Ta-Dah!!! MtnExile has done it again. Even though the Saints 27-14 stinkeroo loss to the Texans last night doesn't merit it, here is the new Who Day Say masthead in all its' glory. What do you think? Great, or the greatest ever?
Make the jump to review your overnight and early morning post-game links, tweets, and videos...
[Updated: 9:00 am EST - Includes post-game quotes from the Saints]
New Orleans Saints at Houston Texans | nfl.com
New Orleans Saints at Houston Texans NFL Game Center: includes statistics, recap, drive charts, video.
New Orleans Saints vs. Houston Texans | ESPN.com
Final statistics from the New Orleans vs. Houston game played on August 20, 2011. Includes recap, play-by-play, drive charts, photos, video.
New Orleans Saints vs. Houston Texans, game updates | NOLA.com
Kevin Spain - Welcome to Reliant Stadium and tonight's preseason game between the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans. We'll be updating the game with our live twitter feed. Follow along here.
Official_Saints The Saints will leave straight from Houston to Cali. They will practice in Oxnard prior to their nationally-televised game vs. OAK on Aug 28
wwltvsports Already getting folks blaming Payton's move to Dallas for this. Not sure if they're joking, but it didn't take long.
wwltvsports Payton on A Franklin injury: "It appears it's his MCL. The good news is it doesn't seem as serious as we initially thought"
jeffduncantp Aubrayo Franlin suffered a sprained MCL, per SP. Not believed to be as series as orginally thought.
wwltvsports Payton said week of practice will be tough.
wwltvsports Payton: "They whipped us. It was pretty evident."
Official_Saints Payton said the x-ray on RB Chris Taylor came back negative. He said Franklin suffered a sprained MCL but not as serious as they 1st thought
wwltvsports Payton says team wasn't as prepared as he thought it was. Says, "I thought we were sluggish and I thought they looked sharp"
miketripletttp #Saints coach Sean payton said its preseason, but still no sugarcoating. "They whipped us."
wwltvsports Payton: "Far too many inconsistencies for our liking. It starts with me."
Official_Saints Payton on Morgan's TD "It was impressive. I was encouraged with the way he handled the route. He got behind th... (cont)deck.ly/~CnxwZ
wwltvsports RT @garlandgillen: Brees: It felt like we moved the ball well, sprayed the ball around. 7 points in 3 drives, should've been 14
JohnnyPatrick32 On way to Cali
T_Porter22 The thing that hurts the most about a win or a lost is that I can't call @plawrence360 to talk about it. This is gonna be hard to deal with.
JohnnyPatrick32 "@DaigoSon: Will u be back by the final Preseason game? RT @JohnnyPatrick32: On way to Cali" yes
GregRomeus91 Cali bound for the wk
NateBUSSEY Beautiful and Definitely I love her RT @WhoHer_oDasMuff Our Pride & Joy. ♥ ( @NateBUSSEY ) yfrog.com/keweodrj
Official_Saints Brees on 1st drive "You get down inside their 10-yd line & have that turnover, especially in my hands, is unacceptable. That can't happen"
JonVilma51 Tough outing yall...gota watch the film, learn from it, and get better. Goals haven't changed, n nevr will
jeffduncantp Patrick Robinson, asked what Gregg Williams told the defense at halftime: "Nothin' good."
jeffduncantp Sean Payton: "This a time of the year where often times, teams can kid themselves on whether they are ready to play or not."
jeffduncantp Asked if he was OK w/the offense, Payton said, "I'm not OK with anything right now."
MalcolmJenkins Back to the drawing board... You win some you lose some, but you live to play another day !!!
MalcolmJenkins A slap in the face is usually a great motivator ...
thomasmorsteadTough night, props to all #whodats that showed up, didn't feel like an away game. We have @Official_Saints fans all over the country.
MalcolmJenkins Sometimes I feel like people say stuff just to get me pissed off or get a reaction from me... I won't give you that fulfillment, God is good
miketripletttp #Saints DT Aubrayo Franklin injured MCL, which is typically a 3-4 week injury.
robyslyfe Oxnard, CA. here we come..
LanceMoore16 We've got more work to do, but we've got time to get it in. Gonna get better and show it on the field next wknd. Good night tweeps
camjordan94 Process tonight and progress come Monday!! #gotawaystogo
iWillSmith Oxnard, CA bound.. Time to work out the kinks..
NateBUSSEY On the Flight headed to Oxnard Cali..... Got work to do once we land.... #businesstrip
NateBUSSEY Just landed in Oxnard headed to hotel for some much needed rest....
alexbrown96 So tired right now... Cant wait to hit this bed.. RT @ltorrence24: Just touched down Oxnard, CA
camjordan94 Landed n Oxnard mind on what needs to be done... Clarity will come and the path ahead will be determined
ChaseDaniel Welcome to Oxnard, California! Excited for the productive week ahead & to get better against Oakland on National TV. Goodnight tweeps!
camjordan94 22 is my age... But I'm gettin wiser than my age'll let on... So straighten up! O ur bound to be left behind like my childish past...
iWillSmith Oxnard, CA.. Long work week ahead of us.
From the Saints Sideline
Saints fall to Texans, 27-14, in Houston | neworleanssaints.com
Staff report - Rookies Ingram and Morgan score TDs for second straight week.
Texans run past Saints in 27-14 preseason win | The Advocate
Matt Samuels - With a rematch that counts set for the third week of the season, the New Orleans Saints didn’t want to show the Texans too much Saturday night at Reliant Stadium in their second preseason game.
Texans blast Saints 27-14 | wwltv.com
Staff and wire reports - Arian Foster ran for two touchdowns and Ben Tate rushed for 95 yards and another score in the first half of the Texans' 27-14 win over the New Orleans Saints on Saturday night.
Foster scores twice as Texans beat Saints, 27-14 | sportsnola.com
Sports Network - Arian Foster rushed five times for 47 yards and two touchdowns in the Houston Texans' 27-14 preseason victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Saints have ton of work to do after 27-14 defeat by Texans | wwltv.com
Bradley Handwerger - Will Herring missed tackles Saturday night. So did Paul Oliver, Jabari Greer and many other Saints defenders.
New Orleans Saints defense struggles in 27-14 loss to Texans | NOLA.com
Mike Triplett - Performance goes from dominant to disastrous in eight days.
New Orleans Saints QB Chase Daniel and WR Joe Morgan on play of game | NOLA.com
James Varney - In the midst of a sobering 27-14 loss to the Houston Texans, the New Orleans Saints did hook up on a 56-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Chase Daniel to rookie wide receiver Joe Morgan.
New Orleans Saints get manhandled by Houston Texans 27-14 | NOLA.com
Staff report - The New Orleans Saints can take solace in one thing, at least this one doesn't count.
Observations on the New Orleans Saints - NFC South Blog | ESPN.com
Pat Y. - When the New Orleans Saints move their training camp to Oxnard, Calif., next week it might be a more pleasant experience for the offense than the defense.
POSTGAME QUOTES FROM NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
(via houstontexans.com - link includes Texans quotes, too)
HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON
(on injuries) "Two guys we'll check out regarding injuries: DT Abrayo Franklin, his right knee and RB Chris Taylor, his right foot. The x-rays came back negative on Taylor and with Abrayo it appears to be his MCL. We'll have a better read on this tomorrow."
(opening statement) "We've got a lot we've got to do. Some valuable lessons will come from this. We struggled defensively in the first half. We get down to the red zone, come up with a turnover and then don't score until later in that quarter. I thought it was sloppy and I think there are a lot of things the coaching staff, myself included, need to get better at. There is no way to sugar coat a loss like that. It's important for all of us to recognize that there isn't too much time left in this training camp. We still have a lot of work ahead of us; still in training camp mode. We've also got a lot of decisions to make as far as our personnel."
(on the defense having any vanilla schemes) "It's preseason so we're playing to get evaluations on players. I credit Houston on playing very well tonight. They did a good job with their execution. They whipped us. We've got a lot of room to make improvement.
(on running back versatility without former Saint, Reggie Bush) "I think from a scheme standpoint we'll still do everything we've done in years past. We're not doing it now, but I don't see us changing at all with the loss of him.
(on how RT Zach Strief played) "His name didn't jump out in any negative plays so that's a good thing. I thought we ran it pretty well in that first series. We'll have a chance to see later on though and we'll give RT Charles Brown some work. When we rotate those two like we do, because of LT Jordan Black's position we'll see him taking some snaps at the next tackle.
(on his thoughts about the 43 yard pass to WR Robert Meachem and general pass play) "We came off a penalty and we were backed up. We looked at it as an opportunity to catch him at a right coverage and get behind him. If not, QB Drew Brees is good at coming underneath with the throw if the down the field throw wasn't there. WR Robert Meachem did a good job of closing the cushion in the corner. Of course the corner stumbled three or four strides into the play and we were able to come up with the big play."
(on his thoughts about the first drive outside the fumble) "It's hard to say outside the fumble. You don't really feel good about anything after there is a fumble. There is a lot we have to grade off of tomorrow and a lot that we have to show our players on Monday. Our job is critical after a game like this, as coaches. We look closely at what we're doing, who's doing it well, who's not, and then what we are asking them to do. I thought we weren't as crisp as we would have hoped so we've got to get back and work on it."
(on if he is surprised at this step back) "In the preseason nothing surprises me. This is a time of the year where often times, teams can kid themselves on whether they are ready to play or not. I'm not saying that is what happened with us tonight, but we're not a finished project yet. We've got a long ways to go."
(on if he is ok with the timing of how things are going offensively) "I'm not ok with anything right now. We've got a lot of work to do and the time is clicking."
QB DREW BREES
(on reaction to first drive) "I thought it was a good first drive, mixing the run and the pass. It was a lot of positive plays only to get down inside their 10 yard line and then have that turnover especially at my hands is unacceptable. That can't happen. Especially on first and goal or second and goal. It turns into that situation where maybe you just take the sack, they got you and just move on to the next play. "
(on whether the offense and defense is good at being vanilla) "Just by the way it felt, it felt like we moved the ball well. We mixed the run and the pass effectively and were able to spread it around and put it in a lot of guy's hands. We ended up getting ourselves into a third and long situation in the second drive and then weren't able to capitalize. Obviously we went down to the third drive where we were able to get a touchdown. We did all our base stuff and we should be good enough with just our base stuff to get the job done. We only come away with seven points in three drives, when really it should have been at least 14 or maybe more, so that part is disappointing."
(on RB Mark Ingram in the end zone) "That's just one of those situations where you're at the one or the half yard line and everyone in the stadium knows you're going to run it and you still have to find a way to get that yard. Our guys did a very good job of punching that in."
(on transition with personnel changes and developing offense) "We got two new offensive lineman, (C) Olin Kruetz and (RT) Zach Strief, although Zach has been a part of our program going on six years now so I wouldn't really call him a new guy in that role. I feel really comfortable with those guys. I feel continuity in very important, especially at that position amongst all those guys communication has to be really good. I feel like they all have that. Are we where we need to be right now? No. We aren't even close. I feel like we're on track but we have a long way to go."
(on if the team is ready for season opener against the Green Bay Packers) "We're only 20 days into camp and I feel like we did a good job of handling the lockout during the offseason well. As far as the work we were able to get in, I feel like we came into camp ahead of where we would have been otherwise. The fact of the matter is we open up our season in Green Bay against the defending Super Bowl champs. We hosted that game last year and now we are going on the road. It will be here before we know it and we'll be ready to play our best football. Tonight is motivation for us to get going."
(on WR Joseph Morgan's performance) "He's a talented guy. You can't teach speed. He's a guy that's progressively gotten better as camp has rolled on. I'm excited for him when he takes advantage of opportunities he's given. We have a lot of young guys we are trying to develop and see if one or more of them has the opportunity to contribute."
(on trouble connecting with Darren Sproles) "It's just live game reps. I'm not worried about (Darren) Sproles at all. I think that he's a very smart player who's really picked up our offense very quickly. He does so many things so well and is such a consistent and versatile player. I'm excited to watch him grow in this offense and to see the role that he plays as the season approaches."
(on induction to Texas High School Football Hall of Fame) "It was a tremendous honor to be inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame. It's something that I've watched both my grandfather, Ray Akins, and my uncle, Marty Akins be inducted to as well. I was at both of those ceremonies back in 1987 and 1991. Being a part of that and being very young, I always hoped and dreamed that I would be inducted one day too. Our family is the first and only three generation family that's been inducted and that's something we take a lot of pride in."
QB CHASE DANIEL
(on the start to the game) "We had a fast start, which is what you want as a quarterback with an offense when you get out there with the second group, but we didn't make plays down the stretch. We made some mental errors, not executing the plays and trying to do too much I think out there, and we need to focus on protecting the football better."
(on protection from the offensive line) "I got to play better and protect the ball. I think our guys up front did an excellent job. Is there going to be pressure in your face sometimes? Yeah, it's going to happen, but that falls on me."
(on long touchdown pass to Joseph Morgan) "We've been practicing that play for a while and finally put it into the game play. We have a speed burner out there in Morgan and heavy play action; we knew they were playing a lot quarters and that safety bit just enough and I saw him side footed and Morgan wasn't even past him and I'm thinking it's over with. He made a heck of a catch and a heck of a run, I mean that's a big play for us."
