May 29, 2025 • 15 mins
Erin Summers has the latest updates from the second week of OTAs and sits down with new tight end coach Chase Haslett.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome in to the New Orleans Saints podcast. Prexam a
by Seatcake. You'll hear from players, coaches, broadcasters, and writers
that cover the NFL on a daily basis. The New
Orleans Saints podcast starts right now. Here's your host, Aaron Summers.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome into the New Orleans Saints Podcast. Aaron Summers here.
The second week of OTA's are underway. The second day
this week of practice was Thursday. It included media availability
so we were able to watch and talk to head
coach Kellen Moore along with some players. Things are continuing
to progress through this teaching phase, especially when you look
at the offensive and defensive line. It's a lot of
(00:51):
individual work on the fundamentals and technique so that the
linemen will be assignment sound, know what they need to
be doing when the pads actually come on with alignment,
working with their position group a lot. The group work
during practice is mainly seven on seven. Spencer Ratler and
Tyler Shuck are still sharing first team reps and it
was another solid outing for both. Shuck hit two deep balls,
(01:14):
both over fifty yards, one to wide receiver Bove Means
and the other to Donovan People's Jones Means went down
the left side, Jones was down the right sideline, and
Means definitely took his to the house.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Oh yeah, that was a great throw.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
I knew like we just had execute.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
That's something that we got to I feel like we
don't make a lot of plays just like that.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Next year, while Shuck had two big highlights, he did
throw an interception to cornerback Rageon Wright, which caused Alante
Taylor to run on the field after him to celebrate.
Taylor is embracing the versatility of his role in the
cornerback room, especially under Brandon Staley this defense, They're going
to use him in a lot of different ways. He
is one of the leaders on the defense and someone
(01:55):
who'll continue to play inside and out.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
He will definitely provide a lot of flexibil for us,
and I think that's one thing that you know, from
a defense perspective, we've emphasized these guys being in a
lineup in multiple ways. Alante is one of the one
of the primary guys about that. You know, his ability
to play the star position, which is really the nickel
position as most people learn it, uh and the outside
corner position. So he's gonna be able to do both,
and that's gonna bell allow us to play some matchup
(02:18):
football when we need to play matchup football. And I
think he does a really good job. He's good against
the run. He's a really really good blitzer. I think
that's shown up, and so he's got a lot of tools.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
I think I'm going it is going pretty well. I'm
kind of picking up one and pretty fast. I've watched
a lot of tape, a lot of film. I've spent
a lot of hours just kind of in the lab
is what Staley would call it. But I think I'm
doing pretty good.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Coach Moore said that your versatility, your ability to adapt
a speed that you have is going to be really
helpful for those defense. You know, how do you see
your role?
Speaker 4 (02:51):
I think my role is gonna be pretty pretty crucial,
and I think I'm gonna help the defense out in
many ways. I kind of get the feeling that I
had going into my senior year at Tennessee when we
had Coach of Banks comes in and Coach Martinez comes in.
With the freedom that I have, they kind of move
around and and just kind of play my game and
I kind of felt like a robot out there. So
super excited about it.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
There were no additional injuries to report this week. Titans
Don Holker and Foster Morrow and quarterback Jake Hayner were
all in attendance but didn't fully participate. Taysom Hill remains
out and has not been at practices. Defensive end Chase
Young was at practice today after not attending last week.
I didn't see Tyron Matthew, Alvin Kamara, Cam Jordan to,
(03:32):
Mario Davis, j T. Gray, Brian Brazzy, Devon Godshaw, or
Nathan Shepherd today. The team will practice again tomorrow for
their third practice of the week, since they went paintballing
yesterday instead.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
Pete was pretty good. I'm trying to think, who you know,
Bink had some good moments. You tend to get out fast.
We had we had a bunch of we had a
bunch of guys. But yeah, it was fun.
