DETROIT LIONS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2016

SAINTS PLAYER QUOTES

WR Willie Snead

On slow starts recently on offense:"We just have to come out faster at the end of the day. It's in our control. We've done it before. We'll do it again. We've just got to make sure that we learn from our mistakes and keep going on from here."

 On if the team lacked energy today:"I don't know about that. I feel like the energy was there. I feel like everybody was confident with what they were going to do. During the game, some things weren't going our way. We weren't converting on third downs in some areas. It was just a slow pace for us. We did not get going. I kind of hurt us, I feel like." 

CB Sterling Moore

On the long pass to Golden Tate:"It definitely hurt. I thought that was a situation where we were going to rise to the occasion….We've got to lock in. Everyone has to do their job and do their job only. I think that there are times when we get out there and try to cover up for other people. You can't do that in this league. You have to trust all of your teammates to do what they do."

On the Lions converting multiple times on long third down plays:"He (Stafford) kept a lot of plays alive with his feet. That's just what he does. We just have to plaster our coverage. You've got to realize that you are playing a quarterback who can extend plays. If a guy is running all over, he is going to catch the ball on the opposite side of the field, which is pretty unusual. It's a game that you've got to come in knowing that he is going to extend those plays. That's what he did. Those third and longs really hurt us. All year, I feel like we need to be better (in that area)."

DT Sheldon Rankins

On the loss:"They made more plays than we did, to put it into perspective. They made more plays than us. They scored more points. And they won the game."

On not being able to stop the Lions enough on defense:"I felt like we came out with good energy. I felt like we came out with the right mindset. At the end of the day, they beat us on early downs. We could not get them behind the sticks. They were able to run their entire offense and were able to move the ball down the field."

S Kenny Vaccaro

On the play of the defense:"We just need to execute the plan and do our job. There is no magical call that can save us. You just have to go out and do your job. Every call is sound and well-thought out."

On giving up too many third down conversions:"We just let them dink and dunk. I think that we need to challenge more on the short passes. At one point, they only have 20 yards rushing, so we knew going into the game that they are a passing team. You are going to give up some yards when a team doesn't want to commit to the run. At the same time, we shouldn't give up that many yards (like today)."