<span> <span style="">New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton</span>
Opening Statement…
"I have no injuries to report right now. I was encouraged. I told the players at the end of the game with the second half effort, especially defensively. There was a flow to the game in the first half where we were moving the ball pretty efficiently. I thought the stops we came up with defensively ended up being pretty significant. I thought the kick return team did a great job giving us good field position. By and large I was pleased with the lack of penalties and I thought we did a pretty good job of handling the situation. We burned a timeout, one we didn't need to, but other than that it was an important win. We are on a pretty quick week. Basically, Tuesday, these guys are off tomorrow. They will be back in at noon on Wednesday and practice will begin, for your schedules, at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. So, rather than a Wednesday morning schedule it will be at noon and practice will begin at 2:45 p.m. I will meet with you guys tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. and that will get us on the same page. But it was an important win and I thought we did a lot of things well. Any Questions?"
Q: Can you talk about what Deuce McAllister's touchdown meant not only for him but for yourself and this crowd?
A: When you become the all time leading scorer in a franchise's history with the career he has had here and to be able to do it at home on a Monday night, there is obviously a lot of emotion and we couldn't be happier for him. His teammates and all the fans here that had a chance to witness that, it was pretty special. It was a good run, a great effort. It was a very atypical Deuce McAllister run with the second effort that finished it in the end zone. It was great to see.
Q: Particularly in the second half, what did Pierre Thomas' performance do for the game?
A: I thought he did a good job of running between the tackles. I thought we blocked pretty well up front and he kept after it. It wasn't always pretty.
Q: This was obviously a team effort, but what can you say about the three underdog performances by Pierre Thomas, Lance Moore and Courtney Roby?
A: We have kind of said this all along; with some of the injuries we have had it provides opportunities for other players. This weekend we saw some guys step up and rise to the occasion so we are happy for them. We are happy that they played well.
Q: Jason David had a great game; can you talk about his performance and what was the thinking in going for two late in the game?
A: I thought Jason did a good job of locating the ball. We got some pressure up front. I thought those plays that we made defensively in the second half ended up being the difference in the game. In regards to going for two, it is something that we rarely do. I've told you before its really something we only consider in the fourth quarter and it really becomes about the number chart and putting yourself in the position where you are three or four scores ahead. So, its only a fourth quarter decision and it was just trying to get back past three scores obviously for the same reason Green Bay went for two earlier.
Q: How much did you stress having to start a win streak tonight?
A: It doesn't become a win streak as much as just playing another good football game and really trying to play a balanced game and work each week to try and improve. We thought we made some strides last week in Kansas City and this week we had a longer period of time before the game and really the focus is just on trying to improve as a team in those three of four practice opportunities, trying to get better on third down, trying to get better in the red zone, all the specifics; the kicking game. That being said, your chances of playing better the next week go up. So we really talk more specifically about us and the importance of playing a complete game.
New Orleans Saints vs. Green Bay Packers
November 24, 2008
Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy
(on the loss) "We didn't slow them down at all tonight. Give credit to the Saints and the play of the quarterback. He was on fire coming into the game and we didn't cool him off any. It was disappointing. I don't really have too much to say about the defense, but they played excellent offense. Our offense…I thought we played very well in the first half. We had the ball 18 minutes and it was very productive. We were playing the game that we wanted to play."
(on if they tried to pressure Drew Brees) "We called blitzes. We were playing a lot of our match coverage and went to more zone and man pressure to try and generate pressure on the quarterback."
(on his disappointment) "We practiced very well. I believe that practice carries over to your performance on Sunday or Monday, whenever you play the game. It's frustrating. They played very well. Give credit to the Saints and how they played tonight. We need to win football games. It's November. We can't make the mistakes that we made, whether it's communication or alignments or the number of things that went wrong today. There is no excuse for it. We need to correct it. It starts with the head coach. We'll go through that as fast as we can. We need to move on to Carolina."
"They're a heavy formation, shift, motion team. They do a lot of things at the line of scrimmage. They're playing very well in the passing game. It's evident by what they're ranked. We didn't slow them down at all. That was our plan coming in here. We expected more from our defense. We didn't get it done today."
PACKERS Locker Room Quotes
QB Aaron Rodgers: "After the first half we knew we had to throw. We tried to answer but we didn't. We let this one get away from us."
On INT for almost TD by Jason David
"I saw David with his back to me. I think Greg (Jennings) fell down or something and it cost us 7 points. I think if the route was supposed to go the way it was we drew it up, things would have been ok."
"In a game like this, you have to take care of the ball. But in the second half we just didn't do that. This game is all about limiting your turnovers and your production in the red zone. If I'm going to throw 3 interceptions, you are not going to win."
CB Charles Woodson
"They did a great job beating us in man, zone, or whatever we were in. They just beat us because they made the plays. It's just that simple."
LB A.J. Hawk
"You have to give them (the Saints) credit. Our offense played well and did a great job of keeping us off the field early. But they converted all of the 3rd downs and basically did what they wanted to do. Any loss hurts. It's good we have a short week so this loss will be quicker to put behind us – we still have a chance to do great things."
Safety Nick Collins
"It's embarrassing, man. We just need to go back and regroup; watch the film and see what went wrong. They just made the plays and we just didn't look like we were ready."
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS PLAYER QUOTES
#12 WR Marques Colston
On playing in the Superdome for the first time in six weeks
"It was my first game playing in here since the season opener against Tampa Bay. It was a good feeling to get back in here and get the home fans a win."
On his touchdown reception
"It was my first of the year. It was a broken play. I turned it up field and Drew (Brees) found me and I took it to the end zone."
#26 RB Deuce McAllister
On breaking the team touchdown record
"It was sweet. When you start playing, those are they type of goals that you set out to break. I told #25 that he has to go out and break my record. It was great to achieve and it was something that my teammates now and in the past can cherish. "
#88 TE Jeremy Shockey
On the importance of the win for the playoff race
"We just take it one game at a time. We now play Tampa Bay, which is a great team. We've already played them once this season. We are just trying to get better every week. Everyone was in tune today. All week at practice was good. It felt really good to be a part of something special. The most important part is that we all know what is at stake here. We put two games together and now we are going to try for three."
#42 CB Jason David
On the defense's play tonight in the second half
"Basically, we just kept our head up. The first half didn't go the way we wanted it to, but we played as hard as we could the second half and executed the game plan."
On his two interceptions and the play of the defensive backs
"The defensive line did a great job of getting pressure on the quarterback, which helped us out. We were able to go out there and execute our game plan."
