The Saint defense came through in a big way to create 7 sacks and give the Giants their first loss of the season. New York began five drives in FG range but was only able to score 16 points on those possessions. Another good passing day by Everett and a somewhat improved running game led to some impressive drives by the offense during the first three quarters, but the D's performance was what won the game for the Saints. The Giants got the ball first, but went 3 & punt. The Saint offense could do no better, and missed tackles allowed Lewis to return Tommy Barnhardt's punt to the NO 30. A reception & two runs by Meggett weren't enough for a 1st, however, and NY settled for a 41 yard FG. The Saints went to Derek Brown twice on the ground & once through the air on the next possession, but a good 3rd down open-field tackle again kept the game without an earned first down. However, the defense returned the ball to the O three plays later when Jimmy Spencer made a leaping interception along the sideline at the NO 25. The Saints then started a nearly mistake-free drive in which they often utilized offensive tackle Willie Williams as a third TE. Jim Everett went to Wesley Walls down the middle for 22, then hit Irv Smith on the sideline for 12 more on a play-action roll-out pass. Brown carried for 6, Smith ran a crossing pattern for 3 more, and Lorenzo Neal picked up a first down with a 5 yard rumble. Walls caught another ball at the 12, and Brown took a swing pass down to the 5. The first unsuccessful play came when William Roaf was called for a hard-to-detect hold. A sack backed the team up a little more, and one play later Morten Andersen came on to tie the game with a 29 yard FG just before the end of the first quarter. The Giants' next drive covered less than 25 yards, but a good punt put the Saints back at their own 9. The O was unable to get a 1st, and another long punt return by Lewis gave the Giants the ball at the NO 28. Two runs by Meggett set up a 3rd & 4, and a slant-in to Sherrard gave NY a 1st at the 15. Three plays later Dave Brown went back to Sherrard for a 10 yard TD pass. On the next Saint offensive play, Everett made a poor decision and had his pass picked off by Booty and returned down to the NO 12. Fortunately, a sack by Sam Mills and a holding penalty took NY out of TD range, and the drive ended with a 32 yard FG with 5:07 before halftime. Keeping the Giants out of the endzone on this possession was a big victory, and the action still to come before the half swung the momentum to the Saints. After Tyrone Hughes (starting from deep in the endzone for the second time in a row) returned the kickoff to the 19, the offense got moving again. Two runs of six yards each by Brown started things off, and a pass in the flat to Smith was good for three more. On 3rd & 7, Everett connected with Michael Haynes on a deep route for the first time all season. Though Haynes stepped out at the 7, it was a relief to see this much-anticipated collaboration finally come true. A good defensive play robbed Walls of a TD on first down, and Derrick Ned moved the ball to the 4 on the next play. On 3rd & goal, Everett took advantage of a mixup in the NY secondary to find Quinn Early wide open for a TD with 1:56 to go before the break. Having used all their timeouts earlier in the half, the Giants decided not to go for a score and gave the ball to Meggett twice. On 3rd & 5 from the NY 25, pressure forced Dave Brown to throw an ill-advised pass right to James Williams, who gathered it in and ran 32 yards untouched for a TD. The second Saint TD within one minute fired up the home crowd, and a stunned NY team ran out the remaining time to go into the locker room down by 4. The O quickly took the opening possession of the second half into Giant territory when Everett threw a perfect strike to Early down the middle for 33 yards on a 3rd & 7 play. The next play was good for 19 more when Ned ran well after catching a pass over the middle. The Saints dodged a bullet when a near INT in the endzone fell incomplete, and eventually Andersen came on to successfully kick a 32 yarder. On the next possession, the Giants moved into FG range thanks to a 40 yard sideline rumble by Cross after a short catch. The defense stiffened, preventing NY from getting another first down. A 48 yard FG attempt was blocked by Frank Warren, and the seven point margin was intact. The Saints couldn't get a first down on the next drive, but a good punt brought about a NY