Speaker 6 (03:57):
Man.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
That was my first time ever doing it. No counftortable
in Tendensey. You would have thought I'd done it a
couple of times, but that was my first time. It
was super exciting. Nobody had faith in my team. Uh,
we went out there and we won it all. So
you know, the champs is here. But it was super fun.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Man.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
I know we have another we're gonna we we're gonna
talk about but next week, you know, we got another
community service event to do. So I'm super excited about
the community service things that you know, Coach Moore and
the staff and organization is putting in for us to
kind of go out there and just help the community
but also build that that team camaraderie.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
While Taylor claimed the win and I do think that
they won, justin Reed just didn't agree.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yeah, Silver team cheated, Yeah, cheat it they cheated, but
it was it was a lot of fun. I didn't
get shot too many times.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, he was the best person out there.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Riley our strength coach Ryan was pretty good. Ugo Amadi,
he was pretty good. He was a Swiss Army Knight
for us.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
As we continue to get to know the team under
coach More, it's been fun to see the players enjoying
the time together. Read said it was something that he
noticed right away.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yeah, I mean the first and foremost, it's culture over everything.
Culture and the culture that's build here and coach killing
they just want to super bow. Last year with Philly,
he brought his Strength staff over and a lot of
those guys are familiar with winning. We have a lot
of guys here who are familiar with winning. But the
great thing, because I've been on mediocre teams, have been
(05:26):
on bad teams, have been on great teams, And the
culture in this locker room is right right now. We
got guys that believe in the system, that buy in.
We don't have bad character guys, and that's the first
step that you need in order to build a real
team to go out and win.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
Was that one of the first things that you picked
up was that culture.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yeah, you can feel it immediately. You can feel it immediately,
like day one of OTA's the way that they ran
in like a college program with the amount of conditioning
and the attention to detail. But I kind I kind
of like things that way. It feels more true to
the sport.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
For today guest, I caught up with new tight end
coach Chase Haslett. He grew up running around the facility
when his dad, Jim Haslett, coached the Saints from two
thousand to two thousand and five. Chase, thanks for joining
me on the New Orleans Saints podcast. It's really good
to have you and your ties here with the Saints
coaching and taking on the tight ends room. How are
(06:20):
you doing and how are things going now that you're settling.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
In, Everything's good. Finally got my family down here, so
that that was a nice sigh of relief, getting those guys,
getting my family down here, and now I can truly
focus on football and making sure the guys are ready
to go. So it's been going good with.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Your father being a coach here before. What was your
earliest memory of the Saints growing up?
Speaker 6 (06:43):
You know what, I've been asked that question a few times,
and it's definitely running out in the field, and you know,
having my dad chase me around, throwing the footballs around,
playing with the equipment, coming to practice, and so anytime
I see Kellen's kids out there, it's, you know, brings
me back to those memories. Definitely pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
What about you, You have kids, They're gonna be out
there anytime soon.
Speaker 6 (07:03):
This is my this is my son's, my oldest son's
favorite place to come to. That has worked. So we
try to come here on the weekends and let him
run around, hit the bags and do all that fun stuff.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
So, growing up obviously in a football family, your father played,
then you went on to play a quarterback. When did
you decide that you had the coaching niche?
Speaker 6 (07:21):
It's all I've ever been around. Yeah, you know, it's all.
It's all I've known. And there's nothing better than helping
guys achieve their goals and achieve their dreams. And that's
that's why I'm in this profession, is because I got
to witness it my entire life and definitely what I
aspire to be, you know, a great coach.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
What pulled you to the tight end room into that role?
Speaker 6 (07:42):
It's I love the tight end play in general, just
because it incorporates the run game, the past game, protection,
it's everything, and so being able to tie into you know,
the offensive line play, receiver play, it's it's pretty cool.
And that's really what taught me, you know, drove me
to be in the tight end room. So it's good stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
How have you enjoyed working with the tight ends that
are here?
Speaker 6 (08:06):
A great group of guys there are, you know, love
being around them. They make it fun. The room's fun,
it's energetic, try to make it light in their good group.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Have a couple that aren't able to participate right now
because of injuries, but don Holker and Foster Moro are
out there doing some drills where they can. You're going
to have a lot of players in that room that
you're gonna have to work with. What are some of
the things that you like in your tight end?
Speaker 6 (08:30):
Yeah, So one of the things I always tell the
guys is I try to we try to attack their
deficiencies and perfect their redeeming qualities. And so having Foster
out there, you know, I know he's he's hurt right now,
but you know, we look forward to having them back
out there full time, and so doing what I can
right now to attack his deficiencies and you know, working
on some of the ball drills aspect of it, so
he's not skipping a beat when he gets back out there.
(08:52):
But obviously all those guys have little intricacies to their
game that we like to take advantage of. And so
not making sure those guys aren't putting a bad spot,
but always looking to attack those deficiencies is what we
strive for.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
It's always funny when I talked to Jawan Johnson, he
you know, changed from a receiver to a tight end,
and he says that it's it's tough blocking. That's something
he's still getting used to. And I look at him
out there, and I'm like, you look like such a
big guy. Doesn't it seem like it's to be that hard.
But I mean it's definitely a different part of the
game that you have to learn. How do you kind
of perfect that area for them?
Speaker 6 (09:24):
Yeah? Yeah, obviously Jawan going from receiver room to offer
tight end play. The biggest thing I look for is
is he a willing blocker? And so that's something that
I saw in film, is that he's willing to stick
his face in there. And so now really working on
hand placement, footwork the first two steps getting him on
track from that point, because once we can tie in
the footwork and the hand placement and the strike, and
(09:47):
you know, he's a willing blocker, so that's all part
of it. But yeah, well, just the footwork and the
hand placement is something that we're really working on right now.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I always like to watch the new coaches because they
usually bring different things to the practices and training camp
that we haven't seen before. Were and today I noticed
Jawan was wearing goggles, So what was the deal with that?
Speaker 6 (10:05):
Yeah, one of my big three things in my room
is I want the guys to be themselves. That's you
can see it in my room right now. It says
be yourself. And so Juwan he loves, he loves, he
loves his goggles. You know, that's something that I've never
used in the past, but it's something that's helped him
in the past. And it's I guess it's a blinking
mechanism within the goggles. It's been around for a while
that helps, you know, makes you focus on the football
(10:27):
when it's in the air. And you know, it's something
that's helped him. So I'm all for it. If it
helps him, it helps me.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
So yeah, how big of a part of the game
is that going to be for the tight ends in
this new offense?
Speaker 6 (10:39):
Yeah, making sure we're not putting the guys in a
bad spot, you know, that's first and foremost. We're not
gonna ask you guys do something that they're you know,
is not helpful to the team. And so a guy
like Jawan, who his you know, biggest asset right now
is in the past game. So we're gonna we're gonna
try to match him up and take advantage of the
defensive looks and obviously keep working on his defficient season
(11:00):
the run game, and and so he can go out
there and keep being successful.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Okay, now I'm probably gonna butcher this name. I practiced
it so many times, but.
Speaker 6 (11:09):
That's a lot easier.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Tell me about him. What have you noticed so far?
Speaker 6 (11:12):
Yeah, no, he's coming along well. Obviously you can see
his size six six two sixty. You know, we just
got to and he can he can move really well.
Got to get him to come off the ball a
little better artistic at the snap count, continue to work
on some of the run game fundamentals. It'd be nice
when the pads come on and see what he can
really do. But he does. He does bring some intricacies
(11:33):
to the offense that we necessarily don't have in that room,
which is nice to have for you.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Being able to come here and be reunited with Kellen Moore,
How good is that for you? Kind of taking on
an elevated roles first time leading the tight end room
and being able to do it with somebody who have
a lot familiarity with.
Speaker 6 (11:48):
Yeah, kill, it's awesome. I mean being around him for now,
I've known him for five years now, six years now.
He's a great coach, great leader, great person, you know,
a guy I would I would go anywhere with definitely
love working with him and him and I see the
game in a similar facet in terms of the creativity
and the finding ways to exploit defenses. But just the
(12:10):
creativity perfect alone is a lot of fun. You know.
He sees the game and a lens that is different
and unique, and that's something that I see as well.
So it's it's cool stuff.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
How many former quarterbacks are on the offensive staff because
it's you, Kellen, Yeah, the quarterback coach. Right, there's a
few that seems like a lot.
Speaker 6 (12:34):
There's a few. Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's part
of it. I mean, those guys are all great coaches
and great people, and so there's a reason why Kellen
brought them on staff is because they they're great coaches
and even better people. So it's fun working with all
those guys.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Yeah, what are you looking forward to as OTAs continued
to progress and then you'll have a little break, but
once training camp really gets going.
Speaker 6 (12:53):
Yeah, just taking it one day at a time. Right now,
you're obviously trying to continue to focus on the find
details in both the run game, pass and protection and
making sure the guys know exactly what their their goals
are and the vision of how I intend to use
them in the offense, and we intend to use them
in the offense is something that I want to make
sure that they are tuned into. But just continue to
work on small details right now and then when we
get to training camp. I want those guys to feel
(13:15):
good and ready to go, that they can go out
there and kick butt.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Did you ever think that you would come here and
be a coach.
