Three first half Mario Bates TDs allowed the Saints to coast to their eighth
straight win in Anaheim, as Jim Everett showed his former team what they threw
away.  A bunch of Ram turnovers brought about (for me, anyway) the least
stressful game of the year.  Scoring a lot of points against the Rams is old
hat for the Saints- games under Jim Mora in which the Saints score 30 or more:
7/18 = 39% of the time vs. Rams, 16/126 = 13% of the time vs. rest of league.

I didn't get to see the first 5 minutes of the game (because the early games
ran long).  What happened in that span: LA moved inside the NO 40 on the first
possession, but a sack and an illegal motion penalty forced a punt (which was
covered at the one foot line).

After Mario Bates provided one yard of breathing room, Everett rolled out and
hit Wesley Walls with a nice 11 yard pass (but Walls sprained his shoulder on
the play and didn't return).  After Bates runs of 1 & 6, Chad got the first
down by throwing to Torrance Small, who made a great catch at the 30.  The QB
went to Quinn Early for 15 on the next play, and one play later hit Irv Smith
at the LA 42.  Bates ripped off 16 on the next play, and one play later he
completed the 99 yard drive by running through a big hole for an easy 26 yard
TD.

After Morten Andersen nailed the kickoff into the endzone for a touchback, the
Rams managed only three plays before punting to Derrell "Mookie" Mitchell,
who returned the ball to the NO 26.  A holding penalty against William Roaf and
a sack brought on Tommy Barnhardt, but Todd Kinchen muffed the punt.  Othello
Henderson's recovery gave the Saints new life at the LA 44.  Everett went to a
sliding Michael Haynes for 33 on the next play, and Bates finished the two
play drive by running it in from eleven yards out on the first play of the
second quarter.

The Rams came back with a TD drive of their own.  Following a near interception
by Jimmy Spencer, Bettis ran 3 times for a total of 18 yards to move the ball
to midfield.  Miller then hit Kinchen on a crossing pattern for 25.  On 3rd & 9
from the 24, Miller went back to Kinchen for a TD.

The Saint O went back to work.  After Everett hit Smith (I think) for the
necessary yardage on 3rd & 5 from the 31, a Ram offside penalty and 4 yard runs
by Bates & Lorenzo Neal moved the ball to midfield.  A Derek Brown draw and a
defensive pass interference call moved the ball to the LA 16, but on 3rd & 8
from the 14 Everett was intercepted at the 5 when he didn't throw his pass far
enough to the outside.  On the next play Bettis suffered a minor injury during
a 4 yard gain, and on the play after that his replacement Lang promptly
fumbled.  Henderson's second fumble recovery of the half gave the Saints the
ball at the 15.  Three plays later, Bates scored his third TD of the half from
one yard out.

On the next possession, a 12 yard Miller to Bailey sidearm dump pass and an
illegal contact penalty moved the ball to midfield.  Darrion Conner killed the
drive by swiping the ball from Miller's grasp and falling on it at the NO 49.
Two runs by Brown moved the ball inside the LA 40.  Everett hit Haynes at the
30, then went back to him in the endzone to give the Saints a 21 point
advantage just before the end of the half.

Everett moved the team some more by hitting Small for 15 on 3rd & 8 from the
NO 40 on the opening drive of the second half.  He went deep to Haynes on the
next play, but the leaping WR couldn't quite hold on to the ball when he landed
on the goal line.  The Saints eventually had to punt, and J.J. McCleskey came
an inch away from making a great play and downing the ball at the LA 1 (but
instead it was a touchback).

A Bettis run and a scramble by Miller picked up a 1st.  On 2nd & 10, Kinchen
gained 8 after passing up easy first down yardage in an unsuccessful attempt
to break a big play.  That proved costly for the Rams, as Sam Mills stuffed
Bettis for a 2 yard loss on 3rd down and caused a punt.  The teams then
exchanged 3 & punt series.

On the first play of the next drive, Everett hyperplantarflexed his left ankle
while being tackled after a scramble.  Wade Wilson came in, but couldn't move
the team to a 1st down.  However, McCleskey pulled the ball free from Kinchen
as soon as the ex-LSU player took in the punt, and the Saints took over at the
LA 47.  Everett came back in three plays later.  He was able to hit Haynes for
4 on 4th & 2 from the 34, but he missed a potential TD connection with Haynes
two plays later and went back to the sideline for good.  Morten hit a 47 yard
FG with 13 seconds left in the third quarter.

On 3rd & 3 from the LA 42, the Rams picked up a strange 30 yards: Bailey took a
screen pass across midfield and fumbled to Flipper Anderson, who advanced the
ball a little more before drawing a 5 yard facemask penalty on the tackle.
Miller scrambled for 10 on 4th & 7 from the 25, and a little while later
Bettis caught a 5 yard TD pass.  Bettis also ran the ball in for a two-point
conversion.

Though the Saints didn't score on their next possession, they did manage to run
6:40 off the clock, thanks in part to two Wilson 3rd down conversions: to
Mookie (his first-ever reception) for 12 on 3rd & 11 from the 28, and to Smith
for a dozen more on 3rd & 3 from the NO 48.  Los Angeles eventually got the
ball back (with no timeouts) at their own 20 with 4:49 remaining.

Wayne Martin gave Miller another concussion during a sack on the first play of
the Rams' last drive (but it didn't appear to be a particularly hard hit).
Chandler came in and drove LA to the Saints' 1, but the D stuffed a 4th down
quarterback draw with 1:08 remaining.


The Saints can move into second place in the NFC West (whatever that's worth)
with a win at Atlanta next week.  We can also screw up the Falcons' playoff
chances, which would be fun.


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