The Saints were on the other side of a last-second one-point victory this week, as the team fought for (and got) a crucial win. The home team spotted the Falcons 17 quick points in the first 6 minutes of the game, but Atlanta managed only five field goals after that. The Falcon D simply could not stop the Saint O- they forced only one punt (and that came after the Saints tried to throw on 3rd & 1). Mario Bates (in his first NFL start) demolished the seemingly insurmountable 100 yard barrier, while Morten Andersen beat Atlanta with a game-winning FG for the 6th time in his career. Atlanta started the game with good field position when Verdin ran freely down the left sideline to the NO 32 (until Andersen slowed him down enough to allow Joel Smeenge to make a tackle). Three consecutive Jeff George passes (to Emanuel, Rison, Mathis) and a 3 yard run by Ironhead Heyward gave the Falcons a 1st & goal at the 5. A blitz by Carl Lee caused an incompletion on 1st down, Selwyn Jones stripped Emanuel of the ball in the endzone on 2nd, and Darrion Conner's pressure forced the third incomplete pass in a row on 3rd. Atlanta settled for a 23 yard FG. On the Saints' second offensive play, a low Jim Everett pass was deflected up into the arms of a Falcon at the NO 27. The Falcons needed only three plays to get into the endzone: a screen pass to Heyward gained 12, a pass to Mathis picked up 11 more, and Rison caught a 4 yard pass for the score. On the ensuing kickoff return, J.J. McCleskey was blocked into Tyrone Hughes. The ball came loose, and a Falcon returned it 27 yards for a TD. With only 5:20 elapsed, the Saints were down 17-0. The sellout crowd was restless, but the fans realized that the deficit was due more to bad luck than to being outplayed. The offense started the Saints' first scoring drive of the day from the NO 36. Bates ran twice (for 6 & 9 yards). A quick throw to Lorenzo Neal picked up 5, and another run by Bates picked up 5 more (and a 1st down). Everett hit Michael Haynes on a crossing route for a 25 yard gain to the Atlanta 24. The team wound up kicking a 34 yard FG after the drive stalled. A good tackle by McCleskey on the kickoff return put Atlanta at the 20. George called the Falcons' final timeout of the half with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter, and on 3rd & 9 from the 32 Conner used a speed rush to sack the QB. A long roll on the punt backed the Saints up to their own 25. Facing 3rd & 1, the team went to an odd formation (Willie Williams lined up in the backfield to pass block), and Everett's incomplete throw to Wesley Walls forced Tommy Barnhardt's only punt of the day. On the first play of the Falcons' next drive, the Saints got lucky when the official ruled that Rison failed to control a deep pass before going out of bounds. The Falcons then hit six successful plays in a row (Heyward 13 run, Rison 17 catch, Mathis 14 catch, Heyward 8 run, Heyward 4 run, Mathis 6 catch) to move to the NO 16. The D got tough in the red zone, though, as heavy pressure forced a panicked George to hurriedly fling the ball away sideways on 3rd down. Atlanta kicked a 34 yard FG. Probably afraid of Hughes' return ability, Atlanta squibbed the kickoff to the NO 36. Bates took control by starting the drive with runs of 12, 9, & 4 yards (however, the RB's first major playing opportunity of the year betrayed a disturbing Muncie-like carelessness with the ball). While Chuck Jr. went to the sideline to rest, Derek Brown came in. He promptly sprained his ankle during a 3 yard gain and sat out the rest of the game. On 3rd & 7 from the Atlanta 36, Everett hit Torrance Small for a 19 yard gain. On the next play, Irv Smith caught a 17 yard TD pass down the middle. A personal foul against the Falcons during the kickoff backed them up to their own 13. A 19 yard reception by Mathis on 3rd & 3 from the 20 got Atlanta out of the hole, and on the next play George beat the blitz by going back to Mathis (who made his way to the NO 23). Catches by Rison & Mathis on the next two plays moved the ball to the 8, but the red zone D came through again. Inside pressure forced intentional grounding on 1st down, and on 2nd down a good Wayne Martin tackle of Heyward foiled a clever Falcon call. A 3rd down incompletion led to a 30 yard FG with 1:51 remaining in the half. Another squib kick gave the Saints the ball at their own 34. A seven yard run by Bates and a 5 yard catch by Smith moved the ball to near midfield, but on the next play Everett threw behind Haynes, and the ball was deflected to a waiting Falcon at the Atlanta 49. A 5 yard Heyward run, a 10 yard Mathis catch, and an 18 yard Rison grab seemed to ensure the Falcons of at least a FG before halftime, but an awful throw by George (right to Hughes) ended the second quarter with the score 23-10 Atlanta. The Falcons' squibbing caught up with them, as the second half kickoff went out of bounds at the NO 42. Everett hit Quinn Early with an 8 yard strike on 3rd & 2 from the Atlanta 39 to keep the drive going. Bates did the rest: a 13 yard run, a dump pass over the middle for 6, a four yard run, and a 9 yard TD gallop. The RB used his power to break tackles, while the defense tried to strip the ball