Speaker 6 (13:23):
That's a that's a great question. I did not think,
you know, my first position coaching job in the National
Football League would be with the Saints. But it's a
really cool, surreal moment for me, definitely being back here
and seeing everything around the facility and in this city.
I love the city. I really do with people, the food,
everything about this place is great and fantastic.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
What does your dad tell you about coaching here with
the Saints or just the culture of the organization.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
He's preaching right now, just this is your time, you know,
I'm not gonna reminisce on my time back there the Saints,
and this is your time to shine and go do
your thing and have fun doing it. And obviously I
look forward to when he comes around here to practice
and whatnot. But definitely he's a guy that you know,
my entire life. I've obviouslyes my father, but you know,
relying on him for a lot of answers and you know,
(14:09):
all the questions I ask him. So it's definitely my
top mentor.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, when I talk to players who are from the area,
they always talk about being able to run out into
the field of the super Dome for the first time
they grew up Saints fans and what that moment will
be like. I don't know if it has the same
effect for a coach, but walking on the field the sideline,
knowing that that's your home stadium, what will that moment mean?
Speaker 6 (14:34):
Just the atmosphere alone is exciting here. It's a super
loud stadium. The fans are very passionate about their team,
and as they should be. This is a great city
and a great football town. So I definitely look forward
to walking out there and knowing that I'm giving everything
I got to the city and to making sure that
we can win on a weekly basis. So look forward
(14:55):
to it.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, Well, thank you so much for the time and
getting to know you a little bit better and we
look forward to when this thing get started. For more
OTA coverage, highlights, and photos, stay tuned to New Orleans
Saints dot com. It's all there, or you can follow
our social media channels. Next week, we'll break down the
last set of OTAs before mandatory Mini Camp June tenth
(15:16):
through twelfth.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Thanks for listening to the New Orleans Saints Podcast presented
by seat Geek. Join us three times per week on
New Orleans Saints dot com, the Saints Mobile app, or
you can download the podcast on iTunes. We'll see you
next time right here on the New Orleans Saints Podcast
presented by Seat Geek
Welcome in to the New Orleans Saints podcast. Prexam a
by Seatcake. You'll hear from players, coaches, broadcasters, and writers
that cover the NFL on a daily basis. The New
Orleans Saints podcast starts right now. Here's your host, Aaron Summers.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome into the New Orleans Saints Podcast. Aaron Summers here.
The second week of OTA's are underway. The second day
this week of practice was Thursday. It included media availability
so we were able to watch and talk to head
coach Kellen Moore along with some players. Things are continuing
to progress through this teaching phase, especially when you look
at the offensive and defensive line. It's a lot of
(00:51):
individual work on the fundamentals and technique so that the
linemen will be assignment sound, know what they need to
be doing when the pads actually come on with alignment,
working with their position group a lot. The group work
during practice is mainly seven on seven. Spencer Ratler and
Tyler Shuck are still sharing first team reps and it
was another solid outing for both. Shuck hit two deep balls,
(01:14):
both over fifty yards, one to wide receiver Bove Means
and the other to Donovan People's Jones Means went down
the left side, Jones was down the right sideline, and
Means definitely took his to the house.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Oh yeah, that was a great throw.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
I knew like we just had execute.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
That's something that we got to I feel like we
don't make a lot of plays just like that.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Next year, while Shuck had two big highlights, he did
throw an interception to cornerback Rageon Wright, which caused Alante
Taylor to run on the field after him to celebrate.
Taylor is embracing the versatility of his role in the
cornerback room, especially under Brandon Staley this defense, They're going
to use him in a lot of different ways. He
is one of the leaders on the defense and someone
(01:55):
who'll continue to play inside and out.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
He will definitely provide a lot of flexibil for us,
and I think that's one thing that you know, from
a defense perspective, we've emphasized these guys being in a
lineup in multiple ways. Alante is one of the one
of the primary guys about that. You know, his ability
to play the star position, which is really the nickel
position as most people learn it, uh and the outside
corner position. So he's gonna be able to do both,
and that's gonna bell allow us to play some matchup
(02:18):
football when we need to play matchup football. And I
think he does a really good job. He's good against
the run. He's a really really good blitzer. I think
that's shown up, and so he's got a lot of tools.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
I think I'm going it is going pretty well. I'm
kind of picking up one and pretty fast. I've watched
a lot of tape, a lot of film. I've spent
a lot of hours just kind of in the lab
is what Staley would call it. But I think I'm
doing pretty good.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Coach Moore said that your versatility, your ability to adapt
a speed that you have is going to be really
helpful for those defense. You know, how do you see
your role?
