The Saints almost stole one from the Raiders, but the poor performance by the
offense over the first 54 minutes of the game was ultimately too much to
overcome.  Los Angeles shut down the running game, which forced the O into a
pattern reminiscent of the early part of the season.  After three quality
efforts in a row, the team took a step backwards.

Because a bunch of the early games ran long (the Saints' last noon start of the
season was last week), I didn't get to see the first 10 minutes of the 1st
quarter.  Here's more-or-less what happened during that span: LA drove 87 yards
for a TD (a 12 yard catch by Tim Brown) on the first possession of the day (a
3rd down offside penalty against Joe Johnson kept the drive going), the Saints
punted, and the Raiders lost possession on downs at the NO 16.

Three punts followed when a Saint drive stalled at midfield, an intentional
grounding penalty against Hostetler helped limit the Raiders to only 3 plays,
and the Saints couldn't complete a pass on 3rd & 9 from the 40.  Los Angeles
began the next possession at their own 12.  A 3 yard run by Jones & a 10 yard
catch by Rathman were good for a 1st.  Hoss fooled the D with his snap count
twice in a row to pick up a 3rd & 10 (he completed a pass on the second
infraction, actually).  Two Jones runs set up a successful QB sneak on 3rd &
inches from the NO 49.  On the next play Jett caught a pass down to the 25.
However, on the play after that Jones fumbled the handoff.  Sam Mills recovered
the ball at the 22.

The next possession began with an eleven yard sack, but Jim Everett hit
Torrance Small for 13 & Quinn Early for 10 to pick up the 1st.  On the next
play, however, McDaniel made a good play to pick off a pass intended for
Michael Haynes, who was running a deep post.  The interception return gave LA
the ball at the NO 32 with 4:00 left in the half.

Harvey Williams gained 12 on first down, but on the next play a Raider lineman
held Renaldo Turnbull to prevent a sack.  Following a 7 yard run by Williams,
the Raiders moved themselves back some more with an illegal motion penalty
and another sack-preventing hold of Turnbull.  Brown caught a pass to the 28,
and Williams was stopped for no gain on 3rd.  Frank Warren blocked the 45 yard
FG attempt, which allowed the Saints to again prevent Raider points (despite
consecutive drives by the home team inside the NO 25).

The Saints gave the ball back to the Raiders quickly following two incompletes
and a catch for a short gain.  An uncalled clip of J.J. McCleskey allowed
Brown to return the punt to the NO 48.  Brown caught a pass for 13 yards, but
the most-penalized team in the league moved themselves back ten with a false
start & an illegal formation.  A catch by Brown regained the lost yardage, and
Jaeger's 51 yard FG attempt on the last play of the half barely cleared the
crossbar.

The offense started the 2nd half with four good plays.  Mario Bates ran for 9
on first down, then picked up the spare.  A play action rollout pass to Irv
Smith was good for 7, and defensive pass interference (to take out what
would've been a wide-open Early) moved the ball to the 33.  The drive stalled
after an incompletion, a one yard run by Bates, and an incomplete pass
intended for Haynes at the goal line (good coverage broke it up).  Morten
Andersen's 51 yard FG attempt was well-hit, but it hooked barely wide.

On the second play of the Raiders' ensuing possession, Turnbull knocked the
ball free from Hostetler's grasp.  A friendly bounce into Tyrone Hughes' hands
allowed the speedster to run 42 yards for a TD.  Despite having been outplayed
for much of the game, the Saints were down by only 3.

A 5 yard Williams run kicked off the next Raider drive, but a hold & a false
start (surprise, surprise) moved LA back 15.  A 5 yard catch by Jett set up
3rd & 10.  Los Angeles got a big play when Brown outjumped the shorter Jimmy
Spencer to make a great catch for a 32 yard gain.  From there, Rathman ran
for 8, Williams ran for 5, Williams ran for 2, and Ismail caught a 17 yard
pass for a TD.

