Dattitude with Jim Derry

As the New Orleans Saints shift their focus from the preseason and the cutdown to a 53-man roster, they made a few moves since Tuesday. Will the trade for John Ridgeway improve the defensive line, and how does the addition of ex-Vikings specialist Kene Nwangwu affect the team? The good news is CBs Marshon Lattimore and Kool-Aid McKinstry returned to practice, as well as WR Rashid Shaheed. Will the...

Has there ever been this much debate on who should be a backup quarterback? The question of Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener – if nothing else – has breathed interest into an otherwise uneventful preseason. But now the regular season is upon us, and decisions must be made for these New Orleans Saints, including with cut-down day on Tuesday. Along with QB2, there’s the question of which wide receiver...

The New Orleans Saints are just a few days away from the preseason finale – their only home exhibition game – Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. The good news is key players like Alvin Kamara, Taliese Fuaga, Juwan Johnson and Pete Werner are back on the field. However, the DNP list remains long. Before we get to Part 6 of our third annual NFL team-by-team previews and take a look at the NFC West...

How could it be that one can feel better about the New Orleans Saints following a 16-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday than after the win over the Arizona Cardinals last week? It’s easy: Preseason scores don’t matter, but the play from the first teamers do. Not only was quarterback Derek Carr much better this week, but so was the offensive line, and more specifically, tackle Trevor Penn...

The New Orleans Saints are set to play preseason game No. 2 on Sunday, and it’s likely the starters will see a decent amount of time. But beyond the major concerns of all those who are missing time in practice, there are other questions: Does Trevor Penning still have a leg up at right tackle? Will Spencer Rattler do as well playing with the 1s and 2s? How much does he share time with Jake Haener...

We had such an outpouring of debate on both the Trevor Penning debacle and the debate of who should be QB2 – Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener – we decided to extend the conversation into another show. This time, Jim Derry has brings in a fellow local sports talk host, Eric Asher, to get a fresh take on Wednesday’s Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 266) presented by Evangeline Securities. Also on “Wednesdays wi...

Sure, the New Orleans Saints defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Saturday’s preseason opener in the desert, but what does it really mean? There were some positives (Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler, Chase Young, Willie Gay and the defense), but there some negatives, too (Trevor Penning and the first-string offense). How much should we put stock into these little snippets of time? We hear from Coach Denn...

The New Orleans Saints open their preseason on Saturday, and we still don’t have much of a clue on how much the starters will play. Will Derek Carr even play at all? How will the team get through with only six healthy receivers? Will Trevor Penning shake off tough camp? We’ll ask these questions before we get to Part 4 of our third annual NFL team-by-team previews, looking at the AFC South. Will C...

The LSU football Tigers are just 25 days away from their 2024 season opener in Las Vegas against the USC Trojans. How is Garrett Nussmeier coming along at quarterback, and what about Harold Perkins and the defense? Can LSU get through the early part of the schedule and get to the Ole Miss game at 5-0 and keep their chances going for a shot at the 12-team playoff? Host Jim Derry brings in our own W...

Without blasting last year’s offensive coaching staff, running back Jamaal Williams says there are many reasons to be excited about the new one that is being led by coordinator Klint Kubiak. It’s a reason for him to be happy and excited about the 2024 New Orleans Saints, as that’s all he really wants … oh, and to be able to go home and spend time with his cats and daughter. Meanwhile, Coach Dennis...

There’s some breaking camp news for the New Orleans Saints on Friday morning, including the release of a quarterback and the signing of two wide receivers. Does this mean Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler have locked up spots and one of the two will be the backup to Derek Carr in 2024? What’s up with the injuries to the receiving corps? Time to get up to speed on what’s going on with the Black and Go...

One of the big stories of training camp for the New Orleans Saints so far has been the injuries. Star wide receiver Chris Olave, one of the NFL’s top cornerback’s Marshon Lattimore, RB2 Kendre Miller and more. Should we be super concerned or is this just an early preseason bump in the road? That being said, there are bright spots in wide receiver Mason Tipton, running back Jordan Mims, and defensi...

