Dattitude with Jim Derry

Yeah, we get it. You’ve been screaming about how much you hate Dennis Allen and Derek Carr. Back when they were 5-7, you were hoping they would go like 1-4 the rest of the way, and real changes would be made.

Those chances for change are gone. But you know what isn’t gone? The Saints playoff chances. So you might as well enjoy these days while they’re still around. You never know when the next time this team will have a shot at the playoffs.

And that is exactly what Jim Derry is screaming in his “Dime” on a special Sunday edition of the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 201), as that 12-percent shot at the postseason suddenly has become 31 percent with one game remaining.

New Year's Eve is coming Sunday, and the New Orleans Saints hope to pop their fireworks on the road at Tampa Bay to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. But first, we have a much bigger celebration here at home, as the Dattitude Podcast celebrates 200 episodes.

To do so, show host Jim Derry brings on Devin "Hold The Mayo" Snow to talk about the Saints slim chances at the playoffs, what has gone wrong this season ... and we'll probably talk a little about red beans and rice, even though it isn't Monday.

Questions we likely will ask HTM: Will the Saints be better next year? Is he riding “in the Carr?” What the bleepity bleep happened this season? What would he do with this coaching staff? And how in all that is holy does he eat that much every Monday?

FINALLY! Finally a game fans of the New Orleans Saints can get fired up about. Or at least the ones who aren’t foolishly rooting for their favorite team to win the rest of their games.

Yep, Coach Dennis Allen’s defensive game plan was outstanding, quarterback Derek Carr was near perfect, the New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito probably needed his momma to double up on the ice packs before bed Sunday night. But should fans be thrilled about maybe the most complete effort of the season or pissed because this is the team we should have seen play all season?

In Monday’s edition of “Derry’s Dime” on the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 199), host Jim Derry says just enjoy it while it lasts, because there’s still quite the long journey to catching Tampa Bay, and it begins on a short week in Los Angeles this Thursday.

It has been a long time since the fan base of the New Orleans Saints has been as outwardly negative as they are right now. And the ironic thing is it comes with the team in the middle of a chase for an NFC South championship with three teams tied at the top of the division.

What gives? Why do so many Who Dats think the team should just lose the rest of the way? What do they think that would accomplish? Would Coach Dennis Allen and his staff be forced to exit stage left? Would a higher draft pick come in and help be a savior? Or would it be more of the same?

As he usually does, Jim Derry weighs in on the situation and gives his take ahead of the game vs. the New York Giants – a team with a worse record whose fans have a completely different feeling. And also on the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 198), The Athletic’s Larry Holder makes his weekly Friday appearance to share his thoughts on the Black and Gold, as the duo also previews Sunday’s game and goes through some of the big matchups in Week 15 of the NFL.

Even in victory, this New Orleans Saints team seems to be a trainwreck. Quarterback Derek Carr, who spent most of the week in concussion protocol, had 37 yards through the first three quarters before finally waking up in the final minutes. Oh, and he was publicly fighting with veteran center Erik McCoy, and telling the press, “There’s no problem. It’s all good. … Brother, I’m not trying to be negative with you anymore.”

As for Coach Paul Bunyan, aka Dennis Allen, everything is fine because the Saints won for the first time in a month. But is it?

In Monday’s edition of “Derry’s Dime” on the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 197), host Jim Derry seems to be coming around to the Who Dat way of thinking there might be more problems on this team than they can overcome. Problems, that is, even a potential NFC South championship (which still is way off in the distance) could fix.

It has been more than a calendar month since the New Orleans Saints won a football game, but they still find themselves in the heart of the NFC South race with a game they SHOULD win Sunday against division-foe Carolina, who has won just once all season.

But these Saints continue to create more questions for their fans than answers, and the oddsmakers see this game a little differently than they would have seen it just a few weeks ago. (And they keep “choppin’ wood.”) Quarterback Derek Carr is in concussion protocol for the third time this year and has a rib injury, yet Coach Dennis Allen has not said whether it will be Carr or Jameis Winston starting on Sunday. Does it matter?

These are all top topics of conversation on Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 196) for host Jim Derry and The Athletic’s Larry Holder, as the duo will go through comments and questions from listeners and share their thoughts on the matchup. They each will wrap up the show with their predictions for this game and for other top contests in the NFL for Week 14. Spoiler alert: One of them is playing the role of “King of Wishful Thinking.”

Twelve games into the season, New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen is telling the fan base basically not to worry and that the team will continue to “chop wood” and will correct their mistakes. Does he realize there are only five games remaining in the season and most people “chop wood” before winter begins?

And what about the rest of the team that seemed perturbed because the fan base wasn’t supporting them on Sunday. Jameis Winston said “we’re all in this together,” but Allen said they don’t care about the “noise” outside of their own locker room. So which is it?

All topics for another post-losing edition of “Derry’s Dime” on the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 195), host Jim Derry attempts to translate the Sunday press conferences, and he also shares his opinion on the absurd Final Four presented to college football fans.

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.