New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
Media Availability
Thursday, November 12, 2015

Coach you guys are 7-2 since 2006 going into the bye week. Is there a special emphasis placed on concentration heading into the bye?

"We spent some time yesterday talking about playing after the bye. We have kind of laid out the schedule for the next week and a half. When we kind of philosophically changed what we do during the bye for the players, in passing we discussed how we played leading up to the bye. I wish there was something tangible that I could tell you that we do differently going in. I think that by and large we have been pretty good as a team and so over the years, those good teams, whether it was the 2006, '09, '10, '11, '13 teams, those teams are playing better, but I think the attention is probably given more towards after the bye than the game before."

How have you seen Mark Ingram grow as a protector?

"I think that he is someone that has a real clean grasp as to our protections. Look, there are some weeks where the third down protections are fairly complex, and how we are directing the line and where Drew is sending the protection, and there are some weeks where it is a little cleaner. I would say that his versatility has helped us, and certainly been a plus for him when it comes to the third down snaps. He has the size and physicality that you would want, and he can handle the pressure, and it's not always the nickel he is blocking, sometimes he gets matched up against a linebacker, and I think he is well versed in that area."