OAKLAND RAIDERS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2016
SAINTS QUARTERBACK DREW BREES
(On the game-ending field goal attempt):
* *I know this; pre-game, I sat there and watched him (Wil Lutz) kick a 63-yarder so I knew he had the leg for it. So when we got in that final situation at 61 yards, you know you'd like to get a little more yardage. Unfortunately, we didn't have a timeout so the ball has to go out of bounds and we didn't complete it so we didn't get that opportunity and that was OK. He hit it well. It just barely tailed off at the end. I saw a lot from him today and I think he's going to make some big kicks for us in the future.
(On his performance today):
Obviously could do without the turnover on the first possession. (That was) Completely my fault. Guys in the front did a great job. I just held on too long. What was happening down the field, I should have just checked it down, punted it and moved on because obviously those are three points that when you look at the end of the game, those three points mattered. (There were a) Bunch of other opportunities here and there that if a drive is sustained if we can just convert that. I'm sure the defense would say the same thing on their end. Wrap all those things up, if we could have just made one or two more plays, the result of this game is different.
(On the offenseive line):
They did a great job. They did a phenomenal job. I felt like we were stressing them with what we were doing in the passing game and I felt like a bunch of guys made a lot of big plays. B Cooks (Brandin Cooks), Willie Snead (IV). (We) Had some great efforts all the way around by guys and I look forward to continuing to grow as an offense.
(On the historic touchdown to Brandin Cooks):
I guess my only regret is that it wasn't one yard further. We were on the two instead of the one, but you figure that when it goes 98 yards that there is only one yardage number that is bigger than that. I felt like we had an opportunity to run a guy loose on our left. Brandin got a great release. (I) Threw it up to him. He did the rest. He looked like Usain Bolt going down the sideline there.
(On the amount of separation Cooks had in the 98-yard touchdown play):
When I got to the sideline, Luke McCown said, 'Hey, that took him eleven seconds to go one-hundred.' And I said, in full pads. Let's put full pads on some of those hundred-meter sprint champs from the Olympics and see if they can roll out an eleven second hundred. With full pads, that was pretty impressive.
(On moving on from a tough loss and working on being more consistent):
This is the NFL and a lot of these games go down to the wire like this. I think over 50 percent of them. I think you expect to have to make plays at the end of the game to win. Whether that's to take the lead and win or to secure the win in some way. Listen, we were up fourteen points and at some point in the second half, I don't know exactly when, but I know, offensively, we thought we were moving the ball and had the opportunity to get points. A drive stalls, we get a field goal blocked, there are some things with that, a third down play where I think can get a completion elsewhere and we keep the ball moving and maybe more of a chip at that field goal or maybe we score a touchdown and it changes the game. We end up having to kick a field goal down inside the five-yard line. If we could punch that in. These are all areas where it's more points, more points and I look at those areas as, once again, being more efficient.
(On the Oakland Raiders going for the two-point conversion on their final touchdown score):
I thought it was a ballsy move and obviously, it paid off. You'll see that from time to time. You feel like you have the momentum and so let's dial it up and win the game. Still feel like we had the opportunity, with a couple of plays, to put ourselves in a position to win, which we did. (Wil) Lutz had the distance. It was just a hair off to the left, but we made a run at it.
(On what he thought the Raiders were thinking in calling the two-point conversion play):
Who knows what the thought process was, but I could see us doing that at some point.
(On two opportunities inside the five to score, going for it on fourth down the first time, but not on the second and the thought process behind that):
It was little bit further distance the second time around. At the end of the day, you got that play that you love and we had a play that we loved the first time around and I don't think we had another one for the second time around. Plus, at that point, you've got a lead and any points are good points so I feel like that's where our decision came from.