Speaker 4 (02:51):
I think my role is gonna be pretty pretty crucial,
and I think I'm gonna help the defense out in
many ways. I kind of get the feeling that I
had going into my senior year at Tennessee when we
had Coach of Banks comes in and Coach Martinez comes in.
With the freedom that I have, they kind of move
around and and just kind of play my game and
I kind of felt like a robot out there. So
super excited about it.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
There were no additional injuries to report this week. Titans
Don Holker and Foster Morrow and quarterback Jake Hayner were
all in attendance but didn't fully participate. Taysom Hill remains
out and has not been at practices. Defensive end Chase
Young was at practice today after not attending last week.
I didn't see Tyron Matthew, Alvin Kamara, Cam Jordan to,
(03:32):
Mario Davis, j T. Gray, Brian Brazzy, Devon Godshaw, or
Nathan Shepherd today. The team will practice again tomorrow for
their third practice of the week, since they went paintballing
yesterday instead.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
Pete was pretty good. I'm trying to think, who you know,
Bink had some good moments. You tend to get out fast.
We had we had a bunch of we had a
bunch of guys. But yeah, it was fun.
Speaker 6 (03:57):
Man.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
That was my first time ever doing it. No counftortable
in Tendensey. You would have thought I'd done it a
couple of times, but that was my first time. It
was super exciting. Nobody had faith in my team. Uh,
we went out there and we won it all. So
you know, the champs is here. But it was super fun.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Man.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
I know we have another we're gonna we we're gonna
talk about but next week, you know, we got another
community service event to do. So I'm super excited about
the community service things that you know, Coach Moore and
the staff and organization is putting in for us to
kind of go out there and just help the community
but also build that that team camaraderie.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
While Taylor claimed the win and I do think that
they won, justin Reed just didn't agree.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yeah, Silver team cheated, Yeah, cheat it they cheated, but
it was it was a lot of fun. I didn't
get shot too many times.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, he was the best person out there.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Riley our strength coach Ryan was pretty good. Ugo Amadi,
he was pretty good. He was a Swiss Army Knight
for us.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
As we continue to get to know the team under
coach More, it's been fun to see the players enjoying
the time together. Read said it was something that he
noticed right away.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yeah, I mean the first and foremost, it's culture over everything.
Culture and the culture that's build here and coach killing
they just want to super bow. Last year with Philly,
he brought his Strength staff over and a lot of
those guys are familiar with winning. We have a lot
of guys here who are familiar with winning. But the
great thing, because I've been on mediocre teams, have been
(05:26):
on bad teams, have been on great teams, And the
culture in this locker room is right right now. We
got guys that believe in the system, that buy in.
We don't have bad character guys, and that's the first
step that you need in order to build a real
team to go out and win.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
Was that one of the first things that you picked
up was that culture.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yeah, you can feel it immediately. You can feel it immediately,
like day one of OTA's the way that they ran
in like a college program with the amount of conditioning
and the attention to detail. But I kind I kind
of like things that way. It feels more true to
the sport.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
For today guest, I caught up with new tight end
coach Chase Haslett. He grew up running around the facility
when his dad, Jim Haslett, coached the Saints from two
thousand to two thousand and five. Chase, thanks for joining
me on the New Orleans Saints podcast. It's really good
to have you and your ties here with the Saints
coaching and taking on the tight ends room. How are
(06:20):
you doing and how are things going now that you're settling.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
In, Everything's good. Finally got my family down here, so
that that was a nice sigh of relief, getting those guys,
getting my family down here, and now I can truly
focus on football and making sure the guys are ready
to go. So it's been going good with.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Your father being a coach here before. What was your
earliest memory of the Saints growing up?
Speaker 6 (06:43):
You know what, I've been asked that question a few times,
and it's definitely running out in the field, and you know,
having my dad chase me around, throwing the footballs around,
playing with the equipment, coming to practice, and so anytime
I see Kellen's kids out there, it's, you know, brings
me back to those memories. Definitely pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
What about you, You have kids, They're gonna be out
there anytime soon.
