SAINTS HEAD COACH KELLEN MOORE

Opening Statement:

"I'll just start with the overview. Obviously the first opportunity for our group to come together for the 2025 season. I thought there's obviously some good, some bad, some lessons along the way which is all to be expected for this group as we continue to build this thing each and every day. On the medical side, C Will Clap, T/G Trevor Penning obviously came out of the game. We'll see how those guys go. WR Bub (Means) came out and then TE Mason Pine there. We'll see how those guys go. We'll get a report back as we go, but a great lesson for our guys. I think this will be an awesome first step and we'll keep building."

On the significance of injuries:

"We'll just see how it goes. Obviously, some guys will go through some testing and get some clarity as we go."

On quarterback performance:

"I think for all three, there's going to be some good moments, there's going to be some moments we want to have back. We get to learn from those, get better this week. I thought Spencer (Rattler) did some good stuff coming out of there, using his feet in some situations where he had some avoided zone areas. He was able to make some plays out of. Probably for us just playing some situational football, we were close on getting in the range for some points and we just weren't able to get those things done."

"Tyler (Shough) played a little bit more just between the second and third quarter. A great two minute drive right before the half. he did some really good things there. He felt under control if I managed the situations really, really well. You throw a pick, you got to respond. Obviously no one wants to throw an interception. The way he responded was really, really good for him to come back and handle that from an emotional standpoint really well, I thought that was awesome, and then he made a big play at the tip there."

"Jake (Haener), just the way it played out, Jake only had those last two drives. He hopped in there obviously, unfortunately he had us moving and unfortunately picked again. A big lesson for us is just we got to protect the football."

On Tyler Shough's play and mentality:

"No doubt. We don't want to create turnovers. We want to avoid those the best we can, but the way these guys respond is really, really critical to us. That's what is going to happen in this league as you go through these seasons and so I thought he did a great job. We'll learn from the interception, we'll learn from that one, we'll grow, but his response was really valuable."

On Tyler Shough's playtime:

"We're going to be fairly close, but just the way the circumstances of the rotation and the series worked he ended up getting a little bit more. We had some flexibility within that schedule."

On the Mason Tipton touchdown:

"Certainly, felt like he handled it really well. He hopped back out there, we were moving the ball again right after the interception, we got in a situation where we had a first and ten and had an opportunity to be a little bit aggressive. I think that's the beauty of this sport, we can call it aggressive, take what they give you and they don't give you those shots, you can find completions underneath it. That's a great way to play."

On the touchdown:

"I think you're just always looking for winner double move opportunities presented for yourself and you're always looking at the DB's and they're certainly making big time plays. They reached a point where you get them settled in a little bit, take the aggressive and those guys did a great job."

On the two-minute drill:

"Not the script you paint and say, 'Hey, your first drive is going to be a two minute drive before half', but just the way the series worked, that's what presented itself. I thought he did a really good job, found completions, handled it really well, understood the situations when we can use the sideline, when we can take completions, getting field position even at the end, understanding that situation where we have no timeouts and, 'Hey, we want to get a shot in the end zone, but if it's not there we got to protect the field goal opportunity.' I thought he did a really good job there."

On the pick six:

"That will be a great one for me to see on film. Obviously, you don't get the perfect angle going into this. I thought the corner made a tremendous play. He played really flat and never really moved off his spot and so, certainly something to evaluate."

On Tyler Shough installing plays:

"I would say, for all these guys, when you get to more and more of these college situations and the scrimmages that we'll have moving forward with these preseason games, ultimately, that's how we play the game. There's an installation process that we went through when we were in Metairie. That's all part of the education part of this thing. Ultimately, it's about playing games, reacting to situations, and I think our guys are getting more comfortable with that."

On the thought process behind the guys that warmed up but did not play:

"We just had a plan of action for those guys as far as they got a little extra work yesterday. They weren't going to play in this game. We just wanted them to go through the routine of pregame with everyone else. Then obviously, once they got to the point where they weren't going to play, dress down and support those guys."

