NEW ORLEANS SAINTS HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON
Opening Statement:
"This will be real quick. I thought it was a hard fought game by both teams. I thought both teams fought hard obviously defensively holding the offense to a field goal. The thing I'm most proud of is we had a ton of injuries and we didn't use it as an excuse. We were nicked up at the offensive tackle position. We were nicked up at the corner. Some guys played a lot of football. Some guys played positions they hadn't played in their entire career. We had some tough calls go against us, that's how it is when you are on the road and we found a way to hang in their defensively, and we made the play at the right time. It was obviously a good win and good way to finish the season."
On seeing anything like the final sequence of events for both teams:
"Not really. I clearly thought his knee was down, but what am I supposed to think. The one play that was significant and you probably couldn't tell was Brandon Coleman, where we drop the pass with only 10 on the field and we saw it and it stayed 10 on the field. We had a four-vertical route and Drew [Brees] was able to see which receiver was uncovered and that was a big play because he is able to catch it and not score, but is able to cross midfield. Atlanta's defense came up with some big stops. Obviously we have a ton of respect for that roster and their staff and there are some good players on the field. We ended up getting the points we needed to get the win. It was a little different in regards to the sequencing you referenced, nothing really surprises you anymore."
On the defense holding in the second half:
"You are talking about an explosive offense when you start looking at Brian Dixon is in the game, we are down at corner, we are down at linebacker, Delvin Breaux is out, the tackles are out and look guys fought hard. That's kind of our game and you have to have the next guy ready and our organization was able to do it. It's another game, we had gone three games without a turnover and then had the fumble on [Travaris] Cadet.
On winning three of the last four:
"I think it's significant. We talk about finishing. We preach it all the time and to come on the road and play a good team like that it was important."
On season ending schedule for team:
"We will have a team meeting tomorrow. You guys will have a chance to visit with them, and then we will go through the off-season itinerary. The players will be in tomorrow."
On evaluating your future:
"We have the players in tomorrow. We have to evaluate the roster we have a lot of things we have to do. If I feel the need to get you an itinerary I will. That's the answer. You with me? I can't be more clear."
