New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
Post-Practice Media Availability
Friday, November 6, 2015

You mentioned penalties being one of the big frustrations on defense; Brandon Browner had four more this week. Is it something where you have to coach him differently?

"We kind of pay attention to the numbers. We put up the opponent's penalties and where they are coming from. We put up our own and where they are coming from. It is not just Brandon. A lot of them are coming from the secondary and it is something that we have to pay attention to. The third down numbers last week were pretty good, and yet they weren't really factoring in the conversions made because there was a penalty. It is something that we'll work on. We've got the gloves on these guys to prevent the grabbing and some of the tugging. There is a little bit of, (it's) part of the deal, but not to the extent that we have been seeing."

With Brandon, you knew about his physical style and embraced it when he came in here; you don't want that volume I assume?

"You just want to reduce some of it. He is an aggressive player at the line of scrimmage. I like it. He is very disciplined. He is smart. Again, it is not just one player."

When you're having trouble with penalties, do you give a closer look each week to how certain crews call (their games)?

"We profile them. We profile every crew on Friday. We profiled Jerome Boger's (crew) this week, and where his crew is at, (with regards to their) total penalties called, the average per crew at this point in the season, and then what their crew is calling and what they're calling a lot. This (crew) is at the top of the league, with regards to penalties called. We kind of go through each call and where they rank based on their numbers, compared to the other crews. We do that on Friday and it was no different this morning."

You talked about the Titans having an active defensive front; can you talk about what that means for your offense and offensive line?

"They play out of a 3-4 defense in the base. They're talented up front and at the linebacker position. They can play the run, they're physical and I'd say that they are very good at rushing the passer. They get on the edge of your players inside (and) they've got speed outside. When you transition that from base to nickel, they do a good job of rotating players in. I think part of that pass defense that has been so good for them is tied with how they play on the back end and how they play on the front end, and the timing that the ball has to come out."

Is this the thinnest you have been at the linebacker position in a while, in terms of starters getting injured?

"I don't think so. (David) Hawthorne is back this week. It is part of our league (so it's about) getting the next person up and making sure he is ready to go. Each week, we're training who is starting in the base, who is backing up in the base, and then, who is starting in the sub and who is backing up in the sub. We've got some guys that are nicked up and then a few guys that are coming back."

Has (Tim) Hightower been able to pick things up pretty quickly?

"Yes, he was in camp with us so he knows what we are doing."

When preparing for Marcus Mariota, how much do you look at the first game where he played really well, versus anything after?

"We look at all of it. We're early enough in the season where these games are all in the cutups, and you prepare for both quarterbacks (Mariota and Zach Mettenberger). When you are breaking down the film, his first game would appear (and) his second and third games, up until he was hurt. We would have a pretty good feel for at least the snaps that he has played, and no different than the snaps that Zach has played."

How has Garrett Grayson come along?

"He is doing well. He is sharp. He is a quick study. A lot of times it is hard getting the work or the reps during the week. He is doing well."

Have you ever looked into the statistics of how a team that fires their head coach in the season play in their next game? Have you found that they perform better or worse?

"Jason (Mitchell) puts together all of these numbers. It's kind of mixed or varied. Each one's different. Obviously, knowing Mike (Mularkey), those guys will have a good focus. I'm sure that they've been having a good week of practice. Our focus has really been on our team and understanding that when you are looking at these guys, there have been a number of these games that they played down to the wire and for whatever reason, did not finish and did not have the win that they wanted, and yet there have been a lot of close games. We can't really control that."

What sort of week has Drew Brees had after that performance last Sunday?

"It has been good. He's been sharp, healthy and (he) dives into the gameplan. He's been full speed. He has been sharp."