On the stretch in the beginning of the third quarter where the Saints' lead grew to 18 points: "We were fine in the locker room at halftime. Everybody was positive and then we had the early score there and we need to come back and answer and I threw the ball right in coverage. I saw the guy and just made a bad throw, a bad decision and I've got to cut those turnovers out. I know better than that and I will do it."
On what he made of his first start: "It's frustrating because, like you said, there were some good things out there you know. I just hate that I kill myself and kill the team with those turnovers. As a quarterback you can't allow yourself to do that. It puts us in the hole. It put us in the hole at the top of the third and we couldn't recover."
On whether running the Wildcat took him out of the game or out of the tempo: "No, it really didn't. I only came out once and the other times I was out there. I thought we had great tempo in and out of the huddle. The Wildcat really didn't affect it at all. I thought we got some positive things out of it, we got some good looks at some stuff and the chance for a big play there, we just didn't protect it right. We've got to score when we get down there. (I) took us all the way down the field. We did a good job getting down the field and we just didn't score touchdowns and then that's when it backfires on you whenever you throw a couple of interceptions to the other team."
On why the Wildcat was used so much during this game: "I'm sure some of it was because I was back there. We enjoy doing some of that stuff and it's been positive. I mean it really has been a positive for us so far. It's something new in the NFL and I'm sure it will continue to expand. That doesn't have any effect on the loss. It was other things throughout the game."
On whether there were enough positives for him in the game that he can come out with some confidence:"No. The fact is we lost. The fact is I had three turnovers again and it upsets me. You won't feel better again until you get back on the field for practice on Wednesday, or I guess we'll go in tomorrow too, but it's frustrating from a personal standpoint."
On whether he is eager to get another start: "Absolutely. And get a win."
On whether a week of practice benefitted him: "No doubt about it. I mean the guys, there was great continuity in and out of the huddle. Like I said the tempo was awesome, which is what we worked on throughout the week. We wanted to get those guys tired. We went on a 14-play drive, I believe, in the second quarter and we just couldn't punch it in. But the practice had a lot to do with the little success we did have. We've just got to take care of the ball and get touchdowns."
On whether the New Orleans' defense showed him anything unusual:"Not really. The coaches did an unbelievable job in preparation this week with me and we worked our tails off and everything we saw, we knew what was coming. They tried a couple of full blitzes on us there when we got on their side of the football field and we answered pretty good. We had some plays in there that went pretty well, so I think it backed them off some. And then of course once they got the lead, they backed off for the big play and we were able to get some underneath things."
On the interception he threw at the beginning of the third quarter: "We had been throwing that route in the two-minute drill leading up to the half and they trust me if that guy gets wide, to just check it back underneath. And I really thought I could get it outside of him and we had been doing it previous to that point and he just took off to the flats. That's the thing, the last one—hail mary okay—but the other two they were bad throws. I saw it clear as day they were bad throws. I left them inside and you can't do that on out breaking routes, first page of the quarterback book. It just upsets me that I make those errors."
On whether the first touchdown he threw affected his mindset: "It didn't affect my mindset. I was excited to get that way because we needed the crowd on our side and they were on our side. We needed that energy. We had to answer at that point because we knew (QB Drew) Brees and the Saints—we didn't want them to get the big lead on us like they ended up doing. So to answer that, it was exciting, it was exciting for my first drive and it's just a shame that we couldn't punch some more in in the red zone down there before the half. Even when we were backed up before half, when they went down and scored the next series, we had a play there that I missed that we could've gotten a first down and scored and then we've got the lead at halftime. You all say it's positive, but there really are a lot of things out there that I can learn from and do better at. It's a shame."
On whether the week will be difficult because he is unsure of whether he will start: "No, right now I was the starter this game, if I'm taking the reps tomorrow and Wednesday then I'm going to approach it like I'm the starter for the next week. That's the one thing I have learned in my three years, you have to do that because if you're not mentally prepared you're obviously not going to be physically and emotionally prepared for the game. That's the one thing I learned today is there are a lot of emotional roller coasters throughout the game and you've got to conserve some of that."
On whether he worries about doing enough in these games to get a starting opportunity in the future: "I haven't even thought about it. I'm being totally honest. I think (offensive coordinator) Marty (Mornhinweg) and (head coach) Andy (Reid), they know what I have and they know what they expect. The thing that is frustrating again is the trust. Because they trust you with things and I'm seeing them clearly, I just miss some of the throws. If I don't turn the ball over like that then the trust grows and the relationship grows and we move on from there. I just hate putting myself in that hole."
On the feelings surrounding his first NFL start: "It was super exciting and the thing that I've got to learn is not to get so wound up during the week because (of) all the different things you've got. From last Monday I was excited and so I have to conserve some of that. It was a great experience and shoot, can't wait to get to the film tomorrow and learn from some things and then we'll move on and we'll go beat the Chiefs."
On whether he was referring to when he threw behind WR DeSean Jackson as the play that he missed: "Right, yeah."
On what he was thinking when he was chasing CB Darren Sharper after throwing an interception to him: "I was thinking 'trip him'. I knew I wasn't going to catch him so I thought maybe I could catch his heal. I'm just upset at myself for making a terrible throw."
On whether this game helped him become more confident in the different aspects of this offense: "Sure, they have confidence in me mentally to handle all of that. We actually had a lot in this week. We had a lot of different stuff in. I don't think that's an issue, like I said it's trust. I just have to take care of the ball so they can trust me to go win the football game for them and I'll get better at that."
