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Following the huge win over Atlanta, Saints coach Joe Vitt spoke to reporters about the Black & Gold victory.
Opening statement: “This was a big win for our football team today. We obviously played a heck of a football team today in
Atlanta, coming in undefeated. They have outstanding weapons on offense and they are playing great, solid
defense. Their special teams have shown up. It took a great week of preparation by our football team. I cannot
say enough about our assistant coaches and the gameplan they have put together. Our run game coordinator,
Aaron Kromer, the run game scheme he had was phenomenal. It is a good win for us and now it is on to
Oakland. We have a big challenge ahead of us.”
(on the fourth quarter goal-line stand) “It was huge. We made plays when we had to make plays defensively.
The two last plays of the (drive) they had a chance to go in and win it and everybody kept their poise, they knew
the call and they relayed the call on defense. They made plays when we needed them. It was encouraging to see.
I think the other thing it was encouraging to see defensively is that our run defense was much better today than
it has been all year long. It is something that we talk about all week long, and Spags (Steve Spagnuolo) has
done a great job of staying positive with our defense and our defense has done a great job of trying to get better.
They have worked hand in hand walking to get it done. They played better today and we had to play better in
order to beat a good football team.”
(on Chris Ivory’s impact and energizing the sideline) “Your eyes are not lying to you. Ivory’s run, Jimmy
Graham’s big catch, energized our sideline. Some of the plays that Drew (Brees) made in the two-minute drill
energized out sideline. This is a football team that has been through a lot and stuck together and they are happy
for one another when somebody makes a big play and that is just the nature of this football team.”
(on 13 straight wins in November) “We work hard to get better every day. This win today is a culmination of
these guys sticking together from day one. This football team starts 0-4 and our coaches do a great job, I said
this before, Aaron (Kromer) did a great job of keeping our football team together. They come together with a
sense of purpose and they work hard to get better every day; that is what they have done. That is the earmark of
this football team. We take great pride in trying to construct the right plays and have them buy into what we do.
We’ve got the right guys and we have to get better this week. We have a big week.”
(on the defense’s confidence) “There are a lot of members of that defense that we won a world championship
with. They have played well at the highest level. They work hard every day at practice. They have great
camaraderie and accountability. Nobody liked the position that we were in and the only way to get out of that
position is to work hard everyday, detail your assignment and practice with a sense of purpose not only to
prepare for your opponent, but for your development and that is what they’ve done. It’s a credit to our coaches.”
(on the kicking game) “We obviously trust Garrett (Hartley), he has made the biggest kicks this franchise has
ever had. It was good to see him make that kick today. Thomas (Morstead) did a great job all day long of
kicking off; I think he is a Pro Bowl player. Our coverage units have been outstanding. We saw a little bit of a
transition in the return game with Darren (Sproles) being hurt, but they (returners) work hard every day and
they will work hard again this week.”
(on Corey White) “I think he’s come a long way. He has had to mature quickly because we’ve demanded a lot
of reps from him early. I think that this game isn’t too big for him. He has outstanding athleticism. The play he
made on the ball was outstanding. Hopefully, he continues to get better because we’re depending on him.”
(on Curtis Lofton playing against his old team) “Curtis Lofton is a good football player. Curtis Lofton is the
type of professional that does not get caught up with who he is playing and where he is playing. He has
tremendous pride to put his ‘A’ game on the field each week. He has meant a lot to us. We knew he was a good
football player and that is why we acquired him. Our pro personnel (department) does an outstanding job with
Ryan Pace. We didn’t know what kind of person he was, you never know what kind of person they are until
they get in the building, but he works his butt off every day. He has the respect of his teammates and he plays
this game with great, great passion.”
