<span style="">SAINTS HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON:   

Opening Statement…

"Real quick, two injuries. Lance Moore had a shin bruise in the second quarter; he didn't return. With Jonathan Goodwin, he's got a knee contusion, so that's good news for us.

"Obviously it was good to get the win. We did a lot of things well, yet we did a lot of things that made it close at the end and we have to get those corrected. We have some ball security issues that are obviously a concern, but third down was a good down for us on both sides of the ball. I thought we operated pretty well in the red zone. I thought we came up big on defense when we needed to after we turned the ball over."

"I'm excited to win this game and get to 7-0. It was an important game against a division team. It wasn't perfect; it wasn't clean. We have to get better this week

(On defense) "I thought responding the way they did to some of the short fields was significant. We don't recover the onside kick and we still come out and play good defense. There are a number of opportunities where they were put on a short field and they responded and that is one thing we talked a little bit about just five minutes ago."

(On offensive-defensive balance) "When you can rush the ball that helps with your time of possession. We won the third down battle tonight, but one thing we didn't win is the turnovers. That being said, we try to as best we can play a complementary game. There were portions of tonight where we were able to do that and there were other times when the ball came loose and it was sloppy, but that can be corrected.

(On undefeated talk) "The reason it's premature is we haven't hit the half way point of the season yet. Each week, we've got another challenge. We're just focused on trying to get better. Each week new play another game and each time it seems to have that much more significance."

(On overcoming four turnovers and a missed field goal) "I thought defensively we answered, we responded in the short field. We gave a sack-fumble for a touchdown, an interception, two more fumbles in the second half, and we missed a field goal. We did a lot of things that will get you beat and we were still able to get the win."

(On how the 2 RB's were used and if that is typically how he wants his offense run) "We try to get a good rotation going with Pierre (Thomas) and Mike (Bell) and then there are certain packages for Reggie (Bush) and it has been pretty effective. I thought we did a good job of rushing the football tonight and converting on third downs. Each week it kind of changes depending on how these backs are playing and it just depends on how the game is unfolding."

(On Gregg Williams and if he has exceeded his expectations) "I think certainly he (Gregg Williams) is a big reason why we are 7-0. I don't know that when you start off you envision exactly what it is going to be like. We set goals as a team to win the division and reach the playoffs. The way we've been able to turn the ball over and score defensively is a big reason that we are where we are right now. They defended some short fields tonight and did a real good job."

    <span style="">                 <span style="">NEW ORLEANS SAINTS PLAYERS   

9 QB Drew Brees

"Obviously, the defense is playing great. They're doing a great job of taking the ball away. Our scoring defense has been unbelievable. They've had the ability to create momentum for our side of the ball. They feed off of our success and vice-versa.

"This is a huge win. We knew obviously coming in, you win this (division game), it's worth two. It wasn't the prettiest win at times, but we did what we needed to do when we needed to do it.

(on catches) "Marques Colston, he's no stranger to those kinds of catches. You can get some of those defensive backs in an off-balance situation, or even when they know it's coming, he can go pluck it out of the air. Jeremy had a nice one. Devery had a nice one."

(on value of being 7-0 and having things to correct) "The fact is, yes we're 7-0, and we're happy to be 7-0, but there's some things last week and this week that will get you beat. First off, turnovers. Four last week and four this week. I thought we had that figured out for a while, then all of a sudden, the last two games have been horrendous."

32 CB Jabari Greer

(On his interception for a touchdown) "There was a drag in the slant on an out route. We were in a coverage where I was playing deep. The line did a great job of getting pressure and allowed Matt Ryan not a lot of time to throw the ball. Fortunately, they had ran that route a few times to my side. I broke it up the first time they threw that play, but I knew that wasn't going to be good enough against this offense. Fortunately, I was luck enough to get another opportunity. I was able to go out there and catch a ball. The defensive guys created a lane with their blocks. I got down the numbers and took it in."

42 S Darren Sharper

(On the impact of Tracy Porter's interception) "It was huge. That had to be the play of the game. They were driving to go up. We get that interception and didn't allow any points. That was big. We have done a good job of making big plays in the red zone. That has kind of been the staple of our defense. It's big preventing them from scoring."

88 TE Jeremy Shockey

(On the balance of the team) "Balance is playing lights out the whole game. We did it on the offensive side the first half and the defensive side the second half. It feels great anytime you get a win.

"We would do some different things if we could do it all over again. It was great to get a win. We have been sneaking by with these penalties and turnovers. It is going to catch up to us if we don't correct them."

25 RB Reggie Bush

"I think we played pretty well in all three phases, but at the end of the day we still have a lot of things that we need to work on to get better. It feels good to be 7-0 right now, but there were a lot of mistakes we made today that will get us beat."

            <span style="">FALCONS HEAD COACH MIKE SMITH  

(On Porter's interception in the red zone late in the fourth quarter) "That was definitely a big play. I don't want to say that it's one play here or one play there. The ball was tipped on the interception when we were going in to score in the red zone. It was definitely a crucial play in the ballgame."

(On the team) "We're 4-3 right now going into the last game of the second quarter of the season if you break the season down into quarters. That's where we're at right now. We have a short week in terms of preparation for the Redskins to prepare for. I thought it was a very hard fought game. I thought we showed a lot of resolve to stay in it. I thought we dug ourselves into too big of a hole in the first half to be down by two touchdowns. I thought our defense came out and played extremely well in the third quarter and gave us an opportunity to be in the game."

(On Matt Ryan) "I thought Matt's play through the game was good. We have to take care of the football. That was a very good defense. My hat is off to Greg (Williams) and his staff and Sean (Payton) and his staff to come out with the win."

(On Michael Turner) "We wanted to get Michael and our running game going. I thought that Michael ran extremely hard. It's an emphasis point that we've been working on. I thought that Michael was effective in running the football. We're blocking better with our offensive line, our receivers, and our tight ends."

ATLANTA FALCONS PLAYERS

QB #2 MATT RYAN

"It's a tough loss playing a good NFC South rival in the Saints. We expected it to be physical and it was. I thought our defense gave us plenty of opportunities to take advantage and score & we just didn't get it done.

"I thought we were in the game right until the end but we just fell short. I know everyone is saying we are too far back now in the division to catch them – but you know what, every week is a tough week. And when we get to week 17, we'll see where we are at the end of the season."

C #62 TODD McCLURE (Center)

"You have to hand it to them (Saints), they have a lot of talent on their squad. Every matchup in this league is tough. But all we can do now is regroup and get ready for Washington next week. The good news is that we will face the Saints again soon & we'll be ready for them."

S #28 THOMAS DeCOUD

(on Brees fumble for TD) "Actually I was untouched on the play. As I was getting up I saw the ball come loose & Kroy (Biermann) took it in for the score. At that time it was a big play in the ball game. Looking back, the Saints moved the ball well – not so much for what they were doing, but it was what we were doing."