Transcript - New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton postgame quotes | Saints-Chargers 2020 Week 5

Get postgame reactions from New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton

Oct 12, 2020 at 11:50 PM

SAINTS COACH SEAN PAYTON

(On if the team lacked energy)
"I didn't feel like it was energy. We were awful on third down. We really couldn't get into a rhythm. It's something that we've got to be better at, really in all three phases. Overall, penalties were not too bad, but in the kicking game we had three of them that were critical. I'm proud of the way that we fought back in the second half; we played better football, not exclusively, but at times made enough plays to win the game."

(On his thoughts on Chargers QB Justin Herbert)
"He's a good, young talent. You can see that you do not really feel like you are playing against a young player. He is someone that gets the ball out of his hands. I think that he has a promising future. He is impressive to watch."

(On how large the roughing the punter penalty was)
"That's a possession penalty, and, yet we'll take a peek at it on film. There's always that tough decision, I think, that if you rush the punter for the official to make the call (either) roughing or running into, but all of them (penalties) were significant. Fortunately, we overcame them."

(On his impression of Emmanuel Sanders)
"I thought that he played well. We started getting the ball into his hands a little bit later into the half and then into the second half. I thought that, overall, he played well. I thought (Marquez) Callaway played well, playing a lot of snaps tonight. We probably didn't get Tre'Quan (Smith) as many touches tonight as we would've liked, but, overall, we found enough offense in the second half, really in the fourth quarter, to get the win."

(On if the team can carry over any positives into next week)
"Every week, you look at it. It's a win. There are a number of things that we have got to clean up. We'll get back to work here next week. We will be in tomorrow. We will be in the next day. We will be able to address some of the things that we feel like we haven't done well and get ready then to start playing after the bye."

(On if the team made adjustments in the second half or if it was better execution)
"They (Los Angeles) did a good job of giving us a few different looks on the early downs. We got a little bit more pressure from their defense. I think that we made a few plays down the field (in the second half). The third down throw to (Jared) Cook was a huge play; I don't know what the distance was. I know that it was third and long. It was a great find by Drew (Brees). Defensively, we got the stop there, especially on the fourth down play there at the end. I thought we hit their quarterback enough. He is pretty athletic. He got out of the pocket a few times and made some plays. There were a lot of different elements to the game, but it was good to get the win."

(On if Michael Thomas will only be suspended for one game)
"I will keep you posted. That is something that we will discuss and we will let you know when the time is right."

(On if the absence of Michael Thomas altered the game plan)
"We will talk about the players that played tonight."

(On if Taysom Hill's versatility make his rushing touchdown possible)
"It was a good play. It's, kind of, a run/pass option. They covered it fairly well, and, yet, when they do that, you have that one extra player relative to the quarterback that can carry it. That was a good way to finish that drive."

(On the long reception by Alvin Kamara late in the game)
"It was a pretty big play. It was, kind of, a little choice-route-pump. It was a good play over his head. He, kind of, hit the target a little bit on the defender. The kick return in overtime was (also) a big play. It brought us out across the 30 (yard line) and gave us a little momentum."

(On his thoughts on the pass coverage busts)
"It's play that we've got to clean up and it's, kind of, a post spear. We've got to get on top of one. It's something that we will be able to clean up. It is something that we have to. Like I said, there are a few things offensively and defensively that, I don't want to say plagued us, but we haven't been as good at in the first quarter of the season. We've got to improve in those areas."

(On if a win can mask some of the issues that show up on film)
"No, we try not to let it either way, a win or a loss. The film is important for us to make the corrections and teach from. That is really the essence of what we do at the beginning of the week is make the corrections. We talk about that race to improve and to get better. We are in that race."

Photos: Game Action #2 | Saints-Chargers Week 5 2020