Quarterback Tyler Shough
On his first start in the Caesars Superdome:
"Yeah, running out of the tunnel and seeing everybody in the Dome, it was such a cool moment. I was talking to David at Drago's. He's one of the managers, and I went to Drago's yesterday with my family, and he talked about the dream that he had running out of the tunnel as a Saints quarterback, and it kind of gave me some perspective that a lot of people really dream about that opportunity. We fell short, but I was proud of how we battled, and it sucks to lose, especially to the Falcons, but at least the start it was a cool moment, and overall, we know what we have to do to fix it, and that's the story of the game. There's a lot of fixable things, especially in the red zone where we just came up short, and then we'll finish it, and then it's a different story."
On the first fumble and the first drive:
"Yeah, it was play-action, and it just hit his (Alvin Kamara's) elbow. It was literally like a fluke deal. Sucks, because I wasn't trying to give him it. It was just a fake. He was rolling over it, and it hit. He closed in, but it's on me at the end of the day. I've got to make sure I can hang on to that, and, yeah, it sucks. We've got to be better there, and we had guys open, but I was proud of how the defense responded the whole time. They held them to a field goal in a really bad scenario, and then they were making plays the whole game."
On his assessment of his third start:
"It wasn't good enough at the end of the day, but we were moving the ball really well. We were doing the things that we needed to do to put ourselves in position, and then two goal-line opportunities that are tough, and a couple of field goals where we shouldn't have been in a situation. We should have been scoring in those red zone drives, and we felt really good about it, and we came up short. So for me, just continue to learn from those new scenarios, little mistakes, and keep building."
On Blake Grupe's misses having an effect on the offense/team as a whole:
"No. I mean, Blake makes those nine times out of ten, and he's doing a great job throughout the week, and we've got his back. He's got our back, and it's part of it. We put him in those scenarios where we can finish those drives out, and that's really on us as an offense. But we know that's really on us because we can finish it. It motivates us. But we'll continue to get back to it and continue to stay together."
On balancing emotions of getting the team to the red zone and then going to the sideline:
"I'm trying to do whatever it takes to get in the end zone. If Taysom (Hill) scores on a run, I'm equally as fired up as if we hand the ball off or if I run the ball in. At that point, we're trying to win. So whenever we think we can get the advantage-wise or schematically, I'm all for it. So it sucks we weren't able to finish it. And continually, we'll look at how we can be better there as an offense. But there's nothing really special to say as far as that. It sucks."
On the one-yard play and the stumble:
"Yeah. No, I thought I was in whenever I landed. Then obviously I think my knee was down short, which happens, it was second down. So I knew that I wasn't going to reach. I didn't want to reach and have something bad happen. So I wouldn't really change anything about that. I just fell short. And maybe if it was third or fourth down, we're going to reach for the ball. And then the second one, we had a little rub. So I was getting ready to throw it, and that's why. It was more of a throw—RPR—and then slipped on the cut and almost got in. But, yeah, that was more of a design throw in the flat and then trying to make a miss when they switched it off. So, yeah, super close."
On dealing with Atlanta's pass rush:
"We put ourselves in that situation when you're down two scores at the end. That's a scenario where defenses want to live, and they know we're going to throw the ball. And so it's tough. It's tough on any other lines. Every D line is going to have an advantage there. So we have to be better on first down. We had too many second and longs where we have to get back on track. We've got to be better starting off the drive."
On feeling prepared pre-game:
"I felt really prepared. We were moving the ball how we thought we could, and came up short. But at the end of the day, it stinks, especially against them. But, a lot to build off of. And I was proud of the receivers — (Mason) Tipton, (Devaughn) Vele, (Dante) Pettis, Kevin (Austin Jr.) — all those guys stepping up, especially with some departures. And (Chris Olave) obviously was a huge part of that as well, and what he's been able to do and all the tight ends too. They've had an increased role. So I was proud of them. It's obviously not an easy situation. But there's a lot to build off of, encouraging stuff. And we have to fix those little things on first down and then in the red zone."
