Saints Coach Kellen Moore

Opening Statement:

"Fun game. It was a fun battle with those guys. I loved the way our guys competed and what we did these last few days with Jacksonville from a joint practice (perspective) and this preseason game. I felt like we had some really good work. I feel like we got some good stuff out of this, and our guys are going to be able to grow and learn from it."

On QB Zach Wilson's command:

"I thought Zach did a very good job and continued to do what we've seen throughout training camp. I think our quarterbacks have been playing at a really high level. It's a really talented group that's just getting better. I think they're all younger than you realize, plenty of growth in their futures. I thought Zach did a good job. I thought Spence (Spencer Rattler) did some good stuff. He had a good drive there to get us in position. Overall, I thought the quarterback group did some good things. I was proud of Hunter (Dekkers) hopping in there. There were some challenging first couple of guys, and he stuck with it. He got us all the way down to the one-yard line with a chance to go win the game. I'm proud of all three of those guys."

On if they will give Wilson reps with the second unit:

"I do not know. We will see. We will continue to get these guys all these different reps. I think the world of our quarterback room. At the end of the day, I think it's as talented of a group as I have ever been around. I thought Spence did some good things. He has continued to have a really good training camp. I think what Zach did today and also through training camp, he's just been getting better. I feel really good about this whole entire group."

On what he likes about the team so far:

"I like the playstyle our guys are playing with. I'd say we're proud of our guys as far as we put so much time into talking about starting fast and the emphasis on that throughout training camp, which we will continue to do. Ty (Chandler)'s kickoff put us in position. One run by (Audric) Estime is a touchdown, and that's as fast as you can start a football game. I am proud of our guys with that. We have to learn with the sustaining part of this thing. There are some opportunities to learn there. At the end of the day, we had our opportunities at the end there. That's all you can ask for in the NFL. You have opportunities to win a game in the end. Every game's going to come down to those, and we will make them as we continue to grown."

On injury updates:

"Audric (Estime), we will see. He has got an ankle. He is in imaging right now. Christen (Miller) has a shoulder. He's in imaging right now. We will get some more information later."

On WR Bryce Lance:

"Bryce (Lance) was just a little banged up coming out of Thursday. He easily could have played. He got a good work load in the joint practice. We felt comfortable with him. He was purely emergency only if we needed him to go out there. I wanted him to get ready for Tuesday's (joint) practice."

On Wilson taking a step forward:

"I think that was great for Zach (Wilson). Zach's a really talented quarterback, and I think he's a really really good football player. I've enjoyed seeing him just grow through the whole offseason program from OTAs and training camp to now. Zach's still 26, might have just turned 27, if I remember right. He's still got tons of growing to do. I think he's done a great job applying himself this year in the system. I'm proud of what he was able to do out there on the field."

On EDGE Mike Heldman:

"Just relentless effort. He's got the right playstyle. I think Jay (Rodgers)'s doing a great job with those edges. I thought those guys did a really good job. It's four guys, and they were going all deep with these four. They just kept coming and keep coming, so I'm really proud of those guys. I think Mike's just a steady player. He just continues to play the right playstyle. When you just keep playing the right way and keep battling, good things are going to happen for you."

On Dekkers:

"I was proud of Hunter. There are only so many reps in training camp in the NFL. He has been able to get some, probably not the perfect amount from a preparation standpoint, but he tries to apply himself the best he can. I was proud of him hanging in there. Those first couple of drives, they don't go perfectly your way and to hang in there and get the team all the way down to the one-yard line, just a foot short, almost witnessed a ball in there for a touchdown. I thought he had some really good things in there."

On WR/RS Barion Brown:

"Just put it all together like he's been doing in training camp. For a lot of these guys, we're not expecting them to do something they haven't done in training camp. We just want to see them apply it out on the field and play some good football, learn from a potential mistake or something they want back. They just keep going, and I thought it was good work for him."

On CB Martin Emerson, Jr.'s progress:

"I have noticed this (the) last week. I think that is a fair evaluation for sure. He's been coming together all training camp. He's coming off of a year where he wasn't able to play, coming off of a season-ending injury. To see his growth, I think this last week, he's been awesome from team periods to joint practice to the preseason game. I'm just proud of his growth."

