HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the Saints defense hitting the quarterback in the post-season) * *
"Our job is to perform and perform well. Our job when it comes to pass protection is to protect the passer. Obviously, that is what the officials are out there for. They will conduct and deal with those issues that have anything to do with rules and things of that nature."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if hits can get into a quarterback's head)
"Not ours."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on Saints Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams saying he wanted his defense to give Colts QB-Peyton Manning some 'Remember Me' shots)
"I just think that comments that individuals make, we can't control that. They can use whatever motivational tools that they'd like to. That's up to him. I'm not going to pass judgment on anything he says. We're going to focus in on what we do and go from there."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on how hard is it to maintain your normal routine once you're at the location of the Super Bowl)
"We've been a good road team because of the fact that we can adjust. Certain things are going to happen. Not everything is going to be perfect. You may have a little glitch in the schedule here or there, but our guys have grown accustomed to handling a little bit of adversity. I think that's the difference. If you can handle those things, adjust, but, yet keep your focus nice and crystal clear in terms of your practice and preparation, you're going to be fine. We have not shown a propensity to have any difficulties with changes. I do not anticipate it being any different when we go down there."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on having the same practice routine in Miami)
"It will be a little bit later than we practice here, typically on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, it will be earlier than the previous two practices, but not quite as early as we have practice while we are here."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on his saying 'Be the hunter, not the hunted')
"It's utilized to do exactly what it did, and that is provoke some thought in their mind, which they can relate to. I think you can use a number of different analogies, and it doesn't necessarily have to coincide with my thinking. It's just how they get it that counts. I do think overall when you watch them play, they do get it, they do understand it. A lot of them will relate it to the lion and the gazelle or whatever it might be, whatever strikes their interest and gets them to kind of focus in on what we're trying to get accomplished. The real thing is that, oftentimes people will red-letter our game, for example, 'We have to knock these guys off, they've had a lot of success. Peyton Manning's a great player, let's target him.' Whatever it might be. They want you to feel as if you're being hunted, but we want the opposite to be true. There are things that we focus in on, that we have to gain from a win, as well. I think our guys certainly get it."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on WR-Reggie Wayne being the No. 1 receiver)
"I think he's measured up quite well. He's an ultra-competitive guy who has a great level of skill. He meets challenges head on. There are certainly a lot of good players that he has to deal with, and oftentimes he gets the focal point of attention, in terms of coverages, now. But I think he has certainly shown that he can play and play well, even when the focus is on him. One hundred catches for a year is quite a milestone. What he has been able to do over the last six or seven years has certainly been close to exceptional."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on getting Senior Offensive Coordinator Tom Moore and Senior Offensive Line Coach Howard Mudd to come back for this season)
"Those guys have been around a long time and certainly have done an exceptional job for us. I think in their absence we have a couple of guys that have sort of been in an apprentice role the last couple of years with (Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers) Clyde (Christensen) and (Offensive Quality Control/Assistant Offensive Line) Pete (Metzelaars). I think they filled in admirably. Obviously, getting them back was great because we didn't have any break in continuity. That was big. More so than anything else, they've been great contributors as well."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on Saints' Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams coaching with Jacksonville in 2008 and if that gives him an advantage)
"I'm not real certain. I think that would probably be a question you have to ask him. But we've faced a number of guys that have been, not only with Jacksonville, but here on our staff as well, at one point in time or another. Everybody has their advantages in that regard. He's a good football coach, a very knowledgeable guy, and we're looking forward to it."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on how surprised he would be if his young guys respond negatively to the Super Bowl atmosphere)
"It's not going to happen, first of all. It's not going to happen. These guys have been in a lot of big games. They have the type of temperament, I think, that they will be able to function under pressure. I think someone mentioned that usually the first team that realizes that this is just another game is usually in the best shape to perform and perform well. I think our guys will get to that point. Hopefully, it's sooner than later."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on LB-Philip Wheeler)
"Philip has come along very well. He participated and played quite a bit, just in terms of our (look) squad early on. You could see him grow and develop in that role. When he had an opportunity to play, and really battled it out with LB-Tyjuan Hagler early, he was a guy that just week-in and week-out found ways to try to improve himself, working with (Linebackers Coach) Mike Murphy and working on the little details, in terms of his movements and drops and reads and keys. As he's had an opportunity to play, when Tyjuan was injured, he's been able to get a little bit better every single week. You can even see within a meeting room setting how much he understands, how quickly he has grown to understand it, and he has gotten to the point now where is quite effective. But he has a tremendous upside. You haven't seen the best of him yet. You'll continue to see him get better and better. That's what we anticipate."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on when LB-Tyjuan Hagler was injured deciding to go with LB-Philip Wheeler instead of LB-Freddy Keiaho)
"Freddy has been a guy that has been able to play all (linebacker positions) across the board. We certainly could have done that (playing Keiaho instead of Wheeler). But Philip earned a right to get a shot at it, and not only that, he deserves it. He played well when he was in there and had an opportunity to perform. He's done a great job. It doesn't mean anything about Freddy, in terms of what he's been able to do for us because he's been valuable, as well. He can literally play all three spots, but Philip has performed better."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if the team will stay in a different hotel the night before the Super Bowl)
"We will."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if he knows what players will go to the Pro Bowl on Sunday)
"That's something that is kind of on going. Obviously, as we move toward it, it will kind of be filtered out. But I'm anticipating that the great majority of the guys that are supposed to go, go, unless there is something that happens that is out of the ordinary. I would assume that all of them will be there, for the most part."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on WR-Pierre Garcon's ability to focus with everything that is happening in Haiti)
"It's admirable, obviously because he's under a lot of pressure when there is that fear of the unknown and it's kind of lurking behind you. Oftentimes, it's very difficult to perform. But he has kind of found a way to use that and channel it into some pretty powerful performances these past couple of weeks. We certainly feel for him in what he's going through, but he's doing a great job of bringing some positive attention to a real tragedy."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the conversations he had with WR-Pierre Garcon right after the earthquake in Haiti)
"We just tried to support him. There wasn't a whole lot we could do. We really tried to comfort and talk to him, let him talk to us, just spent time with him to make certain that he was okay, checked his frame of mind and see what he felt like doing. It's just kind of one of those things that you have to work yourself through. He was fine and focused and has played quite well."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on WR-Pierre Garcon's frame of mind)
"He was certainly upset, certainly distraught to some extent. The first time we spoke with him he hadn't heard from his family down there. They couldn't get any connection via the phone, things of that nature. So, there was some trepidation and rightly so. We asked him how he was doing and if he would be able to function and perform. He responded affirmatively, thus has done well."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on Defensive Coordinator Larry Coyer)
"He was tough. You see him today, and he has a lot of energy for a guy for a guy at 65 years of age. He still has the same kind of enthusiasm, still has the same type of grit, and he still communicates awfully well. I will tell you this story. When he first arrived, I had just finished my freshman year and I played quite a bit as a freshman. So, he started to review the film. He studies film and studies it hard. I had a made a mistake on film and so before I met him, he had put the word out on campus that he was looking for me. I do remember that first meeting. It was a hello, shook his hand, and then, 'Hey, sit down let me show you something.' He has always been a very intense individual."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if Defensive Coordinator Larry Coyer is intimidating)
"I don't know if you'd say intimidating, but he's a man of convictions. There is no question about that. You certainly sense it and feel it, but I think it's in a very good way, a very positive way."
