Postgame Quotes: Denver Broncos 33, New Orleans Saints 10 | 2024 NFL Week 7

Quotes from Dennis Allen, Spencer Rattler, Tyrann Mathieu and Demario Davis about the Saints loss to the Broncos

Oct 18, 2024 at 02:27 AM

SAINTS COACH DENNIS ALLEN

"We have one (major) injury update to make you guys aware of. Paulson Adebo looks like he has got a broken femur. Then (Marshon) Lattimore's got a hamstring and Nick Saldiveri a shoulder. Those are the three where (those) guys weren't able to come back into the game. You look at this game and there was nothing complementary about the game. In particular early on in the game, we weren't able to get anything going offensively. Defensively, we allowed them to have too many long drives. Therefore, the first half, I think the time of possession was out of whack. It kind of got a little more balanced up as the game went along. I think that's been a challenge for us. I think we're not winning the line of scrimmage on either side of the ball. That's a challenge for us right now. We have, obviously, a few days here before we have to play again. We'll go out to L.A. next week. We've got to find a way to put our guys in the best position to have some success, and we've got to find a way to play better football. That's been disappointing. Obviously, look, injuries play a part in it, but we've got
to find a way to play better."

On what contributes to a lack of success in the game:

"Look, I think as coaches and as players, we have to do a better job. We have to do a better job throughout the week of preparation. We're making mistakes that we shouldn't be making and allowing guys to get free. Again, part of the run game is that we have to do a better job at winning the line of scrimmage. That's where it all starts. We have to do a better job of getting off the blocks, and we have to do a better job of tackling. I guess as coaches and players all alike, we've got to figure it out."

On if he's concerned on the team's buy in:

"No, look it's hard when you lose five in a row, and then when you look at all the injuries on top of it, it makes it a lot more challenging. I think our guys are fighting, yet the results aren't showing."

On the process leading up to the game and his evaluation of it:

"I think it's still got to improve. Again, I get it, we have to play better. I think guys are trying. I think guys are working. We're dealing with a lot of injuries right now. That's not an excuse. I don't want anybody to misconstrue that as an excuse, but it is an issue for us. I think all of us are trying to fight through that."

On if he's ever experienced so many injuries:

"No. I don't know what that number is in terms of amount of missed time for guys and critical pieces to our team, but it's the nature of the game that we play."

On if there is any trend leading to injuries:

"I don't think we've been able to put our thumb on one individual thing that's caused these things. I think it's kind of one of those years."

On if he could see issues at the line of scrimmage coming from performance in training camp and early in the year:

"I don't think that's something that as we went through the course of training camp and everything that I felt was going to be a major issue for us, but it's become that. It's become that really over the last two or three weeks. Each and every week, it's kind of gotten a little bit not as good."

On if the line of scrimmage issues are fixable with current personnel:

"I think it is. I definitely think it is. We've got to get back to the fundamentals and technique."

On if injuries can be demoralizing:

"It can be. It certainly can be, and that's something we have to be able to fight through. That's the tough part of our league, seeing things like that. It can be difficult, sure."

On why Spencer Rattler left the game at the two-minute warning:

"He got, I think maybe, a hip pointer. At that time, I didn't want to leave him in there. I wanted to put Jake (Haener) in. I didn't want to risk him getting hurt any further."

On the biggest problems Rattler faced in the game:

"I think just the pressure. They sent a lot of pressure at him, gave him some different looks, things that we kind of – not maybe the exact certain looks – but they did a lot of the things that we expected they would do. I think we had some opportunities in the passing game, and we dropped a few balls. Certainly, the sacks were an issue, and part of that's protection, part of that is him being able to get the ball out. I think there's a combination of things."

On his quarterback plan going forward:

"I certainly wouldn't put all of this on Spencer Rattler, for sure. I think there's a supporting cast around him that has to play better. I think we will evaluate the tape. We'll look at it and see what we need to do. Then, we will have a plan moving forward."

On if Derek Carr and/or Taysom Hill could be back next week:

"I think it's possible. I think it's probably more likely that Taysom (Hill) would be ready before Derek (Carr), but we have ten days. Let's let that play out a little bit and see where we are out there."

On the sequence before the end of the first half:

"We shouldn't have taken the timeout is what we shouldn't have done. We had two plays to try to see if we could create something. Then, after having a couple of checkdowns and some pressure on the quarterback, it was like let's take a knee. Let's get out of the half. Let's regroup and come back. We'll get the ball to start the second half. Initially, the thought was can we get a chunk play and have the opportunity to create something? If not, then let's get out of the half."

On who called the timeout before the half:

"I'm not sure exactly who called the timeout, to be honest with you. I'm not sure if it was called on the field or not."

On Bo Nix's performance:

"I think the big play was the short yardage toss play where they had the numbers over there. It was a good play by them, a good design. That was probably their biggest play. I felt like we had a few times where we had free runners on the quarterback, and he's athletic. He made a play. He made us miss. That was certainly something we were aware of and probably need to do a better job of managing that."

On managing player frustration:

"You have to stand up and lead. That's what you have to do. You have to stand up and lead. That's what I have to do. That's what our coaches have to do. That's what the leaders on our team have to do because we're the only ones that can get us out of this. Nobody – it's not like we're going to have a draft in the middle of the season. Nobody's going to be coming in here to be the savior. We're going to have to do it ourselves. Hopefully, we'll begin to get some guys back because, look, early on in the season, we played good football. I know this team has it in them. I have two tapes that show me that this team has good football in them and has got good coaching in them. Right now, we're not playing that way, and obviously, there's a multitude of reasons why. We've got to figure out how to get back to playing that type of football because I've seen it done. I've seen what it
looks like."

On if Paulson Adebo's injury requires surgery:

"I think he's going to have surgery tonight."

On Rashid Shaheed going on Injured Reserve:

"Look, it's another playmaker. We've got our rookie quarterback out there with some backup players on the offensive line playing in front of him and two primary receivers are out of the game. That's another challenge that you have to overcome as a young player (Rattler). He's (Shaheed) an explosive element to our offense. He's an explosive element to our team and special teams. That's a big loss."

On the approach in the next few days:

"Here's the approach - the approach is we're going to come back in on Monday, which would be a Thursday night kind of schedule. Monday's going to be like a normal day after the game schedule. I want guys to get some rest. I want guys to get some recovery. I want them to get their bodies back. The guys that are injured are going to be spending the weekend in here getting themselves healthy. Then, we will start planning for the Chargers. I think over the next few days, I know for me and for the coaches, I think we just have to look at everything that we're doing and where we're at and how we can help our guys be better. That's what we have to do as coaches."

On if he's going to be in the office more than what he would be for a schedule after a Thursday night game:

"No, but we're going to be working. It's easy to work remote now. I'm going to see my son in Savannah."

On Kendre Miller:

"I thought he played well. I thought the plays when we handed him the ball, I thought he did some good things. I wished he would have caught the ball over the middle, but I was impressed with what I saw out of Kendre. I think that's a guy that can help us."

Photos: Game Action | Saints vs Broncos | 2024 NFL Week 7