…An Interview with:
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS LB
SCOTT FUJITA
THE MODERATOR: Ladies and
gentlemen, we have got Scott Fujita on the line.
Let's open it up for questions.
Q. When you played for Bill
Parcells he always liked having players around
him that who knew him as a coach and kind of
what he wanted and could be the leaders. Has
it been sort of that same way with Sean
Payton? Have you and Scott Shanle kind of led
the way in knowing what he wants, especially
in the beginning when he first got there?
SCOTT FUJITA: I think he created an
atmosphere early on where he just wanted to find
players who would come in and accept their role,
whatever that may be. And that's what most of the
guys have done, stepped up and accepted their
roles. He looked for leaders. He looked for guys
with a lot of heart and character. And for the most
part, I think he found the right 53.
Q. Did you guys ever dream before the
season when you left Dallas that you guys
could be in this situation, in the NFC
Championship game?
SCOTT FUJITA: I've been dreaming
about this moment since I was eight years old, so it
has been a long time coming.
Q. How do you think that people in New
Orleans will react if you win on Sunday and go
on to the Super Bowl?
SCOTT FUJITA: They'll react the way
they always do and then some. The last playoff
victory over Philadelphia, it's just been a great city
to be a part of. That atmosphere is contagious
and the players feed off of it. The coaches are
encouraged by it.
I say this all along, and I have throughout
the course of the season, I have never been on a
team where I really felt like the community and the
team were in it together. And that's not just lip
service, that's the truth.
Q. Why do you think that's the case?
SCOTT FUJITA: You know, there's so
much stuff for them to latch on to. Like I said, I
think it's kind of a reciprocative relationship. When
I first moved here with my wife, we bought a place
down right down in the Warehouse District
downtown. Walking around the city for the first
couple months or so, people were so excited the
Saints were back in town and they had a chance to
come watch our games.
Then once they started to buy into what
Sean Payton was doing, and started to believe in
what the team was doing and we won a couple of
games, then it was, "thank you, guys, for winning."
And I've never been in a place where it was so
authentic and heartfelt.
Everywhere you go people come up and
say, "thank you for being here. Thank you for
winning." And I'm like, "no, thank you for your
support." And again that's the truth. They just
support us so well each and every week. They are
with us to the very end, and I'm proud to be a part
of it.
Q. Do you feel like you're giving hope
to people in New Orleans?
SCOTT FUJITA: If we are -- it's funny,
because at the same time -- maybe we are. At the
same time, I feel they're giving a lot of us hope.
Seeing the things people have been through and
what they have given up just to be able to go to our
game, you hear stories about people who are still
trying to get their homes rebuilt or they're still
staying in hotels and they're behind on payments
and everything because (inaudible). Things like
that inspire me.
Like I say, it's a reciprocal relationship that
this team kind of shares with them. It's rare, it's
unique, and it's something I've never been a part
of.
Q. Scott, you have a penchant for big
plays and big games, and you have the plays
on 2nd down and 3rd down that really forced
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them to punt the other day. Can you talk about
those two plays? And then I think back to the
Kansas City game last year where you had a
penchant for making big plays.
SCOTT FUJITA: One of the things we
talked about as a defense, especially throughout
the course of the season, just being able to make
the play when you're nervous. It was just one of
those times where the play came my way and it
was our responsibility, and it worked out that way.
It was at the end of the game at a crucial situation,
and obviously my name was attached to it. But
people don't pay as much attention to the play that
was 2nd and 1 down there in the red zone. Will
Smith made a huge play to make it 3rd and 1. It's
just little things like that. When guys on defense
need to make a play, they make them.
Q. What it's like being reunited with
Joe Vitt, who you had in Kansas City?
SCOTT FUJITA: Words can't describe it.
I don't know how well you know him. This is a guy
that drafted me in Kansas City, gave me my first
opportunity and gave me my first start against San
Diego five years ago. So he's really a second
father figure for me. We've been really tight over
the years. We've stayed in touch as we've gone
our separate ways. And we've both always felt
that at some point we're going to be back together
again. When I found out the Saints had hired Joe,
I was really excited about it.
Q. When he was interim head coach
here, he did a lot of -- in St. Louis last year, he
did a lot of motivational talks to players on
Saturdays, showed them film clips to get them
fired up. Is he doing the same thing in New
Orleans?
SCOTT FUJITA: Absolutely. His
enthusiasm is infectious. He is probably the best
public speaker and motivator I've ever been
around. He's been in the league now 28 years.
He's a two-time cancer survivor. He has got so
many life experiences that apply to so many things
we do on the field, where he just finds a way to
relate to everybody. He's definitely a great
motivator, and I think all the guys, in all positions,
enjoy coming by our meeting rooms every once in
a while just to hear what he has to talk about.
Q. Before the season, a lot of people
said this linebacking group was weak. Talk
about how you guys have played this season
and kind of dispelled what people thought
before the season began?
SCOTT FUJITA: I think it comes down to
guys playing their role. It was kind of an interesting
off-season, especially at that position, because
from the point that I got here there was a lot of
criticism that I was hearing, and especially during
the preseason, through training camp and the
preseason games. There was still a lot of moving
parts. And obviously that's not an ideal situation
where you're trying to build the right 53 guys for
your roster. But credit to our scout staff and the
coaches and everything for finding the right guys to
come in and to fit into what they want to do.
I mean, to pull in a guy like Scott Shanle
from Dallas with two preseason games left, then to
go find Mark Simoneau from up in Philly right
before the last preseason game. And then to have
everything come together for that first game in
Cleveland and have everything go so smoothly,
that's a credit to everybody involved.
Q. Have you thought about the national
perception that the Saints would come back to
earth? I know you were riding emotion for a
long time, but you never did. I wonder what the
feeling of the team was in that regard.
SCOTT FUJITA: Yeah, I think the
emotional part of it. We have been riding an
emotional wave this whole year. But you can't
discredit this is a damn good team that I'm playing
on too. From the very beginning, like I said, the
emotions, guys were excited about that, and the
community and the rest of the country kind of
looked at it that way. But the more games you
watched and the effort you see the players are
putting out there and also the talent level, you see
it's a lot more than just an emotional story. This is
a legitimate contender.
Q. Do you think people realize that this
really isn't the same roster as last year either?
It's not the same coaches or the same players,
generally.
SCOTT FUJITA: There has been a lot of
turnover and a lot of change, but at the same time I
don't want to forget about the players that were
here in the past, because there are so many guys
that are so important to this team that were here in
the past.
When I got here in free agency and a lot of
the new coaches got here, I looked at it as kind of
a fresh start for me in my career and a fresh start
for the coaches, but it was also a fresh start for the
guys that were here in past and wanted something
new to come around, and something new to get
emotional about and get excited about. So I don't
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want to forget about those guys at all, and I don't
think everyone else should.
Q. Is there one or two things about
Sean Payton that has kind of characterized how
he's coached this team?
SCOTT FUJITA: He's so detail oriented,
as I'm sure a lot of coaches around the league are,
but this guy is almost obsessive about it. He gets
the situation ready better than any coach I've ever
seen. That's why I feel like defensively, two-minute
situations, red-zone situations, 3rd down situations,
I feel like we're always ready for those situations
because he runs us through it so much and has
since day one of the off-season and did all through
training camp.
Q. It ends up the Cowboys had a lot of
problems at linebacker this year. If you had
been offered a contract by them, would you
have come back to Dallas?
SCOTT FUJITA: I had been offered (a
contract) in the few months prior to free agency,
and as free agency hit, the offer still declined. For
me it was all about finding the right fit and the
place where I felt the most comfortable and
thought I would be the happiest. Once free agency
opened up and I came down to New Orleans, I just
felt like I was right here where I belonged. It was
nothing against Dallas. I enjoyed my time there, I
felt like they had a good thing going. It was just
time for me to have a change.
Q. All the teams that are left in the
playoffs have two-headed monsters at running
back. As a defensive player, does that create
problems for you or make game day a little
different, or how so?
SCOTT FUJITA: Yes, it's not easy. Both
these backs are good solid backs. They run real
powerful. And for me, not playing the whole NFC
division that Chicago plays through the course of
the season, with the exception of Green Bay earlier
in the year, we didn't get to see a lot of their
offense. So for me, watching that game against
Seattle the other day was really the first time I got
to see their offense. Both the backs, to me, are
really powerful, really strong, and really athletic.
Like you said, it is kind of a two-headed monster.
I've seen our offense, the problems that they pose
for the defense, and it's a lot to prepare for.
Q. How do you see your matchup with
Rex Grossman who has been struggling lately?
SCOTT FUJITA: People keep saying he's
been struggling lately, but when I look at him and
look at the film from the last couple of days, I see a
guy who stepped up and played well when he had
to. Early in the season he was on fire. And they
clinched their division so early in the season and
just got way out ahead of everybody. And at that
point, maybe his play slipped a little bit, but
everything was in the bank for him. Things were
going the right way and they still finished 13-3.
And you can't do that with poor quarterback play.
Again, you look at the first playoff game, he was
pretty sharp all the way through and that was with
quite a bit of pressure in his face. People talk
about his struggles and everything, but I look at
him as a great quarterback and it's going to be a
big challenge for us because he has got every
throw in his arm and he's got a lot of poise. He's
got a little bit of gunslinger in him too, which can
make you a little bit nervous that he can make
those plays.
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