Head Coach Bill O'Brien
(on how everyone looked at practice today) "Good, I think that this is a very big challenge for us on Sunday, but I do believe that these guys have practiced well. I feel good about the way that we're practicing right now, but again, the key is putting it out there on the game field on Sunday."
(on how T Derek Newton looked back out at practice today) "Yeah, he was out there practicing and finished the practice, haven't really talked to him since the end of practice but looked okay to me."
(on the Saints running game) "Well I studied Mark (Ingram) coming out of Alabama when I was in New England, very powerful guy, about 5-11, 220 pounds, tough to tackle. You're going to have to hit him square, good vision, catches the ball well out of the back field. I mean I think this guy is a really good player. Then don't sleep on C.J. Spiller. Spiller comes in there, has got great speed so they've got some weapons in the back field, absolutely."
(on Saints DE Cameron Jordan) "Very athletic, he can play outside defensive end, he can play inside in the sub pass rush. He's definitely a guy that you have to know where he is on every single play. He's just a very athletic guy, quick, has got good speed, good length, tough guy, so he's a big challenge for us."
(on how bringing back CB Kareem Jackson will alter how they play the slot position) "Yeah, I'm not getting into that with you, come on now, you've been around me a couple years now. What do you think I'm going to diagram how we're going to cover these guys? You got a blackboard? I'll write it up for you. No, what I think is a challenge is the fact that we've got to do a good job as a coaching staff to get these guys in good position to be able to make those types of plays, to be able to cover those guys and really use that with the pass rush. This is a very challenging offense. With all due respect to every offense in the league, (Saints Head) Coach (Sean) Payton and Drew Brees, and big, big challenge for our football team to be ready to go on Sunday."
(on how he evaluates himself as a head coach) "I think I leave that up to you guys. I think all I try to every single day is approach the day, is try to get better than the day before and try to really do a great job for this football team and for this staff, try to be a leader, be somebody who listens but also sets the tone. That's what I try to do, but other than that, I don't really get into all those evaluations."
(on Saints QB Drew Brees compared to Patriots QB Tom Brady) "Definitely different types of players, just from a measurable standpoint, one guy is a lot taller than the other guy, but I do think that where you see similarities with these great quarterbacks is that they're very, very intelligent and they're able to at a moment's notice, within two to three seconds of the ball being snapped, they're able to process what it is and then complete the pass or get their team into the right play. That's how these guys have been so productive for so many years. I mean you're talking about 15 years now. To me, that's unbelievable. Last night I thought was a pretty cool thing just looking at longevity of quarterbacks, watching that Green Bay game and seeing that halftime with Brett Favre and just thinking about how long that guy played and then obviously Bart Starr coming out there to meet him. I just thought that was a cool thing. Anybody that loves football, loves quarterback play and just the longevity of these guys, it takes more than just being able to go out there and just sling it around. You've got to be bright, you've got to understand how to take care of yourself and also be a leader for your team. That's what Drew is."
(on if the Saints offense is difficult to stop because of how many weapons they have) "That's part of it, I mean no question about it, there's a lot of weapons. Obviously it starts with the quarterback. He's just a great player, then he's got these weapons around him, whether it's (Brandin) Cooks or (Benjamin) Watson or the guys in the backfield, (Mark) Ingram and (C.J.) Spiller and then you're talking about some of these other guys that go in there and make plays for them. There's a lot of weapons for them. I think their offensive line is playing well, so it's a big challenge for our team."
