Saints Coach Kellen Moore
(Opening Statement)
"Really good battle right to the end again. I thought our guys' playstyle - everything that we wanted, they brought. There's pain just losing again, another short one that really comes down to we have to do more what winning football teams do. We have to play better situational football. We've got to pounce on opportunities when they're presented, and we have to give ourselves a better chance. There's too much good in there to miss these opportunities. We have to play better, faster, learn from these things and go from there."
(On the first half struggles)
"Certainly. We have to, so call, 'clean your own house'. We have to playncleaner football in all three phases. There's only so many opportunities in these games, and we have to value each and every opportunity in all three phases. When they present themselves, you have to take advantage of them. There's only so many."
(On defending against quarterback Mac Jones)
"He just did an excellent job finding completions. He hit a lot of inbreakers, especially a couple in those downs. They hit some inbreakers in situations where you have a little bit of an advantage in some third-and-longs. That's the story. When you get them behind, and it's ten-plus, you have to take advantage of those opportunities from a defensive perspective."
(On enhancing the offensive performance)
"For us, we have to put ourselves in better situations. We can't be in these third-and-longs. When the opportunity presents itself, we have to play clean football. We need to have everyone on the same page."
(On the third down defense)
"It's a combination. We want the rush to show up sooner. We want the coverage perspective of it to play cleaner and give ourselves a better opportunity to be successful. Everyone is going to design plays. Plays are plays. We just have to execute at a much higher level on those situations. We are doing too much good on first and second down to put ourselves in those situations, and it's happened two weeks in a row these third-and-ten-plusers. We are giving up way too much in that situation."
(On running back Alvin Kamara's fumble)
"Obviously, the main component that they were discussing is if it was a catch or no catch. There's enough action in there. I haven't seen it. I just saw the TV perspective of it from the big screen. Obviously, he had kind of controlled it with his hand. Once that happened, it became a catch, and there was a fumble."
(On if he thought Kamara caught the ball)
"It's close. It's close. I think it has to be conclusive and have a defined look there. They felt compelled to say that."
(On the playing surface)
"A few guys commented on it pregame, but I feel like I didn't see anything that drastically impacted the game necessarily."
(On his overall thoughts through two games)
"Through two games, we have a great group of guys who work their tail off. Their playstyle, you can't assume those sorts of things. We have everything we need, but we have to play cleaner football. And, we have to do what winning teams do in each and everymoment from the beginning of the game all the way to the very end. Every play matters. We can't take for granted."
(On quarterback Spencer Rattler's performance)
"He did some good things. Obviously, when you look back, you're going to see some missed opportunities, just like for all of us. He will have some missed opportunities in some critical situations, and there are only so many snaps in this game. You have to take advantage of them."
(On the pass rush)
"There were some situations where he (Mac Jones) was able to sit in the pocket for too long. You let any of the quarterbacks in this league be comfortable in the pocket, and they're going to be able to deliver some things downfield. You have to find a way to get to them sooner."
(On the if 49ers fans impacted the game)
"We know they travel well. They always have, historically, no matter where you're at. It's all part of this experience."
(On the pass protection)
"We just have to be cleaner in our protection game. We have to give ourselves a chance. It was a quick win on their end. (Bryce) Huff did a nice job off the edge. We weren't able to give ourselves a chance."
(On the final offensive play)
"It was left to right. There were a couple of options within that play, and really, we couldn't get the play started."
(On the team morale)
"Our guys are competing. It hurts when you lose games like this. That's how it's supposed to feel. There are no feel-good moments out of this. There are plenty of positives, but you have to focus on winning and really focus on – the last drive, yes – but you really have to focus on the first three and a half quarters that had a huge impact on winning this game. We had plenty of opportunities to take advantage of them."
(On balancing the positives while improving the negatives week-to-week)
"That's the journey you're onin the NFL. You have to take it each and every week. You have to educate yourself. You have to go through a growth process. Certainly, tomorrow's an important part. We have to grow from this. We have to get better. There is a lot of football ahead of us. We need to take the next steps, and this next week will be our first time on the road. Big time challenge going up to Seattle, and our guys have got to lock in. When you play on the road, you have to lock in."
