Jim Haslett Interview Transcript
After the Saints' pick of Josh Bullocks in the second round

posted April 23, 2005 - print me!
neworleansprofootball.com

Q: What was the thought process on Bullocks?

A: "He was the highest-rated defensive player we had left on the board. I think he is a guy that can come in, help us in certain areas and eventually be a starter. He has great ball skills, had 10 interceptions his sophomore year, fell off a little as a junior, but I think he has a lot of upside. He has the stature for a safety and he can make plays. He's proven that in the past."

Q: Did you feel like you needed help at safety?

A: "Not necessarily. We feel good about Dwight Smith, and Jay has had exceptional years back to back. But Jay is getting up there in age a little. Again, I don't think you can have enough safeties. Steve Gleason is more of a special teams guy, Mel Mitchell has been solid in spot play, but we'd like to carry five safeties if we could."

Q: Back to picking Jammal Brown, what did you think of him?

A: "I love the guy, he's the type of right tackle we were looking for. He's a big guy, he has great size, great strength, a mauler-type. (He is) more of a right tackle, though he could probably play left tackle because he's a very athletic. You very rarely ever see him lose a battle. He hustles, runs down the field all the time, I think he's given up one sack in the last two years. He looks effortless doing it. I don't know if it's the competition he's playing with, or if that's just him. He looks like Jonathon Ogden to me, in his style of play."

Q: Was it a tough decision in the first round, between Brown with Thomas Davis available?

A: "I do think Davis is going to be a good player, I think, I'm not sure. I know Brown is going to be a good football player. If you are rolling the dice, you probably take on the sure thing. And I think this kid is a sure thing."

Q: Does he compare to William Roaf?

A: "He has a little bit, but Willie is exceptional. It's hard to compare him to Willie Roaf, he might be the all-time great. He's not as athletic as Willie, but he's a mauler. Effort-wise, he runs down the field, chases people, tries to knock them out of bounds. He's a guy who I think is a sure thing."

Q: Will drafting Brown have a domino effect on the rest of the offensive line?

A: "We'll move Jermane back to right guard. We'll let Jon Stinchcomb battle it out with Jammal and Wayne Gandy and put the two best tackles on the field. I told Jermane two weeks ago that if we drafted a tackle, we'd move him back to guard. We brought Jammal in here to be the right tackle. I wanted to get the line better, this guy makes us better."

Q: What about Montrae Holland?

A: "We're going to give Montrae a chance on the other side."

Q: Why do you expect the defense to play better?

A: "I thought we were playing better by the end of the year last season. I expect our linebackers to keep getting better. With the addition of Mike McKenzie and the way our cornerbacks played, to keep improving on what they improved on. We wanted to get a guy on defense, every time we had an opportunity today it kind of fell by the wayside. We thought there were two or three guys that could help us, but it didn't work out that way. There weren't a lot of guys in the draft on the defensive side of the ball."

Q: How far back was it when you targeted Jammal Brown?

A: "We kind of targeted three or four guys that we thought could come in and make a difference. As a coach, I look at it differently than Rick Mueller or Rick Reiprish. I look at it as who can come in and do something, help us right now. But you also look at the future. As a coach, you'd like to have someone right now. I think Jammal helps us right now. He starts right now. I can't say the same for Thomas Davis. I think he will come in and play, use him in certain packages. But after playing safety the last couple of years, will he be the starting linebacker? I can't answer that. I know Jammal can play right tackle right away for you."

Q: What happened with the trade talks for Darren Howard?

A: "Darren is a heck of a football player. Our stance from Day 1 is we aren't going to give up one of our better players unless we get equal value, period. I have talked to Darren about it a number of times, and I told him there was probably a 99.9 percent chance that he will be with the Saints this year. All he wanted to know was where he'd be. I credit him. He's as strong as he's been since he came here, and he's healthy. I expect a big year out of those guys, it's probably one of the strengths of our team."

Q: So you feel good about everything?

A: "I think everyone does this time of year. I feel good about our first round pick. I think our second round pick will come in and compete, help us where we need some help."

Q: Were you surprised by Aaron Rogers?

A: "We kind of new that if he got past fifth overall, he would probably fall to Green Bay. He's a good football player, a good quarterback."

Q: Were you worried about someone else coming up and trading ahead of you for Brown?

A: "A few teams were looking to move up for him. We knew there were a lot of teams interested in him. He's a heck of a player. If you were looking for a prototype right tackle, a mauler, he's the best one on the board. In my mind, I don't think there were a lot of great players. There weren't as many on the defensive side. So after the last 30 picks, you are hopefully going to find someone who will make the team and help us this year."

Q: Surprised by anything in the trade talks with Houston?

A: "To move up took a third-round pick, but I was kind of surprised we could do it with next year's third. We wanted to keep this year's. Houston got the guy they wanted, anyway. They wanted a defensive lineman, we wanted an offensive lineman, it worked out for both teams."

"After we drafted Jammal, two minutes later my cell phone rang and it was Deuce. First thing he said was, 'Thank you.' We'll be big on the right side; 320-plus on the right side, both of them."

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