fair catch at their own 11. A pass to Sherrard got them out of the hole, but on 3rd & 2 Darion Conner hit Dave Brown to force a fumble (which NY recovered just short of the 1st down marker). Hughes gave the team good field position by returning the ensuing punt to the NO 46. Derek Brown gave his finest performance of the season on the next Saint drive. After Torrance Small started things with an 11 yard catch, Brown ran for 3. Smith fought off a tackle after a catch to move the ball to the 31. On the next three plays, Brown made good decisions in choosing his holes to pick up 17 yards. A play-action roll-out pass to Smith moved the ball to the 3, and Brown scored a well-deserved TD by jumping across the goal line. The PAT put the Saints up by 14 with 13:40 to go in the game. The next Giant possession lasted less than 3 minutes, but it was wild. A hold on the kickoff negated a long return, so NY started at their own 24. A sack by Conner and good 3rd down coverage by Jimmy Spencer seemed to put a quick end to the drive, but Hughes fumbled the punt, giving NY new life at the NO 38. After Conner caused another fumble (recovered by NY at the 45), the Giants faced 3rd & long. Dave Brown rolled right and threw deep back across the field for Calloway, who was well covered by Carl Lee. After some contact (IMO the NY receiver pushed off), Calloway came down with the ball at the 5 yard line, and spiked the ball to celebrate his reception. The refs ruled that Lee was guilty of defensive pass interference, but slapped Calloway with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (presumably for the spike, maybe he also said something). The penalties offset, and the play was was a do-over. The ensuing pass was incomplete, and the Giants had to punt. The Saints gave the Giants yet more great field position when Brown fumbled the handoff at the NO 13. Once again, the defense rose to the occasion as Wayne Martin sacked the NY QB back at the 18. A 35 yard FG with 8:02 to go pulled New York to within eleven. The NO offense couldn't gain a first down, though, as a pass on 3rd & 5 was nearly picked off. Fortunately, the punt team made up for its earlier mistakes by combining a 50 yard Barnhardt punt with excellent downfield coverage to put NY at their own 38. A generous roughing the passer call on Conner moved NY across midfield, but on 3rd down Tyrone Leggette came untouched on a corner blitz and smashed the unsuspecting NY QB. An untimely holding call on Small sabotaged the Saints' next possession, however, and again it was time for a punt without having gained a 1st down. A fair catch at their own 45 gave New York the ball with 4:09 to go. The Giants started their only sustained drive of the day with a 12 yard pass to Sherrard. Cross caught one for 4, but two incompletions set up a 4th down play. Cross was the man again, catching a pass down to the NO 17. The D caused another 4th down situation for the Giants, but again they converted, this time with a reception by Pierce to the 3 yardline. After a spike to stop the clock, Sherrard caught a slant-in for a TD with 2:04 to play. The Giants went for 2 by giving the ball to Meggett up the middle, but he was gang-tackled short of the endzone. New York tried an onside kick, but Walls made a good play to corral the low-flying ball. Unfortunately, James Williams had lined up offside, so the Giants got another shot at it. The NY players got pretty good penetration on another scary skidder, but Walls' good hands once again wrapped up the ball (and the ballgame). Three kneels gave the timeout-less Giants their first mark in the L column. The game's length caused Simpsons fans to wait 15 minutes to see OFF in Itchy & Scratchy Land, but you know how those games down in the swamp drag on. The play of the defense (particularly Darion Conner & Wayne Martin) is a welcome sight. It's true we didn't have to worry about Rodney Hampton, but it was still an impressive performance. The Saints should've put the game away in the 4th quarter, but the fumbles by Brown & Hughes gave the Giants second chances. If the D does more of the same next week, old friend Steve Walsh will have a long afternoon. stats- Everett: 20-30-249, TD, INT Brown: 22-64, TD rushing; 2-10 receiving Neal: 1-5 rushing Ned: 1-3 rushing; 2-21 receiving Smith: 6-42 Early: 3-43, TD Haynes: 2-68 Walls: 2-37 Small: 2-21 Willie Williams: 1-7 New York: 152 yards passing, 21 rushes for 50 yards ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu