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New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean PaytonLocal Media AvailabilityMonday, November 9, 2015
Opening statement:"(We are) Just going through our normal Monday routine with our players. (There are) A lot of corrections to make from this game. One thing you see in the tape is you preach details and in each phase there are elements where the little things come up and hurt us in this game. (We) Felt like we had a little bit of early momentum that we weren't able to capitalize on and those guys hung in there and all of a sudden it became one of those games and we didn't play well enough. There is a lot we have to correct on film and clean up and I would say look just as much as we do with the assignments and the techniques as players the same thing as coaches."
Were the areas you saw that needed to be cleaned up, were they areas that were cleaned up three games ago?
"Some were maybe new to this game and others that weren't necessarily new."
When you say clean up the coaching what do you mean?
"Listen there are things we look at the tape and you know it's a lot like your children. If behavior continues you are either allowing it or aren't making the corrections and so the child's noisy at the grocery five weeks in a row at some point I look at the parent I don't look at the child."
Is there anything in the kicking game that has been a repeat offense?
"Well obviously we want to reduce the penalties in the back end and that's something that will do. Look the protection on the field goal was poor, the snap was poor. The timing sequence was find in regards to the hold getting down and the kick getting off, but it's gets tipped, but the timing of it was better than I expected to see and it was clean, but it was a low snap and the protection was poor in two areas."
When you say timing sequence was that Thomas Morstead getting the ball down?
"He did a good job of handling a low ball kind of like the low ones right at your ankles. He was able to get it down. On the field I would have guessed that it was a tick longer, but the kickoff time from snap to kick was solid."
What do you do if the holding and the penalties continue in the secondary? Do you make some personnel changes at some point?
"We're not talking about personnel changes .We are talking about just the fundamentals, look there are times within the framework in what you do and the way it's being officiated now you're going to have a call or two, but it's technique, it's alignment it's all the details. Like I said last week it comes up in the film here. It's a challenge for all those guys in coverage so that's the big thing."
How big of a setback is it to allow the Titans to score that many points?
"Listen, the setback is a game. I mean you know the sky is not falling today and I know in your industry you need it to, but it's a game and it's disappointing and to your point, which is a good one, that hasn't been a team scoring a lot of points and that hasn't been a team that's moved the ball as effectively as they did against us so that's something that obviously as a head coach you take note of that and say hey we've got to be better than that."
What's the balance between getting a team ready for the next opponent and also fixing those details that are plaguing you?
"It's Monday and so typically our rule of thumb here is were still on the corrections and at some point then you're on to the next game, but we can't hurry through this process. Just as a group going in there. We tell the players, myself included, we have to look closely at this tape and own it and learn from it."
How much credit do you give to their offensive game plan as opposed to your execution?
"I think there is always that it's always easier to come in and say we didn't play our best game. There is always a common ground there and those guys doing some things well and making some plays and yet there are some things that you say hey we knew this tight end was their number one target and I think that when we watch tape you look at plays and say hey that was a great play and sometimes you watch the play and say the design there caused us those problems and we do the same thing in any other phase. I think closely looking at it and asking ourselves are we putting our players in the best position possible?
Was Brandon Browner fined for his outburst and do you consider him an asset to the team?
"He is an asset to the team, absolutely. He is a captain and anything we would do from a team standpoint wouldn't be for announcement here, but absolutely I do (value him)."
Why have you been unable to find touches for CJ Spiller?
"I think obviously when we had the multiple running backs the challenge sometimes by game is getting him carries. I know that when the season started he was setback with and injury and yesterday as Mark (Ingram) is going sometimes the front we see dictates what kind of run or what kind of passes. It's a heavy blitz team and Mark's typically been our protecting back."
Is there anything that you're not seeing with Spiller production wise?
"No, no I just think that in yesterday's game specifically in that second half there was quite a bit of pressure."
If Luke McCown's injury is long-term would you consider signing a veteran?
"(We) Will see, (we) will let you know if we were to work some guys out. Which we may and that's if Luke McCown's injury is one in which he's not going to return and (we) will look at our best options."
In a league where there is not a lot of margin for error, when a sure-interception turns into a touchdown during a game, how hard can that be to overcome?
