tackles a piece, so all those guys are doing a really good job and Darnay in particular has really worked his tail off and he's got a little momentum. The more plays you make, the more confidence you get, you go make more plays and he made a heck of a play the other night, so he's getting better for sure.

Q: Do you see that with guys that, obviously when he first got here, Darnay had a heavy defensive workload, so when you put him on specials, maybe his focus was split versus just focus on what you are doing on specials. Now that his defensive snaps have gone down, do you look and say you know what, he's putting more time into what he's done, kind of perfecting the craft on special teams?

A: That's part of it, definitely because he definitely stays after practice, he works on his angles to the ball and as guys are catching punts, he'll work on different things but that happens. I can remember 15 years ago when (former defensive back) Corey Webster, there was a stretch in there during the season where he was a healthy scratch for like four weeks and then all of the sudden he starts playing gunner on the punt team and made a couple plays and it all kind of translated back over to defense and we ended up giving him like 20 million at the end of the year, so I mean it happens. That's just part of guys' maturation process and everybody is different. And Darnay has done a good job of being diligent and then taking advantage of the opportunities that he's gotten.

Q: New Orleans had a punt block for a touchdown last week, when you see that do you look at it and say 'well, Carolina missed this', or did they do something that impressed you?

A: They have a very impressive punt rush unit and they've always had one as long as (Saints Special Teams Coordinator Darren) Rizzi's been there. And even being in that dome, it gets loud, and they get geared up and they do a great job of rushing the punter so, and they rush very, very hard. But no, obviously Carolina, that was a miscommunication there and you can see it, but not to discredit their punt rush unit by any means. They do a heck of a job, they play hard, and they are physical.

Q: Is there a common thread in Rizzi's units since he's been in Miami?

A: Yeah, they are very aggressive. Yeah, very aggressive. And Rizzi's always been that way, you know from my time when I was with the Jets and he was at Miami, he's always been aggressive. So, we know that's what we're getting and that's what we're preparing for.

Q: As a coach, you guys were 2-8 at one point. Has the last three weeks changed anything for you guys or is it same old stuff?

A: You know, that's the ebbs and flows of the league. You're not going to win them all, you're not going to lose them all. It's just, you have to prepare each week to win the game, and that's it. And we didn't make plays earlier in the year and now we are starting to make more plays and that's what happens when you make plays, you start to win games, so I think the guys are focused. Their primary focus has just been one week at a time and focus on the opponent in front of us, just try and win one game, that's it, and I think that's what we've done

Running Back Saquon Barkley

Q: What do you remember about your last visit to New Orleans?

A: It's a tough, fun environment to play in. Dope stadium. And we got a win, so that was fun, but that was many years ago, going against a team that is coming off a win, they're playing great and it's going to be a tough challenge and a tough environment.

Q: Didn't you score a touchdown, the game winner?

A: I did score a game winner there but like I said, that was many years ago. Different coaching staff, whole completely different team. I do remember (Saints linebacker DeMario) Davis was over there at the time, he's a heck of a player. They've got many good players over there and it's going to be a tough challenge and we got to keep this thing rolling, go on a deep stretch. It's going to be fun, it's going to be a fun environment to play in and we've got a tough task at hand, like I said you live for those kinds of games.

Q: What makes DeMario Davis a good player?

A: He's been doing it for so long. He's so smart, so instinctive. He's tough, he's physical. He's a running back matchup nightmare to be honest, just the things he can do. I'd say more of just it really starts with his IQ. I forgot – I don't know what years he's in, but it isn't like he lost a step at all. He's instinctive, he can play anywhere. He's a good player, a really good player.

Q: What happened to you on that carry in the game? Did you get checked for a concussion or anything? It seemed like your head slammed into the turf.

A: No. He slammed me. It was a good hit. Just came on the sideline, shook it off.

Q: I don't think you were asked last week but it looks like (running backs coach) Jeff Nixon is going to Syracuse. What's he been like as a coach?

