The Saints played better than expected but couldn't pull out a win against
the 49ers.  The defense ran through San Fran's decimated offensive line
repeatedly to put pressure on Young, but a pathetic New Orleans rushing attack
and two late interceptions prevented a victory.

This game summary comes to you from underneath the Sunday night lights of
Midland-Odessa, TX.  No, I haven't gotten that desperate for a good place to
see the Saints play, I travelled to west TX to see my brother earn his 2nd
degree black belt in Tae Kwan-Do.  By the end of the day, however, it was
the 49ers who delivered a flying side kick to the Saints, sending them to the
NFC West cellar.

I missed the first 11 minutes of the game due to the aforementioned martial
arts activities.  In that time SF kicked a 43 yard FG, and Morten Andersen
retaliated with a 22 yarder of his own following an interception by James
Williams.  After I planted myself in front of the TV, I got to see the Niners
move quickly downfield on the next possession.  Logan's run of 25 yards got
SF out of the hole, and consecutive medium length passes to Jones, Rice, and
Watters moved Frisco across midfield.  After running Watters three times in a
row to get into position, Young threw 28 yards to Rice on 3rd down for a TD.
Rice got a step on Tyrone Legette off the line, streaked down the sideline,
and caught the pass at the goal line as Legette overran the ball in an attempt
to catch up with Rice.

The following Saint possession is a bit mysterious, because FOX's picture went
out in the middle of it (I assume the problem was with the network and not the
local affiliate because the clock and score stayed planted in the upper left
corner during the blackout).  It apparently ended with a punt to the SF 23.
Three consecutive 3 & punt series ensued, ending with the Saints getting the
ball at the NO 37 after Sean Lumpkin forced a punt by tackling Sherrard one
chain link short of a first down.

It seemed there would be another 3 & punt series, but a bad snap caused Tommy
Barnhardt to run twenty yards with the ball to the SF 38.  The play sparked
the team and brought about the Saints' only touchdown of the game.  A play
action rollout pass to Derrick Ned picked up 12 yards.  Short passes to Wesley
Walls & Quinn Early moved the ball to the 17.  On 3rd down, Everett beat the
blitz by throwing to Irv Smith, who fought through a tackle to score a TD.
With 2:31 left in the half, the game was tied.

A Wayne Martin sack helped bring a quick end to the 49ers' possession, and a
good punt return by Tyrone Hughes gave the Saints the ball at the SF 40 with
1:24 left before halftime.  After two incompletions, Everett zipped the ball
down the middle to Derek Brown for a 25 yard pickup.  The drive stalled,
however, when a 3rd down middle screen pass into a crowd of people was nearly
picked off.  A 26 yard FG with 38 seconds to go before the half put the Saints
in front.  San Fran managed to mount a scoring threat before the second
quarter ended, but their 55 yard FG attempt was no good.

The Saint offense moved the ball well to start the second half.  Consecutive
mid-length passes to Michael Haynes put the ball at the SF 35.  A big
opportunity was missed when Smith juggled a perfect pass deep in Niner
territory (it was close to being a catch & fumble but was ruled incomplete).
Andersen's 51 yard FG attempt was slightly short & left.

The new rule pertaining to missed FGs meant that San Fran had less than 60
yards to travel for a TD.  A series of short runs & passes moved the ball to
the NO 11, and a 3rd down pass interference call gave SF a 1st at the two.
A well-defended running play & a sack moved Frisco back a little, but on 3rd
down the zone defense lost track of Rice, who caught the ball in the back of
the endzone for a 6 yard TD.

The offense failed to reach midfield on the next possession, but Darion Conner
soon ran around the end untouched on 3rd down to force a Niner punt after only
three plays.  The Saints went 3 & punt again, with two bad calls by the refs
during the punt cancelling each other out to give SF the ball at their own 25
(they incorrectly claimed the return man stepped out of bounds soon after he
caught the punt, but they also missed a clip).  Conner provided another 3rd
down sack to create another 3 & punt series for San Francisco.

The Saints' O showed a little life by making it to the SF 46, but the drive
fizzled there.  The Forty Niners caught the D off-guard by going with a
no-huddle offense and were able to move the ball into Saints territory.
Vince Buck killed the drive by intercepting a long pass while crossing the
goal line, but a questionable call gave NO the ball at the 1 instead of the
20.  Though the O couldn't get out of the hole, a booming punt by Barnhardt
and a block in the back by SF moved the Niners all the way back to their 31.
This time it was Martin's turn to cause a 3 & punt series with a 3rd down
sack.  With six minutes left in the game, the Saints had the ball at their
own 26.

A crossing pattern by Haynes, a 5 yard run by Brown, and an 8 yard catch by
Walls moved the Saints to midfield.  On 4th & 2, Everett scrambled for seven
to keep the drive moving.  A nifty pass to Walls gave the Saints a 1st down
at the 49er 30 with just over 2 minutes remaining.  On the next play, no
receivers were open right away, so Everett scrambled for time.  Realizing that
he was being covered by a LB, Ned ran for the endzone.  Everett put the ball
on target, but at the last minute Hanks came over and picked the ball off
in the endzone.  A near-TD turned into a touchback.  It was like waiting for a
cab, almost getting Cindy Crawford, but instead ending up with Jimmy McBride.

The Saints were given one more chance when Jones dropped a pass on 3rd down
(I think the 49ers' cotton throwback uniforms shrunk in the wash, thus
limiting the mobility of their players).  Hughes' punt return gave the Saints
the ball at the SF 45 with 1:16 left.  Unfortunately, on 4th & 8 Deion Sanders
intercepted a pass and returned it 74 yards for a TD, thus saying "buh-bye" to
the Saints' hopes with all the cruelty of a Total Bastard Airlines flight
attendant.

Instead of finding Baby Jessica's well and throwing myself down it, I felt
surprisingly good after the game.  Though our running game still needs *lots*
of improvement, the defense is playing well.  A win today would've been great,
but at least we're seeing some positive signs.  We've come a long way since
the hideous loss to the Redskins.


stats: Everett: 31-55-291, TD, 2INT

       Ned: 5-5 rushing, 4-20 receiving
       Brown: 8-1 rushing, 2-33 receiving
       Neal: 3-4 rushing
       Early: 8-79
       Haynes: 7-81
       Walls: 6-36
       Smith: 3-33, TD
       Small: 1-9


       San Francisco: 225 passing yards, 19 runs for 74 yards


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Frank Serpas III    serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu