SANTA CLARA – Justin Smith spoke at the podium in the Niners media tent today, and this is what he said.
Q: The Saints have two Pro Bowl guards (Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans). Are those the toughest two guards you’ve faced this year?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. Those guys are really good at what they do. They’re big guys. They move their feet – all the things you want.
Q: What distinguished them from other guys you go up against?
JUSTIN SMITH: The way they move their hands, their hand placement, their foot quickness, and being 6’5” and 355, 360 (lbs.) doesn’t hurt either. They just have everything you want in a big guard, especially the way they pass protect - short set up front, let the tackles get beat around the edges so Brees steps up in the pocket.
Q: What’s the biggest problem facing the Saints offense? They’re just so well-rounded.
JUSTIN SMITH: I think one thing they don’t get enough press on is their run game. A lot of their passes are set up because they can run the ball, so I think a big challenge for us will be stopping the run, taking away some of those chipping routes where they just sort of sit down after they leak out from max protection. And pressure Drew.
Q: Shorter quarterbacks are supposed to have a tougher time finding passing lanes and they get the ball batted down. What makes him so effective at being able to escape pressure and find those lanes?
JUSTIN SMITH: He looks at where the linemen are lined up prior to the snap. He knows where his B-gap windows are going to be before he snaps the ball. He’s just a really smart guy the way he attacks the pass rush. He knows where that open B-gap window’s going to be and he baits the outside rushers by dropping back and then he steps up and slides to where he needs to be for his open receivers.
Q: You’ve had a well-known B-gap block this year (last play against the Giants). Is that something that you guys are conscious of – trying to get in those gaps?
JUSTIN SMITH: This game is going to be big about our pressure in making sure both three-techniques don’t get outside pass rush and open those lanes up for him, because he can step up and carve you up pretty good.
Q: Have you had a chance to see any of the Saints film from when they lost to the Rams?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah.
Q: That was the one time that Brees was really pressured this year, did not have a real efficient game by his standards. Did you learn anything from that game?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, pressuring him is key. They hit him multiple times, sacked him multiple times. After that game they really went to max-up (protection) – let’s keep Drew clean so he can run the offense. We’re going to have to overcome that. We’re going to have to make sure we still get pressure without committing to the blitz a whole lot. To me, that’s the key to the game defensively.
Q: Is Darren Sproles a frustrating running back for a defense?
JUSTIN SMITH: You saw against Detroit – both the running backs (Pierre Thomas, too), even after contact they’re still spinning, getting the extra yards. Real small guy but extremely quick, can make guys miss. They do a lot of swing passes with him and then they have him angle in when you think you’ve got a bead on him. They move him around, do lots of different things with him. He helps max protect and leaks out and causes matchup problems trying to open-field tackle him as well.
Q: Does any offense motion as much as this one does?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, I’d say so. I don’t think they’re motioning shifts are really what define them, it’s the way they keep you guessing with their play calling, how they have a good run-to-pass ratio. I think every team, everybody looks at them as just a strictly run-and-shoot passing team, but they run the ball quite a bit and they’re pretty effective at him.
Q: Could you talk about some of the tighter formations they run?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, they run a lot of tight formations. It’s not just five-wide all the time. They get (Jimmy) Graham in there on the line of scrimmage. They do a lot of passing from there. So, they make it look like regular personnel and then it ends up being three or four out, so they do a good job of mix and matching their personnel and disguising formations.
Q: How much do you trust your instincts in a game like this against such a good offense?
JUSTIN SMITH: It always comes down to fundamentals. It’s always going to come down to blocking, tackling and catching the football. They’re not Houdini out there, so they can’t run one way and go the other. If we just go out there and play sound football, we’ll be alright.
Q: What’s the mood in the locker room after sitting around here for almost two weeks?
JUSTIN SMITH: We’re antsy. It feels like you’ve almost been off for a month. We’re ready to go and should be fresh.
Q: What did you do last week to make sure your body’s right for this game?
JUSTIN SMITH: Like anything, time cures all. They played. We didn’t play. People could say you’re a little rusty because we didn’t play, but it’s do or die time. I think we feel pretty good.
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Justin is ready to go.
My favorite Niner player was born ready to go for this.
You didn’t hear the story? JS was the first child born with a football helmet and a blue collar shirt on as he came out of the womb.
Cowboy should win NFL defensive player of the year!
@Prime
If it helps keep JS angry on game-day, I prefer he doesn’t.
I know how good he is. Most importantly his teammates and coaches do. That is what mattes most.
Good, and interesting insight. Nice look into some of the intricacies of what NO does offensively.
