Head Coach Sean Payton
Opening Remarks:
“First, I would like to update you on the injury front. (Mike)McKenzie suffered a fractured front right knee cap. It is his patella. Jon Stinchcomb injured his calf. He left the game too. Mike Karney had an MCL in his right knee. Jeremy Shockey left the game with his ankle. First off, we have to give credit to Atlanta today. They played extremely well. We got beat. We got beat in every area. Offensively, we struggled and settled for field goals early on. Defensively, we couldn’t get off the field. We gave up some big plays. We talked about that being an objective for this next week. Team-wise, we really didn’t gain an edge. We weren’t able to contain (Jerious) Norwood. The kicker and the punter did a solid job. We just got beat in all phases today. It starts with me. You have to give credit to Atlanta. They had an outstanding game plan and they came in and executed it. Obviously, this puts us in a hole. We are going to have to respond and get ready for another win.”
Q: Did you think that Atlanta’s defense played similar to Carolina?
A: “No. I think we got some cover two. They did a good job of going after the ball and prohibiting big plays. I want to credit them. They forced us to throw the ball. Again, you hope you can sustain a running game with that. I thought that early on we were able to do that. We had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. We have got to work on that aspect of our game. They did a great job. They ran well, tackled well and they eliminated the big plays.”
Q: Can you talk about your decision to go for it on fourth down?
A: Sure. I felt like we had a good play and I felt comfortable with it. I know that a field goal would have brought us within eight. This is again something that I take responsibility for.”
Q: What do you think about the division standings?
A: “Right now, we are really just focused on getting a win. I want to get our record to .500. In a division that is playing very well, it reduces your margin for error.”
Q: Did you get a sense of frustration from your guys when you went down three scores?
A: “I thought our guys were obviously disappointed, but they have a handle on what they are doing. We knew the position we were in when we went down three scores. Certainly, guys are frustrated. Collectively, guys know what we need to do. We were trying to do things to bring us back. Drew (Brees) knows what those things are. We had a chance to get back in the game. I thought that our guys stayed focused.”
Wide Receiver Devery Henderson
Q: Today’s outcome was not what you expected coming off a bye week.
A: “They just played a better game than us. We just need to get our act together. It’s just how it happens sometimes. This is the NFL and if you’re not ready, you’re in trouble.”
Q: The Saints have dominated this series over the past few games. It was turned around today.
A: “The Falcons are a good team and they’ve proved that all year. We expected them to perform well. The ball just didn’t fall our way today.”
Defensive Tackle Sedrick Ellis
Q: D you have any reflection on today’s contest?
A: “They just played a better game than us today. Matt (Ryan) makes their offensive line even better than they are. As a unit, they did a good job today. We didn’t get any sacks today, so we didn’t do our job and they did their job. Except for one long run, we did pretty well against the run.”
Q: How did you feel you contained RB Michael Turner?
A: “Well, you can’t contain just one person. They have a lot of threats on their offense. Their offense came out today and played better than us. The same thing happened on the other side of the ball.”
Linebacker Scott Fujita
Q: How bad did this loss hurt?
A: “It’s painful. We’ve been hovering around that .500 mark for quite awhile, trying to make a push coming into these divisional road games. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves, and this was our shot to get over the hump. To go on the road twice now and just get hammered is real disappointing.”
Tight End Jeremy Shockey
Q: Was there miscommunication between you and Drew (Brees) out there? You seemed to be in a heated discussion at one point?
A: “No. The more time Drew and I spend with each other the better it’s going to get.”
Q: You’ve owned the Falcons in head-to-head action over the years.
A: “This is a ‘show me now’ league and not what you’ve done in the past. I feel like that as well. It’s just frustrating that I have a little tweak injury. Obviously it’s not as bad as the first injury I had. But like I said, this league is all about what you do now, not what you did then. I wanted to come out and play a really good game.”
MORE ON THE FALCONS-SAINTS GAME:
- GAME CENTER: Stats and more in the NFL.com Game Center
- GAME BLOG: Live thoughts and notes in the FalconsLIFE game blog
- GAME NOTES: Official game notes from the Georgia Dome press box
- VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Ryan | Houston | Foxworth | Jackson | White | Norwood
- NFL NETWORK: Falcons-Saints game highlights
- J. MIKE'S MISSIVES: Thoughts and comment from the AF.com Managing Editor | Birdseed
- TRANSCRIPTS: Head Coach Mike Smith | Falcons | Saints
- INACTIVES: Inactives and starters from the Falcons-Saints game
- REVIEW AND RESPOND: Ask your questions about the game via Voices Heard
- PHOTOS: Images from the Falcons win over the New Orleans Saints
- DISCUSS: Talk about the game with other fans on the Message Boards
