Payton-less Saints played with different demeanor

    As the Saints fell behind by two touchdowns in the third quarter against Washington, I began to channel my inner Sean Payton.
    Over the course of six years, Payton said many times, “You know, Bill (Parcells) told us, each week in this league, it is either a catastrophe or a carnival.”
    What we saw from the Saints in the first week wasn’t catastrophic, but it was disturbing.
    In the first quarter, when the Saints committed back-to-back false start penalties (Zach Strief and Lance Moore), I could not help but wonder how Payton would react. In his initial years here, I can still picture Payton giving tackle Jammal Brown an earful after a false start penalty.
    Sunday, I saw little anger from the Saints’ sideline.
    I can still hear Payton giving himself an earful for not running the football more. Against the Redskins, the Saints did not make a real effort to run. Interim head coach Aaron Kromer said penalties prevented the Saints from running the football.
    But, this wasn’t true on the Saints’ first possession, when Drew Brees threw three consecutive incomplete passes. Or, on series three, when the Saints began the series with back-to-back incompletes. Only on third-and-10, an obvious passing down, did the Saints get back-to-back false start penalties.
    What the Saints need to do is take advantage of the skills of one of their best assets. His name is Pierre Thomas. Thomas runs hard, runs through tackles and is a terrific pass receiver in the screen game. Against Washington,  Thomas touched the ball five times (four runs, one catch). This is not acceptable.
    Minutes after the 40-32 loss to Washington, safety Malcolm Jenkins said the Saints were in the same spot they were a year ago, 0-1. Said Jenkins, “We lost our opener last year, and we had a great season. In no way are we defeated.”
    But, that loss last year was on the road to a Super Bowl contender, Green Bay. That game ended with the Saints on the Packers’ 1-yard line.
    One year ago, the Saints reeled off four straight wins but then lost two out of three, including bad losses on the road at Tampa Bay and at St. Louis.
    After the loss to the Rams, the Saints reeled off eight straight wins. At the end of the regular season, the New Orleans Saints were the best team in football.
    If Payton were here right now, he’d be preaching a steady ship publicly. But inside the Saints’ facility, he’d have his entire team on edge.
    Payton would be saying, “Don’t trust the media. They are already giving up on you. They are saying you are done.”
    Payton would be searching the Internet, looking for any perceived slight or injustice aimed at his team. He would take subtle digs at reporters. A reporter would ask about injuries and he would say, “That’s not for you” (one of my Payton favorites).
    The Saints would come out Sunday at Carolina and play angry – and very well.
    Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at edaniels@clarionherald.org.