Head Coach Sean Payton
Postgame at Giants, September 16, 2016
Q: Opening Statement
A: It's a disappointing game to lose. I thought, and I just told our team this, that we did a number of things really well with the plan coming in. I thought defensively to come away with the three takeaways, I thought there were a lot of good things. In a hard fought game like that, when it's that close, when you have a blocked field goal that results in a touchdown, it's a ten-point swing. That's tough to overcome something like that when you're playing a game that ended up being maybe a little bit different than many expected and yet it was the kind of game that we felt like we needed to play. Credit New York for making enough plays in the end and getting a win.
Q: Did the tempo of this game surprise you at all? [defense stepping up]
A: I think both teams defensively played much better than a year ago. Our third down numbers weren't real good offensively. In the time of possession, there was a little bit of concern for me early because of the heat. I felt like our defense in that first half was getting quite a few snaps, but, yeah, it was an entirely different game.
Q: What did you see in that blocked field goal?
A: Big gap pressure. We're too good. That shouldn't be something we're discussing in week two of the season, so we will get that cleaned up and that's my fault.
Q: With the injury with PJ Williams, how difficult is that to just start playing again?
A: Anytime there is an extended injury timeout, it's always, I think, difficult for both teams. The … teams waiting and obviously the medical people handling it with the proper protocol and starting the game back up, I think it's always difficult.
Q: What were some of the things defensively that improved from last week?
A: Well, we did a good job of keeping the ball in front of us. The last third down, there was one that gets over our head a little bit and puts them in that goal to go situation. But I thought we were patient defensively. The three takeaways. There were a lot of things that went according to the plan, so I was proud of them for that. The guys played with great effort. It's always tough to come on the road and win and especially when you have a seven-point swing like we had happen and that ends up being a turnover and a half. It's a ten-point swing. You got to understand we're going to be in close games those errors get magnified a little bit.
Q: When they went from goal to go at the end of the game, was the thought to let them score?
A: That happened to us, if you recall. In 06' against Philadelphia, we didn't want to score. So we take a knee for that reason. That was going through our mind when they were getting in their victory formation. That is how we would've handled it and in fact, it happened.
Q: You weren't able to capitalize as much with those three turnovers.
A: No, we weren't. They did a good job with some of their pressure packages. And I think ultimately the third down numbers weren't real good. I just felt like we had opportunities with a short field and we didn't do a good enough job offensively.
Q: What do you think were some of the reasons you didn't have a good enough third down?
A: We will take a peak at the tape. We missed protection on one snap. I think that whether it was the timing of the throw or the good play of the defense, I'm sure there will be a number of reasons.
Q: Defensively it seemed like you guys had a good game plan.
A: I thought it went well.
Q: How did you feel about the rookies in the secondary?
A: I thought it went well. It's a good receiving core, I thought defensively we did a lot of things well. It was encouraging.
Q: Two losses by a total of four points. What does that mean for this group?
A: It's a loss, so I think it's a resilient group. These guys are tough. They understand that they will look at this tape and we'll have a long week here with the next game being on Monday night. It's tough coming on the road and doing a lot of things you need to do in order to win and not getting it done.
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