New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton
Opening comments on the game:
"Obviously, it's a tough game to lose. Give credit to New York. They hung in there. In this league, when you are able to do that, (you can win). All of the teams are good enough to make enough plays. Certainly, we didn't feel like we came into this game that we were seeing an 0-3 team. We knew how well they played against Atlanta and Washington. There are a number of things that we will watch on the tape that we will like, that we did well. Then, there is going to be a number of things that we are going to want to get corrected. Anytime that you have a game that goes into overtime when you lead for most of the game, and you lose, it's frustrating."
On if the team didn't get enough pressure on Daniel Jones:
"It became one-dimensional a little bit. One of the challenges, he/they did a good job. The ball was coming out fast. When you are defending that many pass attempts, it was a little bit more problematic because of the timing and the way that he was throwing it, rather than all of a sudden you are on the field, it becomes difficult to rush the passer when you are seeing that much mixed in run a little bit. Obviously, we will look at the tape and we will look at those opportunities where we could have had more pressures, but not until we see the video will we know that."
On the Giants making explosive plays:
"It was one of the keys to victory. It was knowing that this is a team that if they were able to make plays in the passing game down the field or explosive runs, that is something that is very, very critical in their success. No easy ones was one of the keys that we didn't do a good enough job of doing that. There were a number of chunk plays."
"There are a couple of these plays where guys were clean into the secondary. We will look to get those plays corrected."
On if the team was trying to control the clock with nine minutes left and leading by 11 points:
"We are trying to score again. We felt like we ran the ball effectively, but we are trying to score again. There is nothing with nine minutes left in any game where you are (trying to do anything else). That is just a long time. There are timeouts, we are trying to move the ball, so, I would say that we are in a normal game plan mode."
On going for a long field goal:
"At some point we have to be able to kick a field goal. Hindsight, I would have punted. I felt that way after he missed it. The next play they scored a touchdown."
On an explanation for the John Ross fumble recovery touchdown in terms of officiating:
"They should have given everyone one (public). They ruled it a fumble and they recovered it. Obviously the ball came out and it wasn't like he crossed the goal line. But they ruled it a catch/fumble and then he's the one that picked it up. That should have been announced."
On if he knows the players already thought it was blown dead:
"No."
On how much you balance rotating Jameis Winston in and out for spurts with Taysom Hill;
"It's play-by-play situation. It was pretty effective today. Of course we scored two touchdowns and had a critical conversion, but a lot of it is predicated on our plan, no different than it was a year or two ago."
On if he feels like he let them hang around:
"No, factually they hung around. We had a chance offensively or two…We had to punt…You're wanting to deliver that score or momentum-changing play. The ball's out a couple times. There's a fumble. They recovered. There's just a number of things that ended up happening (in) hindsight, any one of a few things that we do differently we have a chance to keep it from going into overtime. But, like I said at the very beginning, they fought and clawed their way back into a game, got the touchdown, converted the two-point play, made the field goal. All of a sudden we're sitting at a tie game in overtime. We have to learn from that."
On if he feels like he needs to get more out of the passing game in general or if he's fine with it:
"No. I thought it was pretty effective today. We were able to get the ball down the field. We had one called back for a holding. It was a real good throw and catch. Each week dependent on who we're playing. I thought our third down numbers were good. Our ball security overall was pretty good. Time of possession, running game, you look at some of these numbers you would say there are a number of positive things. But again, they weren't enough."
On what you hope your team gets out of this;
"We're going to be in other close games again. We can't play this game again. We can't get it back. But we can learn from this game and tape watch tomorrow and understand situational football and those are the things. 11 points is a big lead, certainly with nine minutes left in the game it's not never going to be in four minute mode. Nine minutes is a long time."
On his challenge of a measurement:
"It was in front of me. I felt like if you look closely at the line of scrimmage…You used to get measurements back in the day, but I had a strong conviction that he was short. Obviously they felt differently. I don't know what the replay look like."
On if he was happy with Jameis Winston's overall decision-making:
"I thought it was pretty good. I thought he threw the ball down the field, thought he got us into some good plays, I thought he did a lot of good things. We'll see on the tape. I'm sure there will be some other things. We moved the pocket with him, I thought he played well."
On if it affects him when his kicker struggles with consistency:
"Sure it does."
On if it affects him when his team gets in the red zone:
"Sure it does. I think that's the case. If you're having trouble covering someone it affects you defensively. If you're having trouble blocking someone, if you're having trouble kicking…Conditions are good. That impacts you. At some point we're going to have to kick one between the uprights. At some point."
