SAINTS INTERIM HEAD COACH DARREN RIZZI

Opening Statement:

"Before I take any questions, I thought we showed great resiliency. Our theme of the week has been finish. You look at our entire season and that's not something we've done very well. Coming in today, we were 1-3 in one score games. We have had some leads that we've given up. Even last week at times, offensively we weren't great, but I felt like one of the best things we did today all three phases, hung in there, finished the game (in the) fourth quarter. We talked about three things this week, just keeping the focus on the preparation, talked about winning the line of scrimmage, and we talked about finish, and those who those were the themes as a team this week. I thought we did all three of those things, and so I thought that was a check mark for all three things. When they tied the game, the momentum started to swing a little bit again, much like last week, and I thought what a great job us, by the team, all three phases in the fourth quarter, we had big plays from every phase. I just thought that was an outstanding job. Again, the crowd was awesome. To get to hear momentum there, we needed them a little bit at the end, we got loud. All of a sudden they're in a two minute drive. That was great. Kudos to Taysom (Hill) for responding, and, no surprise, that's Taysom, but a great response from him. I know he was pissed off at halftime because we had a couple of turnovers, the interception and the fumble, but he might be the poster child for the resilience. You look at him come back, bounce back, make some huge plays. We decide to go for it there on fourth and short, he has a touchdown run. Then we're in a four minute drill and he busts out another long one. So I'm certainly happy as heck that we have that guy on our team. You look at the offensive line, we rushed for 200 plus yards. Our plan was to kind of neutralize Myles Garrett for the game, and I thought we did some of that. But again, big punt return, just plays by everybody. Again, just super, super proud. As I just said to the team, there's a process every week on how to win the game, and I thought we did a great job there. There were a couple times we had some self inflicted wounds, for sure, with the explosive plays for them and turnovers for us, but kudos to that whole locker room for being able to overcome that."

On intentions behind Taysom Hill's offensive involvement:

"I think when you look, at least for the time I've been here, I have been here for most of the time Taysom has been. Listen, when he touches the ball, he is on the field, it affects the game tremendously. And he sometimes doesn't even have to get the ball. Him being on the field and I thought Klint (Kubiak) did a phenomenal job in the way we used him today. He ran it, he threw it, he caught it, and so when you're defending that, and you're not sure where he's going to line up and all that, it neutralizes defense a little bit. You maybe get some more vanilla looks than if he's not on the field. I think you had, what did he have, eight catches and seven carries and two pass attempts, like Red Grange. Good for him, and good for us, and good for Klint and good for the offensive staff. But no doubt, you want to get the balls to your playmakers and (we) certainly have done such a great job the entire season to keep teams off balance, and it's not all on one guy, it's a big deal."

On what came up in game assessments of Hill's involvement:

"We looked at some other games this year when Taysom was active, and it wasn't just me. I think it collectively felt like, 'Yeah, we're going to get this guy the ball more and get him more involved.'"

On whether Hill is playing closer to how he envisioned preseason:

"Yeah, I think it's a fair statement because you look at the first couple of games, he was very, very involved. He obviously then was dealing with an injury. Coming back off of that, I think he's gotten a little bit more and more involved every week. But if you look at our wins so far this season, I'm going to tell you that Taysom's numbers are pretty good. So that's been a theme around here for a long time and, like I said, Alvin (Kamara)'s been kind of carrying a load there. Again, Alvin had some really tough, really good yards today, and to be able to keep the defenses off balance with those two guys is a big thing."

On Taysom Hill's performance at 34 years old:

"Yeah, he's kind of an ageless guy. He keeps himself in phenomenal physical shape, the way he takes care of his body, what he puts in his body, all those things. How he prepares himself off the field, in the offseason, all those things. So, he certainly doesn't look 34. He looked more like a 24-year-old today, that's for sure. Now we've got to be smart with the usage and play counts and all that stuff, we can't just sweep it under the rug, his age. But I think the reason he has success is because of what he does for the whole calendar year. His preparation, his nutrition, all those things, so the off-the-field stuff is really impressive with him."

On confidence in Taysom Hill after turnover:

"At halftime I said to him, 'You're going to continue to get the ball, so we've got to get over it. Let's move on.' Listen, any good player that gets that many touches, you're going to have some negative plays. But he was really taking it personal. I just told him on the way out at halftime, 'You're going to keep getting the ball. So I'm going to need you here.' And fortunately for us, he made some big ones."

On Kubiak's play-calling rhythm:

"It's the second week in a row I thought we had a really great start. And that has been a theme in the games that we (have) played well in, it is kind of getting that ball rolling early on. We get a little stagnant there again in maybe the third quarter, but then we're (having) a really good finish. That was the difference between this week and last week. I thought the offense finished. I thought we had a really good start, maybe a little stale in the middle, but I thought Klint called a great game. And you look at the numbers, Derek (Carr)'s 21-of-27. Again, very efficient, made some
good decisions, spread the ball around, so for the second week in a row, his QBR is super high, and just played a really efficient game. But that goes back to the play-calling, so I thought Klint did a
phenomenal job of spreading the ball around. Foster (Moreau) had a couple of huge catches, Juwan (Johnson), a couple of huge catches, obviously (Marquez Valdes) Scantling, another big play. It's just a great job of understanding the weapons we have and who should be involved, so a great job by Klint."

On the overall mood of the locker room:

"I think we're starting to get some confidence back. I thought we had a lot of confidence in the beginning of the year. We obviously had a little bit of lull, team wise, and I think they got a swag back, if you will. That makes me so happy, just seeing our guys celebrate, and the culmination of the workweek. We talked about that formula for winning, I talked about buy-in and it's a credit to everybody in the locker room. That's what they have done. Listen, I just love to see the excitement. We're going to have a little downtime now. The guys need it. We went 11 in a row here, it's not easy. These late bye weeks, we kind of get to press the reset button again and see if we can make a push here at the end, one day at a time."

On gratification:

"Listen, it's been a crazy two weeks. I'd lie to you if I said I had to sit down and really think about the whole thing. Maybe I'll do that this week. We've still got a lot of things we need to get
done in the office and whatnot. It's gratifying to me to win. So, at the end of the day, to watch these guys prepare these last two weeks and go out there, that's the gratifying part for sure. Just the smiles on the faces in the locker room, that's the gratifying part."

On Pete Werner's game despite cast:

"I told you guys all week, Pete (Werner), every day, there was a little more confidence that he could do it. It was really up until last night where it's like, hey, we're going to pull the trigger here. He had some casting options. We weren't 100% sure if he was going to be able to do it, but he prepared all week, didn't get a ton of reps, but prepared all week. Pete's a very intelligent guy, so I wasn't worried about the mental. I was more worried about if he could finish (and) be effective. All the credit to him. He's out there with that club, still flying around and making plays."

On the defense containing the run game:

"That's a big deal. We made an emphasis all week about the line of scrimmage, but more importantly, our tackling. Our tackling on the year is something that has been really inconsistent, so I saw today some really good examples of tackling in the run game. They ripped off a couple runs here and there, but I thought we really did a great job controlling the line. But more importantly, when the back gets to the second level linebackers and DBs, we did a much better job today tackling. Again, that was an emphasis. They've done a good job, their offensive line, tight ends, running backs have been good for them, so we tried to turn it into a passing game, which we did the second half. That was certainly effective."

On Foster Moreau's performance:

"(Foster Moreau) got dinged up early, too, and credit to him, he came back in the game, but he made some huge catches. The one got taken away from him for the holding call, which was a really great pass and catch, but some huge plays. The one where he was falling down, I remember saying in the headset to the coaches, 'That's an unbelievable catch.' He is kind of off balance, sees the ball late, but he makes incredible catches. That whole tight end room really stepped up."

