It has been a rough 2 weeks for the New Orleans Saints and their Who Dat fans. With multiple chances to take hold of the NFC South, the team has failed, and now they’re either going to get back on the winning train and win the division for the fifth time in eight years, or they’re going to fall in a deep, dark abyss.

Which is it? We’ll find out a whole lot about this team Sunday against the Detroit Lions, who are also struggling a bit as of late. With all the negativity surrounding them, will they be able to turn this season into a “us vs. the world” mentality? Will they be able to get past the injuries to Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Marcus Lattimore and more?

These are tough questions, and Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 194) host Jim Derry brings in The Athletic’s Larry Holder to answer them as he does each Friday throughout the NFL season. Also, the duo will discuss their thoughts on Week 13 in the NFL, including the big 49ers-Eagles game on Sunday.

It's one of the biggest football weekends of the year, as college football will hold its annual conference championship games, which in turn will settle who will make the CFP in the last season of four teams before we go to 12 in 2024.

Also, will it be Oregon's Bo Nix or LSU's Jayden Daniels as the Heisman Trophy winner. There's an excellent chance we'll know the answer when Friday's Pac-12 championship game is over.

Lastly, what do we think about the Saints? Well, who better to ask all these questions than NOLA.com Saints editor Zach Ewing, who also is the former Sports Betting Director at Bet.NOLA.com? Zach fills in for Uncle Big Nick and joins Jim Derry on a Thursday Dattitude (Ep. 193).

Is there any team in the NFL that seems to loathe prosperity more than the New Orleans Saints? In clearly the biggest game of the season to date – and against its most fiercest rival in the Atlanta Falcons – the Black and Gold did everything but hand the Dirty Birds an early Christmas present.

Oh, and then their head coach and starting quarterback came out in the postgame press conference and decided to spew their perceived positives from the 24-15 loss. And when Dennis Allen and Derek Carr weren’t talking about the good things, they were talking about penalties, injuries and just about anything except what they should have been talking about: why they stunk up the joint.

On the first post-bye edition of the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 191), host Jim Derry is ready Monday to tell it the way they should have told you on Sunday. And he’ll do it with far fewer excuses.

Their week off is over, and the New Orleans Saints have their most important game to date right in front of them, as they travel to Atlanta to face their most heated rival. Can they defeat the Falcons and move two games ahead of them in the NFC South standings with six games to go? Or will it be more of the same old, same old? That's what Jim Derry and The Athletic's Larry Holder will be talking about on Wednesday's "Thanksgiving Eve" Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 191). Later, Jim reads off the Best Bets for he and Uncle Big Nick for Week 12 in the NFL and the penultimate weekend of college football.

It has not been the season – thus far – that fans of the New Orleans Saints have expected. However, is it the one we all should have seen coming? It is time to go through and give our midseason grades for the team. We have a special Wednesday Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 190) to dish out the reality, and host Jim Derry brought in Larry Holder from his regular Friday spot. What do we give the offense? The defense? And yes, we even grade the coaching and the overall team. To finish the show, Uncle Big Nick is here a day early to share the best bets of the week in the NFL and for college football. (Jim is trying to get a rare bad taste out of his mouth from last week, while UBN has a chance to gloat.)

Oh, so that's why so many of you have chosen to be a "glass half-empty" kind of Saints fan this year? Following a 27-19 loss to the mediocre Minnesota Vikings, it is clear this team is incapable of carrying on good cheer into the holiday season. Derry (Downer)'s Dime exposes that on Monday's Dattitude, Ep. 189.

One could make an argument facing the Minnesota Vikings is the biggest game of the season for the New Orleans Saints, as they head into their bye week looking for their first three-game win streak of 2023.

Can the offense continue their momentum? Can the defense tighten up and play well from the start against the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week, Joshua Dobbs, who just made his way to Minneapolis about 10 days ago? Will the Saints get to two games above .500 for the first time this late in a season since Drew Brees’ final campaign?

These are the top topics of conversation for Friday’s Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 188), as The Athletic’s Larry Holder joins host Jim Derry. The duo also will go through the marquee matchups in the NFL for Week 10 and offer their predictions.

Two weeks ago, Dattitude Podcast host Jim Derry was a little hot under the collar and asking “Is this team any different than the one we expected to see in the preseason?” Today, he’s asking the same question with a completely different tone. Why? That is one of the themes of Thursday’s Ep. 187. It’s also time to reveal the best bets of the week for Jim (who is at 60-percent correct for the year against the spread) and Uncle Big Nick, who is on the same roller coaster the Saints have been riding.

The New Orleans Saints are 5-4, on top of the NFC South by a full game and are the clear favorites to win the division. So why all the pouting, crying and moaning from both the local media and the Who Dat Nation? The two main areas of concern - the coaching staff and the offensive line - clearly have been better the past 2-plus weeks, and Jim Derry in his 'Dime' says to enjoy it while it lasts on Ep. 186.

For the first time in a month, the New Orleans Saints sit atop the NFC South. In trying to stay there, they now have to deal with the Chicago Bears, who have struggled this season and will come to the Caesars Superdome without their dynamic quarterback, Justin Fields, behind center.

How will the Saints play as an 8.5-point favorite - the largest favorite they have been in the Dennis Allen era? Jim Derry and The Athletic's Larry Holder talk about it Friday morning on Ep. 185. They'll also touch on Week 9 in the NFL and give a prediction for LSU-Bama.