"You look at that play and rewind it, all of us thought real-time right there, you cannot dwell on that. Two guys are going up to make a play and there's a collision that takes place. There are other things that we need to specifically hone in on. Sometimes, something like that's going to happen. It cannot continue or lead to (more mistakes). It was a bounce that went in another direction. It happened, literally, right in front of me and my first reaction was alright, let's go onto the next play. We'd go crazy trying to coach up something specific there. Both Keenan (Lewis) and Jairus (Byrd) are in position. It happens pretty quickly."
What did you feel was the main problem in your inability to get to (Marcus) Mariota?
"There is a timing element. In the (shot)gun, he is someone that is getting the ball out quickly. We lost contain in our rush a couple of times and then, all of a sudden, the play gets extended and he finds a player down the field. That's happened repeatedly. That's a concern. The timing sequence in which he's throwing or operating (affected our rush). The ball was coming out pretty quick. They did a good job with some of their play-actions, and yet I would say that it was just an average effort. We didn't have near the production that we've had in the last several weeks, in regards to getting to the quarterback. Some of it (was) with his release time but there are others where we extend it because we'd get out of our rush lanes."
After the Indianapolis game, you alluded to the trick plays, saying that you are impatient sometimes and want things now; how do you balance that mentality with "the sky's not falling"?
"I think it's really important to go in there and put the tape on to look at some specifics here. There's a fumble on a return where we are going to have a chance to really put a gap in that lead. There is a blocked field goal and we're inside the thirty (yard line) late in the game. We felt like we managed that last two minutes of the game. Our defense got the stop and we decided to use our timeouts so they weren't able to just set up an end-of-game field goal. We got decent field position after the missed field goal and then put ourselves in the position to win the game. Honestly, we have to be able to function there. That is what they are paid to do and we're not attempting the field goal that they had just attempted. We're inside the thirty. Offensively, twice in that game, we turned the defensive end loose in protection. Two times you just don't block a defensive end (and) that can't happen. Defensively, there are a handful of things. You find yourself as a head coach, when you get excited about some success, and then you put the film on and it's like hey, it was a good win but – then, you have a loss like that and it still brings you to that middle ground. Here are some of the things that we discussed and now it came up in a game. We discussed the field goal operation. Against Dallas we were able to overcome it. There has been another game where the snap doesn't get put down and we overcome it, and then, all of a sudden, it comes back and bites you. Those are things that are frustrating, and yet we can't lose this thing twice or three times. We lost it. We didn't play well enough and we didn't coach well enough. We have to get the corrections made and then get ready to play Washington."
Were there any blitzes that you saw yesterday that you had not seen?
"No, the pressures that we saw were very typical of what they do. These two-gap protections (where the defensive end was turned loose) were not (because of) confusion."
Some coaches have a quick trigger if their return man fumbles a couple of times; is this just a case of sticking with Marcus (Murphy) and showing him that you have trust in him?
"We want to see all of these guys have success. We talk about it all of the time, but when you're that man who has got the ball in your hand, you are carrying the hopes of all 53. I didn't like where the ball was at. That has to get corrected or someone else will do it."
Is that another one of those things where it is annoying because it happened the week before?
"It is back to what I said at the beginning – if it keeps happening, we're either allowing it to happen or not changing it. That has got to get corrected."
With Marcus Mariota and his timing, did you sense anything with the coaching change that they had? Did anything change or was there something that you didn't expect?
"We felt with the change that there'd be a few wrinkles. You could tell that a point of emphasis was trying to find some balance in the running game. They shuffled their offensive line a little bit. They were down a (wide) receiver and targeted a few other guys. I do not know that there was anything where, all of a sudden, we were getting a lot more of this. We had a little bit more tight end packages."
When you talk about coaches doing a better job and it's maybe the parents fault and not the children's fault if it happens over and over again, do you punish the parent and/or coach in some way?
"I am just using an analogy. It is very easy to put tape on and say well, he didn't do this. We have to look at it, own it and say, why has this happened repeatedly. In other words, your student gets a D on a test and the teacher could say that he just didn't do his job. At some point, you say did you do a good enough job teaching the subject matter?"
It hasn't happened in just one game but has happened throughout the season.
"It comes up in certain games. It is that roller coaster that we have seen with this team right now. You're looking for more consistency."
