New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees
Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Q: Do you agree with Coach Payton's assertion that the protection scheme will be very important in this game?

A: Yes, they have a very good front four, as good as there is in the league, especially when you get into pass rush downs and they bring Mathias Kiwanuka and the gang. We need to make sure we have a plan for it and we do. They can change a game when you look at the number of sacks and forced fumbles they have. They're a great group that really gets after you.

Q: Do they bring a lot less pressure from their back seven than the Jets did?

A: Yes. You're going from the extreme being the Jets pressuring 70 percent of the time to a team that's a little bit more traditional but still has all that stuff in their package and it's just one of those things where if you look at the statistics they don't bring as much but you have to be ready for it.

Q: Do you look at the game in a context of tiebreakers or do you just play it like a game?

Q: It's already a big game. The fact that it's two undefeated and a very good opponent. The Giants have been a playoff contender here for the last three or four years in a row. I think we all expect to be in the playoffs and I guess certainly there would be those implications, but let's just take it one game at a time and not take it too far ahead. It's only the fifth game of the season for us, the sixth for them. It's not like this is the week 12, 13 or 14 where you could very much see that on the horizon.

Q: Has the thought crossed your mind?

A: It's crossed my mind, but it doesn't change things. It doesn't mean I'm going to play a little extra harder. The fact is we're all going to be giving it our best because we want to win.

Q: Do the Giants have a built in advantage because they've played in so many of these big games for the last several years?

A: The more you play in big games whether it's prime time games television wise or tough opponents. They play in a very tough division where every game is a big game. It's been that way for a long time. That's not to discount our division or anyone else. I just think when you think about the NFC East and talk about Dallas and Philadelphia and the Giants and Washington especially as of late, within the last four years, all of those teams have been in the playoffs, gone pretty far in the playoffs and they have a Super Bowl as well, so you could argue that that's one of the better divisions in football and they're used to playing in those types of games. I'm sure it's something they talk about and it helps them, not to take anything away from us. We've played in big games over the last four years and they're only going to get bigger.

Q: Has Jeremy Shockey lobbied for the ball more?

A: He always lobbies for the ball.

Q: Any more this week?

A: No, but you can tell. I know the feeling. Jonathan Vilma knows the feeling from last week. For guys playing against your old team for the first time, I think any competitive person is going to have that little extra juice or that little extra fire. Jeremy Shockey's a guy who doesn't have any shortage of energy during the week or on gameday. For him, it's just going to be about kind of staying poised and composed while playing the kind of football he's been playing. He's got somewhat of a Wildman mentality, but very much within the scheme of what we're doing and I'm confident he's going to be just fine.

Q: Have you noticed any change in the schedule?

A: Yes, we changed the bye week scheme. It's just one of those things where if you continue to do things the same way, sometimes it's going to bet the same result. Certainly it's a new team, a new mentality. We've never gone into the bye week 4-0. We got some juice and momentum and have a lot of confidence. Hopefully we can continue to carry that into this game and go from there.

Q: Has the bye potentially taken away from some of that momentum?

A: It is what it is. Yes, anytime you're rolling and you want to keep rolling and feel you have a good routine, all of a sudden there's kind of a break in that routine, so I feel like we have the type of character guys on our team and leadership that took advantage of the off time in a very positive way, being with family, taking care of your body. There were plenty of guys here on the days we were getting off, getting worked on and continuing to try to get better and prepare themselves for this week.

Q: It sounds like you were in that number?

A: Yes, I was here.

Q: Is your shoulder better?

A: Yes it's good.

Q: How much time did you spend at the facility in the bye week?

A: I try not to a whole lot. I tried to when the baby was sleeping, so I would get as much time with him as I possibly could, but there are some things I wanted to take care of, working out, throwing, that kind of thing.

Q: Do you try to keep your routine all the time?

A: You try to, but the bye week is a time where Saturday and Sunday were the only times I didn't do anything football related except watch a lot and that's the only time the entire season where that happens. Every other day there's a lot of it, so you have to take advantage of that bye week and recharge the battery a little bit, because since training camp if you think about it, it really hasn't been four weeks, it's been more like close to ten weeks.

Q: How does Eli Manning impresses you from what you've seen of him?

A: Just the games I've seen, obviously we're going to be playing a lot of similar opponents, I think that he's one of the better quarterbacks in this league. It's from his first start until now he just continues to get better and better. He plays with a lot of confidence. I think he believes in those guys around him, those guys running the football, those guys catching the football. It seems like no matter who is in there system when Plaxico Burress went down, when (Jeremy) Shockey went down they had the other tight end (Kevin) Boss step up two years ago. They have other receivers they've drafted. It seems like it doesn't matter who's in there, the train keeps rolling. He's the conductor. He's the guy who drives the ship. I've been impressed with his development and I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in this league.

Q: What struck you about him when you guys spent time in the Pro Bowl week last year together?

A: That's very much a relaxed atmosphere. It was me, Kurt Warner and him. A lot of it's that we're there to relax and have a good time and enjoy. You enjoy talking football and picking people's brains about different things, maybe certain concepts and certain defenses. You talk about all kinds of stuff. He's just a pretty calm, mild mannered, easygoing guy, but when you get on the field and flip that switch, he's as competitive as anybody.

Q: Did you wonder about him when you watched him from afar and his approach?

A: No, everybody has a different demeanor and style. Some guys are more fiery than others or they wear their emotion on their sleeves more than others. He's defiantly one of those guys who doesn't show a lot of emotion, but that's his style. I'm not saying that's positive or negative. The fact is he is who he is and .he's really good, a Super Bowl champion. He led his team to the playoffs four years in a row. I think he's doing a pretty good job.

Q: Have some of your offensive struggles in the last two games been you guys or maybe defenses throwing something different at you?

A: No, I think it's our philosophy going into those games and the strategy was very much, not conservative but just understanding the type of game it was. You're playing two very physical teams, ones that definitely thrive on taking the ball away and getting you off the field. We went in wanting to take care of the football and run the ball efficiently, which is always what we want to do, but maybe more so against those teams, maybe knowing how our defense matched up against their offense, we just knew that maybe managing the game was maybe more important than trying to be super aggressive. I think maybe we understand what we got going defensively, taking the ball away, getting them off the field. We're running the ball well, using up clock, so I think when you look at it, maybe the outfit wasn't what it was in the past, but the fact that you win by 20 points and 14 points, who cares.

Q: Is that a maturity of the team and the offense?

A: Yes. I think so. Every time we step on the field we talk about scoring 40 regardless of who you're playing, but then again I think you have to have that confidence and that type of mentality and I think we do with the kind of guys we have. But you have to understand the type of game you're in and the type of team you have, how the defense is playing, how the special teams is playing. You just have to understand your role on that day might be a little different than it has in the past. It can change from week to week. I would say it's maturity.