Speaker 6 (07:03):
This is my this is my son's, my oldest son's
favorite place to come to. That has worked. So we
try to come here on the weekends and let him
run around, hit the bags and do all that fun stuff.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
So, growing up obviously in a football family, your father played,
then you went on to play a quarterback. When did
you decide that you had the coaching niche?
Speaker 6 (07:21):
It's all I've ever been around. Yeah, you know, it's all.
It's all I've known. And there's nothing better than helping
guys achieve their goals and achieve their dreams. And that's
that's why I'm in this profession, is because I got
to witness it my entire life and definitely what I
aspire to be, you know, a great coach.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
What pulled you to the tight end room into that role?
Speaker 6 (07:42):
It's I love the tight end play in general, just
because it incorporates the run game, the past game, protection,
it's everything, and so being able to tie into you know,
the offensive line play, receiver play, it's it's pretty cool.
And that's really what taught me, you know, drove me
to be in the tight end room. So it's good stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
How have you enjoyed working with the tight ends that
are here?
Speaker 6 (08:06):
A great group of guys there are, you know, love
being around them. They make it fun. The room's fun,
it's energetic, try to make it light in their good group.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Have a couple that aren't able to participate right now
because of injuries, but don Holker and Foster Moro are
out there doing some drills where they can. You're going
to have a lot of players in that room that
you're gonna have to work with. What are some of
the things that you like in your tight end?
Speaker 6 (08:30):
Yeah, So one of the things I always tell the
guys is I try to we try to attack their
deficiencies and perfect their redeeming qualities. And so having Foster
out there, you know, I know he's he's hurt right now,
but you know, we look forward to having them back
out there full time, and so doing what I can
right now to attack his deficiencies and you know, working
on some of the ball drills aspect of it, so
he's not skipping a beat when he gets back out there.
(08:52):
But obviously all those guys have little intricacies to their
game that we like to take advantage of. And so
not making sure those guys aren't putting a bad spot,
but always looking to attack those deficiencies is what we
strive for.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
It's always funny when I talked to Jawan Johnson, he
you know, changed from a receiver to a tight end,
and he says that it's it's tough blocking. That's something
he's still getting used to. And I look at him
out there, and I'm like, you look like such a
big guy. Doesn't it seem like it's to be that hard.
But I mean it's definitely a different part of the
game that you have to learn. How do you kind
of perfect that area for them?
Speaker 6 (09:24):
Yeah? Yeah, obviously Jawan going from receiver room to offer
tight end play. The biggest thing I look for is
is he a willing blocker? And so that's something that
I saw in film, is that he's willing to stick
his face in there. And so now really working on
hand placement, footwork the first two steps getting him on
track from that point, because once we can tie in
the footwork and the hand placement and the strike, and
(09:47):
you know, he's a willing blocker, so that's all part
of it. But yeah, well, just the footwork and the
hand placement is something that we're really working on right now.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I always like to watch the new coaches because they
usually bring different things to the practices and training camp
that we haven't seen before. Were and today I noticed
Jawan was wearing goggles, So what was the deal with that?
Speaker 6 (10:05):
Yeah, one of my big three things in my room
is I want the guys to be themselves. That's you
can see it in my room right now. It says
be yourself. And so Juwan he loves, he loves, he
loves his goggles. You know, that's something that I've never
used in the past, but it's something that's helped him
in the past. And it's I guess it's a blinking
mechanism within the goggles. It's been around for a while
that helps, you know, makes you focus on the football
(10:27):
when it's in the air. And you know, it's something
that's helped him. So I'm all for it. If it
helps him, it helps me.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
So yeah, how big of a part of the game
is that going to be for the tight ends in
this new offense?
Speaker 6 (10:39):
Yeah, making sure we're not putting the guys in a
bad spot, you know, that's first and foremost. We're not
gonna ask you guys do something that they're you know,
is not helpful to the team. And so a guy
like Jawan, who his you know, biggest asset right now
is in the past game. So we're gonna we're gonna
try to match him up and take advantage of the
defensive looks and obviously keep working on his defficient season
(11:00):
the run game, and and so he can go out
there and keep being successful.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Okay, now I'm probably gonna butcher this name. I practiced
it so many times, but.