On the return game and field position:

"First of all, Dante Pettis, great job by him. I think in 11 games, we've had, what, four or five different guys back there catching punts? And I think like seven or eight different guys doing kick returns. We made a decision late in the week to go with Dante because we needed a roster spot. I thought Jermaine (Jackson) did an admirable job when he's been in there, but Dante is a guy that was a really good returner in college. We knew if we could get him out into space, we could make something happen. It's a shame, I saw right in front of me, he stepped out by about an inch it looked like. I thought it might come back so I wasn't really celebrating too much because I knew they were going to see it. But what a great job, gave us great field position to go down and score again. Like I said, all three phases. Then the kickoff side of things, I thought Blake (Grupe) had some really good kickoffs. Coverage was outstanding. We made them field that one line drive, (that) kind of bounced
around, I think they started on the 15, coverage was really good. We want to continue to take advantage of that. To have a 42-yard kick return and, I don't even know how many yards the punt return was (53), but a long punt return, those are huge plays in the game. Momentum swings, so that was really good."

On seeing Jameis Winston again: "It's always great to see Jameis (Winston), (he) puts a smile on my face, puts a smile on everybody's face. From a personal level, great to see him. Right away, they had an 89-yard touchdown there in the beginning. That was the concern coming in. Jameis is going to take those shots down the field. I thought we did a really good job defending. You're always worried, even when we went up 14, we just can't have an explosive here. No big ones, and all of a sudden they're back in the game. So I thought we did a good job of taking those second half ones away."

On Juwan Johnson blocking on Valdes-Scantling touchdown:

"It's another bounce back moment. We talked about Taysom (Hill), but Juwan (Johnson) had the holding penalty on the long throw to Foster (Moreau), and here again. That guy didn't sulk, he just came back and made a huge play. As that play is going on, I'm not even watching (Marquez Valdes) Scantling run with the ball. I am watching everybody else. I'm looking at Juwan back there, out front, working his ass off to get us into the end zone. That's what the finish part is all about, so when you see examples like that, I think it's awesome. It's in the selfless acts that maybe not everyone understands or sees, but that's just phenomenal. It is just team football, it's a selfless 111 thing that we always talk about. Awesome. Really cool."

On secret to making opposing kickers miss:

"(Laughs). No, but again, those are big plays. I think our rush team has done a phenomenal job. Kudos to Phil Galiano and Marwan (Maalouf). They kind of put that plan together every week and present it. Great job by those guys. We're getting phenomenal effort on that. That shows on film and that's on the kicker's mind, so the rushes from last week, where we blocked one and should have maybe blocked another, it whizzed by (John) Ridgeway's hand, that is on film. It's what kickers, in the operation, they try to speed up a little bit, get the ball out a little quicker. It's a big deal. When you put that effort on film, when you put that thought into the opponent's mind, it's a great job by our unit and the coaching part of it. Great job."

On Derek Carr's performance this afternoon:

"(Derek) played a phenomenal game across the board, extremely efficient. The turnovers are a big deal, I know he didn't throw one interception today. I think he was 21-of-27. Like I said, that's the second week in a row where his QBR is way, way high. I think we only had one sack today, so two weeks, one sack. Just spreading the ball out. And listen, there's a bunch of guys playing out there that haven't really been playing with him the entire year: Scantling, Kevin Austin, Dante Pettis. The timing and the rhythm. Derek does a great job at practice every week. Just another really great job by him."

SAINTS TIGHT END TAYSOM HILL

On if he knew who Red Grange was:

"I don't. Rizz (Darren Rizzi) did (compared Hill to him)? I don't know. Is that a compliment? I'm just playing."

On becoming the first player since Ed Podolak in 1971 to have three rushing TDs, 50 receiving yards and one pass completion in a game:

"I don't know. That's one of those things, to be honest, that I don't really pay a ton of attention to those things. I know that the guys who played this game before us did a lot for us that are now playing this. To be talked about with those guys means a lot to me. I love this game, but the reality is the guys who came before us laid a foundation for us to be playing in stadiums like this on national television and stuff. I don't want that to come across the wrong way because it does mean a lot to me."

On what allowed for that feat to happen:

"I've always believed in myself. It was one of those games where Klint [Kubiak] and the way the coverage was working out created opportunities for me. I know Rizz talked about it, but I thought Derek (Carr) played a really efficient game. The ball was going where it needed to go, and it was coming out on time. We're really hard to defend when we're doing that. Man, he made a lot of really pivotal plays. Third down, third-and-long, he's making plays."