Wide receiver Marquez Callaway
On the inability to close the game:
"Yeah, we've got to learn how to close this thing. We started off kind of slow, and I think that took a big toll on us. We've got to go back and watch it. Like you said, there were a lot of good things we did, but there were a lot of bad things we did as well. We'll watch film and learn from it for next week."
On where he can get more opportunities in the passing game:
"Really, just, our time will come. Coach calls the plays and Jameis (Winston) back there has a million things going through his mind, so we play to him, where he needs us to be, where he wants us to be. Other than that, we run our routes and get open, and that's all we can control."
Safety Malcolm Jenkins
On losing after leading:
"Yeah, I mean this is the NFL. You let any team stick around for too long, give them hope, make a play here or there like they get paid to do, next thing you know it's a game."
On controlling explosive plays:
"They made some plays, especially the big ones, identifying the open holes in the defense. The biggest thing for us was, we can survive those plays. It's the plays in between, the missed tackles, not eliminating the catches that allowed them to move the ball, in time where we felt we could get them off the field. Obviously, we come into every game wanting to eliminate big plays, understanding that we make it very hard on a lot of teams."
On winning all situations but two big plays:
"Big plays will eliminate all of that, you know? There's a lot of good stuff that we did on tape, a lot of stuff that I think we'll be excited about watching tape, but obviously those two kind of erased a lot of the hard work that we did."
On immediate takeaways from this loss:
"It's a pretty easy game, it's a very simple game. Don't let them score, especially not fast, on defense. I think we take a lot of pride in what we do for this team, so I think this was on the defense. I know this was on defense. We have to play better in order for our team to have success, and that starts with the big plays, and then tackling, to the standards which we've set for ourselves."
Linebacker Demario Davis
On the lesson from this loss:
"When you have games you are in control of, you would like to be able to close them out and finish them. That is the lesson. You have got to close them (out) and put them away. That is what good teams do. Like I said, you still have to give them credit, they made plays here and there. It's going to leave a sour taste in your mouth, but the only way to get past that is to get the next one. You don't want to allow one game to turn into two games."
On the frustration of uncharacteristic mistakes:
"Our defensive standard is very high. The way we came out today, that's just not our standard. Certainly, there are things that we need to get cleaned
up and fixed. That's the challenge that we have to embrace."
On this ending to the first game back at home:
"We certainly understand the platform that we have and how the team and city is one. When we win, we all win. When we lose, we all lose. We're hungry, in the good times and the bad times. Certainly, we had hoped to come into the arena for the first time and get that win, to have a great record, because playing at home is important to us. This is the NFL. Every game is going to be a challenge. You've got to play your best football every week, and we didn't do that well enough this week, so we need to get it cleaned up and come back stronger."
Quarterback Jameis Winston
On how frustrating a loss like this can be:
"We just have to get better. I have to get better, and I have to start faster for this team, so we won't be in that position. Sorry to all the fans. You all came out and were electric. Keep coming out. We will be better; I will be better so we can put on a show for you all."
On learning from this game and moving forward:
"We just have to finish as a whole unit. I have to finish better and that's what we will learn from this now."
On what did not go right on those last two drives:
' "I will have to take a look and look at the drive. It is just unfortunate that we weren't able to move the ball, but I will have to take a look."
On frustrations with leaving points on the table in Giants territory:
"When we got into the red zone we scored every single time I believe. We just have to be more consistent. I have to start off faster for this team to jump out on those guys. Our defense did an amazing job at the beginning of the game, and I didn't do a good job helping them out in the beginning."
On what was the crowd like today:
"It was exciting. It was the best part about today. Like I said, I wish we could have brought them a win and you don't like to lose those type of games. That's what we do, we finish. That's in our DNA. Almost feels like a blur, so that's why I apologized to them. I was so happy to be here, so blessed to have this opportunity to play in front of our fans. It didn't work out, but we will get it fixed. That's it."
On what element he felt they were off on in today's game:
"(I am) Going to have to take a look at the film. I know I have to take full responsibility of that, and I just have to do a better job. We have to be on top of every element, and I take full responsibility of that. We're going to continue to get better as a team, as a squad, and we will put our defense in better situations."
On if Jameis feels he got in a groove after completing 12 straight passes:'
"We understand we were moving the ball really well, but we have to keep that up and capitalize on that momentum that our defense gave us after getting us the ball back."
On if he likes the combination of, he and Taysom rotating:
"It's a holistic offense. He comes in and brings a certain amount of energy. We have been doing that all year. We just have to continue to get better with our identity and we will."