We’re not sure which is getting more hype so far this offseason and into training camp: Taysom Hill with the new Saints offense or the attention being placed on the running game? What does Hill think, and does he seem OK with the changes Dennis Allen and Klint Kubiak have in store? And what about the running game? Will it be THAT different? Who will step up on offense that we might not be focusing...

The New Orleans Saints have wrapped up their third day of training camp, and there is plenty to talk about including how the offensive line depth chart is looking, running back Kendre Miller’s hamstring injury, whether Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener has a leg up in the quarterback race and the defense is looking good to start. And then there’s Part 2 of our third annual NFL team-by-team previews,...

The New Orleans Saints opened training camp in Irvine, Calif., on Wednesday morning, and we have a ton of questions – some obvious and some not so much. First, if Alvin Kamara is participating in practices, does that mean he and the team are close to a new deal? What about the love fest between the players and Coach Dennis Allen? Is it real? Will the offense get it together under coordinator Klint...

It's official: New Orleans Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk will miss the entire 2024 season and his future in football is in serious doubt. So does that mean it’s set in stone first-round pick Taliese Fuaga will begin the year as the starting left tackle and Trevor Penning will be at right tackle? Will Nick Saldiveri start at left guard? Does the extension of Rashid Shaheed help solidify the wide...

The time has come for us to begin our third annual NFL team-by-team previews, but this year we’re doing it a bit different. Instead, we’re going to do them division by division each Friday, and we’re opening here with our first of an eight-part series and the AFC East. Will Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills claim their fifth consecutive division title? Will Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins cra...

There are plenty of question marks for the New Orleans Saints entering training camp, but the receiving corps is not one of them. Is this unit the strength of the team’s offense, and could Chris Olave become a real star in the NFL? After Rashid Shaheed, is Cedrick Wilson or AT Perry the WR3? Also, it’s time to look at the Pelicans, who are 2 months away from their own training camp. Does the trade...

The New Orleans Saints had the oldest starting lineup in the NFL entering the 2023 season, but what about 2024? Does it matter? And if they have a rough start, will they start making some changes? Also, we have been talking about how tough the first six games are on the team’s schedule, but maybe it isn’t as bad as we think it is? On a scale of 0 to 5, how hot is Coach Dennis Allen’s seat? Will th...

Training camp for the New Orleans Saints begins in less than 2 weeks (rookie report next week), and we have plenty of questions about this team. Will Alvin Kamara return for the start? Will the offensive line overperform their low expectations? How hot is the seat of Coach Dennis Allen? But even with all that, there are reasons one could be optimistic … what are they? Summer break is over, and Jim...

All seemed to be going swimmingly with the New Orleans Saints, as they entered the final day of minicamp and were set to head off into vacation relatively problem free. Then Alvin Kamara dropped a bombshell and abruptly left the team in an apparent contract dispute. What does this mean for the team, and can they get the problem ironed out before the start of training camp in about 5 weeks? Is it a...

We’re just about to that point in the offseason schedule where members of the New Orleans Saints will heading out for one final vacation before the 2024 fall campaign really gets going. Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore have returned, which certainly is a good thing, while we still wonder about the offensive line and whether some rookies such as Kool-Aid McKinstry will contribute right away. The...

Just a few days of mandatory minicamp, and then Dennis Allen and the New Orleans Saints will take their final break before the 2024 season begins in earnest with training camp in late July. There certainly are more questions than answers, as Klint Kubiak installs a new offense, and we still don’t know three of the five pieces on the line outside of Erik McCoy at center and Cesar Ruiz at right guar...

We have spent most of the late spring and early summer talking about the potential for the New Orleans Saints’ new offense under Klint Kubiak. But what about Dennis Allen’s defense? They were not good last season against the run and had virtually no pass rush. Will they be better? Can they find depth on the defensive line, and is this the last year for Hall-of-Famer to be defensive end Cameron Jor...

The New Orleans Saints have finished their 2024 voluntary OTAs and they look ahead to next week’s mandatory minicamp. The highlight of the past 3 weeks clearly has been the installation of Klint Kubiak’s new offense and all the different things the team might do this season. Will Derek Carr thrive, and what will Taysom Hill do? Also, should there be optimism for this makeshift offensive line, and...