Mike Triplett, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Payton, Brees demand better after Saints' worst loss yet

NEW ORLEANS -- The worst loss in the Sean Payton-Drew Brees era also appeared to be the most eye-opening for the two men.

Payton and Brees both spoke bluntly about the New Orleans Saints' shortcomings after a stunning 41-10 loss at home to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

One week after they seemingly salvaged their season with a big win at Pittsburgh, the Saints (5-8) tried to throw it away again in fewer than 10 minutes. They fell behind 17-0 with two turnovers on their first three offensive snaps and a defensive performance that wasn't any better.

"Obviously, that was embarrassing, how we played, how we coached," Payton said. "You pick an area, you pick a phase, and it was awful."

Although they both pointed inward at their roles as leaders, Payton and Brees were clearly upset that a certain standard isn't being upheld.

Brees questioned the professionalism and maturity of the team for not handling the ebbs and flows of their "roller coaster" season well enough. Payton made it clear players will be held accountable for any lack of effort that shows up on film and said it's "absolutely" not too late to make personnel changes.

"That's not a threat. All I'm saying is what's madness is to continue to get up here after a game like that, with our fans and say, 'We're gonna have it right next week,'" Payton said.

When asked how coaches can make players listen to that message, Payton referenced a comment from Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer earlier in the season and said, "Their concern should be about how we see them ... more than the other way around."

"I'm very comfortable with our approach, our program and all those things. And yet we keep paying attention and looking at some of the mistakes. ... They keep repeating, and we've got to find other people to do those tasks," Payton said. "Because ultimately, at some point, they'll find someone else to have in charge of the other people."

Brees also made several strong, though vague, comments.

"We obviously still have a lot of maturing to do," Brees said. "I'd say the thing that I feel like I've learned from my career is consistency in your preparation and in your mindset equals consistent performance. You know, maybe that's it. Maybe we just need to be more professional -- and I say, 'we.' It's the entire team."

Brees threw himself in there after he had one of the worst games of his Saints career; he threw an early interception and had a passer rating of 35.4 through three quarters. But it was clear the whole performance didn't sit well with him.

The defense barely laid a finger on Panthers quarterback Cam Newton after sacking him 13 times in their previous three meetings. He threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 83 yards and a score. Running back Jonathan Stewart ran for 155 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown.

"That's not something any of us want to hang our hat on or leave our signature on," Brees said. "But we've gotta go play like it. We've gotta prepare like it. We have to handle ourselves throughout the week like professionals, like men, with a level of maturity."

When asked if the Saints have the kind of veteran leaders they used to have -- players such as Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma -- Brees said, "I feel like there are, and yet there should be more."

It's impossible to know if comments such as those were specifically tied to comments made this week by current defensive captain Junior Galette, who took shots at former leaders such as Smith and Vilma.

Neither Payton nor Brees nor any of the veteran leaders who stuck around to face the fire in a mostly barren locker room pointed to any specific players. All of them said they liked the energy and effort during the work week.

But all of them, including Payton, agreed it's possible this team has had too much of a tendency to relax after big wins.

"They shouldn't. We're not that good," Payton said. "That's painfully obvious."

"Maybe some guys feel that way, and that's bad," said offensive tackle Zach Strief, who said it's up to the veteran leaders to teach players just how hard it is to win in this league.

"I'm used to the inconsistency at this point, and that's sad. That's embarrassing," Strief said. "But this game is fair. You get what you deserve. ... And we deserved to lose that game by 30 points because we were not ready to play."

That word "embarrassing" was thrown around a ton Sunday by pretty much everyone who spoke. One word that wasn't: playoffs.

Because even though the Saints still have a good mathematical shot to win the NFC South, on Sunday, they sure didn't look like a team that deserved it.

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