New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
Post Practice Media Availability
Friday, August 7, 2015

Opening Statement: "We released Glenn Foster and signed cornerback Travis Manning. So it keeps us at 90.  I told the players afterwards, like pretty much like every first scrimmage there are going to be some things I am sure when we put on the tape that we are positive about. Obviously, (there are) a lot of things that we have to clean up. It seemed to move fairly quickly and yet just from being out there, there are a number of things that we have to get better (at).  These guys will be off tomorrow and we will be back at it again with our schedule on Sunday."

Was this a typical scrimmage that you see every year?

"I don't know, maybe it's just the ninth or 10th one. We have to be able to handle the substitutions better.  That's one thing for sure. Those are detail things and those are things that'll get corrected.  Trust me."

Are you almost surprised at how much trouble they had with it?

"Don't get me started. It will get corrected."

Did you have the same number of plays and sequences as last year? It seemed a little shorter.

"I thought so too. Yeah, rolls of 12. I am going to say the first one was 11 and the second roll was 11 and the third roll was 11.  We are kind of smart with how those rolls end.  They end with a drive. They might go 14 or 15 or they might be right at…but we got the same number of rolls.  I thought it went a little quicker.  I think we were quicker getting to the start of it but overall we were able to get a lot of snaps in."

How does Marques Colston look?

"Good, the progress has been steady.  We've been smart and his weight is right where we want it.  I think his conditioning level is good.  He received some work today that was the plan.  We will continue to be smart as we work through this."

Do you worry about him missing some reps?

"Well he is extremely smart so for him it is making sure he has his legs and his weight where he wants it to be and all of those things, but he knows all the positions.  I think more than anything, the timing and the football conditioning element of it (are what's important)."

What were your opinions of Garrett Grayson today?

"We will put the tape on. I thought the younger quarterbacks had some real good moments and then Garrett had the interception there down in the fringe.  But I think it would be better to watch the tape and kind of go through the decisions and some of the things that took place when he was in there."

How much does Vinnie Sunseri great credit for his interception?

"It was a turnover so a turnover in the fringe or close to the red zone, it is a significant play if it happens in a game."

Can you talk about Mark Ingram's day?

"He is doing well.  He is healthy and obviously knows what we are doing.  I don't know the total snaps he had but he is progressing well."

Was it the plan for Andrus Peat to get a lot of snaps today?

"Well we didn't rep Terron (Armstead) and he will be back on Sunday so any time there is a tackle or one lineman out we would add a rep or two so those younger guys can learn."

Did he (Andrus Peat) look pretty spent afterwards?

"I think that part of the process for him, he got a lot of reps but a handful of guys got a lot of reps."

Tim Lelito wasn't out there today.

"Correct."

Looking at the overall pass rush, maybe a couple of times it would have been a sack, but not as much pressure in this scrimmage compared to previous practices.

"Two plays, that I am controlling the whistle, there are two plays that are probably going to result in a hurry or a pressure that for the sake of the drill I let go.  Another words, I have the whistle, but to your point I think it is going to be very important to find out who our four rushers are when it comes to those second and third down situations."

Are you looking to add another tight end?

"It is a good chance we may. I'll announce it when we do."

C.J. Spiller wasn't out there today. Was that injury related?

"Next question. We are not going to talk about injuries at this press conference."

Is there a fine line when talking about the substitution problem?

"Listen, it is not a fine line, it is a wide bright line. It is obvious. You cannot play a game and it happened the other day in practice, we go three snaps in a row with 10 guys on the field.  So we go out there we have 12, we have 12, we have 10.  Listen, that has to be cleaned up. That's all of it.  That's not just players."

Was there a lack of focus today?

"No, no, we are talking about two different things. That is something that has reoccurred and we have to get cleaned up.  I thought overall the focus was good.  I thought guys tired a little bit because there were a handful of guys that didn't go which increased the amount others had to go."

Can you talk about how R.J. Harris caught a pass on the ground after being held?

"It was a significant play and then we had a couple of good knockout plays.  Later we saw a knockout play, a catch and then a strip.  There's going to be, and I just said this to the players, you're going to see some effort and you're going to see some guys step up and make some plays.  We typically always do.  And then we are going to see some lack of effort plays that we have to get cleaned up."

Do you use these scrimmages to take a closer look at some guys next week?

"We use it in the evaluation process. We are constantly trying to gather information and so that is part of the process here being at camp."

Do you adjust reps based on?

"Yeah, we can, absolutely."

It looked like the defense went on some additional conditioning.  Was that a consequence for something?

"I am not sure. It might have been because we couldn't get enough guys on the field or too many."