Saints' Coach Moore Reflects on His Team Never Giving Up, and "The Call"

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Saints head coach Kellen Moore held his usual Monday after a game media conference Monday afternoon. His team came within one play of upsetting Detroit at their home turf, 31-30.

He opened with an injury report, which was a good one. As usual, the day after a game has the typical bumps and bruises for the Saints, but no new injuries to report. Among the walking wounded, running back Alvin Kamara, EDGE Cam Jordan, and tight end Oscar Delp are all progressing, though no official report is forthcoming until Wednesday.

One roster move by the Saints today has five-year veteran EDGE rusher Jonah Williams being signed to the practice squad. The Idaho native appeared in 15-games for New Orleans last season, starting once. Williams had a total of 17-tackles, seven of those solo, along with three sacks, five quarterback hits, and five stops for a loss.

Reflecting on Loss to Lions

The day after a one-point loss on the road to a good Detroit Lions team, Moore seemed pleased with the progress, though there is more work to do.

"It was a back-and-forth battle," Moore shared. "We had opportunities to win it. We get to learn a lot from that game in all three phases, both positively and things we've got to improve on.

"I think so much of early-season football is focused on so much about yourself, just getting better each and every week. There's a lot of stuff that our guys will be excited to improve at, focus in on that this week."

QB Improvement as Game Wore On

When reflecting on the jump his quarterback Tyler Shough had from the first half to the next, Moore said, more than anything, it came down to one thing.

"I think so much of it comes down to communication," Moore explained. "When everyone's aligned and communicating and everyone understands their responsibilities, it's just going out and executing.

"I thought from a protection standpoint, there are some things that we've just got to get better at. So, at the end of the day, it's just communication. Then, when you have those opportunities downfield, you can take advantage of them."

Saints Run Game Taken away by the Score

Moore reflected on how the run game for the Saints had to take a back seat for the offense once his team was down by three touchdowns.

"It was 21-nothing at one point, so the run opportunities probably became a little bit less until the game got settled down a little bit," Moore said. "Credit to our guys. They hung in there. They were able to make some plays, and we got it back to more of a mixed down football again towards that fourth quarter. I thought our guys kept battling. No one flinched. No one changed their demeanor or their approach. Credit to our guys for sticking with it."

Then, There was "The Call"

Moore was asked about the play of the game (for Saints fans, at least), when the fumble recovery off an apparent Chase Young strip sack of Detroit quarterback Jared Goff, it elicited a smile from the Saints coach.

"I know what the rule is and how it's written," Moore answered carefully when asked if understood the rule fully. "I have an understanding of that now. It's a unique rule."

When asked if the rule was applied correctly, Moore gave what some might consider a coded response.

"I have not seen that rule applied in an NFL game (in my time)."

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