The New Orleans Saints have had their fair share of bungled officiating moments in recent memory, and coach Sean Payton has previously spoken at length about some of those calls.

But so far this season, it's not just the Saints getting penalized.

The Saints are the third-most penalized team in the league through three games, coming in behind the Cleveland Browns and the Atlanta Falcons, per NFLpenalties.com.

Additionally, there have been more flags thrown in general through the first three weeks. An average of 18.48 flags have been thrown per game, so far, which is up from the mark of 15.61 flags per game in 2018.

Payton said he used to pay attention to all of those things, but he's scaled some of that back.

"I used to spend time on everything and you waste energy sometimes doing that," Payton said.

However, Payton said on Friday that he does pay attention to each officiating crew that works Saints games and scouts them as well.

"We know what this crew's calling," Payton said. "We know where they rank. We know where they rank, special teams, defense and offense. We know everything about this crew from last year."

The crew working Sunday's game is led by official Carl Cheffers. Cheffers has been a crew chief since 2008, and, according to Payton, has worked 13 Saints games since 2006.

The Saints record over that time? 12-1.

"So if I see anyone complaining to the officials, they'll get an earful," Payton said with a smile.