Opening statement:
"We did a lot of things well tonight on both sides of the ball. Some of the kicking game (as well). We thought a fast start would be important against this team and we did that. We had balance. I know the first half, time of possession, third down, those things that are important (we had impressive numbers in). We got off the field defensively and I was pleased with how we responded in the second half. We came out and still kind of carried that momentum through the third quarter."
On how locked in Drew Brees was before the game:
"Every game is that way. Honestly. Sure, there's a record out there and it's a little bit of a fluid record, right? There's just so much preparation that goes in now. For him to finish the way he did on the evening, we thought we would have some vertical throws with some of the seams and we did. He was outstanding tonight…He was efficient and it was impressive and then obviously as a play-caller you begin to gain confidence and your sheet looks a lot bigger when he's playing like that. There were a lot of things that went into it."
On what Drew Brees' records mean to him as a coach:
"Honestly, the win means a lot. There's going to be a day where we all ride off into the sunset, but it's not now. Like I said, there's a lot at stake right now relative to these games. When you look at the top of the NFC and we're very competitive, we're going to play another team in the hunt next week that has played real well. It's something we've seen happen and I think he'll tell you the same thing. It's about winning. It's about winning and winning and winning and trying to give yourself the best chance in the postseason. And that's really the truth."
On scoring 34+ points in every game since the loss to Atlanta:
"The most important thing for us is situationally and how we've got to become better in the red zone. That's been a point of emphasis on both sides of the ball. I think the third down numbers have gotten better and improved. It is really some of the little things that go into that become the big things. It is the attention to detail. We as coaches are going to continue to do a better job and (work with the team on) all those things that go into being an effective offense and an efficient defense and special teams that require a lot of small attention to detail. I feel like tonight we made strides in that direction."
On C.J. Gardner-Johnson's performance:
"He is playing well. I like his competitive spirit, he is tough and he's someone that certainly's up for the challenge. I thought he had some key plays tonight. Some minus plays. We pressured him (Jacoby Brissett). He hit the runner in the backfield two or three times. He's very instinctive and there are a lot of things to like about a rookie. I think he's someone that is only going to get better."
On the entire defense performance:
"We did a lot of things well. We'll have a brief minute to look at this film. Obviously, it's late tonight and we'll get started on Tennessee (in the morning)."
On the significance of Drew Brees setting the touchdown record on the 10th anniversary of the 2009 Super Bowl champion team:
"I think it's great that his peers were here. I mean, he has a lot of peers though, right? When you play this long, we call him Benjamin Button. That happened in New Orleans, I believe. At least the movie was filmed here. There's been a number of other milestones and I think it's still about winning. It's a fluid record though. There's still another quarterback in New England (Tom Brady). That'll go back and forth as long as those two are playing. Without speaking for him and you guys will have a chance to ask him those questions, I think still we operate where we need to be when these games continue to get more and more important. As that pressure falls on that position, what does the picture look like? Is it consistent? Are guys doing the small things? Obviously, tonight he made a lot of plays. There were times when the pocket was not clean and he still found targets. He had the one touchdown in the red zone that was brought back for the obvious offensive pass interference call. I was proud of how he played and how we played as a team.
On the entire weekend celebrating the 2009 Super Bowl team:
"It's always good to see guys that came through and they kind of set the standard. We talked about that a little this weekend. I like that they're around this team. They won a lot of games. It's healthy. I think when you create a culture that we feel like we currently have, it's good to have guys that were part of creating that."
On Drew Brees' completion percentage:
"I wasn't aware of it until the end. It's hard to do. You go back and evaluate each play and it's just unusual. He had a hot hand. Guys were making plays, but that's awfully difficult to do. I'm trying to think of the incompletion…He'll get a minus on that play."
On Drew Brees' work ethic:
"There has been a ton of great players that have played in this league and there's certain ways that they prepare and that's his formula. There has got to be great ability that goes with work ethic and there are all these different things. People ask about his success and he's a fantastic foot athlete, No. 1. When you have all those traits that's what we're constantly looking for in the evaluation process. It's hard to find. He's someone that is a tireless worker and the attention to detail and the little things all are, I mean every, everything, you know, the night before the game, when we go through every play in the plan and we talk about where it sits in the call sheet, when we want to call it. He gets out of whack when the routine's off a little bit. It's credit to how he trains, not just in season but in the offseason. There are a lot of sacrifices that go into the preparation to play this level the way he is at his age."
On what made Demario Davis so effective:
"We were playing a good tight end. I liked how he leveraged the receiver. I liked how he defended with the correct hand. I thought he put himself in great position and he did so with his feet. That was impressive. There were a number of those man coverage snaps that he drew that matchup."
On the advantage that Michael Thomas gives the offense:
"He is a big part of what we do. He has real good size. He's very physical and someone who I think is exceptional after the catch. He is someone with the ball in his hands who is tough to get down. Each week where are we putting him within the framework of what we do? We maybe change some things up because teams obviously will want to lean or try to double him and kind of is the challenge each week."
On if the offense was clicking on all cylinders:
"I thought we did a lot of things well. We were able to run the ball effectively. There were not a lot of third and longs. There were a few. We did a lot of things well. We'll watch the tape. As a coach, there's always certain things you want to get corrected, but tonight it was good enough and we'll get back to work on a short week for next week."
