On what makes the Saints offense unique: "The quarterback. The way they attack you – they're always going downfield and they're passing the ball a lot. They're trying to keep you on your heels, and they're an attacking offense."
On the philosophy behind shortening the bench at defensive line: "In a windy kind of ball game, the passes aren't really going down the field. You try to have the bigger guys in there to try and load up for the run a little bit. That was all."
On how to fix the mistakes that were made last game: "They are fixable. Like I said, we took a lot of good things out of the ballgame. There were a lot of things (that we did in) training camp and OTAs, day one kind of things that shouldn't have happened and didn't happen. We corrected them in the meeting and we'll go from there."
On why the defense has so few takeaways: "That's a tough question. They come in bunches and you're always hoping for that one to get you sparked. We work at it every day and we're trying to get then. I think they're going to come, but there isn't one thing that you can put on it to say this is why we are or why we aren't doing it. Some of them just fall in your lap and there are a lot of them that you have to work for. We just have to keep working at it."
On whether the defense will go back to more of a five-man rotation on the defensive line going against a throwing team: "That all depends on how they come out and try to attack us. It could be more or it could be less depending on what they try to do."
On how DE Brandon Graham played with increased snaps: "Brandon did a good job. I don't know if it was so much of an increase as it was different personnel groups require different people. If you get caught out there on a long drive, your snaps may tend to get skewed a little bit more."
On whether DT Mike Patterson will be able to play this week: "I'm not sure yet. He's working, and we just have to see where he is."
On what Patterson brings that is different than what he has right now: "This being my first year, I didn't have the chance to be around him much last year. I know he's tough, he's itching to play, and he loves the game. He's a big body. He's a natural born leader. That'll help out a lot."
On how difficult it was to have his first game go like it did against Atlanta: "It was tough because we didn't win. Then, the penalties and the third-downs. It was one person here and one person there. You can't just single out anything. Us as a whole on defense, we have to get it done. It wasn't frustrating for me. It was frustrating that we lost. It was frustrating how we didn't play the way we normally play, but you write it off as a bad game and you look forward to the next week."
On what made him promote DT Fletcher Cox to the starting lineup: "Fletcher has been playing well. With the d-line rotation, they go back and forth each week. We don't really have starters. We just rotate every now and then. With the starters there, we feel like we have four starters at d-tackle. Fletcher just happened to go out first."
On whether DT Derek Landri has panned out so far this season: "He was a little nicked up earlier in the year, but at this point of the season, everybody is. He's a hard worker, he's tough, and he's going to give you everything he's got. I think he's fine."
On whether he is satisfied with the pass rush against Atlanta: "I don't know if I was satisfied with anything because we lost. They work hard and they rush at it. I wouldn't say that satisfaction is a good word for that game. I really can't answer that one."
On how he assessed the play of the defensive backs against Atlanta's physical receivers: "I think when we press, we press well. There are times where you have to fake jam and change it up a little bit. Too much of one thing is not good enough for anybody. When you decide to change it up, you need to make sure that you can get out of there. The assessment is depending on the game plan, wind conditions, and everything else in coverage along with what we go over in practice as to whether they're going to press or not press. Everybody is going to miss a jam in the league or give up a deep ball. Unfortunately, it just happened in that game."
On whether CB Nnamdi Asomugha's big plays have been due to a lapse in technique: "No, his technique is fine. It was fine against Baltimore. He got beat on a double-move by Jacoby (Jones) in that case right there. This game, I think he opened up the gate on Julio (Jones) and let him run. Julio can run."
On whether they underestimated Jones' speed: "I don't think he underestimated his speed. He was thinking one thing and guessed wrong."
On how to defend against QB Drew Brees: "Like I said before, they're an attack team. They attack you with the running backs, the tight ends, and the wide receivers. You got to have a good overall game plan against them, and you have to hope that he is off a little bit. You have to hope they are a little bit worn down. He's been tough for years now. It's not just this game. He's been tough against everybody. They are the number one pass offense in the league for a reason."
On Brees getting rid of the ball so quickly: "No, you're going to see that every week. Every quarterback right now, with four guys rushing the passer, will try to get rid of the ball a little quicker and let your playmakers make plays. He can do both – he can make all the throws, he gets rid of it quick, and he can play-action. He has all the intangibles. You just have to make sure you have a solid game plan."
On why screens were a problem for the defense in the last game: "I just thought we missed tackles."
On his interpretation of whether it was penalty on the screen play for a big gain: "No, you don't worry about the referees in this game. If they (throw) the flag, it's a penalty. If they don't, it's not."
On whether it was his decision or Reid's decision to bench LB Mychal Kendricks for the first defensive series: "It was a team decision."
On whether that affected Kendricks' play: "No, I don't think so. Mychal is a good player and a tough player. He's still learning at times, and some things that happened to him for the first time. He just has to get better each week."
On whether he is still coaching from the field: "Yes."
On whether they are sticking with LB Akeem Jordan at the weakside linebacker spot: "Yes."