On the opening drive of game:

"I was proud of that, and then our defense, they drive. Then, we get a turnover right there. I thought that was a great job. Jaylan Ford was the one who had that (first) turnover. Then JP (Jayden Price) has a turnover in there. That was one of the things I was proud of our defense, we had two short-field almost sudden changes where they had short yardage and short distance to go to potentially get a score. They went three-and-out, three-and-out, forced a field goal each time. Terry Joseph called our defense today. I thought Terry did a great job hanging in there with some of those circumstances and doing a great job."

On the kickoff return:

"It will be great film to watch. At the end of the day, that's always a combination of all 11 being on the same page and giving the returner an opportunity."

On CB Martin Emerson, Jr.'s return:

"Yeah. He's played a lot of really good football in this league. He's coming off of an injury. It's a new system. It's a different system than maybe how he played in Cleveland. He gets to learn in a different way. Again he's just continued to progress in the right direction, feels better each day. I'm proud of him."

On having Offensive Coordinator Doug Nussmeier and Defensive Pass Game Coordinator Terry Joseph call plays:

"(We were)Really focused in on joint practice. For this game, Terry (Joseph) called defense; Doug (Nussmeier) called offense. I think it was awesome for those guys to have a chance to call games in the NFL. I thought both of them did a really good job."

On alternating kickers:

"It was kind of a rough back-and-forth based off of the type of kicks each one was going to have. We may have had to adjust and apply it. I thought both of those guys had their opportunities."

On if he heard what went awry with the missed field goal by Charlie Smyth:

"I did not. I have not collected the information yet."

On kicker evaluation:

"Keep going. Keep going. Both of those guys, I am proud of those guys. You go through some bumps sometimes, and you just keep going. Just keep going through training camp and through this preseason."

On K Charlie Smyth:

"Charlie's getting to that point where he's had enough experience in this league that he understands. Inevitably, you're going to miss one. You just keep hanging in there, keep getting better, focusing on your process, and you'll get better and have great opportunities moving forward."

On WR Bub Means playing after being on IR last season:

"I thought he did a really good job, competed at the catch point, made some plays. I was proud of him. For him having to be a guy to navigate being on IR all season and not being able to play football, that's hard on these guys. I'm really proud of him."

On his thoughts on WR Kevin Austin, Jr.:

"Similar. Kevin is just a steady football player. When the opportunity presents itself, he makes plays. I was proud of those receivers. Whenever those guys stepped up and had opportunities and just played football."

On an update on WR Jordyn Tyson:

"No updates yet. Still in collection mode."

On next week's plan with joint practices against the Cowboys:

"Yeah, probably similar. We will figure out what that structure is in the next day or two. It will be great working with those guys. I'm excited about the opportunity for our team to get out of their comfort zone, go to a different environment, go compete against a couple of teams that are going to be really talented teams in this league. It will be really good work for us."

On holding Jacksonville to two field goals in the first half:

"I thought there were some positives there. Again, proud of our guys for hanging a couple of three-and-outs in the first half, some good work there. Our guys get to learn from the sustaining element of this. I think Jacksonville was able to get some things going in the second half, and we weren't able to do enough. We were close. We had our (opportunities) right there at the end. We get to learn and grow."

On QB Spencer Rattler's fumble:

"I'll have to look at it more closely."

On deciding who played today:

"We had a number of guys who didn't play today, both guys with roles kind of fairly defined moving forward and also a few guys who were banged up. We kept a few guys out with the hope that giving them this weekend will allow them to get into this workload on Monday and Tuesday. That will be good for them."

On if the next preseason game will have a similar rotation:

"Yes, yes. It will probably be a similar structure. We will work through it day-by-day and see what it looks like as the week stands."

On having three running backs get action:

"I love it. Again, I think I've mentioned this before, sometimes when your whole roster plays, some of these young guys get eight snaps. One snap doesn't go your way, and it just feels magnified. I love that these guys receive a ton of snaps. They have some really good moments. They have some moments they get to learn from, and they get some adversity they get to learn from and respond from. I think it's great work for our guys."

On evaluating the tape with the full team:

"Everyone's a part of this. Just like we evaluated Thursday's joint practice, we evaluate this game. It is all great tape. Any lesson for one player is a lesson for any player at their position and, certainly, for our team. It will be great."

On LB Danny Stutsman:

"No, he's healthy."

On Ford rising to the occasion with the first quarter interception:

"I just say steady performer through training camp. Being the green dot (and) running the show was excellent work today on defense. I am proud of him. That interception was just playing his assignment really well and putting himself in position to make that play. That was a big time play."

