Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael was well aware of the critiques levied at the Saints offense over the first month of the season.
He knew things had to be fixed, and an impressive showing in Week 5 was a clear step in the right direction, as he explained to Mike Hoss and Bobby Hebert on SportsTalk this week.
Listen to the full interview with Saints OC Pete Carmichael in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
"It’s part of the business," he said on WWL. "I have to be better, and yet I thought the focus last week was just focusing on our preparation, the details, cleaning some things up and making it about us. And I thought that we came out, responded and played well.”
Part of that response was built into the product of a 34-0 beatdown of the New England Patriots, a team that appeared listless and failed in all three phases. But the current state of the Patriots shouldn't overshadow a Saints offensive attack that incorporated more motion and unpredictability and ran the ball well.
Most importantly they were 3-for-3 in terms of scoring touchdowns on trips to the red zone, excluding kneel downs deep in Patriots territory to end the game.
“It’s been a big emphasis and I think that our players responded," Carmichael said. "I thought we ran the ball well. I thought when you watch the game, I thought there was movement on the line and I thought our line won and I thought we were moving guys, and I thought obviously the execution was great yesterday.”
One of those touchdowns came on a new wrinkle the Saints have been repping throughout the offseason, with Derek Carr heaving a shovel pass to Foster Moreau at the 6 yard line and the New Orleans native barreling in for his first score in a Saints uniform.
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"It was well blocked and I thought Foster, obviously, he gave a little extra, kind of broke a tackle and I think it was a lot of great push," Carmichael said. "It was a great finish on that play ... we’ve been running in training camp, and I thought it was the perfect time for it when we really got the right look for it, kind of a clean look for us, and I think that the players executed it perfectly.”
The Saints offense will have a stiffer test when they travel to face a talented Texans squad that has outpaced expectations to this point under first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans.
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MORE FROM PETE CARMICHAEL
How many chunk plays are you shooting for in a given game?
“One of the things [head coach Dennis Allen] talked about was when an offense is able to have an explosive or two in a drive, how much their scoring percentage goes up," Carmichael said. "And so I think that’s been a focus, and I think obviously you want to come away with as many as you can in a game. Sometimes I think defenses make you have to earn it, they maybe make you check it down. But I think coming out of a game with about eight of those is really the primary goal.”
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On needing to attack the middle, utilize TEs more in passing game
“I don’t disagree. ... I think that early on we were doing some things with the tight ends in protection, helping out, maybe giving some nudges and stuff like that," Carmichael said. "but I think that overall I’ve got to find ways to get those guys involved, get them the ball and we’ve got to be better in that area as far as me and giving those guys those opportunities.”
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Importance of having Mike Thomas available each week
“I think he’s one of our best assets, and I think that the characteristic that hasn’t changed about Mike that he’s always had is when it’s 1-on-1 and you put the ball up to him you feel good about who’s coming down with it. If you’re a quarterback, you’re confident throwing it to him," Carmichael said. "I think he’s playing at a high level, a ton of energy, effort. He’s done a great job blocking on the perimeter as well. And I think, again, he’s another guy that you get through the game and you think, ‘ah, I wish we could’ve got him more opportunities.’ And I thought that when you watch the film there was some opportunities where we for whatever reason, the play was called and maybe he was open but the ball went somewhere else. And so I think that he’s just a guy that’s a big part of what we do.”