(On positives from close games)
"We are putting ourselves in positions to win games. Ultimately, again, we have to do what winning teams do and take advantage of those opportunities."
(On the penalties)
"There are still some completely controlled penalties. That's the main thing. We can't have the silly ones – third down penalties when we were in great position on defense, the silly things on offense that are 100 percent in our control. We have to play better from that standpoint. I feel like we took a step (forward). I think our operations are cleaner on offense. We were able to use tempo and play under control. I thought Spencer (Rattler) did a good job from that standpoint. Again, we just have to play at a high level."
(On the opening drive miss by wide receiver Chris Olave)
"Obviously, we are going to look back at that, and I'll watch the film and see exactly how it went down. Obviously, it's a missed opportunity. It's a critical missed opportunity for us. It's a big-time moment for us on the opening drive. We are right there and just have to get it done."
(On opting to go up-tempo at the end of the first half)
"Certainly, we felt like the drive was extending. We felt like there were a lot of positives to stay on the field and force them to stay organized. I felt like that was a good drive for us.
(On quarterback Spencer Rattler)
"His legs certainly showed up. The fourth down was a really good decision with the ability to throw it. He ran with it. Certainly, he made some plays this week, got some first downs in some situations. Certainly, it was a good thing for him."
(On the missed passing opportunities)
"We had some deep, deep opportunities. I think we hit some, and we did miss some. We have to continue to find ways to get downfield with our guys. We've got some really talented players who can play with speed and are vertical threats. We have to find ways to hit more of them."
(On the offensive struggles)
"Probably both sides of it. Naturally, defense is going to dictate a few things here and there. Certainly, we are trying to find more opportunities as we go on."
(On playcalling as the head coach)
"I feel like it has been good. We have a good group of coaches. We're all on the same page. There are certainly opportunities we can keep growing from, but I feel like the communication has been really good. We just have to play better."
(On if Week Three's prep work will change)
"Just really lock in on the plan. We talk about a blueprint each and every week. There's a defined blueprint for all three phases and how we want to win the game from a team perspective. We have to focus on that. We have to get that done. This will be our first game on the road in a really loud environment in Seattle. It'll be our first time with this group in those environments. There is great opportunity and excitement when you go on the road and do it together. You have to rally together. It's an exciting opportunity for us to go do it."
(On the communication)
"It felt like, for the most part, communication was good. I don't feel like we had a bunch of miscommunication on the back end. We gave ourselves opportunities. We just have to take
advantage of the ops (opportunities)."
(On if there's anything that can be done about the playing surface)
"I don't know. I don't think it really had an impact on this game."
(On trading for Ja'Lynn Polk)
"Ja'Lynn is obviously on injured reserve already. He was already on injured reserve with New England. We were able to acquire him. We are really excited about that. Everyone watched him coming out the draft just last year. It felt like everyone when I was at Philly and our staff here in New Orleans, everyone had great feedback on him and felt like this was a great opportunity for the future to bring a guy in who we all think highly of and add to that room. We feel like we have a ton of depth in that room, certainly for this year. His (acquisition) becomes a factor next year. That will be a different experience there, but we feel like we are adding to a really talented room right now."
(On a fresh start for Polk)
"It's the first year in the NFL (last season). I'm not going to overreact to whatever happened in New England. There are some circumstances there. We liked him coming out and are excited for where he's going."
(On the performance of Jonas Sanker)
"I thought Jonas did a really good job. I'll, obviously, have to watch the film and evaluate it, but from my standpoint just watching the game, I felt like he made a couple of really sound tackles. I thought he and Justin (Reid) communicated at a really high level on the back end. I feel like we are in a good position with those guys back there."
(On kicker Blake Grupe's missed field goal)
"I'll have to get the feedback on that later. Obviously, we just have to get better. Blake's got too much good going on. He's just got to get better and clean it up."
(On injuries)
"Nothing that impacted the game. Everyone finished the game."