New Orleans Saints vs New York Jets
Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017 Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles
On only scoring three points off of three takeaways today:
"When you get three turnovers, you normally win the ballgame. The offense fought and the defense fought. We did not make enough plays. We did not capitalize on the turnovers."
On the play of quarterback Bryce Petty today:
"Some plays he would like to have back, obviously. He was a little high on some balls and a little low on some others. (He was) poised wisely even into the game. He tried to execute the game plan. I thought that it was good experience for him."
On what changed for the team defensively after the first three Saints' offensive series:
"Attention to detail, obviously. We let the screen out with (Mark) Ingram on the first play. We got that under control. I thought that we played pretty well until the last play (Ingram's fourth quarter touchdown)."
On not taking advantage of opportunities:
"He (Bryce Petty) just didn't make any plays. Plays that we needed to make to win the game, he didn't make. He will get better at that."
On if Leonard Williams has a concussion:
"Yes."
On only throwing deep one time:
"We had a couple others dialed up, but coverage-wise they took it away, so we had to go elsewhere."
On if younger players will get more time since the team has been eliminated from playoff contention:
"Our younger guys are playing, not well when we don't play together. We plan to get them more experience as we play."
On the Saints offense:
"We know that they're talented, the quarterback, the runners. (Michael) Thomas is a gifted receiver. They've got a good O-line. They made some plays in the first half. We made some in the second half. They broke one out late when Ingram got the touchdown run. They are a talented group. It's hard to pint them down for four quarters."
On if the defense played well enough to win:
"No, we can do some things better, obviously. We got three turnovers, but that doesn't dictate the game. We could've played things better in the first half. We shouldn't have let the touchdown (happen) at the end."
On the play of the wide receivers today and some of their dropped passes:
"They played hard. (The drops) are part of the game. Obviously, we're going to have some good games. We are going to have some not good games. The entire team fought. They (the Saints) made more plays than us."
On his message to the team after the loss:
"They are going to keep fighting. Obviously, this is going to turn. I believe that we have a good core group. We just need to eliminate some of the mistakes and some of the situational football things, and we will be okay."
On why he is confident in Bryce Petty playing quarterback going forward for this team:
"It was his first game, number one. He played with confidence. He's going to see some things (during game action). And, it's faster-paced down here. It is a tough environment. I thought that he handled himself well. We don't want the turnover, that is number one. He will be more accurate as we go."
On the 12 men on the field penalty on the first drive:
"It shouldn't happen. We had 12 men (on the field), so it wasn't good from the sideline from the coaches or the players." On why he is confident that the team can turn around the losses: "We've got fight. I don't worry about how many that we lost in a row. I know how we lost and I know why we lost. We are fighting. As long as we've got fight and we correct the small things, we will be fine."
Quarterback Bryce Petty
On performance today:
"Obviously good things, bad things. Things that (I) need to work on and improve, I think, mechanically. As far as knowing and understanding the gameplan and knowing what you see out there, I felt really confident. So, that's a good set to pull from. The more time I get out there, the more times I see it, the better I am going to get."
On what he wasn't happy with today:
"Just some mechanical things. I think just footwork in general which kind of comes with the game atmosphere. You're going to miss some throws, I understand that. The hitches on the outside, you know you can't miss those. Especially, when they are running their butt off. Robby (Anderson) has done a great job. All those guys are. When you got the football in your hand, the last thing you want is to have a missed throw after they've run a good route. So, just missing some footwork there. We'll go back in there, and that's an easy fix."
On all of the batted down passes:
"I don't know. I feel like I am a little bit taller than their number 9. So, it's just one of those things. A quick game, that's kind of part of it. Defenses, especially D-lines, they're good at reading that kind of stuff. They watch you. Just little things, from my standpoint, as far as whether you move your head a little bit to the right or left or arm angle, that kind of stuff. Again, it comes with being in there and seeing it."
On if he had nerves going into the game today:
"To be honest man, I really didn't. I felt really, really good coming out. Then we had that 14-play drive there, and we were rocking and rolling. So, we just kind of have to keep building on that. And that's on myself as well, as the game goes on to continue that momentum and that focus. The defense gave us three turnovers. We couldn't ask for a better outcome there. We just have to capitalize. From start to finish, I felt really good, really crisp about things from a mental standpoint. Not letting the nerves get the best of me."
