Saints 17 Colts 14 summary ....... The Saints survived a late Indianapolis drive and registered their third consecutive win. play-by-play ............ The Saints tried to add to their recent ground game success by handing off to Mario Bates on the first two plays from scrimmage, but he netted only two yards. A third down throw to Quinn Early came up two yards short of the marker and forced a punt. Special teamer Shane Pahukoa was penalized for hitting the return man a split second before the ball arrived, thus giving the Colts the ball at their own 46. Paul Justin (starting in place of Jim Harbaugh) handed off to Potts once and Faulk twice, but the three runs gained a total of only 9 yds. The punt went for a touchback. On the first play of the ensuing possession, Jim Everett moved the sticks with a 10 yd throw to Irv Smith. On 3rd & 2, the QB found third-string TE Kirk Botkin for an 8 yd gain. One play later, Torrance Small picked up a 1st by taking an end-around 11 yds to the Indianapolis 43. On 3rd & 3, Small caught a quick throw and ran to the 25. The drive ended two plays later when a blitz prompted Everett to unwisely throw the ball up for grabs. The pass was picked off and returned from the 2 all the way to the NO 38. The Colts were called for holding on the first play after the INT, and were forced to punt when pressure from Joe Johnson produced a 3rd & 17 incompletion. Tyrone Hughes fair-caught the ball at the 11. Everett hit Early for the needed yardage on 3rd & 6, then hit Smith for 16 one play later. A Ray Zellars run and another Smith catch put the ball near midfield, but a sack on 3rd & 4 forced a punt. Good coverage made the Colts start at their own 15. Ex-Saint Floyd Turner caught a 19 yard throw on the second play of the drive, but a holding call on the next play knocked the visitors back a bit. On 3rd & 9, a good pass defense by Tyrone Legette sent the ball to the turf incomplete. A block in the back by Sean Lumpkin on the punt put the Saints at their own 8. The Saints were unable to pick up a 1st, and Klaus Wilmsmeyer's weak punt was returned 9 yds to the NO 39. Justin had plenty of time to find Stablein open for 14 on 3rd & 5. Faulk gained 14 yds on the next play, then ran it in from 6 yds out on the play after that. The PAT put the Colts up by 7 with 4:45 left before halftime. Everett hit Smith for 10 on the first play of the drive, then found Early for 10 more on 3rd & 9. Two plays later on 3rd & 5 from the Colt 47, the QB found Wesley Walls for 11. Facing 3rd & 6 two plays later, Everett perfectly executed a good Carl Smith play call by beating the blitz and finding Small for a 32 yd TD. The Colts ran the final minute off the first half clock to go into the locker room tied at 7. A holding penalty on the second half kickoff put Indianapolis at their own 17. On 3rd & 7, an underthrown ball produced a pass interference call against Legette and gave the Colts a 1st at the NO 49. One play later, however, Vince Buck recovered a Faulk fumble at the 39. Two Bates runs set up 3rd & 1, but Zellars failed to pick up the needed yard. Wilmsmeyer's punt bounced sideways out of bounds at the 7. On 3rd & 10, Justin hit Turner for 13 thanks to an inappropriately large Eric Allen cushion. Faulk then exploded for runs of 7 & 30 yds. A catch by Dilger and a run by Humphrey moved the ball to the 20. Renaldo Turnbull single-handedly killed the drive by sacking the QB on 3rd & 6, then blocking Cary Blanchard's 45 yd FG attempt. A 9 yd Smith catch on 2nd & 8 gave the Saints a 1st, and a pass interference call one play later gave the home team another, all the way to the Indy 32. On 3rd & 2 from the 24, Smith (again!) took an Everett throw to the 7. On 3rd & goal from the 2, Everett found Early in the back of the endzone for a TD. With 17 seconds left in the third quarter, the Saints were up 7. Harbaugh entered the game to replace the ineffective (and injured) Justin. On 3rd & 7 he beat the blitz by hitting Bailey for 16. On the next play, a throw to Dawkins put the ball at the NO 40. On the play after that, Harbaugh scrambled before dumping the ball off to Potts, whose rumble through the secondary took him into the endzone. The point after tied the game. A curious taunting call against Potts on the TD play (I didn't see him do anything wrong, maybe he said something untoward) made the Colts kick off from their own 15. After Hughes returned the kick to the NO 41, a series of little plays (Smith 8 catch, Bates 5 run, Zellars 4 run, Smith 3 catch) set up 3rd & 3 at the Indy 39. Lee DeRamus made a nice catch across the middle to chalk up his first NFL reception and move the sticks. On 3rd & 4, Walls made a fine catch at the sideline to give the Saints a 1st at the 4 yard line. Two Bates runs netted only 2 yds, though, and Everett's high 3rd down throw forced Early to come down barely out of bounds. After a false start, Doug Brien kicked a 25 yarder to put the Saints up by 3 with 6:33 left to play. A holding call on the ensuing kickoff forced the Colts to start from the 20. A 4 yd Faulk run and a 21 yd Dawkins catch moved the sticks. A false start halted the drive's progress a bit, but a 6 yd Dilger catch and a 9 yd Harbaugh scramble gave Indianapolis a 1st (although the measurement seemed to indicate that the Colts were short of the marker). The visitors moved into FG range thanks to a Saints offside penalty, three runs by Faulk, and one run by Potts. On 3rd & 3 from the 24, Allen was called for pass interference, thus giving the Colts the ball at the 19 with just over a minute left to play. On 3rd & 10, Harbaugh scrambled before spotting a receiver open inside the 5. The QB completed the throw, but the officials correctly flagged him for launching the ball one yd past the line of scrimmage. Blanchard tried to force overtime with a 41 yarder, but he shanked it badly. One kneel later, the Saints had a 3-game winning streak. drive chart & stats ................... (P)unt, (M)issed FG, (E)nd of period, (F)umble, (I)nterception, out of (D)owns 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G S >>>>P 2:00 A >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I 6:08 I >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P 5:09 N >>>>P 1:03 T >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 3:36 Small S ....................................................halftime | >>>>P 1:53 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 4:46 Early | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 6:41 Brien | E :08 | ....................................................gameover | 31:24 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G C >>>>P 2:14 O P<<< 2:07 L >>>>>>>>>>>P 3:34 T >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 3:00 Faulk S >E 1:09 | ....................................................halftime | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>F 2:36 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>M 5:28 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 2:03 Potts | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>M 6:25 | ....................................................gameover | 28:36 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G .......throwin' & catchin'...../...runnin'.... Everett Bates 2- 9 19- 45 Zellars 3- 10 3- 14 Walls 4- 35 Smith 9- 83 Botkin 1- 8 Early 4- 25-1 Small 3- 48-1 1- 11 DeRamus 1- 10 incomplete 9 intercepted 1 27-37-228-2-1 23- 70 Colts: Faulk 17-98-1 notes ..... * it turns out the Saints haven't forgotten about Irv Smith after all (he had caught only 13 for 125 yds before today) * unlike in the beginning of the season, the breaks are going our way in close games ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu