New Orleans Saints Defensive End Cameron Jordan
Media Availability
Tuesday, November 23, 2021

What are some of the challenges Josh Allen presents, given his size?
"Exactly what you just said, he's a bigger, physical, running quarterback that's able to escape out of the pocket and extend plays. He has a cannon for an arm. I think he has great vision and clearly it's something we have to be aware of going into the game."

Does playing on Thanksgiving matter to you at all?
"It's a workday, another opportunity to take the field. I love it because of the shorter week, we're going to wipe this last game away from us as fast as we can and move on to what we thing will be advantageous for us."

Does last week still bother you?
"Two days ago, yes, it was still fresh in the mind. At the same time we were able to tune in and lock in to what we have coming in two days from now. As bad as I felt about that game, 48 hours out, another 48 hours I have another game under the belt. We have to focus and tune in what we can't control."

How tough is a quick turnaround like this?
"Mentally it's quite easy, because I want to be as far away as possible. Physically you need to take care of your body. I think our coaching staff has always done a great job of trying to get us back (fresh). You can look at grand scheme of things and not like those Thursday night games as much as you want, but we don't have one this year, we have to two. We need to lock in again. We need to get our bodies back as fast as we can. We need to mentally prepared for this game on Thursday and try to play our best ball as we can."

In general, what are the hardest days for players during a workweek?
"Phenomenal question. I feel good. I don't allow myself to hurt this week. So ask me another week."

Are there learning lessons from that last game?
"There's always learning lessons. Do you know how many learning lessons there are out of 79 snaps in that game? There's plenty of areas that we can improve on. Some areas that we thought we were better in. For them to run 244 yards on the ground, it's embarrassing. For (Jalen) Hurts to go 25 yards or less the last (touchdown) play of the game, that's not something you can stand on. We have to be better as a defense, better as individual players. There are things we can do to improve on that. It should never be in question, especially the last play of the game. You feel at some point in the last quarter there was a bright spot where you realized you could have gotten something back. That's another game. I don't even know the last time we've lost three in a row. I'm more furious about us than them."

Are there any offensive concepts unique to Philadelphia?
"I'm more furious about us than them. 244 yards, everybody's got their hand in the pocket."

Describe the frustration of losing three in a row for the first time since the start of the 2016 season?
"I think every loss is frustrating. I'm not going to lie to you. I go into every season trying to be perfect. We have to focus on being a better run-stopping defense for that game to never happen again. Moving forward, we know we can affect a quarterback and take over a run game. We know we have to control what we can control, focus on eliminating our gap integrity mistakes and I think even in that game, there were a whole lot of positives. We can't even focus on the positives or negatives, we need to focus on the Bills in front of us."

Are you worried about the way things are going big picture?
"I only worry about one game at a time and we have the Bills coming up Thursday."

New Orleans Saints Offensive Lineman James Hurst
Media Availability
Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Why do you think the offense has been starting games off slowly?
"I think we obviously need to start stronger. There's been too many three-and-outs, four-and-outs, five-and-out kind of drives. We need (to gain) a little more momentum earlier, make the plays when they come to us. In games lately, it's felt like we kind of are down because of some turnovers and that puts us in a bad spot. Then you look up and you're down two scores. So, that is a tough situation to be in and we know that. I think we've been able to identify why we've been in those situations, so, just making sure we're doing the little things and make sure the details are right and those things will kind of take care of themselves."

How do you gain momentum earlier in the game?
"Not turning the ball over, that's number one. That's a huge deal in any game. If you lose the turnover battle, you're going to find yourself on the wrong end of a lot of games. So, protecting the ball through the air, (offensive line) protection, fumbles, all the ways you can lose (the ball). Just working on those by understanding reads, pass protection, understanding how defenses are trying to make you turn the ball over, and just making sure we are aware of those."

Do you expect to see more blitzing this week against Buffalo?
"Not necessarily. I think we've gotten a little here and little there, a few different things from week to week. I think there's probably some adjustments we can make, we can communicate better when we go out on the field from our first, second and third drives with having a better awareness of how the defense is attacking us and understanding what their scheme is and knowing how to attack that better."

Has continuity been the biggest challenge with the offensive line having so many different lineups this year?
"Yeah, I think you said it, just a little continuity. We have a great group of guys, though, and everyone is trying to get better. In the meeting rooms, it's about communicating, watching film together, understanding schemes, understanding how we're going to attack the defense, understanding how certain combination blocks are going to come off, how pass protections are going to be communicated, so it's a big deal. You have to over-communicate in practice and in the meeting rooms so that when you go out there on Sunday, it's kind of second nature. It's not as forced, it's not as much of an out of body experience, it's just saying, 'OK this guy's going to be here and I'm going to be here' and trusting the guy next to you do their job."

Is the bad luck with injuries shocking at all?
"No. It is tough, but obviously injuries happen. It is a lot of them, but we have kind of said it before, we just have to move on. What can we do now to control any of that? The answer's nothing. So, just moving on and understanding who's in, that the guy next to you might be a different player, communicating with them and get them up to speed and making sure they know how to make an impact."

What's the biggest challenge when switching positions all-across the line like you have done this year?
"I think your footwork and body control. If you're on the left side, you have a certain stagger in your stance. When you move to the right side you have a different stagger in your stance. It is different muscle groups activating in different ways, so it's taking those reps, getting and feeling comfortable, training run and pass blocking for those different positions. In all of those different positions you have to get your body used to knowing what it feels like and knowing why you don't feel as strong sometimes in different spots. Understanding how to train those (muscles) so when Sunday comes you can feel comfortable and natural."

Does having a losing streak combined with the injuries wear on this team?
"Losing wears on a team. Losing is tough. Nobody likes losing. I think it's easy to make excuses, but the type of guys we have in our locker room aren't looking to make excuses. I think people bring (excuses) to us saying, 'Oh this guy is hurt, and that guy is out,' well, I don't think anyone is finding any comfort in saying, 'Well, if we had A, B, or C, the outcome might be different.' Everyone is just looking at their job trying to understand what they can do better or what we can do better as a unit; offensive line, running backs, receivers, quarterbacks, (are asking) what can we do to make the team better? I think everyone is really accountable for that and I think that's all you can really ask for. It's exciting to get in the film room, watch the film, kind of digest what happened and say, 'This is on us. These are the things we can get better at and improve on.'"

Do you still go to your coffee shop in your neighborhood? What have the interactions been like when you visit?
"Yeah, Moxie, it's really close to my house. They're great guys in there, so it's not as much, 'what's wrong with the Saints?' as much as it is 'great game, tough game' stuff like that, just small talk. But they're supportive, the neighbors and everyone is super supportive and just wants the Saints to win, as do we obviously. We're all on the same team and that's a great feeling just knowing that we have been on a bad streak lately, but you have got people pulling for you."

How tough is it to get your body ready for a Thursday night game?
"It's a huge challenge for sure. Thursday night games happen so fast. You're in the locker room for pregame before you know it. The good news is that the other team has the same problem. Nobody has an upper hand in that situation. It's just about understanding what you need to do to get your body right, your legs back under you, get the bumps and bruises under control so you can go out and have the energy and excitement for these games."

How different are the practices when playing a Thursday night game?
"The preparation's totally different. It might be half physical and half mental in a normal week. Now, it is about 90% mental, 10% physical this week. Just understanding the scheme in such a short time, understanding what we're trying to do on offense, spending that extra time watching film, understanding the game plan so we can go out and play free and fast, so we do not have to worry about, 'I should have done this or that', so you can just go out there and let loose."

Adam Trautman was really coming on the last couple of weeks. How tough is it to lose him to a knee injury?
"That's tough. He's been getting better and better for sure as we've all seen. He had a huge impact in the (Philadelphia) game. Hate to see it, I hate it for him and for our team. He is a great young player, so we know he's going to be working his tail off to get back as soon as he can. We hate to have those injuries for sure. I think you saw (his abilities) quickly in that game, and you saw the impact he was making. It's tough to have a guy go out with an injury for sure, so we'll miss him."

What's it been like to play with Terron Armstead the last two years?
"Yeah, Terron is a lot of fun on the field. He wants to go out and dominate. His mindset is that he wants to be the best guy out there on the field. That (attitude) is contagious and that's fun to be around. It's something that you can build upon and use as something to get you going to give you some extra energy. He's obviously a great player and he makes our team a lot better when he's out there."

