NEW ORLEANS SAINTS VS. PITTSBURGH STEELERS

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2016

SAINTS PLAYER QUOTES

QB Drew Brees

(On the team's play)

"We have a lot of veteran guys who understand the process of the season. They understand the game planning aspect and the preparation. I'm not going to give ourselves any excuses. I thought we should have played better over the past two weeks. That's disappointing. It just shows the sense of urgency that we have to get better in a lot of areas. We have not yet gone into a hardcore game plan like we would for the regular season."

(On Willie Snead's continued development)

"Willie is a great player. I love the guy because he can do so many different things. He's just a football player. I have so much trust and confidence in him. He's a guy that we have an ability to do a lot of things with. To have a weapon like that is great for this offense."

WR Willie Snead IV

(On his touchdown reception)

"I just saw the look. We had seen the look all week. I got to the top and saw the ball come out of Drew's hand. I just tried to make a good play."

(On his compatibility with Drew)

"I am feeling a little bit more comfortable in this offense. I have better timing with Drew this year. I feel more comfortable in this offense by reading coverages this past offseason. Things are starting to come together."

(On if he watched the play on the jumbotron)

"I watched it on the jumbotron and those little pads that we have on the sideline. It was a great catch, but I should have caught it the first time."

LB James Laurinaitis

(On the defensive play)

"They're a good team. They have good players. The explosive plays kill you. When you face a good offense, you have to make them earn it. You have to make them go methodically down the field. We gave up some explosive touchdowns today. If you do that against a good offense, then they are going to keep rolling. We really didn't sack the quarterbacks much. We got the one takeaway, but it's not enough to alter the game with the fast start and the explosive plays on the field."

T Zach Strief

(On the offensive line struggles)

"It's hard to say. It's hard to pinpoint right now. We've done some shuffling. It's hard to pinpoint what happened. I feel very comfortable saying that it wasn't good enough. I think the quarterbacks were under pressure most of the night. The running game was a little bit better, but not what you're looking for. We clearly have a lot of work to do. We have been through this before. There's no magic. You turnaround tomorrow and work your tail off. You try to get better. We'll try to fix some of the mistakes that we made tonight."

(On if the coaching change on the offensive line has anything to do with the struggles)

"Minimal, there's a little bit to expect with a new coaching change. There's enough there to be an issue."