QUARTERBACK DREW BREES
On a whether he remembers being a part of flawless performance on both sides of the ball:
"I'd say those are rare, especially against as good a football team as the one we just played. As many weapons as they have on the offensive side of the ball, our defense just played phenomenal, really contained and bottomed up. The pass rush did a phenomenal job. I mean, really, it all starts there, I think on both sides of the ball. Our offensive line, I said the same thing, just the way they controlled the line of scrimmage the entire game. We played such a great complementary game, I think offensively. (We) Ran the ball very well against the number one run defense in the league. We were able to find a lot of completions, a lot of first downs, kept moving the chains, scored touchdowns when we got in the red zone. So all the way around, it was a really solid performance by the entire team."
On his progressions for the first touchdown pass to Tre'Quan Smith:
"Absolutely. So you see the replay and we've got two guys going vertically, Taysom Hill and Tre'Quan Smith. So my eyes went to Taysom first and looked like safety grabbed him. I couldn't really see Tre'Quan. I couldn't really see the way the corner reacted. Just kind of had the rush in my face. So slid, moved, saw Tre'Quan in the back to the endzone, let it fly. And it was funny because I got hit, I was going down and Terron Armstead caught me, propped me up and said, 'I just wanted to see this touchdown. So it's funny how offensive linemen catch that stuff. They're blocking and blocking then the minute that their guy sees that the balls been thrown, their guy usually turns around, and then immediately the offensive lineman's eyes go down the field. So it was funny that he caught me, propped me up and said, I just wanted you to see this touchdown (laughter)."
On the impact Alvin Kamara had on that same play and the advantage of teams overplaying him:
"Well, yeah, absolutely. I mean, listen, Alvin's a weapon, they know that we throw screens to him. So obviously, that becomes kind of a big piece of cheese that you put out there sometimes."
On if he suffered a new injury in the Bears game that he's been dealing with:
"It's just something I've been dealing with."
On if there was any doubt about this game or if it was just maintenance:
"There was no doubt, just maintenance."
On his streak of good performances when appearing on the injury report:
"I would just say that sometimes the recovery is as or more important as the preparation itself."
On having Michael Thomas back and having everyone on offense healthy:
"Listen, it was great. It's great to have everybody back there. I know Mike was excited. I know Emmanuel Sanders was excited. I think, honestly, my biggest thing coming into the game was just to keep those guys just calm and slowly kind of bring them back into it and not make it to where it's one of these where all of a sudden expectations are at a certain level and they're each playing 60 stamps, and it's just too much. So I think, man, the balance of how much those guys played, their production. Just kind of getting re-indoctrinated back into it, I thought that was perfect."
On the importance of spreading the ball around at this point in the season:
"Well, it's great, but you've got to execute. I mean, when we're calling plays, when we're thinking about personnel groups. When we're thinking about matchups, it's about putting our guys in the best position to succeed. It's about creating tempo, creating rhythm, playing complimentary football, spreading the ball around, and I think today was just a great example of all that."
On if the rhythm of the play calling was as good as it's been in a while:
"Yeah, I think we played with great tempo. I thought that Taysom Hill was a huge contributor today. That's probably the most carries he's had in a game and then thrown a couple passes, a couple key passes. Big third down conversions. You couple what we already do in the run game and pass game and now you throw in a weapon like Taysom Hill who can run or pass and just pick your poison."
SAFETY MARCUS WILLIAMS
On the secondary's performance:
"We always had it in us. We just have to keep pushing, keep riding, just continue to stay focused to the little things and take care of the big things. Stay disciplined and do our assignments, and when we do that, you see the outcome of the game."
On who's interception had better form (Williams or Onyemata):
"Definitely (David) Onyemata. You know, he goes and gets it. First interception, that was real nice, you know, picking off Tom Brady. He definitely had better form, for sure. Definitely, him."
On the team's success against Tom Brady this season:
"I guess the good game planning. And you've just got guys who come out here every day and compete. Guys who are ready to, lock in and just show everybody what we're made of. We do this stuff in practice. And you know, we just had to make sure it translates into the game."
On the secondary maintaining confidence:
"We have a lot of accountability out here on this team. Everybody takes accountability for their actions. We see what we messed up, we see where those big plays were made. And we fixed it. We go and practice, we watch it on film. And we make sure we go and fix it, so that it doesn't happen again. So, we just continue to work. It is never going to be perfect, but as long as we're working to get to perfection, that's all that matters."
On the importance of the goal line 4th down stop:
"It was big. Especially, we always preach, defend every blade of grass. So our guys, they stepped up. They stepped up big on that goal line, Marshon (Lattimore), Double D (Demario Davis), everybody in there. They were making plays, and we were hungry for it. And that's just what the outcome was, four downs, four plays. And we're in there, no matter where it's at, we stop 'em on every blade of grass."