On his frustration after the fumble in the second quarter:

"I'm disappointed. I was really disappointed at halftime. No one is going to be harder about all these things than I am. I expect more from myself in those situations. Look, they made a couple of good plays. I've got a lot of great teammates, a lot of great friends who I had conversations with. I've played this game long enough, I know that's what those guys on the other side get paid to do. It's one of those things where I had to take a step back and say there's nothing I could do about it now. Right? Let's go do what I can to help us win this game."

On what Darren Rizzi told him at halftime:

"Look, I had a number of conversations. You play in this league long enough, you're going to have moments like that. Certainly, I've had plays that did not go my way prior to this game too. Look, I had conversations with Klint, Rizz, everyone, it is always the same message. It's the same message I echo to teammates too when something doesn't go our way. I'm aware of all of that and am grateful they obviously continue to give me opportunities."

On being a creative offensive weapon:

"We gain some numbers that way, and that's obviously never been a secret. We've done this in those things in the past, and it's been successful. Certainly, that's one of those things that's been advantageous for us. Klint called a great game and created a lot of opportunities for me to make plays. I think as you start to look at what we're doing offensively and the more things we do that way, the harder it is for us to be defended. I think, when you're running the ball well and you are ahead, it creates more opportunities that way. Hopefully, it is something we can continue to do."

On Coach Darren Rizzi's pulse on the team:

"I think Rizz has done a really nice job of communicating with a lot of guys in the locker room. We've had a lot of meetings with him. We've had private meetings, (meetings as a group), whatever. I think he has a really good pulse on what we need collectively as a team to get ready for the football game. I think guys have responded to that and really respect him and his ability to have conversation but then take feedback and make some changes. As I mentioned, guys have responded very positively."

On being injured and finding balance:

"It's a hard thing when you want to be out there with your team, and you go through OTAs, you go through training camp and then you have a tough training camp. You're out there grinding with all your buddies. Then, you get to the season and you're all excited and you have to sit on the sideline. That's a hard thing to balance mentally, emotionally and so forth. I understand trying to find a balance of making sure that you're available and all of that, but we also need to make sure we're doing everything we can to win football games. I don't know exactly what that's going to continue to look like, but I'm certainly enjoying the more opportunities I get."

SAINTS LINEBACKER DEMARIO DAVIS

On if he's ever had to try to tackle Taysom Hill full speed:

"Taysom? We've had some live drills. I don't know if we've ever had to go head-on in the hole and that. I think in those live drills he might have been at quarterback. I'm glad he's on my team (laughs)."

On the fourth down play:

"I believe that it was firstly on 4th-and-1, and goal line plays always begin with a knockback. Our defensive line took away the interior run by the way they got off the ball with a low pad level. I believe it was Will Harris. He was man-to-man with the tight end. When the tight end got the block, he got the trigger and that took the fullback or the guard off of me. That opened up the path for me to make the tackle. Still making a tough tackle on a really good running back, to be able to make the play, really set the tone in the game."

On if he almost had a pick in the game:

"Oh my gosh. First of all, I almost had two picks. Almost is the key word. Following last week, almost had a pick, so Amazon, I'm going to be looking tonight or have my wife look tonight on Amazon, Prime Delivery. I've got to get some hands. At this point, we shop so much on Amazon, we might have some delivery that we can get for free. Anywhere online, I know Amazon is going to have them. I need the best hands I can find. At this point, I am shopping for some hands. Amazon, just know I'm going to be looking tonight – Amazon delivery in the box. Don't care how they come, if they come gift wrapped or not, box them up nice, just a pair of hands so that I can have them after the bye week."

On how the defensive scheme has changed over the last few weeks:

"Joe Woods is an unbelievable defensive coordinator. Man, he does (a) really good calling plays and keeping the quarterback in a scramble and the offensive coordinator in a scramble. He does a good job of putting the game in his players' hands. We're able to play free. He comes in with the game plan. He makes sure we feel good about it, and we're able to come into the game with a lot confidence. When he's over there calling the plays, we just trust him and go out and execute. It allows us to play with our hair on fire. Guys have really been playing good football the last couple of weeks. That's good, and down the stretch, we've got to do it."