Saints Quarterback Spencer Rattler

On the game:

"It's good to get out there in live action again. Obviously, it started fast with Ty (Chandler) taking it back. Handing it off on a one-play drive is always nice. I thought that field position-wise, the next two I kind of got stuck back there. I didn't have great rhythm early on. (I've) got to avoid the fumble backed up. I tried to get out of some pressure and probably should have just tried to dirt it or just go down and then move on to the next play. (The defense did a) good job stopping them (and) holding them to three. I probably came out of that third or fourth drive in the second quarter with a good rhythm (and) converting on third down. I thought that Barion (Brown) made some big catches. Kevin (Austin Jr.) ran some good routes and made some big plays. (We) just kind of stalled out there (in the) high red and made the field goal. It's good to get some live action in. (There is) definitely a lot of stuff to improve on after preseason Game 1."

On the cause of the fumble:

"Just hold on to the ball. (I need to) hold on a little tighter. I tried to convert and tried to get through there."

On bouncing back after the turnover:

"It was good. I don't know how many plays that drive was, but it felt like probably a 14 play drive or so. It's good to get those reps in and get that conditioning in in different types of situations. Like I said, I thought that Barion made two good contested slant plays for first downs on a 3rd and 5. Kevin had press man on another third down and just big-bodied the guy and ran a great route. He made a nice comeback, too, on a nice scramble out. I probably could have been a little more aggressive there in the high red. I thought that, overall, (Coach) Nuss (Doug Nussmeier) called good plays and had it rolling. It's good to get those live reps."

Saints Cornerback Jayden Price

On how he is feeling:

"Feeling great. I was just happy with everything, happy with how I played. (I've had) limited opportunities in camp, so I just tried to go out there and make the most of them. I felt like I did that today. You know that you're going to go back and watch the film tomorrow and there is going to be some things that you want to clean up, but so far so good. I'm happy and just know that I need to continue to get better."

On what he saw on his interception:

"We had been hunting. We knew that they were going to be throwing those deep daggers, and we had been hunting that since joint practice. I knew that I could manipulate them with some of my alignment. I just saw him (the quarterback) staring it down and went and jumped it and ended up making a good play."

On if his pass breakup on third down before his interception was just as satisfying:

"Any time you get the opportunity and capitalize on making a play, it is a good feeling. Situation and circumstance, it was third down and just executing the call and playing at a high level, and playing fast and making a play, it was satisfying, for sure."

On if the team showing trust in him has made him more comfortable:

"Yeah, for sure. The more trust, I feel like the more confidence it brings out in me. The more opportunities they give me, the more chances I have to make plays on the ball and stuff like that. (I am) just going out there and trying to maximize those opportunities and take advantage of them and just do it to the best of my ability."

Saints Wide Receiver Bub Means

On if he thinks he scored:

"Yes. 100%. I thought if you kicked the pylon that's a touchdown. I didn't step out before that. I'm glad one of the tight ends (Oscar Delp) got to punch it in. But yeah, he owes me a lunch or something. I gave him an assist."

On what it meant to get on the field today:

"I'm just thankful for the opportunity. Like you said, it's been a long time since I played. I've been out for all of last season. So, this is my 1st real taste of game time. I'm just grateful for the opportunity. I'm blessed I was able to go out there and make plays, capitalize on my opportunities at hand. I hate that we couldn't get a win, but we're back on the drawing board. Back at it Monday."

On how tough it's been not being able to play:

"Mentally, it sucks. Just watching my teammates and not being able to go out there and compete with them and fight with them and go to war with them. So, last year, not being able to be out there was real tough for me mentally. But now I'm healed, I'm healthy, I'm going out there. I know what I'm doing. I know my job—I'm making plays. So everything's looking uphill right now."

On what he likes about Zach Wilson's play today:

"His arm talent is amazing. His arm talent is amazing. And he's a baller for sure. He's going to take risks. He's going to throw it, and me and him have a connection. We've been building chemistry. I'm not going to say I'm his favorite target, but I might be his favorite target at this point. I know my boy is going to feed me and I'm going to make the plays. We're going help each other out. Let's put it that way. We're going make sure we both shine."

On the 37-yard play down the side:

"Well, I knew that the corner's been sitting flatfooted, so I knew if I just got the corner to stomp his feet just a little bit, then I could run past him. He (Wilson) just made a great throw, and I made a catch. That's just kind of a routine play for us, though. Like I said, we've been building chemistry all of camp and since he's been here. We've had a lot of time to get certain plays and certain tendencies down."