A: Great. He's a great coach. I feel like he's definitely helped me improve as a player. Obviously not just physically and with the fundamentals of the game but just watching film, studying film, studying opponents. I really, I do extra at home, but I really don't have to do much extra at home because he covers everything. He does a really good job of that. I'm excited for him and Syracuse has got a good coach coming over there.

Q: With the three-game winning streak, not just you but the entire team, do you sense that the focus has picked up or it's always been the same?

A: It's always been the same. We've always had the mindset that we are competitive team and we've just got to find ways to win games and we weren't doing that in the beginning of the season. We can make every excuse in the book, but we didn't make any excuses, we just kept our head down and grind. It does help that our special team and defense are creating I think like 13, 12 turnovers in the last three games. That's got to be a record or something – but that definitely helps. Offense, especially with Tommy (DeVito) being at quarterback, I just feel like we're improving and improving each week and I feel like the younger guys are getting better each week. (Wide receiver) Jalin (Hyatt), you can see (wide

receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson) getting back to himself, (wide receiver Darius) Slay(ton) always makes plays, (wide receiver) Isaiah (Hodgins) stepping up, if we get D-Wall (tight end Darren Waller) back. O-line, you can see the o-line starting to gel together, settle down. Actually, after being able to play a couple games with each other and we find our groove at the right time and hopefully we can keep it going.

Q: How much does Wan'Dale add? He was saying he like he feels like he's back to his old self, like when you have a playmaker like that added to the mix.

A: He helps a lot, man. That's one of the first things I said to him after his one big play, his big catch. That's the (man) I know. It's tough, I've dealt with that injury. Obviously, I've been trying to give the best advice I can to him, he's been asking a lot of questions especially during the season. It's like just coming off it, how you feel at this point. You can see he's starting to come back. He's only going to continue to improve and he's only going to get better. And even after this season, the offseason, working that, then the next season going to feel way better than that. He's definitely a playmaker for us and we've got to continue to find ways to get him the ball and put him in space to help our team win games.

Q: A lot of times we'll see you sitting here, playing chess with (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux), is he a cerebral player or is he a whole package or what?

A: He's really good. He's been playing a lot longer than me, so the record favors him a little more right now, but I told him when I first started, give me a couple months and I'll start winning some games. It's been a lot more competitive. He still gets the best of me a little bit, but he's smart, he's a smart kid and obviously if you have any conversations with him and the way he holds himself and exactly how he is, he carries himself exactly how he plays chess. I've just got to – I've been working a little extra harder on my chess.com app so I can get better to beat him

Outside Linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux

Q. He was talking about your instinctiveness and your feel for the game for a guy your age. Do you feel that yourself?

A: What did you say? Sorry.

Q. (Defensive Coordinator) Wink (Martindale).

A: I love Wink. Wink always has great things to say about me.

Q. What do you say about yourself? How do you feel about where your game is at?

A: Things are just working; we're playing great team ball and I'm just doing my job.

Q. Are you seeing things more this year? Or do you sense you know what's happening more on the field?

A: I study ball, and the more you study, the more start to learn, the faster you start to learn, the faster you start to adjust and understand so yeah, things have been moving a little bit faster as far as my processing and things like that. So yeah, it's been pretty good.

Q. When it comes to seeing things before they happen, that was what Wink said, that's a unique attribute. Does that come from how the offense lines up?

A: Just watching the tape. There are only so many directions a team can go. You think about when you watch the tape and it's like watching a movie and then going to act it out. Kind of applying that to my game and just being able to recognize things when you line up.

Q. How does having a guy like (defensive lineman) Dexter (Lawrence II) next to you affect what you can do?

A: Dexter's an all-pro, he's a legend. He's one of the best interior defensive linemen to ever play the game so he makes everything easier.

Q. Just watching from above, you seemed to have a very active game Monday night. Do you feel that yourself as it's going on? That you're in a flow that's beyond just a normal game.

A: It hurt (laughs). When your body hurts after a game, you know you had an impact. It felt good and I was happy to help the team get a win.

