ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—New Orleans coach Sean Payton says one of the reasons his NFL coaching career is off to a good start is help from his counterpart in Denver, Mike Shanahan.
“He’s a guy that has really been good to me as a young coach coming into this league,” Payton said. “I had heard so much about him just from my time in college.”
Payton is 18-16 in regular season games and 1-1 in playoff games in two-plus years with the Saints.
“Sean went to the NFL very quickly and he’s done a heck of a job,” Shanahan said. “He’s very sharp, someone that I really admire what he does with his offense and a guy who’s always been ahead of the curve.”
Neither coach will talk about how the veteran is helping the newcomer. But they do have at least one thing in common: Each played quarterback at Eastern Illinois.
“When he (Shanahan) left Eastern Illinois, I arrived a few years later,” Payton said. “It was during his time there as a player and coach that program began a pretty good tradition.”
Asked how Eastern Illinois became such a football hotbed with the likes of himself, Shanahan and Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, Payton joked: “We probably were all P.E. majors that couldn’t pass the math or business and we enjoyed football,” he said.
Shanahan has warned his team about Payton in advance of Sunday’s matchup in Denver.
“He does a great job in play selection calling plays,” Shanahan said. “He’s a guy that if you’re not on top of your game, you’re going to be exposed.”
———
STICKING TO HIS GUNS:@ Wide receiver Brandon Marshall predicted before the season he would catch 140 passes this season. He’s not backing way from that.
“I was quoted as saying that and I stand by that,” Marshall said. “I’m a guy that sets my goals high and I want to accomplish everything that I write on paper.”
The third-year wide receiver missed the season opener at Oakland while serving a one-game suspension. He caught a club-record 18 passes last Sunday against San Diego.
“Last year I had a great season,” Marshall said. “I had 102 catches and 1,300 yards and we lost.”
If he succeeds in catching 140 passes, he would easily exceed the Broncos’ single season record of 113 set by Rod Smith in 2001.
———
DECEIVING NUMBERS:@ Broncos cornerback Dre’ Bly thinks Denver received an unfair review in last week’s game with San Diego. The Chargers threw for 376 yards.
“It happened on three big pass plays of over 60 yards,” Bly said. “Other than three plays, we played sound and took LT (LaDainian Tomlinson) out of the game and we were physical.”
Tomlinson managed only 26 yards on 10 carries.
“Now we have a good quarterback coming in this week in Drew Brees,” Bly said. “He is a Pro Bowl guy, who I guess the last two years hasn’t thrown a pick inside the Red Zone.”
———
FULL VIEW:@ Quarterback Jay Cutler watched several teams during film sessions this past offseason. One of the teams he studied as the Saints.
“New England, Pittsburgh, the Chargers, Dallas,” Cutler said. “We looked at the Saints some.”
“This is a copycat league and everyone looks at everyone,” Cutler said.
———
TO BE HONEST:@ Asked whether he preferred taking a snap under center or from the shotgun, Cutler didn’t hesitate.
“I would be in a shotgun,” Cutler said. “Eighty-five plays or whatever it was (against San Diego), I would be in the shotgun every play.”
He was equally blunt when asked if he sympathizes with NFL defenses in an era high-powered offenses.
“No,” he barked back.
———
FIRST DOWNS:@ Sunday’s Saints-Broncos game is the first between the two teams since Nov. 21, 2004, when Denver won 34-13. … C Tom Nalen continues to be held out of workouts. “I felt that he being a 14-year veteran, that he wouldn’t improve with a practice,” Shanahan said. “We’ll see how his knee feels next week.” … The Saints have returned 200 tickets for Sunday’s game.
