The New Orleans Saints are 6-7 and in a tie for first place in the NFC South with four games to play, but even as players try to block out the noise, it's clear that a lot of it is not positive.
There have been boos in the Caesars Superdome during multiple games this season, and unlike most year, those haven't been primarily directed at the opponent or the officiating. In some cases they've been clearly directed at quarterback Derek Carr, and while he says it will never affect his play, he'll fully admit that he hears it.
"You know what to expect, that it’s not going to be positive all the time, but it sure was at the end of [the win over the Panthers]," Carr said. "Hopefully we can keep doing that for our fans so that we can have some more good moments.”
It's a discussion he's had with his kids, who are in attendance at the games. Carr relayed a story that he used the booing to impart a lesson as one of his boys struggled with their math homework, suggesting that maybe he should start booing. No matter how frustrating things got, the job still had to get done.
That's been the mantra this year for Carr. There have been high moments, but also several low moments. Even in the win over the Panthers there were only 37 passing yards to show through more than three quarters of play before a pair of touchdown drives put the game out of reach. That's the type of thing that won't exactly get fans on your side, but it's all part of the process.
"He knocked his homework out and it was just a great lesson for him. … I love everybody and I’m going to do my best this week to get everyone excited, complete all the passes that I can complete, score all the points that we can score, and I’m gonna keep doing that," Carr said. "I’m gonna keep giving everything that I physically can, everything mentally that I can to do my best, and I know all of our team is doing that, but we’ve got to give them some stuff to get excited about."
That line in the sand is an important one to draw, because as frustrating as things have been at points this season, they still have a postseason trip within their grasp if they can get on a roll over the final four games. It's a similar situation that Carr found himself in with the Raiders at 2021, sitting at 6-7 heading into Week 15, then winning out for a trip to the postseason.
The QB says he sees similar characteristics with this Saints squad.
“It was the closest-knit football team, closest-knit any sport team I’ve ever been on," Carr said. "It was really a unique, special thing that if anyone was around our building, man, you could feel like, the love that we had for each other and that energy. You know, me and one of our leaders, we sat down at breakfast today and I could feel this, like, unity, this we’re talking about things that obviously I’m not going to get into, but it was one of those moments where like, man, this could be it."
All the team can do is go one game at a time or, as head coach Dennis Allen puts it, go 1-0 every week. That's what the Saints did against the 1-12 Panthers, and the next chance will come against a Giants squad that has climbed out of the cellar to 5-8 with three consecutive wins, led by the walking New Jersey billboard Tommy DeVito.
The positive energy can be created, but it takes winning.
"I keep saying this, man, like this is the time to do it. This is the time to get hot, right now. I was on a team where this was when we got hot and man, that was a great time in our stadium, great energy in the city, and we want to do that for our city," Carr said. I absolutely love this place and I told you I just want to win here. ... So, hopefully, getting the one last week, hopefully continue that and keep that energy going all the way throughout the city.”
