LIVE: Dennis Allen | Saints-Panthers 2024 NFL Week 1 (9/2/24)

e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e all right game week um so excited to be be here working um thought we had good practice today and you know we're excited about the opportunity to start off with a division opponent um look they got a lot of new faces from a Personnel standpoint got some new faces in terms of coaching staff standpoint so there'll be a lot of adjusting that'll need to be done as as uh you know as the game moves along but um we're certainly excited about you know having an opportunity to start out open up division opponent in our building um and I think our guys will be ready to play this might be a weird question but like when you bring in new staff and guys that maybe have like you know different DNA obviously feting them are kind of the same as the others like what's the chemistry building process for like you and the defensive staff with the offensive staff and like communication and just kind of kind of building that up yeah um yeah look I mean I think that's always kind of a work in progress and and and I think that's just you know in general around here um I feel like we've always worked really well together offense defense um you know we compete at a high level um and and and yet you know we all understand that what we're trying to do is just get better as a team and so um yeah I think that just kind of develops over over the over the course of time and ultimately that's that's my job to make sure that there's cohesion within the staff you know what I mean and uh that's part of the hiring process you know you want to make sure that you're bringing in guys that you know are are team first type of attitudes um along with being great teachers and um you know being solid whether it be solid schematics solid relationships you know there's a lot of different factors that go into that how do you identify like the team first aspect I think it usually a it kind of comes up throughout the the the process of the you know call it evaluation you know like we talked to a lot of lot of people um and so there's not a whole lot of secrets on our league so you pretty much know the guys are difficult to work with you know and uh and and and guys that that you know you feel like can come in here and fit into our culture and do the things that we need them to do and still uh operate at a high level and be able to be successful Dennis I don't know how introspective you want to get on Monday of the first game but that you stand here ready to start your third season as head coach here anything stand out about that gives you more confidence what you experienced and learned from the last few years uh well look I mean I think everybody grows as as as you gain experience um and and so I think I think I'm in a better place than I was even at this time last year um I think I continue to grow more and more confident um because I see the players believing in the message um I I see the players coming together the way that you know I want them to come together now obviously we got to go out there and do it on Sundays that's what it's all about and so um I saw some improvement in that regard last year I've seen more Improvement as we've gotten to this point uh this year um and so yeah I'm I'm I'm extremely confident in my ability to do this job and I'm extremely confident in our team's ability Dennis your thoughts on Carolina's quarterback PR young well I think um he only played one Series in the preseason um and and it was a pretty effective series they were able to move the ball down the field they scored a touchdown um they got him out of the pocket a few times got him on the move some looked like he was making some checks at the line of scrimmage looked like he was comfortable in the things that they're asking him to do um I've always felt like this is a guy that's poised in the pocket I've always felt like this is a guy that understands how to navigate the pocket and move in the pocket um and so look I think you know our ability to affect him in a lot of different ways um whether it be Rush coverage um how we rush them um Rush Integrity maybe some different looks you know I think that's going to be important I mean as as as with any quarterback you know it starts with that that player and the more you're able to affect him the more success you're going to be able to have you been able to identify sort of what uh what characteristics Dave Canalis brings to an offense like is it a scheme a system obviously he well look we we we played against his scheme and his system last year in Tampa Bay and and you see a lot of carryover into you know what they're doing um he's a guy that's been you know committed to being able to run the football obviously they they've bulked up their their offensive line couple additions inside um and they're a big you know physical offensive line I thought they ran the ball well at times during the preseason so I think that's certainly something that they want to be able to do I think some of the play action pass some of the movement passing game with the quarterbacks obviously part of part of what they do so um I I see I see a team that's that's well coached I thought um look they came in here against us early in the season last year and and and beat us pretty good I thought I thought they out executed us talking about their offense Tampa's offense versus our defense and so um I know they're well- coached uh group and I know we're going to have our hands full with what he was able to do with Baker last year how do you kind of anticipate that with young Being Young quarterback like how do you factor that in well look I mean there's probably some similarities and yet there's there's there's probably a significant number of uh differences between the two quarterbacks I think that kind of remains to be seen um you know exactly what they want to do um like I said I mean they they look to me like they ran their offense in in that one series that he played and you know there's some runs some play action some quick game you know there's a little bit of everything in there they you want a safety to kind of Step Up opposite Tire are you closer to that process or is it something yeah look I mean um yeah I feel good about where we're at at the safety position I mean obviously we've got you know four available to play uh on the on the active