The Saints went 3 & punt on the next drive as the Raiders sacked Everett
on 2nd down following immediate line penetration.  Brown's punt return gave
LA the ball at their own 44.  The Raiders gave the ball to Williams a few
times to move the ball to the NO 31, but on 2nd & 7 pressure from Warren helped
cause an interception by Sean Lumpkin.

An offsides penalty against the defense and a 13 yard Bates run moved the team
to the 41, but the Saints could get no farther.  The Saints were flagged for
hitting Hostetler in the head on the first play of the ensuing LA possession,
which moved the Raiders to near midfield.  However, a sack on 3rd & 5 forced a
punt.  The Saints got a break when the kick landed on the goal line before
bouncing out of bounds at the one.  The Los Angeles coverage team had a short
tennis-like argument about chalk marks with the official on the spot.

A one yard Bates run & a 9 yard Early catch moved the ball just past the 30,
but a scrambling Everett was sacked for 2 yards on the next play.  Good
coverage forced 2 incomplete passes from Everett (who was frequently throwing
off his back foot), and Brown returned the punt to the LA 43.

Los Angeles moved quickly with a 12 yard pass to somebody, a 9 yard Williams
run, and a 3 yard Brown catch before it was time for their periodic holding
penalty.  Facing 3rd & 7 from the 30, the Raiders hit a crucial play when a
wide open Brown caught a crossing route and powered his way into the endzone.
The PAT gave LA a 24-7 lead with only 5:51 remaining in the game.

Hughes sparked the team by returning the ensuing kickoff to the LA 39.  Two
15 yard dump passes in a row to Derek Brown gave the offense their deepest
penetration of the day.  Folowwing a Brown no-gainer & two incompletions (the
second one should've been intercepted), Everett hit Small in the endzone for
a TD.  I watched the Saints go for 2 with a very confused look on my face (the
team needed two more scores no matter what).  The try was no good.  Though
the probability of a Saints comeback still seemed remote, it would now take
a TD, 2-point conversion, and FG just to tie the game.

The onside kick didn't skip into the air, and Tim Brown took it in with no
problem at the NO 45.  On the next play Hostetler made an awful decision,
though, as his pass was intercepted by Winfred Tubbs at the 31 with 3:39 to go.

Everett moved the team down the field in a hurry in only 4 plays: to Haynes for
9, a dump to Brown for 6, one down the middle to Early for 28, and to Small for
12 more down to the 14.  Small dropped what would've been a short gainer on the
last play before the two minute warning, but he caught the next ball for a TD.
The earlier questionable call forced the Saints to go for 2, and Everett's pass
for Walls was incomplete (though it looked like he might've been interfered
with).  Instead of being down by 3 (what the margin would've been with 2 PATs),
the Saints were down 5 and could only prevent a loss with a TD.

The Saints' second onside kick of the game was better, but once again Tim Brown
was there to make a leaping grab at the NO 45.  The Saints used all their
timeouts after a 5 yard Williams loss, a 5 yard Williams gain, and a 3 yard
QB scramble to bring about a punt.  Another lucky punt outcome (the ball
barely made it inside the pylon) resulted in a touchback.  There were 80 yards
to go and 1:25 to do it in.

The drive began with a 6 yard pass to Small (who seemingly passed up a chance
to get out of bounds).  The team moved 3 more yards with a dump to Brown (who
did get out of bounds, with 56 seconds remaining).  The coaches traded time
for yardage by dumping one over the middle to Brown, who ran to the NO 43.
The team ran the same play again, which probably wasn't a good decision, as
it gained only 5 yards and ran the clock down into the teens.  Everett was
sacked on the next play, a spike to stop the clock burned 3rd down, and a Hail
Mary on the last play of the game fell incomplete, dropping the Saints' record
against AFC West teams this season to 0-3.

The Saints' playoff hopes are in serious trouble now.  Even if they manage to
run the table and finish at 9-7 (a very tough task, which begins in the 'Dome
next Monday night against the 49ers), a wildcard is not a sure thing.  Let's
hope the team can put on a good show (3 of our last 5 games will be nationally
televised) and play well during the rest of the season.


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