New Orleans Saints Running Back Deuce Mcallister Legends Video Call with New Orleans Media Wednesday July 1, 2020
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New Orleans Saints Running Back Deuce McAllister Legends Video Call with New Orleans Media Wednesday July 1, 2020 We asked (Jonathan) Vilma this yesterday, but where do you think the 2020 Saints prior to taking the field on paper rank among some of best teams the Saints have had over the years? “On paper? I think that’s the biggest issue. On paper I think it is going to be ranked right up there at the top. I’d probably put it as a top three maybe even top two. The hardest thing to go back and do is go back and look at the 2011 team and I saw the conversation and just the analysis. The hardest thing to go back and do is you knew what that team was. You actually saw it. We can go back and compare and just look at the numbers and the things that they were able to accomplish, but this team on paper, this team could really challenge a lot of things that that team did, but unfortunately we don’t play it on paper. And then the other thing, my concern and my worry with this team is the injuries and then how will not having an offseason truly affect them.” How do you think the Saints did last year working Latavius Murray into that running back rotation and what are you expecting to see out of that group this year? “I want to see more. I think that’s the biggest thing. When (Murray) received his opportunity, he was able to excel. He was able to really go out and produce and you just want to see more of it. I think that was probably the biggest thing, that you just go back and look at this overall season, they probably should’ve used him more and obviously I know (the) game dictates what you can do and what you have to do as far as that’s concerned. At the end of the day, you have to be able to try to get him the football and maybe not just as a runner because we saw him catch the football out of the backfield probably more so better than he did in Oakland as well as in Minnesota. So as a receiver, I think he’s a viable option, but you’ve got to lean on Alvin (Kamara) for the majority of those opportunities, but I think also you can use him in that manor. As a pure runner, you’ve got to figure out a way to get him 10 to 12 to 15 touches, legitimate touches, in a football game.” What’s it been like for you as a guy who’s been retired for a decade now to see what’s happening with the way that the running back position is being valued with contract negotiations and free agency? “They are not getting paid. You have very few of them that have been able to raise that number as far as the average of running back is concerned and it’s truly more of a specialty. What do you do? Can you be an every down back? You have a couple of guys that are doing that are doing that, but it’s more of a specialty in the league and that’s really because of the rules and how you can protect the quarterback and advance the football quicker or faster through the air. You understand that and so as a running back, you either have to have some versatility or be a truly elite ballcarrier and then you have to hope you can get to the playoffs so it really can payoff. That is what it is really all about. Once you get into that dance as far as the playoffs are concerned, you know that your possessions are going to be limited, the weather will normally have to play a factor and you’re going to kind of lean on the things that you feel like you can do best. The other part of it that we often sometimes forget is what can we take advantage of as far as the matchups are concerned. Not to say that that doesn’t necessarily happen in the regular season because it does, but it’s amplified a lot more once the playoffs hit.” You mentioned injuries with this team. Is that one of your bigger concerns is just some of the injury history with these guys and how they stay healthy? Do you think that’s kind of the thing that they need to overcome? “Yes, I think so. I think there are two critical spots, linebacker and tight end. I know you were able to address a little bit of it as far as free agency as well as the draft’s concerned, but at the end of the day, when you are depending on some of those younger guys to come in and step up, that is tricky. Then you have two guys coming off (season-ending injuries) in the linebacker room. You lose A.J. Klein so the question becomes how do we address it? Dennis (Allen) will get creative with the ability to have some of those safeties (involved). Yes, they can play a little bit more nickel, a little bit more dime, but you have got to get teams in long-down situations because if not they are just going to run it at you and so that is a concern. It has to be a concern. You wonder how (Marcus) Davenport’s progressing. You wonder how Sheldon’s (Rankins) truly progressing. Now they’re able to get these guys in the building. Most of these guys have been in the building already, but you talk about once the games start, how are they going to hold up?” How crazy is it for you to think about how long you’ve been out of the game and that Drew (Brees) is still playing and playing at a high level? “Drew is the old man in the room, the old man in the building. It’s amazing to watch him be able to go out there and do it and I think it shows you how well he’s prepared, how he’s changed, not only how well he works out, but what he eats, what he consumes. And then for him to be able to say, look, my body is okay, I think I can give it another run and then truly commit to it, I think that’s probably the most amazing part about it just because of the player that he is. Look, he’s not the Drew Brees of 2011, the Drew Brees of 2006 either, but I think he’s still good enough and he’s still an elite enough of a player that can command the huddle, has the respect of the players and then the question is can he go out and do his job effectively. That’s the biggest question. You listen to Sean (Payton) and how they will manage his throws, how they even may manage some of the games he plays in. Look, we all know Drew, Drew is not going to want to miss one play. Drew, this one is over, you are up 21 and there are ten minutes left in the fourth quarter, get out. That’s not him. He’s preparing from a physical standpoint and a mental standpoint to be able to finish the game, but sometimes they have to protect Drew from himself in that instance just because he is so competitive.” If there’s no crowds in the stadium and the defense can hear every single word the offense says all year long, does that become a challenge to protect your calls and the stuff that you’re saying at the line and do you have to protect against that as an offense? “It becomes a challenge, but I think also you’ll see a lot more hand signals as well. I think that’s one of the things that they can do fairly easy and then what’s interesting is they were probably going to do that anyway because of the situation in Carolina with your backup quarterback (Teddy Bridgewater) as well as with the new OC (Joe Brady) over in Carolina so they were going to change a lot of that anyway. If there’s no crowd in there and defenses can really hear your checks and really hear your calls, man, they’re going to have so many dummy calls in there. It’s going to (be) ridiculous where he’s just out there saying one word, he’s just out there saying letters. Some of that maybe true, but Sean (Payton) has always had words that you listen to or listen for and this may be a hot word this week. Last week, it might’ve been something else. The key thing for Drew (Brees) and the receivers and the backs (is) he’ll give them a little reminder of something and then he will always, based off of coverage or based off of something they see, he will have a hand signal that he can give to that receiver or that back and it’ll be like clockwork. That’s probably the thing, the advantage that will have, if that’s the case, because most of them have been together so long. Emmanuel (Sanders) will pick it up, but the other guys it’ll be an easier transition for them.” Are hand signals easier to protect because you’re showing them while guys are trying to get lined up or is there difference? “He uses those hand signals now.