New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
Conference Call with New Orleans Media
Monday, September 23, 2019

Now that you've had a chance to look at the film, what were some of the things that stood out in hindsight? Were the things that you noticed yesterday things that pretty much stayed consistent with what stood out?
"I thought in the kicking game, we did a good job controlling the field position. Obviously, (we had) the big return. I thought that defensively, we held up well against the run. I thought our numbers there were good. The challenge with that team and that offense is containing the quarterback (Russell Wilson), but we scored a touchdown with the fumble recovery. Offensively, I thought our run game was efficient. There's still some things we have to clean up. As a team overall, we still were high with penalties, none on special teams again. Enough when you watched the tape where you want to get after the corrections, but encouraged with the things we did to win."

How significant was Eli Apple's play? That strip that they made on the running back Chris Carson. Obviously, you need to get him on the ground, but I guess he's got the will and all to strip it out in the process too.
"It's such a turnover game. Those are possessions that flip all of a sudden. We score a touchdown and we're kicking off again. So it was a significant play."

When Alvin (Kamara) gets that number of touches, is that something that's usually decided going into the game?
"No. That's a good question, but I would say no. A lot of times a game unfolds a certain way. It can just vary. It's something that's not decided ahead of time. Sometimes it can be, but in that case it wasn't."

Speaking of Alvin (Kamara), he talked yesterday about how he felt like the team got really close just being able to bond here in Seattle. Is that something that you noticed as well?
"I think anytime we go on the road like that for an extended period, seven, eight days, you have that opportunity, it can actually can eliminate a lot of distractions. We've done it to London twice. We've relocated during hurricanes. I think it can a good experience. I think you're just focused on one thing. You're kind of away from everything. And I think the timing was good."

You mentioned Alvin (Kamara's) strength yesterday. Is that something that might be a little bit underrated? Does he seem to get stronger as the game goes along?
"He's a player that has good balance and good vision. He's also has really good football instincts so there's a handful of plays where he's patient on whether it's a run or a pass. He's hard to bring down. Hard to get off his feet."