<span style=""> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">NEW ORLEANS SAINTS HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON</span>
Opening Statement…
"A couple of notes just with the injuries, we lost two players during the game. They should be alright but we will see where they are on Wednesday, David Patten started early on the in the nickel and went out with a groin (injury) and Chris Reis left the game with a hamstring injury. I was pleased with our effort today. I thought we played inspired despite some of the setbacks we have had injury-wise and with the suspension of Jammal Brown. I thought our guys played hard on both sides of the ball, particularly I thought we rushed the passer well, I thought we had good balance offensively, I thought the quarterback played well and we did a great job blocking up front. It was great to see Deuce (McAllister) back in there. He did a nice job for his first game with the most amount of work. I was pleased with the effort. We were battling early in the first quarter and got things going a little bit in the second quarter. That is a better 49ers team than we played in the last two years, much better, and I think our players understood that, but it was a good win for us at home. We have a little bit of a longer work week this week with a Monday night game. Any Questions?"
Q: What made you feel like this was the game to set Deuce McAllister loose?
A: The thing we tried to do before the opening game was sit Deuce (McAllister) and Mike (McKenzie) down and tell them that is was going to be a process. We have to bring you along and it just takes time. You just have to be smart. I said this last week, our plan was going to be a lot more through the air. We just felt by the nature of the game that this week we had a chance to run the ball more. We saw a lot of nickel defense and we felt like we could take advantage of that so we kind of mixed up our personnel and it worked out pretty well. We made some good plays. The one thing I have been happy about is we have been able to get the ball down the field in all of our games."
Q: Can you talk about the job the young receivers did, particularly Robert Meachem and Lance Moore?
A: The both made plays. Robert (Meachem) made some big plays for us down the field and Lance (Moore) has been playing well really this whole training camp and this whole season, he came up big today, especially on some third down plays. That is how it is, when you are not 100 percent healthy someone else very talented is in the game and obviously the quarterback has confidence in these players just as we as coaches do. We just have to battle through this injury thing and it just something mentally we cannot allow to be a factor in how we play. The key is working through the week in practice and making sure we are doing the right things from a rotation standpoint, but I was pleased with how we handled that. With all the guys that didn't practice this week, and we had a lot, I have never been a part of a week in preparation where so many guys missed practice, and I thought we handled it pretty well today."
Q: Can you talk about the secondary play and if it led to good pressure on the QB?
A: I thought we did some good things, especially some of the man coverages you saw. We caused some turnovers. I thought we played the ball pretty well. I thought we hit the quarterback, which was good. I think when they became a little bit one dimensional, which was really late in the third quarter, fourth quarter that we were able to benefit from that. I thought defensively we played well against a good team on offense and certainly a good running back. We talked about it a lot to our team this week that these guys had a lot more confidence on offense and I think it is a really good football team we played today so that was encouraging. I thought the back end played well, I thought they played physical and it was a good effort.
Q: With Deuce McAllister's increased touches, how does it change the look of the offense?
A: You're just trying to spread some of these touches around without being too fancy. Those were some tough yards he was getting for us so he did a good job. It goes back to just trying to take advantage of the players you think can move the football. Instead of play action passes and running the play action down there at fourth-and-one, those are the little things that benefits your play action passing game, benefits your running game and benefits you first down numbers. Right now with the way our quarterback is playing, it becomes a lot easier to be a play caller. His decision making, his accuracy and what he is doing with his offense is obviously pleasing and its really something else. We are going to continue to be aggressive and keep mixing the personnel up and trying out the best plan each week to move the ball and score points. That is what we are trying to do."
Q: Can you talk about the importance of taking advantage of the home field?
A: Once we got into the situation with a little bit of a lead then the crowd noise becomes more a factor. I credit San Francisco, they came out with a good first drive and moved it into field goal range and came out with the points. We struggled a little bit early but then I thought we settled down and made some plays and that was encouraging, in the second quarter especially so it was good. I thought the fans were outstanding, it was loud and it makes it hard to operate offensively. The next home game is a Monday night game and particularly the night games have been even louder so we look forward to that. They (the fans) did a lot of big things for us and it is good."
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS PLAYERS
#98 DE Sedrick Ellis
On getting defensive credit
"You pride yourselves in winning games in this league. We pride ourselves on winning games and making sacks and getting tackles. Saying that you are close doesn't cut it. I think it makes a lot of people feel better that we got pressure on the quarterback. I think the defensive line has a lot of potential. We are continuing to get a lot better the more that we gel."
On getting pressure on J.T. O'Sullivan
"We honestly kept doing the same things we have been working on. We really didn't change anything. We just all had more intensity today. We refused to be denied. Charles Grant had a great game today. Some of the older guys have been leading the way for us."
#22 CB Tracy Porter
On how the defensive pressure helped the secondary
"The defensive pressure was great. It made the quarterback make quick decisions which resulted in our favor. It starts with the front line. They can really make it easy for us."
On his interception
"We were playing a three deep coverage. The guy thought he had a wide open inside. I read it and stayed on his hip. I read the quarterback. I saw that he was looking at him the whole time and at the last second I under cut it and made a play."
#43 S Kevin Kaesviharn
On his interception
"Their tight ends like to run the seam routs. I favored that side the whole way. They ended up running a wrap play where they run a guy short and run a guy just behind him. They want to see if you are going to jump the short route or jump the deep route. They are going to try to take the one that you don't jump. I was able to sit between both of them and I made a play when (O'Sullivan) threw the ball."
#91 DE Will Smith
On his forced fumble
"We knew he was a scrambler and he wasn't holding on to the ball. Coach Ogeron emphasized all week to keep staying after him and finishing our rushes. I think finishing was the word of the week. We hadn't finished the two weeks prior. I saw an opportunity with him running with the ball. I just went after him and knocked it out."
#26 RB Deuce McAllister
On his performance
"The most important thing for us was to get a win. We had a sour taste in our mouths the last two weeks with games we thought we should have won. That's water under the bridge for us. We wanted to get a win. I can't say it was a must win, but it was a game that we definitely needed. I just tried to come out and contribute and make plays when I had an opportunity."
On his touchdown
"It was pretty exciting to get in the end zone after not playing for a year. I had to let Patrick Willis know that I still had it and that I could go over the top. It felt good just to be able to get in the end zone."