On Derek Carr's performance:

"Aw man, my boy had a field day out there today. He's a two point guard if you really watch him. He gets his Rajon Rondo on quite a bit, finding players. I was telling him in the locker room some of my favorite plays are to watch him when he rolls out the pocket. He had about an eight-yard run today that was special. He bowed up. He's in the room, so I'm going to give him extra love. The poise that he plays with when he rolls out the pocket, when he's on, he's one of the best ones doing it. He dropped a couple of passes down the field. That 4th-and-1 was special and got called back. I think that's my favorite play. When he rolls out the pocket and to see how he can wheel and deal on the fly. They usually have guys at three levels, and I feel like he manipulates the defense in his favor. He did the same thing with a little screen I was telling him about. It wasn't major, but it was pretty cool because he found a way to find a crease between two linemen. You have to think quarterbacks they really have to have some … I'm not going to say the word … of steel because you've got Myles Garrett running at you full speed. You have to be able to find a guy and keep your eyes down field with somebody who has plenty of highlights in the league of tearing people's heads off, and he's running at you full speed. To be able to keep your eyes downfield and keep your poise, I just think like, man, you have to give a lot of respect to those guys. I like to see him when he's in a mode like that. I'm glad he's on our side."

On the overall mood in the locker room:

"We're winning. Winning feels good. We want to keep that feeling going. Winning changes everything, and that's what this game is about."

On Pete Werner:

"That's some Walker Texas Ranger toughness right there. Man, me broke his hand last game, had a major surgery. I think he has a steel plate in his hand, and he wraps it up in a club that he tested out in practice. He's like, 'when I hit somebody it still feels like I'm punching a brick wall, but I'm going to tough it out'. He's got my respect. He already had my respect. I already knew he was a tough player. Your hands and feet, those are some very sensitive areas. I know people look at football and are like those are some tough guys. If you stub your toe, it still hurts. If you break a finger or something, it hurts. For him to be out there toughing it out like that for the team and making some really big plays, it speaks to his toughness and his commitment to the game."

On confidence in adverse situations and the change in response recently:

"I think it was just an emphasis on the finish that started with Coach Rizzi. He just talked about how we weren't finishing well, and that was something we had to change. Joe Woods came in and emphasized it and talked about in eight or nine of our losses, we either were tied or had the lead in the fourth quarter. He really challenged us on defense, but we had to finish better. That's what we've been putting on display the last couple of weeks. That was an interesting stat. It was 21-0 in the fourth quarter today. That's the type of football we have to play. I think it makes the difference."

On playing against Jameis Winston:

"That's my brother. I love that man to death. He is a very unique guy, and he's a memorable teammate. He gives everything that he has, and he has a spirit about him that's contagious. I think watching him grow, specifically in his relationship with the Lord, his relationship with his family, just being a leader all around, seeing him use his platform properly has been amazing to see. In this game, you're going to have highs and lows, and it's all about how you choose to show up every day. He is one guy that if you want to talk about how you show up every single day, he's as great as they come in that regard. The things that he's had to endure, the waves and the high highs that he's had and the low lows that he's had. When he continues to show up with that spirit, I think that's an example to the world. If I could show up with his spirit every day, I'd be a better human being. I'm proud to call him my brother. I will praise and honor him on any stage."

SAINTS QUARTERBACK DEREK CARR

On the third-and-one quarterback keeper play:

"I thought after that run I was definitely going to beat Taysom [Hill] in the rushing title again today, and I did not, obviously. That was my last one. It was actually a play we had before. This game presented good looks and the coaches, they liked it. It was going to be our first short-yardage calls. I've been trying to tell them I don't mind doing that. Finally, they let me do it, and we got a first down. It was huge for us, for sure.