On what Josh McCown said to him after the game:
"Just make sure I was healthy. And then same stuff, man. It's all correctable. That's the thing. Especially this position, naturally you are a perfectionist with stuff or with things. So, I want to complete every ball. I want to make all the right reads, and obviously at the end of the day, win. When those things don't happen, it's easy to get down on yourself and kind of start plucking things. These are things you can grow from and form a positive manner, I guess if that makes sense, on the day. He was just keeping me positive. 'Hey man that's why there's next week. You know we're not going to miss those again.'"
On positives to pull from today:
"Like I said, there's a lot to pull from it that's positive. Getting back out there. One, there is game flow that Josh sees from week 1 to week 12 that myself or Hack (Christian Hackenberg) (don't see). There is only one of us out there. So, getting into that huddle, getting calls, reading defenses, and then being able to execute. So, there's a lot of positive things from this game."
On his explanation of the lack of the deep ball today in the offense:
"The defenses they were playing, they were playing off on Robbie (Anderson) a lot, really off on everybody. They were willing us to run the ball, so that is what we did and had success with it. Like I said before, just kind of have to continue to be in situations where we can dictate the defense and not the other way around. One is getting points in the red zone and not just field goals, but touchdowns. Especially against that group right there. Those things will come. As far as your question (why there wasn't many long passes) they were playing pretty deep back there, so I thought we moved the ball well."
Running Back Elijah McGuire
On touchdown:
"It was nice. I'm trying to do everything I can to help my team, but it wasn't enough."
On if he was a Saints fan growing up:
"I wasn't."
On what has stood out about his rookie year for him so far:
"Just learning. When I first started the season, everything was fast-paced. I did not know what was going on, but as I got in my playbook, got in the film room, and started learning, the game slowed down. So, that is where I am at now, it is slowing down."
On what was said as game was close late in the game:
"We (the offense) were just keeping each other up on the sidelines. The defense gave us three turnovers and we didn't do a good job of capitalizing off it. So, we got to get better and help the D because the D helped us out a lot."
On being captain for coin toss today:
"Just a Louisiana native thing. All the guys that (were) captains were either from Louisiana or played in Louisiana, so that was the theory behind that."
Left Tackle Kelvin Beachum
On how Bryce Petty played today:
"We had a chance to win. No matter any quarterback that you have behind you, as long as you have a chance to win you know that the quarterback's doing his job."
On how Petty handled himself today:
"He was comfortable in the huddle, he's always been that way. He was confident when he came in to the huddle. When adversity hit, he didn't blink an eye. As a quarterback you want to have that quarterback give you a chance to win the game. We had ample chances to win, we got into the red zone a number of times. We didn't capitalize with seven like we wanted to."
Cornerback Morris Claiborne
On if he thinks that this team is getting closer to or farther from winning games:
"I feel like we are getting closer. As long as we keep preparing and fighting the way we have been fighting, it is going to eventually come together for us."
On what's holding the team back at the end of games:
"I don't know. If I had the answer to it, we would be doing it right now. We just have to keep battling. Just have to keep fighting, keep going."
On the strong play of the defense today:
"We did not do enough. We were able to get off the field, but they converted on some big plays. The first couple of drives we gave up like three touchdowns in a row. To beat those type of teams, you can't give those guys those type of points."
On hanging in after strong start by Saints:
"In this league it's not enough just to hang in there and at the end you still come up short. That's the tough thing about it. Just hanging in there in this league is not enough. We didn't do enough to get it done today."
Linebacker Darron Lee
On the energy that the defense brought today and creating three turnovers:
"We made it a challenge to each other to pick up the turnover aspect of the game. We were going into the half, I don't think we had one yet…We did have one, but we needed to get more just to help put the offense in better positions and I'm proud of the way we did. My personal opinion, we got to get more. But hey, we're going back to work tomorrow."
On the Saints' early success throwing to running backs:
"A couple things. It's really communication on our part. Everybody (has) got to be on the same page. A loud environment in there, so more communication on us and that falls on us. So, just those things. Got to fix those things up, that's all."
