Coach Sean Payton's opening statement:
"This will be a short turnaround week for us with a Thursday game. There were some things that we got to get cleaned up. I thought the initial start to the game wasn't particularly great, but I thought after that second quarter, we played better. We made some plays on both sides of the ball. I thought we were a little better on third down in the first-half defensively than in the base. There are still a number of things that we're going to have to work on and improve on even though it's getting late in this preseason."
On QB Drew Brees coming out early:
"I decided that coming into this game when we were playing the game on Sunday as opposed to Friday."
On the difficulty in choosing wide receivers:
"I think it's difficult. I think we've got a lot of guys who are stepping up and doing a good job. Andy (Tanner), Preston (Parker); those guys have had good games and there's good competition there. I think that's encouraging. It's encouraging for our team."
On QB Luke McCown's performance:
"I think overall, I want to see the tape, I thought Luke did a real good job of stepping in and functioning. He's an experienced player who knows our system well, so that part of it is pleasing."
On evaluation of rookie class:
"I think we've got a pretty good idea. It's ongoing, but I think we've got a pretty good idea about that class."
On ILB Ramon Humber's performance:
"He's handling a lot of different elements to the game and I said he played very well last week. We'll see the tape tonight, but he's playing a lot of football and getting a lot of snaps and that's good."
On positives offensively:
"We took some shots down the field. I want to see the video and it's a lot easier for me to go through the game. I thought we made some plays against man-to-man coverage. I think it's a good defense we played, a good team we played, and we were able to come up with some big plays."
On sitting G Jahri Evans and updates on OLB Will Smith:
"No updates and that was just my decision on Jahri."
On ability to rebound after a slow start;
"I think that the one play to (RB) Pierre (Thomas) kind of sparked us a little bit and then all of sudden we were able to make a few plays. When (QB) Luke (McCown) came in I thought he did a good job in getting us in and out of the huddle with the tempo that we're used to and the poise that we're used to at that position so it was good."
On WR Andy Tanner stepping up:
"Those guys are all competing well and certainly Andy. Andy's been with us a while, so he knows what we're doing. He made some really good plays tonight; he's smart and he's someone that really has good feel for the game. That group in general, we've seen some younger players step up so that's good."
On DE Cam Jordan and the pressure he brought:
"I thought it was encouraging. He's been a guy that rushes the passer well for us. It helps when you can get presser with your four-men rush especially."
On DE Glen Foster's four sacks this preseason:
"He has been a pleasant surprise. He's a guy that has been very consistent. He's going to compete, not just make this team; he's going to compete for playing time and so I'm encouraged with him."
On run game of first team offense:
"We'll take a peek at the tape and we'll see. Obviously, we always hope to do well in the first series."
