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New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
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Monday, October 26, 2015

When you have three plays like you did yesterday, is it almost a signal for your team that you are going to put on the accelerator to close out games aggressively?

“Well, one of the challenges in our league during the four minute, you know getting that final first down, and I’m going back to the final drive. When you’re looking at two and a half minutes with a two-minute warning, potentially a timeout or two, it’s really a long time, long enough that the opposing team may not be in the hurry up depending on where the ball is placed if you punt it. You’re wanting to execute your offense. Now there is a period of time where you’re wanting to bleed the clock, and yet you know we felt the best way to get that last first down was throwing it. It was third and four or five. We have Marques matched up on a smaller corner. Now, coming out, one of the things that concerns you when you’re on the one often times is any minus yardage running play can potentially be a safety. We took a little bit more aggressive approach a couple times there and obviously hit Brandin Cooks on the long play. I think it’s important that your players feel like we came here to win, and so sometimes those calls can be aggressive and yet there is a mindset that has been well thought out, and each week that can vary.”

With that pass to Colston at the end, what does that say about how Drew Brees feels about him in such a crucial moment in the game?

“Well, it was big, certainly. His role each week, depending on who we are playing, we try to get him on the field on some of those third downs and red zone opportunities. His size and ability to really high point balls (is a strength). The thing that he has done great over his career is above his shoulders he’s caught passes in front, behind and even well behind, purposely. It’s a strength of his, and so yesterday that very same thing happened. He’s at that inside slot position, and he’s matched up bump and run, and he essentially works a wide fade with the outside receiver coming underneath and really you have that whole field then. Knowing it was man to man, Drew did a real good job locating the ball on a high point back-shoulder throw. Marques reaches up with a small defender covering him and you look at that play, it’s almost for those two like completing a go route. As opposed to a go route, you see the finish, coming down securing the ball, and at that point we knew we were on a knee.”

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