Dattitude with Jim Derry

Well, we knew as soon as there was one performance in which the New Orleans Saints were never really in it, the haters would come crawling from below the rotten wood deck like roaches crawling out of the dark, steamy concrete into the light during the middle of a French Quarter summer night.

And here they are. Following the 26-13 Monday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Who Dats were loud and proud on a special “Mano E Tuesday,” of the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 291) presented by Evangeline Securities. Of course, host Jim Derry had plenty of responses to the hundreds of comments we received this morning.

Will their thoughts change much if the Saints get it together and defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to get back to .500 – or God forbid if they win the next two games at home (including against Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos a week from Thursday) and are at 4-3? There’s only one way to find out …

The injury list is daunting for the New Orleans Saints, but many fans are still confident the team can upset the two-time defending Super Bowl champ Chiefs in Kansas City on Monday Night Football.

What does host Jim Derry think? It’s a different kind of “Mano E Monday,” as the listeners of the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 287) presented by Evangeline Securities are making their predictions and sharing thoughts. Also, “Mondays with Gabe Henderson” include thoughts on this past weekend in college football and his own prediction for Saints-Chiefs.

Lastly, Jim shares thoughts on the crazy upsets in college with Vanderbilt beating Alabama and Arkansas defeating Tennessee. He also talks about where he thinks the NFC South race stands and what the hierarchy in the conference currently is in his opinion.

Although no official injury report has been issues as we type this, it’s pretty clear it will impact the New Orleans Saints. The thing is, this week’s opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, also have their issues in missing their top two offensive players not named Patrick Mahomes in Isiah Pacheco and Rashee Rice.

Locally, will Taysom Hill, Demario Davis, Willie Gay and Cesar Ruiz be back in the lineup? Jim Derry has the game in his best bets on Thursday’s Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 289) presented by Evangeline Securities, as does Bet.NOLA.com Sports Director Tom Casale. Who do they have?

Also, Uncle Big Nick has his top five plays, as well as Gabe Henderson with his top play of the week.

Although we planned on spending most of Wednesday talking about Derek Carr’s chances of beating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, somehow most of the attention turned into the prospect of Davante Adams being traded from the Las Vegas Raiders.

Oh, and somewhere from the cracks, the Carr and Dennis Allen haters crawled out and had plenty to say on a spirited Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 288) presented by Evangeline Securities. We also discussed the potential of what might happen if Alvin Kamara doesn’t sign a deal with Saints before the end of this fiscal season.

Also, Jim brought back the ‘Extra Point’ to share his disgust of Pete Rose dying before he was enshrined into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, and it was ‘Wednesday’s with Gabe Henderson’ X2, as Gabe had thoughts early in the show and on Rose.

Is the New Orleans Saints 26-24 loss Sunday to the Atlanta Falcons the game Who Dats will look back upon in December and say, “Only if they hadn’t made one of those three giant mistakes?” Well, what mistakes are you talking about Jim Derry?

We get into quickly on “Mano E Monday,” as the listeners of the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 287) presented by Evangeline Securities chime in and share their opinions with Jim, as well as “Mondays with Gabe Henderson.” Some we think are spot on, and others, well, not so much. (And if you’re going to come at the host with “Derek Carr sucks” or “Dennis Allen is the worst coach in the NFL,” you probably need to have receipts.)

Are there reasons to be optimistic as the focus will soon shift toward playing the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs? Why do the oddsmakers think the Saints have a chance? Lastly, we briefly touch on convincing wins by LSU over South Alabama and Tulane over South Florida, as well as a prediction for Seattle at Detroit in Monday Night Football.

Last week at this time, we were talking about the New Orleans Saints potentially taking over the NFC South early. They still have a huge opportunity this week against the rival Atlanta Falcons, but with the 2-time defending Chiefs on the docket next week, this becomes even more important.

Is this a Bijan Robinson vs. Alvin Kamara game? Jim Derry and The Athletic's Larry Holder will preview it and make their pick on Friday's Dattitude (Ep. 286) presented by Evangeline Securities.

They also will take a look at some of the weekend's top NFL matchups.

Several key Saints landed on the Wednesday injury report, including the likes of Demario Davis, Alvin Kamara and Cesar Ruiz to go with Erik McCoy, who will miss 6 to 8 weeks. Can the team overcome these injuries, and how many of them could be out Sunday?

And what about the Atlanta Falcons, who have offensive line injuries of their own? Jim Derry will preview the game on Thursday’s Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 285) presented by Evangeline Securities, as well as LSU-South Alabama and Tulane-South Florida.

Of course, we’ll have our regular “Best Bets Thursday” segments with with Bet.NOLA.com Sports Director Tom Casale, Uncle Big Nick and Gabe Henderson, who takes a break from vacation to offer his top play of the week.

The New Orleans Saints received a huge blow when it was learned center Erik McCoy would need surgery for his groin injury and miss up to 8 weeks. Is it something the team can get around, or could this be a major problem?

Host Jim Derry debates the question with NOLA.com Saints editor Zach Ewing on Wednesday's Dattitude (Ep. 284) presented by Evangeline Securities.

Jim also has a brief lookahead to LSU-South Alabama and life without Harold Perkins on an already maligned defense. And can Tulane start AAC play fast when they host South Florida on Saturday?

It's only Week 3 in the NFL, and already asking, “Which Saints are the real Saints?” Is it the one that destroyed the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, or the one that gave up 460 yards of total offense and could muster just 12 points (despite plenty of gifts) on Sunday at home against the Philadelphia Eagles?

Of course, there are reasons why it was a tough day for the Black and Gold, who missed Taysom Hill from the start and center Erik McCoy for nearly the entire game. How big an impact are those two (duh), and can they win without them if they have to?

Host Jim Derry asks the listeners of the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 283) presented by Evangeline Securities, on “Mano E Monday.” Also, Jim plays clips from Coach Dennis Allen and quarterback Derek Carr to see if we can read anything through the lines.

September or not, very few thought the New Orleans Saints would host a game that could determine early control of the NFC. But that's where we are in Week 3 as the Philadelphia Eagles come to town. As they do each Friday morning, Jim Derry and The Athletic's Larry Holder preview the game on Dattitude (Ep. 282). They also will take a look at some of the weekend's top NFL matchups.