Sean Payton, Saints Head Coach

SP: I don't have any news on [Thomas] Morstead's injury, we X-rayed it and it was negative. We will look at it further tomorrow and see when we get back to New Orleans where he is at with a more detailed MRI. Overall, coming up here for this week was a great experience for us; we got a lot of work in with New England. I thought just watching the game without having looked at the tape there were too many sloppy things that we've got to get corrected. I know it is the first week of preseason, yet there are still a number of things that are disturbing. We will get back to work when we fly back. I thought we gave up too many returns obviously in the kicking game. We got in some third down situations offensively early on that we struggled with and defensively early on we had trouble getting off the field so there were a few bright spots but when you lose a game and regardless of whether it's preseason or not there are a number of things we've got to get it corrected.

Q: You went for a tie late in the game, would it have been a pick-me-up to try end up with a victory?

SP: We are not treating the game any differently and fourth down and eight so a field goal would have been a lot better than fourth and eight.

Q: Would tackling be one thing you would put under as sloppy?

SP: Yeah, I think we will put the tape on and see it wasn't just young players. There are things that we need to clean up that look a little sloppy.

Q: Without looking at the tape how did [Patrick] Ramsey look?

SP: I thought decent. I thought our tempo in the huddle could have been picked up a little bit but I think he made some good throws for us and looked comfortable.

Q: How did you think some of the young players looked?

SP: It is going to be a lot easier to look at that tomorrow. I thought a couple of those young runners ran hard. We will put the film on.

Q: You said the X-rays of Morstead were negative, was that his shoulder or elbow?

SP: Shoulder.

Q: Were you surprised by [Garrett] Hartley's first punt?

SP: Overall I thought he handled the punting duties pretty well.

Q: You were charting the snaps. Six wasn't enough for the first-string offense?

SP: Our goal was to play somewhere around eighteen plays and you are not going to make a change during a drive so clearly it's just something that falls that way. Sometimes you end up with a drive after fourteen snaps and you decide to stop but you're right we weren't going to stop after six snaps.

Q: Are you happy it ended that way for the first-string offense?

SP: Yeah, certainly, to be able to put a drive together was important.

Drew Brees, Quarterback
(Thoughts on tonight's game)

"We would have liked to have started off a little crisper than we did. To have two three and out drives to start, it's one little thing here and there, eventually to get that first first down and they stopped you before you even get going. To focus on the positive, we got into that third drive and converted a couple of third downs with a great mix of run and pass and ended up getting a touchdown out of it.

(Comments on playing the third series)

"We wouldn't have let that happen. I think Patrick (Ramsey) and Chase (Daniel) did a very good job. Sean (Payton) wasn't holding back as far as coming up with the runs and passes as some of the shot plays and giving them an opportunity to make some plays. They did a good job of taking care of the football, getting in and out of the huddle and everything seemed to be pretty efficient with a lot of personnel changes going on around them, in regards to mixing a lot of guys in there.

(On coming up to New England for the couple of days)

"I thought it was good. Anytime you can break up the monotony of camp by competing against somebody else. Obviously with training camp, it gets kind of old going up against the same looks and defenses, as they probably feel that way about us. Anytime you can mix it up, by going up against another team, you are getting a whole new set of personnel and a whole new scheme, and it's competitive. You go up against a team like the Patriots for three practices, you almost get those game-type jitters, just in regards to preparing for each practice trying to study their personnel and the looks they are going to give you."

(Thoughts on pluses and minuses coming out of the game)

"It's the first preseason game. So there are a lot of new guys and this is their first bit of action or first action in a Saints uniform. I think mistakes and some mental errors, substitution issues and missed assignments, I think all those are normal for a first preseason game. We probably had more than we would have liked and we need to get those things corrected, but definitely as we walk away from this it's very much about improvement and getting better. We are going to have to if we want to be where we want to be at as a team. We will make the adjustments."

(On bringing the team back to earth after this game)

"Well here is the thing. Let's say we drive down at the end of the game and score a touchdown and we win. The locker room is going to be a little peppier after the game, but I would be standing up here telling you the exact same thing, which is, there are still a lot of things we need to clean up, offensively and defensively, just talking to those guys and special teams. We did have a touchdown returned, but we gave up quite a few big returns, so there is definitely issues and things we need to clean up in every phase of the game and every one of us should be held accountable. I need to improve just like everybody else does."

Usama Young, Safety
(On missed tackles)

"I take it personal. I have to go out there and lay my hat on some folks. It's one of those things we'll be focusing on throughout the week."

(On what needs to improve)

"Zero turnovers and missed tackles. Those are the main things we need to work on."

Will Smith, Defensive End
(On tackling)

"It's something we can work on in practice and get easily fixed."

(On overall performance of team)

"I thought we did pretty good. We stopped them the first time they got the ball, but the second time they got the ball, we missed some tackles, we didn't get pressure on the quarterback. Little mistakes that we have to tighten up on and fix."

Tracy Porter, Cornerback
(On the first pre-season game)

"We pretty much put the Super Bowl behind us by this point. Despite what people may say about a Super Bowl hangover, or whatever, we've put that behind us and moved on to the next season. We were rusty and have to execute better in all aspects of the game but that will come with time. Focus on playing. It just so happens we won the championship last year so repeating is the ultimate goal, but we have to focus on the games. Our main goal is to win championships but that is every team's goal."

Heath Evans, Running Back(On being back in New England)

"It's our character that forms our legacy, not our accomplishments. You reflect. You can't spend four years with people you love then come back and not think back. At the same time this is a business trip and we didn't get our business done tonight. It's pre-season and there are chinks in the armor but that is what these games are for. For us it happens we were champions last year but everyone's goal is the same. For us, anything less than a championship is a failure. But so is it for the Pats who we just played and the other 30 teams."

Marques Colston, Wide Receiver
(On the game)

"Obviously we weren't able to come out of this game with a win but we did some things well. It is the first pre-season game so we have a lot to work on. It was our first live action on the field and as you could see we have a lot of work to do. We felt like we got into a decent rhythm on the touchdown drive but this offense feels like we should score points on every drive. We've got to go back to the drawing board and keep working but that is what camp is for."

(On the weather in New England)

"I could practice up here every day."

Larry Beavers, Wide Receiver
(On the kickoff return for touchdown)

"It felt good, I had great blocking by the kickoff return team and they (the return team) said let us take it to the house, so that's what we did. Like I said I have a lot of proving to do to make the return teams. I have done some bad things on punt return that I need to work on in practice to get myself back up. I had a good kick return but I also had some mistakes on the punt return team that I have to work on. I just have to work hard at receiver and return to have a chance. They said they were going to give me a shot and they gave me a shot and I did what I had to do on kick return, but I could have done better on punt return."

Chris Ivory, Running Back
(On his first game)

"I felt great, I am just trying to go out there and give 100 percent and had pretty much a gut check out there. I was going back and forth on special teams and in and out on offense. That is the process that the coaches use for their evaluations to find out where we stand. I am going to try and take full advantage of any opportunity I can."

Pierson Prioleau, Safety
(On whether the upcoming practices will be more physical)

"I don't think it had anything to do with the way we practiced because we are a physical team. We practice physically. We just didn't play physical at all tonight."

Jon Stinchcomb, Tackle
(On tonight's game)

"It's the first preseason game. We want to come out and put our best foot forward. To come away with a loss is disappointing. With some of the mistakes that we made out there, it makes you want to get right back to work."