On if he's doing everything he wants to do right now and making a strong case:

"Yes, sir. I feel like I'm making the best of every opportunity that I'm granted, and I feel like that's the only thing I can do in my position right now. I cannot complain about the opportunities, but I can do what I can when the opportunity comes. So like I said, I'm making plays. I'm going out there, and I don't really care what play it is, I'm going 100% effort. Even if I mess up, I'm not really mad that I messed up, but you're going to see if I mess up, then I'm messing up at 100 miles per hour. I'm just blessed to be able to be in this position and still get granted opportunities and be able to make plays."

On where he's made the most improvements:

"I took more of a mental step. Like, physically, I've always been blessed and gifted. But, mentally, I feel like I slowed the game down this year. Like, I understand certain defenses more, and I understand where I need to be at. I understand the concepts a little better."

Saints Quarterback Zach Wilson

Opening Statement:

"I thought it was a lot of fun being back out on the field with the guys, playing real football. It's just different than practice for whatever reason, right? Just the feeling you get before the game and all that, it's always fun to get on the field. So, I thought it was I thought it was a lot of fun."

On if he thought he took a step forward today:

"Yeah, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of the offense. I love the offense. I think they do such a good job with it. I feel confident that any play these guys call, I feel like I have a good option of a good way to play it. So, it gives me a lot more confidence out on the field—having so much trust in the offense. I would also say, I'm trying to approach it exactly the same way every day, learning from my mistakes, how can I make each play a little bit better? And then just getting ourselves the best shot as the quarterback, just trying to have every play be as efficient as possible. And then just learn from our mistakes and keep going in next week."

On taking explosive shots:

"Yeah, I would love to take shots when they're there. I thought there was maybe a couple down the field that I was maybe a little too quick to play underneath. Just trying to take what they give me. I felt like there was one in the two-minute where I probably could have thrown it over the top, but a couple of the explosives, I feel like if they're there, a coach is going to call a shot; we got a one-on-one, and we got some good playmakers on our team—we can throw it up to those guys. Bub made a good play. And then on the other one, I felt like they were in a coverage that just didn't make sense to guard the field. They had a safety run from one half to the other. So we could be on the whole shot up there on the sideline."

On what he likes about Means as a target:

"Yeah, just a lot of confidence in his ability to play a game. Great route runner. That was what he's supposed to do. And then obviously we'll go make the play for you too. I've enjoyed my entire group that I'm with, but Bub's done a great job."

On Means's "sneaky-fast" playstyle:

"For sure. Yeah, he's like one of those guys that can kind of do it all. You feel confident whatever he's on, he's going to do pretty well for you."

On Means's step out of bounds:

"Yeah, it's unfortunate. But at the same time, I thought that was a great play by him. The play that we'd called didn't even really have an option for him on it. So it was kind of one of those — hopefully I can at least get a touchdown pass out of it."

On his appreciation for his chemistry with Means considering his injury history:

"Yeah, it is tough. The league, just with injuries in general, is really tough. Being able to always come back from that kind of stuff and go out there and put good things on film is impressive. I always appreciate that from guys."

On the last two-minute drill:

"You always want those situations. Those situations are great. You can never get enough work in at a good situation like that, especially where we even had it there at the end. I always try and play out in my head how many plays we roughly have left, how many timeouts we have left, and what's the objective here — are we playing normal football? Do we have enough timeouts that I can just get the ball in bounds and check it down and run for three or four yards, or is it one of those where, if something's not there, I need to get out of bounds and can't take a sack. So you can never get enough practice at that stuff, and I always appreciate it when you get a chance at a two-minute drive going, because it's great practice for everybody."

On if he knew when he was getting in:

"Yeah, they had told us it was going to be Spence (Rattler) for the first quarter and a little bit of the second, and then I was going to go in at some point in the second and play through the third. So, we had a good idea, but you know how it goes — however the drives are going, however it lines up, you're kind of like, "hey, you're up." So always just being ready."

