Sean Payton Minicamp Media Transcript

Courtesy of the New Orleans Saints

Has Jimmy Graham taken advantage of the opportunity to catch balls from Drew Brees and work some with the ones?

“He’s getting a lot of work. Today and tomorrow we’re doing a lot of base personnel groupings so that means we’re in ‘21’ and some ‘12’ – two-tight end work. For us the key is finding a handful of packages that we think suit him, packages that would suit David Thomas or Jeremy Shockey. Jeremy got walk-through snaps today and went back in. He’s feeling better. I was encouraged just seeing him out here getting the walk-through. But I do think that (Graham) is a guy that we’re giving some snaps to and the timing with he and Drew is important. Just like you’re seeing Patrick (Robinson) get some snaps. Some of these guys that we’ve had for the better part of three weeks now; the rookie camp, the OTAs and they’ve been quickly being brought up to speed.”

What is the learning curve for Graham with his mostly basketball background?

“He’s picking it up. For someone who hasn’t played as long, he’s handling the adjustment pretty well.”

Is Charles Brown 100% healthy?

“He’s close. We have him at limited, which means he’s going to get snaps. We just have to mindful in how much we give him, knowing that he’s coming off the hamstring. He’ll see those snaps increase in the next 10 or 14 days, which is really the period that we have. But he’s limited right now. He’s getting some work; we just don’t want a setback and the rehab is going well. He’s going to be able to get snaps before we break here and go to training camp. He’s one of those players – I think Devery Henderson is another one, and Jon Stinchcomb – that we’ll have a chance to monitor and get snaps in. There’s a group of players that we’re hoping to give more work here before we break for the summer before two-a-days. He would be one of those guys.”

Can you talk about the development as a coach of Joe Lombardi?

“He came to us as an offensive quality control coach. When we lost Doug Marrone, we promoted Pete Carmichael to coordinator and Joe Lombardi was promoted to quarterbacks coach. Both he and Pete do a real good job preparing the meetings, preparing the quarterback installations. A guy like him wears a lot of hats. He’s real thorough and he’s a guy that has passion for what he does. The uniqueness of his story was to see him after the Super Bowl with his father and his brother having the opportunity to share in a moment with the trophy that was named after his grandfather. He’s doing good.”

What have you seen out of Jo-Lonn Dunbar so far out here?

“He’s experienced. He’s been with us long enough to where he’s a guy that knows exactly what he has to do. He has to contribute not only in the defensive line of work, but also in the special teams. He’s one of those players, along with Jonathan Casillas and Stanley Arnoux and Troy Evans – those guys are all competing for playing time.”

How did Dunbar do in those games last year when Scott Fujita was out?

“He did well. If you recall, he actually played the year before, too, in a starting position. So it’s not new to him. Although he’s young, he’s had a number of game snaps. I would describe him as someone who’s disciplined and pretty smart in regards to his assignments.”