On outside-of-structure plays:
"Yeah, just instinct. Trying to push it. You can't take a sack. Obviously, the time is against you. So, doing everything you can to move up, trying to find different angles and get it to the guys. So just part of it."
On embracing it (out-of-structure plays) when down:
"Whatever it takes. That's my mindset. I love when we stay on the ball. We can get some tempo. We're throwing it whenever those odds are against us. I felt the whole time, who knows what's going to happen. We can break a tackle, can score here, can get it to a one-score game. So nobody's belief was shattered. That was one thing I was really encouraged by. We were all still pretty in it. It sucks because it's the Falcons, and we came up short there. But like I said before, we'll build off it."
On any commonality to problems in the end zone:
"No, it's tough when you're on the one-yard line and you come up short. And, like I said, we're moving it. And, we have to find a way to get that last yard. So, we'll look at it. It's tough to think about it right now. But I don't think there's any commonalities with it."
On formations in the red zone that were recently introduced the past week or from camp:
"A little bit of both. There was some new stuff that we were repping. And then, obviously, you got some new guys in the mix. Tipton, Vele, and Taysom are switching around. So there's a lot of different personnel styles where you've got to rep. And then, there was some traditional stuff as well. But, yeah, that's very common week to week, though, just trying to attack."
On confidence in the red zone throughout last week:
"Yeah, we felt really, really confident. And with those results, and like I said, you get down really close, you've got to find a way to punch it in. You've got to find a way. So, and whether that's, whatever it is, I don't have an answer for that."
On losing Alvin Kamara in the first quarter affecting the offense:
"Yeah, he's a great part of what we do as an offense, and from riding the ball, catching the ball, receiving it, he's obviously one of the best in the business when it comes to that. So, hopefully he's okay. I haven't heard anything yet, but it obviously sucks. But I was really proud of (Devin) Neal and what he was able to do. He was laying the boom quite a few times, doing his job really well. Taysom (Hill) as well. He's like a Swiss Army knife, and he was thrown in some tough situations. So, hopefully he'll be good, and then we'll continue to go."
On if he got hurt the last play of the game:
"I got landed on my leg. So, it was just a bruise. It should be good. I got some flashbacks where he landed on, and I put some weight on it temporarily, and it was fine. But when you're in those scenarios, you're trying to go down and score."
On what message he's trying to send to the team about this game:
"Yeah, a lot of the NFL, and a lot of this game, it can be taken emotionally, and understandably. It's a high-strung game, but if you think about it analytically and what we could have done better or fixed, it's very simple. We score on those two red zone scenarios on the one-yard line, and we find a way, then it's a different story. It just comes down to that. I don't think there needs to be anybody freaking out about it, and we know what we need to do, and keep going. And it's part of it, and it hurts a little bit more, and it should. So we'll see them again."
On the third guy stepping up in the passing game after Chris Olave and Johnson:
"Vele and Tipton equally. I continually get reps with them. I was really proud of Tipton when he was able to do (some of the things that he did this afternoon). He made some huge plays, especially with the amount of reps that he's gotten all year—minimally. And Vele as well, everything that he does. So, we've got some good options, and we just continue to go."
On if it feels different starting his first game at home compared to on the road:
"Preparation-wise and the game plan-wise, no. But like I said in the beginning, it was really cool to kind of be home in front of the fans and have that opportunity. It means a lot, but at the end of the day, we lost. So it hurts at the end, and we'll continue to keep building, and we'll get it done here at home. We've got to protect our house."
On what he learned about the rivalry today:
"Yeah, just how important it is to the people of the city, and how important it can be, and it makes you want to work that much harder and find that extra edge. At the same day, you've got to go back to execution and analytics, and that's why we lost. It wasn't anything other than that as far as some of the scenarios. So, we feel really good about going forward. We've got to get back to work, and there's a lot of ball left."