On if the history of the offensive coaching staff and experience playing the position makes it a QB friendly offense and what he likes about this offense:

"Yeah, I don't know, it's tough — everyone's got different skill sets, but for me, every concept just kind of makes sense for what I'm used to. You feel like you are playing a zone team. It is supposed to be a high-completion game, and I feel like they do a great job of keeping your progressions where they should be. It is not like I am looking to the right and then having to progress all the way back to the left — I am reading somebody, someone takes them away, and there's my next read right into my vision. Kellen (Moore) does a great job of putting guys in conflict. And being able to really pick one guy in this zone—this is the guy we're attacking, if he's not there, if he pushes through, boom, here's your next read coming right into your vision. So, I think he does a great job at doing that and also being very multiple — great keeper game, screen game, but then we can run the ball well from under center, we can do dropback from under center, and some great play-pass shot stuff that he's always trying to call and take shots down the field but trusting us that when it's not there, we're willing to throw a checkdown and take five yards a pop. I feel like that's the style of football I love to play."

On the sluggo route and the whole shot play right after:

"Well, that's what they do great. The sluggo play he caught the quick fade on — they pressed him up, might've been quarters to that side, but he gives me a pure progression if that's not there, they cloud that side or zone it off, if there's an off corner. So it is like, hey, if you have your one-on-one, let's take it. If it is not there, I have a guy right underneath, someone working the top, and a backside high-low. It is a great play that I feel confident when he calls something like that, because if I do it the right way, I have an option versus every coverage. A lot of times in the league it is hard to know what you're getting — everyone disguises so well — so to call an all-purpose beater like that's a quarterback's best friend. You know you can find a completion versus anything."

On if he potentially made a case for moving up the depth chart:

"I don't think about it like that. For me, I'm here to compete — I'd love to be the two, I'd love to find my way up there; that's why I chose to come here, to have an opportunity to compete. But it's out of my control. So for me it's just focusing on one play at a time, every day in practice — can I watch the film, can I get better, can I learn the ins and outs of this offense, and use my time in the league to my advantage. I'm still young, but I feel like I've been able to play in a lot of games and see a lot of different things, so it's been able to slow down a little bit for me. I'm able to use that to my advantage and just seeing how good I can be. Whatever happens at the end of the day, happens."

On playing for different teams and putting it all together:

"Yeah, no doubt. Everywhere you go, there's something you steal from someone you've worked with. There's different protections, but at the end of the day, a lot of plays are very similar. I think what makes a coach really good is when they can add little details to a play to make it just that much better, because it's a game of inches — and that's one thing they do a great job of here. That experience — when you start to see something every single day, you just get more comfortable with it, so that's obviously a blessing. There's been a lot of opportunity for learning in my past where I haven't done well, but I'm able to reflect and go, 'Okay, I've had this play before, this is what happened, so this is how I'm going to do it better this time.'"

On Hunter Dekkers' performance:

"Yeah, awesome. This was my 17th preseason game I've been a part of, played in, or watched. I remember the feelings of it being my first time, stepping on an NFL field, so trying to support him in that moment and how cool that is — not taking for granted preseason or regular season. For him to be put in a situation like that that comes down to the wire, and to rip that seam ball he had in there, and being able to make some plays and give us a chance at the end — it was really cool, so I was happy for him. And people don't realize this — he doesn't get to practice that stuff. The two-minute drill — he doesn't in practice get to go though any of those reps. The starters get it, maybe the backups take a couple, but he just sits there and watches. So it's on him to learn it, then go out there live, make the calls, read the defense, and understand — can we clock this one, do I need to throw it out of bounds, what down is it — there are so many things going on, and to handle that's really impressive."

On the clock situation and emphasizing situational football:

"Yeah. The cutoff is about 12 seconds, so it was cool as a group to see it be short — we have the first down, we know it's not going to be fourth down, we can get everyone up to the ball. I thought the operation was really well done, and it's something Kellen practices all the time, because every game comes down to the wire, almost 80% of games come down to one score at the end."

On Tyler Shough's pre-game chant:

"Oh yeah, that's great. I think that's a strength of his, being able to lead the guys — he does a great job with that. He's a natural leader for sure."

On what the gameday atmosphere feels like as a visitor to the Caesars Superdome:

"I think having a special game-day atmosphere, you can feel what teams have that culture or that thing the whole community rallies around, and that's definitely something they have here. That always stands out to me — as a visiting player you notice it, it's awesome, it gets everyone going. It reminded me of the same thing when I went to Minnesota for the first time, and they had their Viking Skol chant and the horn — it kind of gets you juiced up and ready to go. It's a pretty cool thing."