@Joel
JS comes across as not being as smart as he truly is speaking in front of the media., that is not to slight him at all as he seems you know, ok smarts. But he is way above just ok smarts.
Remember that Giants game when he swatted down Eli’s 4th down pass near the goal line winning the game for us?
I remember seeing JS being interviewed by Mindi Bach of CSN and she asked him “How did you know to raise arms up right there?” (or something along those lines)
He gave the normal spiel. “I didn’t know. I just saw Eli about to throw and got my hand up like coach tells us.”
But when another DL was interviewed, they said that JS called that play. He knew what play the Giants would run and he knew where Eli wanted to go with the ball. So, he got himself in position to bat that ball down. He got himself in the passing lane and knew that it was short pass, and to get his hands up quickly. It was not luck at all.
Hee Hee Hee – back again.
Your team’s so great! How could anyone have a chance against them!
And you wonder why I think you are not respecting our team?
JS is the defensive leader. He is top of the line. In every way. Does his job. Doesn’t cry about things not going his way. Acts professionally.
my dream scenario:as justin and aldon are standing over brees for the sack they say to him”everbody has a plan until they get smacked in the face(mike tyson).”thats how they need to play:physical and relentless.if they do that even the gret brees will make that one crucial mistake.
Keep dreaming
@ who..i respect the saints and appreciate what they have done,but honestly i believe in our niners.if youre trying to get a rise out of me good luck.never let ones mouth override ones a##.
If I remeber right Drew had a few mistakes against the Lions and the Lions couldnt catch the ball. We catch the mistakes and we rarely miss tackles unlike the Lions. I think the Saints are coming into town thinking that the Saints will go marching on… I dont think so.
Grant – Wow, you got more airtime than JS, VD and Roman! The CSN camera was on you alot man.
Can you get 9erGirl a press pass next time? :-)
I could tell Justin Smith is “locked in” by his demeanor.
3 more days!
Funny, Crab!
But something tells me they don’t have a “bring your blog follower to work day”.
What’s your prediction for the game?? Did you notice I changed mine :-)
9erGirl/Rockstar – Yes, I saw the score change. :-)
I tried to hook you up with a guest press pass!
You never know with Grant? Maybe he will sneak you into the next presser.
S.F. 27 N.O. 21 and I’m really really uptight (Crabby15) right now.
it appears brees has a bruise or somethin on his right cheek….am looking for more of those kind of blemishes to be delivered saturday
It’s always been there. It’s on the right below his right eye. Everytime I see him I wonder what happened there. But ya, I hope we add some to it!
I sure love the headline Grant. Here’s hoping it is prophetic…
@ DS94everXev
Freak’in Alex Smith !!! LMAO !
The Saint are gonna route yall 49er’s . 45-17
Who Dat !!!
@blove
Now that you “know” the score, you may now leave.
How many times has NO held teams at 17 or below this year? On the road? Against a winning team? Against a 13-3 team?
Now, put it all together. A winning team at their place with a 13-3 record?
You really are very weak in your argument. Go to a brain gym.
I’ve had diarrhea since Sat. That’s not good right. If we can pull this game out we’re winning the freakin SuperBowl folks. No team left including the Packers can touch us.
This is the kind of stuff I love to read. You rarely see JS talk in depth like this and it’s a shame because he is really great to listen to. I like how he shared what they’ve seen in Brees’ drop back; how the OT’s let the pass rushers get around them outside and then Brees steps up and finds the clear zone to throw from. Great stuff.
It seams that the Saints fans that have found their way into Niner territory are overlooking the fact that loosing is a real possibility for them, it probably is an easy thing to do, as we didn’t get much love from the media this year.I kinda like it that way.keep overlooking us, hopefully saints staff does the same.come in here all cocky and get punched in the face.
@drty 49
I agree. Who dat had to resort to asking me what happened in St. Louis when we had to depend on our D to win it.
Completely neglecting the fact that they lost to the Rams in St. Louis. And the fact the Niners went 2-0 against the Rams this year.
Also neglecting that we beat TB 48-3, and the Saints lost to them this year.
End zones are going back to red on Saturday. Whoo hoo! Feelin’ it!!
Cowboy’s going to wreck them ‘aints!
Do or die, win or cry. Lets go baby! 49ers 27 Saints 24
Does Cowboy have to register his arms as lethal weapons when he goes to another city?
The dream is achieved and the Saints get to go crying back home to suck some Crawdads in the mud. I love it when trash talking fans lose to a better team then don’t have the balls to man up. 49ers live to see another game and the Saints are 0 and 5 in road playoffs. N.O. DAT!