(on Joseph Morgan becoming a go-to guy) "He's come on a lot. He's done an excellent job in the return game as well. He's done a good job of picking up the offense, he's a smart player and a smart receiver."
S ROMAN HARPER
(on fighting back) "Whenever a team gets you early and punctures you, we've got to be able to stop the bleeding. We did not stop them like we needed to. We did not force field goals like we needed to. We didn't get in the red zone, and those are the things we've got to get corrected, defensively. And I'm sure we're going to do that. The best thing is that it's still early. Guys are mad and pissed off, and that's a good thing. That means we all care. That means we're ready to go back to work."
RB MARK INGRAM
(on making the transition from college to the NFL) "All the guys are just bigger, faster, and stronger. It is a lot quicker. I just have to come out and make the right decisions."
(on his progression from day one until now) "I'm just trying to get better every day. I'm just trying to help the team get better. I'm just trying to learn the playbook as best as I can and help the team get better."
(on if he feels pressure replacing Reggie Bush) "I don't feel any pressure at all. I have great teammates. It's not really like it is all on my shoulders. We have a great backfield. It's hard for me to feel like I have pressure on myself because I have great teammates around me to where I don't have to have that pressure on myself."
(on playing with a great quarterback in college, as well as a great quarterback in the NFL) "I just went from one great quarterback to another. A guy like (QB) Drew Brees is an established quarterback in this league. I can learn a lot from him."
(on his dad and his emotions on draft night) "It's been my dream to play in the NFL. My dad was with me every step of the way. He raised me to be the man and player I am today. He had everything to do with it."
WR ROBERT MEACHUM (sic)
(on what he thought of the team's performance) "It was a poor performance on our part. We got into the red zone and had a big penalty that hurt us. We had a big time fumble on the first drive. That's bad offense for us. We take pride in our offense. We have to go back to the drawing board and learn from our mistakes."
(on how they dominated last week and not this week) "It's good playing against new teams. You get tired of going against your teammates every day. It was good seeing this team because we play them again in week 3."
WR JOSEPH MORGAN
(on what he has tried to accomplish in the past two preseason games) "Right now I'm just trying to win on my route, whether he's throwing it to me or not, that's what I have to do as a receiver is win my route and then when the ball is in the air just focus on catch first and run second."
(on playing a good game as an individual but losing as a team) "Even though I played well there are still little things that I made mistakes on besides the rest of the team. It's just one of those learning things. You can never be too good. You can always get better and that's one of the things we learn today is to keep fighting through and get better."
(on catching the touchdown pass) "It's probably one of our home run plays. Once I stuck it and got up field I saw the safety turn around and start running so I had him beat on the route and it was just about catching the ball after that."
P THOMAS MORSTEAD
(on reliability) "I was told my senior year in college that, by my special teams coach, he said, ‘The NFL is not about hitting your A-ball every time. If you swing for the fences every time, you might hit a great ball but you might hit a terrible ball; it's about hitting your B-ball every time and not hurting the team.' You don't have to be spectacular every time, on every punt. You've just got to be consistent, and the coaches have to be able to depend on you."
(on staying hungry after winning the Super Bowl his first year in the NFL) "Everybody has team goals, obviously, but we also have individual goals. I want to be the best, and I don't think I've accomplished that yet, but there's always things to go out and get."
(on motivation) "If you really love it, you don't need outside motivation to work hard and be the best. You've just got to be a competitor."
Texans Toast
Texans' Foster, Tate run over Saints in 27-14 win | Houston Chronicle
Jeffrey Martin - The first time Arian Foster was handed the ball in Saturday's 27-14 preseason victory - also the first time this preseason - he glided through the middle of the New Orleans Saints' defense for a 12-yard gain. Two carries later, he plunged into the end zone for a touchdown.
Texans' Williams shows improvement at new position | Houston Chronicle
Dale Robertson - The progress was subtle but arguably significant. Although Mario Williams was again less than dazzling against the Saints in his new role as an edge-rushing outside linebacker, he did make meaningful strides against the Saints compared to his debut against the Jets Monday night.
McClain: First-team offense takes control against Saints | Houston Chronicle
John McClain - Getting two Pro Bowl players - receiver Andre Johnson and running back Arian Foster - back in the lineup made a huge difference in the Texans' performance against the New Orleans Saints.
Quick hits from Texans' win over Saints - NFL Nation Blog | ESPN.com
Paul Kuharsky - Quick observations and thoughts on the Houston Texans 27-14 preseason win over the New Orleans Saints at Reliant Stadium Saturday night.
V-Roll Roll Call