He had a lot of players attend his event last week on your only off day. Do you think that says a lot about how highly he's viewed in the locker room?
"Yeah, he's definitely (viewed highly), and that has something to do with how good he is on the field and what type of player he is, but also how good he is in the locker room. Everyone loves him. He's a leader, he's vocal, he's always holding people accountable, which is a tough thing to do at times but is very good at it. We respect him and who he is as a player and person. I think the team really loves him."

What do you mean when you say he's good at holding people accountable?
"Yes, I think there's a certain way that (you can) hold people accountable. You can do it incorrectly and it will backfire for sure, but you have to understand who you are talking to. Each person is different, and each person receives criticism differently, but he's very good at having a relationship with everyone on the team and understanding what kind of person and player they are so he can say what he needs to say to them in a respectful way that they'll take, and they'll say, 'OK, let's go, let's do this.'"

Are there any conversations about re-affirming the direction of a team when you're in the middle of a losing streak?
"Yeah, there definitely are. I think a ton of teams, maybe this year more so than the other years, that are 6-4, 6-5, 5-5, 5-4 and kind of right around the .500 mark. So, I think a lot of teams are having a lot of those conversations. I kind of mentioned it earlier, but I think it's about going in the film room and diagnosing what we've done and knowing why we've lost the games, and how we correct those mistakes. I think a lot of those mistakes we've seen are self-inflicted, so I think that's a very positive thing because we know that we can do those things better or differently. We know that we can fix these mistakes and can win games because of those things."

New Orleans Saints Linebacker Kwon Alexander 
Media Availability
Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Is there anything you can learn as a defense from the last game?
"Oh yea, we can learn a lot from it. We looked at the film and it's just little things that we got to do to fix the runs and stuff like that. We came out today, we executed and we got back on track. So we're going to be straight."

What are a couple of those things that you guys are looking to fix?
"You got to work on a run fronts and stuff like that, everybody's got to be on the same page, once we're on the same page I think will be legendary"

Is it frustrating to give up all those rush yards after defending the run well so far this season?
"Yeah It's frustrating once they get that many yards on you as a defense. We just have to keep going and keep pushing. We can't keep thinking about last game, we got to hurry up and get past that and move on to Thursday."

What stands out about Josh Allen?
"He is a great athlete, legendary athlete. He can throw the ball, run the ball, he can do a lot. He's a captain of that team so we're just going to do our job and try to get him down when he's scrambling and try to take the ball away from him and that's what will do."

How much of a problem is Josh Allen for defenses?
"He's just a problem He's a legendary athlete like I said, we're going to do what we got to do to contain him and we're going to do that."

Do you guys feel the same after losing three straight?
"Everything is still ahead of us, we're never going to give up. These teams play hard, we play hard. Like I said we just have to keep fighting. We can't dwell on what happened last week, we're going to move forward and keep punching."

After Sunday's performance how anxious is the team to get back on the field?
"We're very anxious, you can see it in guy's face today we're all locked in, on point and everybody's communicating. I feel legendary this week. We all we feel legendary."

New Orleans Saints Quarterback Trevor Siemian
Post-Practice Media Availability
Tuesday, November 23, 2021

I know we've asked you about the slow starts, but have you all been able to pin point what you need to do to correct that problem?
"Yeah, I think for me, I've just got to play better in the first half specifically. I don't want to overanalyze, I've just got to play better. I'm not going to press or anything, but there's a couple plays here and there I've got to do a better job on early and put us in a position to play fast early on in the ballgame."

How tough is it to make all of the adjustments necessary on such a short week? You don't practice yesterday, it's more of a like a walkthrough today practicing.
"It is different than a normal week for sure. And everybody's got to do it once a year. The coaches do a great job of giving you a palatable plan that you can execute on a short week. There might be some carryover from weeks prior, or things that you know pretty well that you can run and know by heart. So I think we're in good shape. Like I said, everybody's got to do at once. So this is our deal."

What happened with the hand?
"Just like a little thing. I mean, everybody is got something. You show me somebody that is totally healthy at this point in the year I will show you somebody who is not playing football. But yeah, I'm all good."

Were you fighting through that during the game?
"Not really, it's like I said, everybody has got something small. Some guys are a lot worse off. This point in the season, everybody's probably dealing with something."

