Heh.

Saints fans have come to expect games like this, but that still doesn't make
them any easier to endure.

Here's the report:

I donned my Rickey Jackson jersey and headed for Austin's Marriott Hotel
sports bar.  (If there are any Saints fans in the area, come join the 
relatively large Saints contingent and watch the games via satellite.)  
By the time the bartender found what channel the game was on, half of the
first quarter was gone, so I missed Lorenzo Neal's 74 yd run for a TD.
Unfortunately, Neal hurt his ankle later in the game and was carried off the
field.

Morten Andersen kicked his 25th consecutive FG to break the NFL record and
give the Saints a 10-0 lead.  A pseudo-drive by the Falcons (wrestle INT
out of Saints receiver's hands, move to goal line on pass interference call)
resulted in an Atlanta TD.  Two nifty Wade Wilson to Quinn Early TD passes
and a late Falcons FG made it 24-10 at the half.

Wade Wilson continued his strong performance with a TD toss to Irv Smith.
The Saints were rolling.  Late in the third quarter, Atlanta finally gave
up on ineffective Chris Miller and put in Bobby Hebert.  

Even after Hebert drove for a TD against a cushion-giving Saints defense,
things were still under control.  The big boo-boo came after Tommy Barnhardt
backed the Falcons deep in their own territory with a punt.  Hebert hit
a Falcons WR in stride (Haynes?) down the sidelines for a looooong TD.
It appeared to me that the Saints DB (Atkins?) made a play for the interception
instead of the tackle.  As you can tell, I was too upset to get the names
written down.

On the Saints' next two drives, they were unable to pick up enough first
downs to run out the clock and/or get a score.  Hebert drove the Falcons to
another TD.  His pass was deflected at the goal line and caught by another
Falcon.  If the pass had found its way into a defender's hands, Hebert 
would've added another late-game mistake to his resume, but that's not
what happened.

After having missed a 42 yd FG earlier in the game that ended his streak,
Morten got a chance to put the Saints in the lead with a 50 yd attempt.
Alas, the usually dependable Great Dane missed it.  Fortunately, before
Hebert got a chance to drive the Falcons for a winning score, Renaldo Turnbull
knocked the ball loose from his grasp and recovered it.  Andersen redeemed
himself by putting a 44 yarder through the uprights as time expired.


Comments:

* For the most part, Wade Wilson played an excellent game.  It's incredible
  to see how many points the Saints are putting on the board.

* I hope that Neal is not seriously injured.  The Saints were forced to
  use fullback-less running schemes after he left the game.  Muster might
  be ready next week.  If neither is prepared to play, we may have to call
  Derrick Ned up from the practice squad.

* The Saints will almost always win a game when the other team doesn't make
  "THE BIG PLAY."  Things were fine until the long TD pass that gave the
  Falcons the emotional lift on which they so heavily depend.  Fortunately,
  we were still able to squeeze out the win.  As usual, there's no way the
  game should have been that close, but it was.


*******************************************************************************
Frank Serpas III