to take advantage of his loose hold on the pigskin. Morten boomed his kickoff through the back of the endzone. Facing 3rd & 2 from their own 42, Falcon confusion before the snap led to an incomplete pass. The punt went to the NO 15. Everett went for a big play on the first snap of the drive by throwing to a streaking Haynes. Defensive holding was called, but the ball was on target and Haynes should've made the catch (but didn't). Two plays later, the Saints tried the play again, and this time it was successful (down to the Atlanta 32). Following a false start by William Roaf, an elaborate screen pass to Bates (after a fake reverse) picked up 14. On 3rd & 2 from the 24, Smith caught a 3 yard toss to pick up a 1st. The offense topped off three nice gainers (Bates 6 run, Walls 4 catch, Early 7 catch) with a strong 4 yard TD run by Bates. With 3:05 to go in the third quarter, the Saints had taken a 24-23 lead (and Everett was 10-10 so far in the 2nd half). The defense forced a 3 & punt Atlanta series when Winfred Tubbs & Sam Mills stuffed Ironhead on 3rd & 1. Following a punt to the 33, the O kept right on moving. Everett shook off his first incomplete pass of the half to hit Smith for 5 and dump one over the middle to Derrick Ned for 12 more. Bates then broke loose on a 22 yard sprint. A crossing pattern by Haynes and a 3 yard run by Vaughn Dunbar (wow, a Dunbar sighting!) picked up another first down. Unfortunately, a bad decision by Everett resulted in a pick-off at the 19. Atlanta stormed back with some ball movement of their own on four consecutive successful plays: Heyward ran for 16, Sanders caught one for 4, a Heyward screen went for 16, and Rison caught a ball at the 15. Once more, however, the Red Gun failed in the red zone when an awful throw into the turf on 3rd & 8 (the receiver was open for a probable TD) brought about a 31 yard FG. On the second play of the Saints' next drive, Bates' poor ball handling caught up with him. A Falcon poked the ball free, and only a shoestring tackle by Small at the 22 prevented an Atlanta TD. The Falcons were flagged for holding during an incompletion on 3rd & 8 from the 20. Mora gambled by accepting the penalty (in an attempt to make for a more difficult FG). The Falcons wasted their second chance by giving the ball up the middle to Heyward for no gain, but Johnson made the FG anyway from 48 yards out. With half of the 4th quarter remaining, the Saints were down by 5. Starting from the 30, a 16 yard run by Bates (he tripped himself) and a dump over the middle to the Master put the ball at the Atlanta 45. A defensive pass interference call sandwiched between a pair of short Dunbar runs moved the ball to the 11, but two false start penalties in a row (against Jim Dombrowski & Walls) brought up 3rd & 17 from the 21. Everett responded with a beautiful throw to Walls in the endzone for a TD. The team went for 2 (after Mora consulted the Little Caesars orangutan), but Everett fumbled when hit (a Saint fell on it in the endzone, but maybe the Raider rule applies to 2-point attempts) and the Saints' margin remained at one. The Falcons responded with a go-ahead score. Martin stopped Ironhead on 3rd & inches from the Atlanta 44, but a 7 yard catch by Mathis on 4th down kept the drive moving. A blitz-beater to Rison moved Atlanta to the 19, but the Falcons were again denied a TD. The 30 yard FG gave the team from the city where every street is named "Peachtree" a 2 point lead with 1:44 remaining. The Falcons again kicked away from Hughes, so Dunbar returned the ball to the 36. On first down, Early sacrificed his body to go high in the air to pull down a 9 yard reception (despite getting whacked in the back). Everett went right back to Early to pick up the 1st via a 5 yard throw. A loss of 6 on a screen to Ned threatened to sabotage the Saints' final drive, but Chad hit Small for an 18 yard gain down to the Atlanta 38 with :34 showing on the clock. A defensive pass interference call moved the ball 4 yards downfield, then Everett threw a strike to Early to the 21. Following a spike to stop the clock, Morten came on and nailed a 40 yarder with 8 seconds remaining (after a good catch & hold by Barnhardt of a slightly-offline snap). The Falcons tried a bomb on the last play of the game, but Big Ben wasn't going to chime for #80, #81, #83, or #87 (or number six for that matter) today. This was a gutty performance by the Saints. That they were able to bounce back from last week's devastating loss made the win all the more impressive. Mario Bates played like the team expected he would when they drafted him (if only he had been available earlier in the season!). Give a lot of credit to the offensive line- they allowed no sacks, plus paved the way for Bates' big day. If we maintain the high level of play present in our last three games, we will be in the hunt for a playoff spot. receptions yards TD rushes yards TD Early 7 63 Smith 7 46 1 Haynes 3 55 Walls 3 36 1 Bates 3 28 22 141 2 Small 2 36 Ned 2 7 Neal 1 5 Dunbar 3 9 Brown 1 3 ...................................... Everett 28 - 36 - 276 2TD, 3INT Atlanta: 16 runs for 72 yards (all Heyward), 317 yards passing ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu