Thanks to the overall struggles of all four teams in the NFC South, the Saints have had an unusually large margin for error this season. But with only three games left, that margin is thinning.
"Guys understand, hey, this is serious. It's their profession. It's our profession. It's going to be our job and the leaders of this team to lead. This is exactly when you find out who your guys are," Payton added. "If it's not happening ... then we're going to look at other options."
But too often, Payton said, that wasn't the case.
Saints right tackle Zach Strief described himself as "angry," adding that too many players seemed unaware of the mental intensity required on game days. He said he was also angry at himself, as a team captain, for not doing more to counter that.
Yet Payton seemed to be judging his team's postseason chances more by what he's seen on the field than in the standings when he said, "The only reason we're sitting here still with that small sliver of hope is just because the way the division has unfolded this year."
Odds makers had forecast a 10-point Saints victory.
Despite falling to 5-8, the Saints returned to work Monday eliminated from NFC wild card contention but very much alive in the NFC South race, just a half-game behind first-place Atlanta before the Falcons played at Green Bay on Monday night.
Some could be looking for jobs sooner than later.
"For Jed, that was like a trigger" transforming Collins from his laid-back, usual self to his hyped-up, game-day persona, Strief said. "We don't have enough guys that have that trigger."
"I don't rule out any changes with regard to who we're asking to do what we're asking them to do," Payton said Monday after reviewing video of Sunday's 41-10 loss to Carolina.
The Saints, who return to action next Monday night in Chicago, have lost four of five games, with two of those losses by three or more scores. Sunday's beating was the season's worst,
NFL Jerseys Cheap, not only on the scoreboard but also in the context of who the opponent was and what was at stake.
METAIRIE, La. (AP)