On first head coach experience on the field:

"Really, really good process. I think we focus on the process and make sure we're operating at a really high level. Especially the coaching staff on the headsets, on the sideline, and all the communication that goes into this thing. I think there's a lot of good stuff there. Certainly, there are things we are going to learn and grow from in every aspect of this organization."

On not running the ball effectively:

"No doubt. We certainly feel like we need to run the football better than we did today. We missed some opportunities there, weren't able to get any explosives really out of it and so that's something that we have to focus on and play better in that aspect."

On G Torriccelli Simpkins III playing center:

"Awesome. For him to hop in there that quickly and essentially play the whole game at center. I mean, your first game in the NFL preseason football, and you get thrown in there just like that. His response was phenomenal. I thought he did an incredible job."

On a joint practice this week:

"We're working through that process right now. We'll see and probably get some clarity by the end of today. We're just coming out of this game with the medical aspect and we'll see where we are at."

On Mason Tipton building off last year:

"Awesome play by him. Phenomenal play. I thought he played really well today as far as he played hard and he played aggressive. He's a really good player and we're excited about his future with us."

On RB Velus Jones Jr.:

"He certainly made some impact plays in this game. The completions where you find him out in space and he's able to make plays. That's the beauty of what Velus presents. He did an excellent job out there and an excellent job in the return game. Certainly, he showed well today."

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS QUARTERBACK SPENCER RATTLER

On overall performance:

"Too much up and down. We started pretty well, kind of stalled out in a few drives, couple misreads, just not great execution. Not how you want it. I thought I left some plays out there. As a group, I thought we could have been better on third down, and then we got to finish in that red zone after the muffed punt on fourth and one. Had some good moments and bright moments but got to be more consistent throughout the game."

On using his legs as part of the game plan:

"When the lane was there, I tried to take it. Then there was another one where I misread it and probably should have thrown it, but I tried to run. It's finding that happy medium, that balance and just working through your progressions and running when you have to."

On making the pass over the middle of the field:

"Just a little pop pass up the middle, off play action. The weak side safety came down and was playing in that hole. I wanted to kind of keep him skinny up the middle and I got total confidence in [TE] Jack Stoll. He'll make that play every time. I'm going to keep going at him."

On dealing with pressure amongst the quarterback competition:

"We all want to play well. We all had ups and downs. We all just want to play consistent, move the chains, move the ball and find ways to score points. We got to be better in that area."

On playing time in today's game:

"However long I was supposed to be out there, I was just ready to play. I won't go too in depth with the reps and everything. You got to make the best out of all the reps you have as a group."

On the strip sack play:

"I stepped up in the pocket and probably should have took off and run, but you can't hold it too long in there. You got to get out of there and make your decision quick. I put that on me."

On how to prevent a strip sack play moving forward:

"If I could have felt that I would have tried to get out of there quicker. But he made a good play, shut a block and got the hand right on the ball. I just got to hold it tighter or run and get out of there quicker."

On WR Mason Tipton's play this preseason:

"It was great to see. He didn't get preseason last year, and he's been having such a great camp and that play was a very nice play. He ran it perfectly, got the perfect call and the O-line did a great job of protection and Tyler Shough threw a great ball and typically he'll run by you. He's got great speed and a good feel for the game and he'll be a weapon for sure."

On WR Mason Tipton's growth:

"His work ethic is the same. He's a very determined, reliable guy. He knows his stuff. He's just on top of everything. He's a solid dude."

On injuries during preseason:

"You don't want to see any of your guys go down. That's just part of the game though. It's the game we play, and it's going to happen, happened on both sides today. You try to minimize it, but you got to just play and you can't half step because that's when you do get hurt. But unfortunate to see that."

On impact of starting center getting hurt early:

"Was looking forward to being out there with [C/G] Will Clapp. Obviously a great vet. But I thought Torricelli Simpkins III stepped up to the plate and he played the whole game. I thought he did a good job. His communication was good, and obviously he recently switched over to center. For him to come in and play, that's great reps for him. I thought he did a pretty good job."