Kellen Moore

Q. What was your thought process on the 3rd down call, passing in that situation versus just trying to run clock? (John McMullen)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, obviously the decision factors on that play, a big moment in the game. Ran the first two plays, obviously felt like we were gaining a few yards. The 2nd down play, they had a lot in the box. There was a lot of people in there. [RB] Saquon [Barkley] was able to avoid a few of them and get a couple yards out of it, but I felt like we had a play that was set up that had a potential opportunity to finish the game off.

Obviously, there’s risk associated with that play like any play. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out the way we had hoped, but those are situations where we’re constantly having conversations about it, talking about how best to handle the situations, and it felt like obviously we missed the opportunity.

Q. When you have a play call like that, beyond just the play call itself and there’s a bigger picture decision being made in terms of game, strategy, how does that work between you and Head Coach Nick Sirianni in deciding essentially what kind of play you want to call and then the actual play call you make? (Jimmy Kempski)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, we do a lot of the work throughout the week as we’re building the game plan, just spending time on all the different situational calls because like you said, there’s playing the play and then there’s playing the situation. We go through as many different situations throughout the week just to talk through, ‘Okay, what’s our call in this situation, what’s our call in this situation.’

There’s an element of how the game plays out at the same time, but obviously it was a critical moment. Obviously, you can run the football there or you can try and end it. We were close, and we missed the opportunity.

Q. How did that then apply to the 4th down call as far as kicking a field goal as opposed to going for it? (Martin Frank)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, I mean, obviously we just talked about handling the 3rd down, and obviously we talked through all these scenarios, ultimately decided to kick it to put ourselves up six points so they could not tie it with a field goal and had to go score a touchdown.

Q. On the opening drive 3^rd-and-9 draw, is that QB Jalen Hurts calling his own number there? (Jeff McLane)

KELLEN MOORE: That’s part of a package of plays. Obviously, we have a few tools in that package. Obviously, it didn’t work out the way we had hoped, but certainly we like having the ability to play those as much of a neutral down as possible on 3rd downs.

The frustrating ones are those ones when the run is not successful on 3rd down and you’re punting and not putting yourself in position to play another down.

All calculated.

Q. On those ineligible men downfield penalties on the RPOs, how do you eliminate those? (Dave Zangaro)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, I think we had some really, really good discussions just because it’s been a really successful component for us, so we don’t want to lose that element of our offense. There’s part technique, part scheme. There’s really a combination of that.

We’ve had some really good discussions. We don’t want to lose that aspect of it. But the timing of everything and when to make those decisions and when to call those plays, I think all have critical moments. We had some really fun discussions about this that I think will help going forward.

Q. What did you make of WR Britain Covey’s efficiency on Monday night? (Jeff Kerr)

KELLEN MOORE: I think it was awesome. Great example of a guy who hops in there late in the week and is ready to roll. That’s what happens in NFL seasons. Guys like Covey, they’re ready and they’re available, and they never know when they’re going to have to hop out there, and he jumped out there and handled it really well, converted some stuff, gave us some nice run after catch and a lot of positives.

Q. On the interception, what would you like QB Jalen Hurts to do in that spot? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, obviously in the interceptions, those are challenging moments. We took a chance, obviously, with that opportunity and it didn’t turn out. Obviously, a few seconds we’re below the 30-second threshold and we have a time-out, those are big moments. We were close. Felt like he gave Smitty [WR DeVonta Smith] a chance and thought the safety made an incredible play. Being a post safety and playing over the top of a single receiver, I thought he made an incredible play, and unfortunate for us.

Q. How far were you into the game plan when WR A.J. Brown went down? Obviously, it was Friday, and how did you adjust at that point? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, I think the beauty of our group is they spend a lot of time talking contingencies. I think that receiver room, you don’t go into that, and everyone says, ‘I’m the X and ignore everything else.’ I think our group has a big picture viewpoint, which is excellent that those guys — when we have to make those adjustments, whether it be A.J. during the week, sometimes it happens during the game a guy goes out for a play and you’ve got to be able to adjust rather quickly, and so I thought our guys did an excellent job of it.

Obviously, the game plan, there’s a healthy bulk of it in at that point, but our guys were able to adjust really well.

Q. A lot of the passes towards the end of the game, a lot of them were near the sticks or shorter. Do you feel like without WR A.J. Brown you still have the ability to go further downfield? How do you adapt to that? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, no doubt. No doubt, obviously. I think we still have guys who can separate and give us some vertical components to our offense, obviously something that we’ve just got to keep aware of, how can we continue to find those opportunities.

I think a big thing around the NFL right now is trying to find explosive plays. I think obviously the numbers are all down. We’re trying to find it. Defenses are doing an excellent job, and we’ve just got to keep finding them, not necessarily just on 3rd down but 1st and 2nd down, as well.

Q. Where do you think WR Jahan Dotson is in terms of learning the offense and being able to do everything? (Dave Zangaro)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, he’s done an excellent job. I thought he ran some really good routes. The way progressions work and the way defenses play, sometimes the ball doesn’t go a particular guy’s way, and that’s just for us to continue to evolve and how can we put guys in different positions and utilize those different touches and opportunities.

He’s done a really, really good job to hop in here and be able to handle the volume that he’s handled.

Q. At times QB Jalen Hurts might leave the pocket a little more quickly than maybe you’d like to see. Do you see that? I know it’s a tough position to play, obviously, but would you like to see him climb the pocket a little more or be a little longer in the pocket to look for a read? (Ed Kracz)

KELLEN MOORE: I think there’s definitely a balancing act of that. I think hanging in there for progressions, and while him still using what’s a tremendous advantage, which is his athletic ability, I think he had one really good example in the game where he stepped up in the pocket and really kept himself alive as a passer and ended up running through an interior gap, and I thought that was a big-time play for him because, obviously, a lot of quarterbacks are going to bail from an outside perspective. For him to step up there and make the yardage that he gained on that run, I thought that was a really cool example of him continuing to grow and develop.

Q. When you look at the nine-and-a-half-minute drive you guys had well into the fourth quarter with QB Jalen Hurts and RB Saquon Barkley kind of running in tandem, so to speak, what was so great about that drive, and how can that help you guys moving forward, especially against a team like the Saints, which is dangerous on offense when they have the ball? (Martin Frank)

KELLEN MOORE: No doubt. Grinding out some drives, you’ve got to do that sometimes. You’ve got to go the long way. We all are striving for those explosives, whether it be a run or pass when you can make the big plays. But there comes a time and place where maybe a defense is going to test your patience, and you’ve got to be able to grind it out.

I think it’s a testament because all 11 got to be on the same page. It’s a long drive. Every single play counts sometimes when you’re in those five, six, five, six and you’re gaining those yards. Had a couple 3rd down runs in there that Jalen did an excellent job with. And so, a lot of positives on some of those longer yardage drives.

Q. In your career, there’s been stops where you go for it on fourth a lot. I’m just curious from your perspective, what is your past in analytics and your conversations with Head Coach Nick Sirianni and this organization, how is that conversation fused? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, this is an awesome process as far as really spending a lot of time and investing it during the week as far as teaming up on it, making sure we have the decision aspect of it and then also the play call associated with it, so giving ourselves the best opportunity. Obviously on my side, I’m trying to do the best job I can to give us the play call that gives us the best chance to convert a particular 4th down or even a 3rd down.

We’re all teaming up on this thing. Those decisions in games obviously go really, really fast. You’ve got to make a decision in a few seconds, and you’ve got to go. We trust as much as we can with what we’ve done during the week, while knowing there is an element in-game where you have to make adjustments based off many circumstances.

Q. Is there any concern about RB Saquon Barkley’s workload? I think he leads the league in touches after two weeks. (Bob Brookover)

KELLEN MOORE: No, no, I think that’s definitely fair. I think Saquon — he wants the rock. He’s done a phenomenal job.

Obviously from a longevity standpoint as the season progresses, we’ve got to be aware of it. We certainly recognize that and understand that aspect of it. We’ve got to do at times a better job of that as the game goes on, especially when you look at it more from a week-to-week perspective.

Q. What stands out about the Saints on film? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: Really sound football team. They do an excellent job. You can tell it’s really tied together, all the way from the front end to the back end. They have great vision on the quarterback in zones, and man, they’re really aggressive at the DB position.

They’ve got great packages. [Saints Head Coach] Dennis [Allen] has always been one of the premier defensive coordinators in this league as far as just challenging and stressing it throughout the week. We have a big challenge. You add the noise to it, and it’ll be a fun atmosphere.

Q. One follow-up on RB Saquon Barkley. He had that sequence early in the first quarter where he got 39 yards on four carries, then he comes out. What goes into the thought process there, you had a hot runner, and he comes out? (Bob Brookover)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, obviously guys can’t go 20 straight plays with that type of workload. Obviously, that’s a balancing act because at times guys are going to have to take breathers. That’s natural for any human that’s playing a physical activity. You’re going to have to take a breather, and obviously it coincided with the red zone and ultimately, we didn’t convert. Play out different patterns sometimes as drives go on, and we’ll be more aware of that.