Saints Edge Michael Heldman

On how he came up with his sack celebration:

"I didn't want to, like, copy anyone's or do something just normal, and I literally thought of it last night. I was also on TikTok before I go to bed, just a couple minutes, and I saw some Marvel clips and I'm like, that's kind of hard. So yeah, it was just kind of how I came up with it."

On whether he's a Doctor Strange fan or just saw it on TikTok:

"It's really just watching Marvel stuff, you know, Ryan Burns does the whole Spider-Man thing — I can't do that. And like, no one's ever hit the Doctor Strange. I'm like, that would be kind of cool. I am a big Marvel fan, so it is pretty cool to hit that in-game. So I just had to go get the sacks first to do it."

On how he felt about his day overall:

"In our joint practice, it wasn't my best day, and in the league, you have to grow from that and learn. Coming into the game, I've never had this much excitement going into a game before. I felt a little more nervous in college — not nervous nervous, but I felt excited to get out here. So it was just like, kept hunting, kept hunting — when my opportunity was to get out on the field, just go hunt, go hunt. And then I got there, you know what I'm saying? So it's cool to have those first moments in the league. In the moment, you're just in a football game, and then when you're on the sidelines, you're like, 'Wow, I'm in the NFL.' It's super cool. So I'm very happy about it and excited about it, and excited for the future games."

On whether getting a lot of snaps helps to get in a rhythm:

"Yeah, it helps. It's nice. Growing up, it's just really taking advantage of the reps you get, not counting reps. We had Jon Gordon come in — he's written a lot of great books, a good speaker too, and he talked about being a hero, which is like waiting for the moment and letting the clock run down, versus being a warrior and attacking every second of the game, not worrying about when it's going in. I can feel myself doing that in college sometimes, and here I'm just like, every moment, attack it. So whenever the reps I had — when I was on kickoff, I was waiting for my turn to get on special teams and I did, I was excited for that. But just playing defensive snaps, it was exciting to get out there and attack every rep, make it mean everything. Because every play counts in football."

On reviewing both of his sacks and what led to them:

"You know, kind of attacking it — it's more of just, if you don't have power in this game you can't really get anywhere, and I'm a big guy. My philosophy is set things up, playing chess with the guy throughout the game. Several times when I attacked him, they're really good with throwing your hands down when you get pressure and standing you up — that's why they like to throw your hands down. And I got put on the ground several times, and I'm like, 'Man, this is embarrassing.' But I felt like I needed to adjust. So throughout the game, instead of attacking power, I'd show that I'm attacking power to get off quick, dip, use my bend, get the quarterback. And it worked. One of my TFLs too — he came at me aggressively, and I know if I attacked him I would've stood him up, but I knew he would've tried to throw me down again. So I took the liberty of going inside and making a play on the running back. That's a risk you take — there's a reward, and if you don't make the tackle, you might get called on the sideline, but that's just really playing the game within the game, playing chess. Sometimes you gotta set up things, and guys will see that, and maybe start you out differently at different games. So it's really just playing that chess match on the field."

On whether the confidence or excitement he found helps him take risks:

"I'd say not really — it's more just that I'm excited to play the game. A little bit, but it's more like, even if you're not having the best game, or maybe you are having a good game, but you just find yourself going you have to keep going, keep going. It's really still playing that chess match with the guy in front of you, understanding what they're going to do, and the down and distance and where they are on the field. It's really just continuing to play the game. Your highs are your highs, get back to the middle; your lows are your lows, get back to the middle. Really just staying in the middle every time and attacking it."

On how it felt to take those risks and get rewarded with two sacks:

"Felt good, it felt really good. All the guys were getting hyped on the sidelines. Like I said, I did not have a good practice two days ago. So just being out there, the guys were hyped — 'Yeah Mike, so Money Mike' — it is just cool being out there. Attacking it and really doing what I can to help this team win, and it just shows what I can do. A lot of guys attacked our defense — being able to help this team win is really the biggest thing. I think that's the exciting part, showing what I can do. I'm basically every phase besides offense."

On entering the stadium for the first time and what that moment was like:

"This is the biggest stadium I've ever been in — I'm from Michigan, so Ford Field is decently big, but this place is booming, the Who Dat chant, everything. It was a surreal moment going out to warm up — I'm like, man, I'm in the NFL, all right, time to attack. So that's kind of how I felt going into it."