On the plan for defending Myles Garrett:

"I think it went really well. We made sure we had a plan for him because he's one of the most dominant players I've every played in my 11 years in the NFL. He is insane how good he is. Some of the plays he can make – the strength with the speed with the effort. There's a play you can watch him against Washington where you watch him on a run play, 50, 60 yards down the field, he's outrunning DBs. He's unbelievable. Thankfully, he didn't decapitate me on the one I was throwing to Foster [Moreau] because he found a way in. I thought our offensive line did an outstanding job. Tight ends, running backs, whatever receivers we had in just different kind of looks, different kind of things you don't always use in every game but with a guy like that you have to use. I put him up there with the guys I've played like Von Miller, Aaron Donald, TJ Watt. They're just that dominant. I'm going to stop naming people, so someone down the road doesn't get mad. They just have a way to impact games. You watch the film, and you see him about to get chipped, and he's hitting the chipper three yards in the air; both feet are off the ground. Then, he's running through the tackle. Not everybody can do that kind of stuff."

On Taliese Fuaga's performance:

"Yeah, what a great challenge for him because we did leave him out there a couple of times. You can't always chip and do certain things 100 percent of the time. There are certain concepts and routes you live with and just have to do it. I thought what a fantastic job. What an experience for him to go up against one of the most dominant players our league has ever seen to just grow in confidence and continue to get better. He'll see things he'd want better and all those things. For him to get a taste of playing against Myles and seeing what that's like and handling himself well – the thing I look for is the body language and the eyes before we go out there in the huddle. On the third down, that's what I'm looking at, and he's a very confident young man. His confidence gives me confidence. I've been in huddles with guys who are like I don't know about this play, and that's not a good feeling as a quarterback. His confidence is definitely years beyond how old he actually is."

On the Rajon Rondo comparison:

"I love Rondo. I really love Rondo, but I'm a Laker fan. That one's tough for me. I think any kind of praise from a player like that is very honoring, and I'm humbled by it because for him to say that, he doesn't just say words. You guys know Demario. He says what he means, so I'm honored that he would compare me to someone like that. We talk about that all the time. Whenever you have players around you, it allows you manipulate coverages. It allows you to look this way, pump and then come back because you know you can get it complete. I have to move this guy one step. There was one today, and I knew if I was going to throw a certain ball, I had to move that guy one step. If I don't have time to do that, I can't play the position how I want to play it. I'm allowed to do that because of how well our offensive line is playing, how well our guys are on their details about the little things like the landmarks on their routes. You have to catch this ball outside the hash right here. You have to be ready right here when I hit this third step. All that stuff matters. I'm just really impressed by everyone else around me because it gives me such joy every time I go out there because I know I can play free I know that I'm free to be me, manipulate guys. I know Klint [Kubiak] and (Andrew) Janocko won't like it but sometimes take an extra hitch to move somebody to throw a certain ball and all that kind of stuff. If you don't have time to do those kind of things and guys aren't on the details, it won't matter, and it won't work. I've just been thankful for the guys around me. They have been playing so well that it allows me to be free."

On how he is feeling health-wise:

"I've got to be honest, the end of last year into the beginning of this year, I feel great. I felt like it's been my best football that I've played in my career. I feel confident in that. I feel confident in who I'm playing with. I feel confident in the building that I'm in. They continue to breed confidence into me. That goes a long way for players. I feel like, in my 11 years the last, I don't know how many games, the last have been my best."

On Taysom Hill's performance:

"It's unbelievable what he does and what we ask him to do. He's fullback, lead blocking on inside zones and isos, and then, he's playing fullback on a stretch run. He's playing tight end and then he's at receiver. Then he's at quarterback. Then, he's throwing it 50 yards down the field, then he's running with it. I turn around, and I'm in a no-huddle situation checking plays to hand him the ball at running back. Good luck finding someone who can do all of those things. I knew what kind of weapon he was when I made the decision to come here. It makes it even cooler now playing with him just because he's such a great friend. He's such a great person. Now it is just like, there is nothing wrong with this guy. This guy's awesome, except sometimes I can beat him at golf. That's about all. I can't out-drive him though."