Q. There's an old football saying when it comes to defensive backs that they have a nose for the ball, and it just happens to find them. Do you feel that for the defensive line that you just have a nose for the quarterback? It seems like the sack numbers are piling up pretty –

A: I'd say when you play you try to be as active as possible. That was kind of my mission last game, was just coming off a bye week, playing fast, playing physical, and letting everything else just happen and that's what I did.

Q. You had made a point in training camp that you were working on your conditioning, and you knew that when November and December rolled around last year, you talked about how maybe your body wasn't ready for what you needed to do. Do you feel like all the things you did in the summer to get yourself ready are now paying off?

A: I feel like things are paying off in the sense of how I feel health-wise, weight, size, things like that, strength. At the end of the season, things are feeling pretty good so yeah, I'm excited to finish this back half.

Q. This was the purpose though, right? This is what you thought.

A: Exactly. Exactly, this is what I thought I was going to be. I knew we were going to be in a fight late in the season so we're here and we've just got to keep climbing.

Q. What have you seen from the Saints and (Saints running back Alvin) Kamara?

A: They're very meticulous. They're very, I'd say different than the teams we've played. They like to run the ball they've got a lot of guys who can run it. They've got a lot of guys and a lot of shifts and motions and things like that that we're going to focus on. But as always, we've got to stop the run and make them throw the ball and let the back end cover down and we affect the quarterback.

Q: So, it's like night and day, what they do and what the Packers do?

A: No actually, I wouldn't say it's night and day. It's kind of similar, them trying to hit the perimeter and them trying to do things like that and get the run game going. So, I wouldn't say it's too different. I would just say they have a run-first run-second mentality rather than Green Bay only having a run-first throw-second kind of mentality.

Q: People found your tweet yesterday interesting about what should or should not motivate a person. What inspired you to post that?

A: I think when you talk about motivation, most things that people write on social media aren't really motivation. Most of these stories and things like that aren't motivation, they're just stories to create. For me coming into the league, there were a lot of underdog-type narratives being pushed, and it's like, everybody has great seasons. Last year, other guys had great seasons. This year, I'm having a great season, and it's going to continue to change as the seasons go. I think the main point I was just trying to make is just create new stories. We're a team that's fighting back, but I've been playing good football. I think that's the only story there is to it. I'm not playing good ball because people wrote negative things about me, I'm not playing good ball because I'm trying to prove everybody wrong. This is what I do for a living. I'm happy to do it. I'm proud to do it. I think that's why I'm playing well, because I take pride in what I do, and I put the work in.

Q: Was there a point in time either towards the end of last year or the offseason this year where things really did start to slow down for you, or an aha moment on the NFL level where you felt that turn to start playing some really good ball?

A: No, I feel like I've been playing good ball, consistent, good ball for the past two years in the NFL. I feel like things have been going well. When you talk to my coaches and GM, whoever else in the building, I've done great things to contribute to the team. So now just continue and grow in that impact and do things like that. I mean, it's a blessing, and I'm happy things are clicking even more, and I'm getting the numbers and the stats, and hopefully we start to continue to get the wins. But yeah, I think I've been playing good ball. I think people just want to write stories. And for me, I'm okay with being the headline, I just want it to be new ones or fresh ones, or something that tells the real story of goal setting and reaching those goals. Because everything that I'm doing now, I had these goals. It's not new. I never thought I was going to do anything different. I just keep working until time pays off.

Q: Not too long ago you told us the difference between last year and this year was you knew what to expect, the length of the season, and everything else. You seem to have gotten stronger as the season goes on. Do you feel that way?

A: Definitely. I put on a few pounds towards the end of the season, which last year was kind of the opposite where I lost a few pounds at the end of the season. So that feels great. My conditioning feels great. I played the same number of games leading up to now but I missed four games last year. So, I feel stronger. I feel good. We're in Week 15 of the season. It feels great.

Q: Are you hungrier in the sense that you feel like you're in a playoff race now?

A: Yeah, I'm starving. I'll tell you that.