roster right now and so I feel good about where we're at and we'll we'll have tyan will be out there and we'll have a guy out there next to him that can play pretty well we didn't see a g prti um well here's what I'll say I'll say that we'll put out an injury report on uh Wednesday so until Wednesday I won't make any comments injury or not injury it's injury related and you guys will get a report on Wednesday it's full full week one mode full week one mode you say you're in a better place more confident now was there anything are there any examples something that happen last year able to do this off no I just think that's part of growing you know in job you know I think every year you get more and more confident in in uh in your ability and um so I don't I don't I don't point to one specific thing um you know I mean obviously there's been a lot of change here in the last call it three years you know from a from a Personnel standpoint from a staff standpoint there's been a lot of change over so um I feel good about where I'm at I feel good about where our staff's at I feel good about where our team's at like all the staff changes was there ever a point where it started to feel more like your team you like you would been able to hire like there was a lot of continuity at first you took the job did it ever changed and feeling like okay these are most of the people I hired yeah look well I definitely feel like you know the continuity has been really good um with this group um you know and look specifically offensively these are all guys that that you know I made the hire and so um I think anytime you do that there's there's another sense of um I I don't know what that word is community loyalty whatever the case may be but um you know I certainly sense you know a cohesive staff that's for sure how much how far along has the conversation gone when it comes to Clint kubak calling either on the sideline or in the booth you made it been able to make that decision yet yes sh no no there's a lot of things that we'll just you know we'll show up on Sunday and you know um no disrespect to anybody but I think we get into game mode and we try to keep as many things inous as we possibly can nothing to try to give our opponents any sort of Advantage I don't mean to like be flipp but like does that actually matter like if the panther see Clint on the side don't know don't know whether they care don't care whatever I just don't know that that's anything want to divulge sure I can ask you it's better question for them maybe you know what I mean I go hop over about Canalis you all coached against firsttime coaches new you know stats and everything like that is it even worth doing a deep dive on what they did last year what he did with Gino Smith in Seattle or because it's different Personnel some of that is inconsequential yeah well look I I think you got to look at all all of it you know what I mean like there's certainly I think we' foolish not to look at our games against Tampa Bay last year right I mean that because he's going to look at this is how we tried to attack this team last year these are the things we like these are the things that we didn't like you know um we played Seattle a couple of years ago they came into our building I think we'd be foolish not to go study that tape you know um played Atlanta twice last year which is a very similar defense to what what we are so yeah I think there's um there's a lot of that look look the unknown is I have no idea how he feels about any of the players that he has other than what I read on his roster so I don't know exactly how he's going to want to utilize those players I think those are things that we're going to have to find out as we as we go along I might have opinions I might have thoughts um but that may change once we get into the game so we'll have to be ready to adjust are you reading a lot of like what he's saying and stuff I think we're paying attention to everything you know what I mean you never know when somebody's going to tell you something that that you know might resonate in some form of fashion with you so um yeah I think we pay attention to all those things does that happen a lot like someone TS their hand and it's it's useful um yeah I think every now and then you gain some valuable information um I don't think it's the the the the difference in winning and losing a game name or not you know um but and we're going to pay attention just for the fact that somebody may give us something that helps us you know whether it be a player or coach or whatever I know uh last week you said it was kind of still a competition you're working on yourself I know the focus is on the starters have you landed on a backup quarterback officially um yeah I I I think that's going to be something that we're going to continue to evaluate as the season goes on obviously somebody's going to be the number two come game day um I think that declaration has to be made on Sunday so that's probably when we'll make that declaration um you know and I think both of Jake and Spencer both need to practice I think they both need to uh try to develop the reality is when you get into practice who whoever the backup quarterback is and I don't care whether it's a young player or a veteran player in all the years that I've been in the league that player gets very very few if any first team reps in practice um unless there's extenda circumstances as you know like there was last year where Dereck was a little bit limited on some days um and I don't anticipate that being a whole lot different um and so whether it be what what what few reps they they might get with the one whether it be um on the show team um some extra work after practice um some extra work in the film room like all those are all the things that we're going to have to do to try to you know work to develop both of these young quarterbacks um because we like both of them and uh we think both of them have a future you flip like pretty much every game alternating between Jake and Spector I mean do you anticipate that going on like could in theory Jake be back at one week and spor next I'd say in theory yeah that that that certainly could happen in theory now whether that's the case or not you know um I think we're projecting what might happen you know two three four weeks down the road and and I'm probably not in that business right now okay guys thanks e e e