HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON
On if Drew Brees started slowly due to missing several games:
"Offensively, we didn't start real well, so it's hard to just, obviously, you can point to one position, but I felt like our third-down numbers weren't good enough today. I didn't feel like we ran the ball efficiently when we tried. Give Kansas City credit. We battled back in the game, but you've got to be better on third down. When you're not, you don't have those attempts; you don't have the snaps, the time of possession, all of the things you need against a good offense like that. We talk about time of possession in a game like this; and, that includes converting third downs. Overall, offensively, we weren't very sharp."
On Cam Jordan's ejection:
"We talk all of the time about playing with emotion, but not emotional. They are pushing back and forth. I see what the official saw. They viewed it as a blow or a punch to the head. We've just got to be smarter."
On if the team took Taysom Hill out of some situations:
"We took Taysom off punt return; we left him on punt. There was quite a bit of personnel where he was involved offensively, so we weren't just going to not play him. I wasn't going to do that. Certainly, we had to be mindful of how many snaps (he received today)."
On if he received an explanation on the reception by the Kansas City offensive lineman:
"A couple of things (on that play). Basically, I think they ruled it a forward pass. (It's) a penalty, obviously, that can happen on fourth down. Had it been ruled a fumble, there is a chance that the ball would've been back where it occurred. Obviously, they didn't charge the timeout. There was a pretty long delay just sorting it out. The ruling on the field was a forward pass. And, that can't be on fourth down to an ineligible player like that, so it stayed fourth down. We wanted to challenge whether it was a fumble or not, we could've gotten the yards right there on fourth down, and they wouldn't have been able to punt. We only had one little, quick snapshot of it."
On the play of the defense:
"I was proud of how we competed. I thought that we flew around. I thought guys (played well) against a really good offense. I thought we played our hearts out. It wasn't good enough, obviously, but I'm proud of the effort. There will be things we look at. We have a short week here before we play on Friday. Again, tip your hats again to a really good Kansas City team."
On if the two minute drive loosened things up for Brees:
"He's outstanding in those situations. He made a number of plays. The fourth down and one play was a big play to Jared Cook. He's someone that can see the field real well and feel the defense changing. It gave us a chance to win."
On the reasons for the lack of cohesiveness on offense:
"I think that it starts with the third down numbers. We will look at the film. We were minus a few guys, obviously, but that's not an excuse. We've just have to be better."
On if the team had to shift its plans with Michael Thomas being ruled out:
"That was the plan at the start of the week, getting Mike healthy when the postseason rolls around. And, I think that we are doing the right thing. The challenge is that he's got one of those nagging injuries that you want to see an upward curve with the recovery. As long as he is playing, it's hard for that to happen. I think that we are doing the smart thing with Mike."
On preparing for Friday's game on a short week:
"We will be smart with the walkthroughs, like we normally have been. These guys will receive some recovery work in tomorrow; they will rest. We will come back and really monitor the snaps as we get ready for a Friday game. We've played on short weeks before, so we will pay attention tour schedule."
On if he has ever seen a team run 92 plays during a game:
"That's a lot. Certainly, when you finish one of whatever (1-of-11) on third down offensively, your time of possession (is hurt). I cannot tell you what that does relative to your snaps. Everyone will scream you have to run the ball 30 times. It's impossible if you are not converting on third down."
