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Coach Payton discusses loss to the St. Louis Rams

Quotes from Sean Payton's postgame press conference

(On the game)
"That was pretty ugly. Obviously, it is a disappointing loss, extremely disappointing. I though in all three areas we didn't play well at all. Obviously we didn't get them ready to play, we looked flat coming out. I take responsibility for that. Much has been written about how we play on the road and how we play at home and you know what? That is where it is right now with this season. We come out here with a lot at stake having played an important game last week and we can't line up and kick a field goal, we can't get the run stopped, we turned the ball over. We did everything we talked about that you can't do to get a road win. We knew that this team would present some tough challenges with protection and still with that being said, how we played today is unacceptable and that is on me."

(On moving T Zach Strief to left tackle)
"I saw enough. I saw enough, period. It was enough penalties, pressures, sacks, it was enough. At some point you can't just keep watching it. Feelings get hurt, it is tough."

(On revisiting the move at tackle)
"I don't think now is the time to discuss it."

(On him trying to get the sideline energized)
"Here is the thing, let's be honest. You need to have the energy in a game like this. Week 14, with what is at stake and if we don't then maybe that is a good sign as to where we are at. Where we are certainly starts with me as a head coach, but we talked about it going into this game. Teams that understand the importance of playing consistently here going down the stretch. There were not a lot of things today that were encouraging to be honest with you. We will take a close look at the tape."

(On if this was the first time that energy was a problem on the road)
"We just seemed flat. Maybe we didn't start that sharp in New England, but in the second half we had a little juice when we came back. We did all the things that a poor team does to keep them from winning. The turnovers, that's two; then you give up an onside kick, that's three; so that is three ball possession differences right there. We are nudging on the left side and we still can't protect, we can't stop and get off the field on third down defensively. They were at 58 percent. They didn't have a lot of snaps. We can't line up and kick a field goal on two different occasions. Those aren't good signs, especially here in December."

(On the disappointment of having a veteran team play like they did today)
"I don't necessarily agree that this is a veteran team. We have some veterans on this team, but we are still trying to find out a little about our leadership. When you look at the age of our roster we are fairly young. We will look closely at the tape and we will challenge these guys and challenge our coaching staff. We are going to have to improve in a lot of areas in order to play better than that obviously, or else we will get the same result. Or it will be a mixed bag, one week we will play well and the next week we won't. I am sure the tape won't be very exciting, but it will be revealing."

(On this being a frustrating loss)
"Yes, this one was hard. I think honestly it is because of where we are at. How much time and energy goes into your preparation and to put yourself in a position that we have and as well as we played a week ago. I have spent ten minutes here and haven't talked about St. Louis at all. That is not right. They played very well and very aggressively. They made the plays they needed to and I credit their team, Coach Fisher and their staff. That is something that was evident. It is disappointing."

(On how difficult it is to play a team that can do whatever they want, because of the playoffs)
"I don't know that it is. I think what is frustrating, and I get mad at myself, is that the appearance that it was sluggish. The start gets off and the first play of the game is a hit-fumble and a hit-interception. We have help on the outside and we still get beat on the inside with speed. So there are some things that still need to be corrected, obviously a lot more than we expected."

(On being concerned about K Garrett Hartley)
"Yes, not just his kicking, I am concerned about a lot of things. I am concerned about our protection, I am concerned about our inability to be consistent in regards to running the football and our ability to defensively stop the rushing team. All of those things are cause for concern. The first kick that is blocked I think is low, the second kick he pulls it left."

(On the miss of the second kick)
"Yeah, the second one I think we missed, but again to be fair I think we need to go back and watch it. I think we were fast, I will take a look at it. Both seemed low coming off and that is disappointing."

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