Speaker 6 (11:09):
That's a lot easier.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Tell me about him. What have you noticed so far?
Speaker 6 (11:12):
Yeah, no, he's coming along well. Obviously you can see
his size six six two sixty. You know, we just
got to and he can he can move really well.
Got to get him to come off the ball a
little better artistic at the snap count, continue to work
on some of the run game fundamentals. It'd be nice
when the pads come on and see what he can
really do. But he does. He does bring some intricacies
(11:33):
to the offense that we necessarily don't have in that room,
which is nice to have for you.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Being able to come here and be reunited with Kellen Moore,
How good is that for you? Kind of taking on
an elevated roles first time leading the tight end room
and being able to do it with somebody who have
a lot familiarity with.
Speaker 6 (11:48):
Yeah, kill, it's awesome. I mean being around him for now,
I've known him for five years now, six years now.
He's a great coach, great leader, great person, you know,
a guy I would I would go anywhere with definitely
love working with him and him and I see the
game in a similar facet in terms of the creativity
and the finding ways to exploit defenses. But just the
(12:10):
creativity perfect alone is a lot of fun. You know.
He sees the game and a lens that is different
and unique, and that's something that I see as well.
So it's it's cool stuff.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
How many former quarterbacks are on the offensive staff because
it's you, Kellen, Yeah, the quarterback coach. Right, there's a
few that seems like a lot.
Speaker 6 (12:34):
There's a few. Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's part
of it. I mean, those guys are all great coaches
and great people, and so there's a reason why Kellen
brought them on staff is because they they're great coaches
and even better people. So it's fun working with all
those guys.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Yeah, what are you looking forward to as OTAs continued
to progress and then you'll have a little break, but
once training camp really gets going.
Speaker 6 (12:53):
Yeah, just taking it one day at a time. Right now,
you're obviously trying to continue to focus on the find
details in both the run game, pass and protection and
making sure the guys know exactly what their their goals
are and the vision of how I intend to use
them in the offense, and we intend to use them
in the offense is something that I want to make
sure that they are tuned into. But just continue to
work on small details right now and then when we
get to training camp. I want those guys to feel
(13:15):
good and ready to go, that they can go out
there and kick butt.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Did you ever think that you would come here and
be a coach.
Speaker 6 (13:23):
That's a that's a great question. I did not think,
you know, my first position coaching job in the National
Football League would be with the Saints. But it's a
really cool, surreal moment for me, definitely being back here
and seeing everything around the facility and in this city.
I love the city. I really do with people, the food,
everything about this place is great and fantastic.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
What does your dad tell you about coaching here with
the Saints or just the culture of the organization.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
He's preaching right now, just this is your time, you know,
I'm not gonna reminisce on my time back there the Saints,
and this is your time to shine and go do
your thing and have fun doing it. And obviously I
look forward to when he comes around here to practice
and whatnot. But definitely he's a guy that you know,
my entire life. I've obviouslyes my father, but you know,
relying on him for a lot of answers and you know,
(14:09):
all the questions I ask him. So it's definitely my
top mentor.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, when I talk to players who are from the area,
they always talk about being able to run out into
the field of the super Dome for the first time
they grew up Saints fans and what that moment will
be like. I don't know if it has the same
effect for a coach, but walking on the field the sideline,
knowing that that's your home stadium, what will that moment mean?
Speaker 6 (14:34):
Just the atmosphere alone is exciting here. It's a super
loud stadium. The fans are very passionate about their team,
and as they should be. This is a great city
and a great football town. So I definitely look forward
to walking out there and knowing that I'm giving everything
I got to the city and to making sure that
we can win on a weekly basis. So look forward
(14:55):
to it.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, Well, thank you so much for the time and
getting to know you a little bit better and we
look forward to when this thing get started. For more
OTA coverage, highlights, and photos, stay tuned to New Orleans
Saints dot com. It's all there, or you can follow
our social media channels. Next week, we'll break down the
last set of OTAs before mandatory Mini Camp June tenth
(15:16):
through twelfth.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Thanks for listening to the New Orleans Saints Podcast presented
by seat Geek. Join us three times per week on
New Orleans Saints dot com, the Saints Mobile app, or
you can download the podcast on iTunes. We'll see you
next time right here on the New Orleans Saints Podcast
presented by Seat Geek
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