On what this opportunity with the Saints means to him:

"It means a lot. I am an undrafted rookie, I have to do everything to make this team. Just putting myself out there, putting good plays out there, and even if it is not making the tackle or getting the sack, it is doing my job at physical 100%, everything on the line every single day, every single game, to show what I can do to make the team. It is also growing closer together everyday with the dudes in that locker room too — learning from Grando (Carl Granderson), from Chase (Young), from Cam (Jordan), Tyree (Wilson) coming in as well. Learning from all those guys is an advantage I am taking. So, the biggest thing is living it every day and enjoying it. I think it's a big opportunity, and I'm excited for the next two games and joint practices we have."

On his performance at rookie talent night:

"My coach was like, 'Listen, none of the edges have been booed, so you better bring your A-game.' And I was like, all right. I was going to do certain songs — I felt like 'No Diggity,' little Dr. Dre rap at the beginning. I just went out there, had some good moves, killing it. I literally was listening to it every night after practice on my way back to the hotel, got it memorized, and everyone enjoyed it. So yeah, definitely killed it for sure."

On whether he came up with the sack celebration idea just last night:

"Yeah, it's just one of those things that came to me, so I went with it. Kind of like Cam Jordan with his levels — I've never seen anyone do that before. So everyone has their own thing, if that makes sense. That was the first time I did it. My first sack was the first time I did it. This is something I thought of — I'm like, all right, if this looks bad, oh well.

On whether he had a celebration in college:

"I had a couple. I'm a devout Christian, so I always point to the sky, praise Jesus in everything I do — I'm still going to pull that out and thank him for everything, for putting me here. But I thought it'd be nice to have something different. I always did a high kick, a baseball bat swing — I did that once. So I thought I'd try to find something else. I'm in the league now. Something that stands out, I guess. All the guys were like, 'Hey Mike, it's time to go get some.' I'm like, 'I got you. So that's kind of how it was.'"

On the practice where he felt he had a bad day, and how he processed it:

"Going in, I was excited, but as a new team (we practice with), nerves creeping in a little, but I was still hype, ready to go. I go in, and I have a couple good plays, but there was one, where we didn't really know much about them, so we went in kind of blind. I went to attack the tackle — I thought he was passing, so I was bull-rushing, and I didn't realize the running back ran right into that gap. It was a run play, and I'm rushing through it like it's a pass — it looked so bad on film, I am like, can we go to the next clip please? Then there was one where I had a call to drop but I did not — I thought the ball was on one side. It was more that I was seeing something and just locking in instead of slowing it down. That is what hurt me most, because I know the playbook, I know where to go — it's just those small things, slowing the game down, seeing it, then attacking it. Today, I was able to be cool, go in and attack it, and I was excited, and that really slowed the game down for me — studying them, watching their tape, seeing little tells with formations and motions, being able to see those things and then get the play call and know, all right, I have to drop on this or rush on this, now let's see what formation they're giving me. So I was able to really slow it down. But those plays are embarrassing — you just want to go out there and play well."

On when he felt like he'd moved past the bad practice:

"I was kind of over it when I woke up, but we still had to finish our clips in the morning, so I'm like, man, I still got several bad plays. So, I got over it, and It was really just praying — I sat in my hotel room, prayed a lot, talked to my wife, and it was really just one of those things where it's a game tomorrow, put it behind you. You have to put plays behind you if maybe they're not your best, and just keep going, have fun with it. I came in today with my stomach a little gurgly in the morning, but I got over it, I was like, man, this is exciting. So I just had a rush, and I was out there the whole time, and here we are. It's really just calming down and trusting in the Lord that no matter what, I'm still his child, I am still alive, and I am still playing ball. I think that is the biggest thing — just going and playing, doing your job, going 100%, and you cannot do anything wrong there."

On the kind of feedback he gets from Chase and Cam:

"Really, Cam harps on getting out the stack — instead of stopping when they throw the ball, you run. I was a big guy with that in college and started to grow in it, and here I think the heat got to me a little. So it's one of those things I'm still growing with. But really the biggest emphasis is about effort — you have to practice how you play. In a game, you want to keep attacking it, chasing after the quarterback when he scrambles, or if it's a screen, you have to get out and go. Him harping on that really helps me understand to just go and keep going, even if you're tired. Practicing in the heat helps too; I'm not going to lie — it felt great in the (Caesars Superdome) dome today. And then Chase is really just like, 'Don't mess stuff up, dude' — I'm keeping it PG-13 here— 'You're better than them, you're physical, practice — so just go be great.'"