Saints’ shakeup possible, but not trades

Coach Sean Payton doesn’t plan to make a significant roster move.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Sean Payton still believes the players he has now can win football games.

The New Orleans Saints’ coach only questions whether he’s playing the right ones at the right time.

“There isn’t going to be any new guy coming in the building to save the day here,” Payton said.

With the NFL trading deadline approaching on Oct. 16, Payton sought to squelch any notion that he might make a significant roster move to help the New Orleans Saints (0-4) get a desperately needed win.

“We’ve got to be able to do it in-house,” Payton said. “The lone ranger is not going to come riding in here with the right plan to all of sudden turn things around.”

Payton hinted at a potential shakeup after Sunday’s 16-13 loss to Carolina in a game where missed field goal attempts, dropped passes and untimely penalties allowed the Panthers to pull the game out with a last-second field goal.

Payton used the words “dumb” and “sickening” to describe his players’ efforts after Sunday’s loss, adding that coaches needed to “make sure we’re playing the right guys.”

The Saints have most of their major contributors back from the team that went to the NFC championship game a season ago.

Yet, since even before Deuce McAllister’s season ending knee injury in Week 3, this has not looked like the same team. The Saints lost each of their first three games by 17 points or more before Sunday’s narrow home loss to the Panthers.

“We talked about the expectations all the time and how everybody was ready to embrace the expectations,” linebacker Scott Fujita said. “For whatever reason, we haven’t responded well to that at all. It’s just been kind of a meltdown.”

Fujita said he would be “on board” for lineup changes.

“Sometimes a shakeup can be a good thing,” Fujita said. “It’s Sean’s decision. I trust him. But I think, sometimes, making people a little uneasy is healthy.”