SAINTS COACH SEAN PAYTON
On the game:
"We're not doing enough of the little things well enough to win on a consistent basis. We are going to watch the tape. There are some encouraging things; and, yet, as a team, there are too many details that we have to improve on. That starts with us as coaches, myself, starting with me. The turnover battle we thought would be important. It ended up just being one versus zero; and, yet, that is pretty significant. There were parts of the way that the game was unfolding that was encouraging early on. And, I thought that, as it went on, we didn't play as well in the second half."
On how to get others involved besides Alvin Kamara:
"We ended up getting a lot of deep zone coverage. There were a ton of plays in, for example, Emmanuel (Sanders). Sometimes a lot of it is predicated on the looks that you are getting. You would like to go in and say, 'Hey, he is going to have X amount of touches,' whether it's Latavius (Murray), whether it's the tight end, whether it's another receiver. That is kind of how it unfolded. The third down numbers, I thought, got a little bit better in the second half, and, yet, they still weren't good enough. There were some critical opportunities that we let slip by offensively. And, in the end, we couldn't keep up with the numbers that they were putting up."
On if not having Michael Thomas change what the team wants to do and change how teams play the Saints:
"We got a lot of coverage tonight. That usually comes with Mike. They (Green Bay) were without Davante (Adams). Both teams were without two really good defensive tackles and two really good receivers (were not playing). That's just the NFL."
On why the team couldn't keep pace with the Packers:
"I just finished talking about it. We didn't convert some third downs. We couldn't get off of the field on some of the third downs. That's my take before looking at the tape. We didn't do enough of the little things well."
On if Cesar Ruiz was going to be rotated in before Andrus Peat went out with injury:
"Yeah."
On if he looks at the pass interference penalties as fixable:
"It has to be corrected. We jump offsides and allow him (Aaron Rodgers) another play on third down (and give up a touchdown). All week long we talk about discipline and cadence. It's a great opportunity for us to get off of the field and force them to kick a field goal. When you get a free play like that, you throw it up and the play gets extended and it becomes difficult on the cornerback. Right now, we are leading the league in those calls."
On the 72-yard reception by Allen Lazard:
"It's the safety's play. We are in quarter's coverage, it's third down, I think that it's third-and-10. It wasn't very good."
On how close to gametime was the decision made that Marcus Davenport and David Onyemata couldn't go:
"As we approached today, I think that we felt Marcus is going to be ready next week and hopeful that David will be as well. We'll keep you guys posted. We did what was best for this game"
On if the team is struggling to find an identity early on this season:
"Yeah, to some degree. You are frustrated as a coach because that starts with us. We've got to do a better job. We've got to get ready to play a better game against Detroit. That's our industry. We are 1-2 right now. It's been awhile since we felt that; and, yet, three years ago we were 0-2. It's a little bit of a gut check. Yet, we are not playing well enough. Let's not fool ourselves, we are making too many mistakes and we are not playing disciplined enough on both sides of the ball. That is really just the truth."
On Taysom Hill's uncharacteristic fumble:
"It was a tough break, tough play. It's a give read and we have a chance for a big play. I'll leave it at that. He works his butt off. It's more of a technique thing. We have to look at how much. We had just stopped them on the fourth down play, so we got the ball in real good field position and had a chance to make something of it. Unfortunately, we didn't."