Especially this team, right?
"Yeah, but the show goes on."

Buffalo's got I think the number two pass defense in the NFL right now, what kind of stands out about them? If you've even had a chance to really watch them?
"I think they've got a really good scheme. They are really well coached. I think Coach (Sean) McDermott is one of the better defensive coaches in the league. And they have got really good players. And then usually have one or two guys in the back end that you really worry about that can play the football well, and are going to make plays on the ball. I think this this team has six or seven guys where if the balls in the air, they can catch it almost as good as a receiver so I think that's reflected in their turnover numbers. I think they're first in the league and turnovers, if I'm not mistaken, but they have got guys that can play the ball, and they have got a good scheme, good players. So it's a good defense."

When you're going up against a secondary with guys, I think they have 15 picks this year, what's kind of the danger with that? Does it make it harder to throw in a contested catch situation?
"Yeah, I think you're a little more measured in your contested catch balls that you'd want to throw, right? You're not just going to throw it up and play .500 so to speak with some of these guys. I think you're going to be cognizant of where they are positionally and where your guy is, and you're not going to be reckless with the ball."

You won't get to see the ceremonies since you'll be in the locker room at halftime. But how cool was it that Drew Brees is calling this game for NBC and they're honoring him at halftime?
"Awesome. He is so deserving. I wish I would have been here longer with him. (I) Can't really can't say enough about him, how good he was to me, knowing how he was in the locker room and well deserved and very cool that he's calling the game. I actually tuned in to some of the Notre Dame games now where I normally don't really care what's going in South Bend, but I appreciate listening to Drew and (Mike) Tirico. I think that's a cool deal."

Did you see Eli's tweet about you being the 4th Manning brother?
"Yeah, my wife forwarded that to me. Yeah, pretty good."

Do you like having the Thursday night game after a poor performance the previous Sunday?
"Yeah, I do. Just flushing out Sunday. I'm looking forward to playing right away and putting our best foot forward. We've got a good (Buffalo) team coming in. It's certainly a challenge I'm embracing, and I know we're all embracing."

How do you feel your last three performances have been with being the starter?
"You know, I have to play better. We're not winning, so I feel like any time we're not winning, you are always self-reflecting saying, 'Hey, what can I do to get us over the edge and get some wins rattled off.' The answer is I have to play a little better at times. Me and everybody else haven't played good enough to win. So, that's what I think about last week. With the two turnovers, I'm not happy about that, but I'm looking forward to playing this week."

With looking around the league, what are the conversations like in the locker room with how you guys can overcome this losing streak to still reach your goals this season?
"Yeah, I think looking around the league, there's not many teams where you're saying, 'These guys are clear cut, they're taking care of business, and everyone is chasing them.' You know, we've got to take care of our business and rattle some wins off, but I feel like that's just the cycle of the NFL. It's the highest of highs when you're winning and when you lose a game or two in a row, your back is against the wall and you have to get it going again, which I kind of appreciate. Like I said, I'm looking forward to playing again quickly this week. I think that's a good thing for us."

How tough was it to see Adam Trautman go down with a knee injury?
"Yeah, it's tough for Adam and tough for some of the guys that are dinged up and going down as well. Hopefully Adam's back with us sooner rather than later. But yeah, he was coming on. He's a good player and he's going to be fine. Thankfully it's not something that's uber-uber serious, but I can't say enough about Adam's resolve and how he's played the last couple of weeks."

How tough was it to see Landon Young go down with a season-ending foot injury on Sunday?
"Yeah, especially for a guy in his first start, I think you appreciate how tough it must have been to play through and finish the game. If you've ever had a chance to talk to Landon, I don't know how you don't like that guy. He's got a big southern drawl and he's just a good dude. I think he's going to be a really good player and you know, he's got all the tools. He's tough, smart. So yeah, you hate to see that for him."

Have you ever been on a team where you have seen this many players injured in one season?
"I cannot remember off the top of my head. It does seem like a lot, but I think the thing about being here, the moment you start thinking about it a lot, you lose your focus on playing the next week. I think you have an appreciation for being in the building, and I am a good example of this, if you are in the building, you are here for a reason and you have to be ready to play. I think guys know that and understand that. I have a lot of confidence in whoever we are playing with. We have a chance to win every week."