New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
Post-Practice Media Availability
Friday, October 21, 2016

What do you see in the Kansas City offense?

"The Kansas City offense is extremely good. They do a good job running the football. The quarterback does a good job of spreading the ball around on third downs and I think they give you a lot of looks that become challenging, so trying to replicate that in practice is a big task and on the road this is going to be a good challenge."

Third down percentage has improved since the beginning of the year, do you attribute that to better down and distances?

"I think it is a little bit of both. I would like to think that we are improving in our execution and then certainly when you are in the 10 or 11 (yards to go) plus your numbers aren't going to be as good and they go hand in hand. We spent a lot of time on it, hopefully that continues, but I think it will be important statistic in this game, both teams."

What have you seen from the evolution of Alex Smith from his 49er days to now?

"He does a great job, number one he is a really good quarterback and I think he is accurate, he is athletic, he can move, he is smart, all those things you look for when you start evaluating quarterbacks you check the box and I think when you watch his location and (watch) him play from behind, I think that fit's been fantastic with what they do offensively. I think he's done a very good job and he wins."

How good is that interior defensive line for Kansas City?

"I think it's stout in the run game and presents challenges in protection, obviously I was asked this question earlier in the week. The push in the pocket and how do you counteract it and look both sides of the ball are fighting to protect that same turf behind the quarterback, but they're very good. They do a real good job of anticipating the snap count when you are playing there with the crowd noise. We have to be on point there and that will be a challenge for the front, the interior part of our offensive line."

How much have you seen Kenny (Vaccaro) grow since his second year struggles?

"He is playing real consistent and I think he is a physical player. He has a real good idea of what each game plan is and I think he gives us the versatility at safety because he can play back. Obviously, with him closer to the ball we think is a strength of his and he's a good tackler."

Why do you think you've had so much success scripting plays opening games?

"Yesterday we were talking about this and it comes down to the execution. You can put a first 10 or 12, 15 plays together and be three and out. What you are trying to do is take some of the personnel groups and try and get an idea of maybe how the game's going to be played in each of those groups and yet most importantly the stuff that your players know and have repped and it's not foreign to them, but I think again the execution and the players the night before getting at least a feel for what's going to be on the early part of the play call sheet."

Do you want to set the tone with the way you design those first 10 to 20 plays?

"What you are wanting to do is move the chains and get first downs and it's more about what do we think helps us move the football early and gain some momentum."

How can you get Willie Snead more involved?

"Willie Snead has a lot of different roles. He's someone that gives us versatility at the slot. He is also someone who is playing in the kicking game. I think playing on the grass you are going to see his uniform plenty dirty. As far as catches a lot of that is just based on the coverage that we get."