Saints 23 Packers 34 summary ....... Brett Favre took advantage of a porous Saints secondary to put the game away early. play-by-play ............ Green Bay started fast by picking up 26 yds on the first play from scrimmage with a dump pass to Bennett to the NO 47. Levens picked up 2 on 3rd & 1, then a throw to Chmura down the middle (following a double fake screen) put the ball at the 19. Favre hit Morgan for a TD on the next play. Tyrone Hughes returned the ensuing kickoff from 6 yds deep in the endzone to the 37. On 3rd & 9 Quinn Early caught a short throw, got a block, and ran all the way to the GB 22. Mario Bates caught a 6 yd ball & Derek Brown ran for 5 to move the sticks. After a delay of game penalty, Jim Everett hit Torrance Small to the 2. Ray Zellars ran it in on the next play. Midway through the first quarter, the score was tied at 7. The Packers fumbled during the kickoff return but recovered at the 35. On 1st down Favre threw a deep ball that drew a pass interference call on Eric Allen, thus moving the line of scrimmage to the NO 19. One play later Brooks caught a 17 yd TD. The Saints got a (generous) pass interference call of their own on the first play of the ensuing possession to put the ball at the GB 48. The offense couldn't take advantage of the field position, though, and Klaus Wilmsmeyer's punt landed in the endzone. Favre hit Chmura for 11 on the first play of the ensuing drive, but a dropped pass two plays later on 3rd & 9 forced a punt. The Saints responded with three incompletions and a punt. On 3rd & 6 from the GB 45, Favre scrambled for 15. One play later he hit a wide open Brooks for a 40 yd TD. Facing 3rd & 5, the Saints got a break when a Packer defender was called for a line violation instead of guilty party Craig Novitsky (starting for injured Jeff Uhlenhake), thus giving the home team a 1st. The O then reeled off three 1st downs in a row to move to the GB 30- Irv Smith 10 catch, Bates 12 run, Wesley Walls 16 catch. Unfortunately, one play later Everett was intercepted in the endzone. The Packers moved into Saint territory in four plays- 13 yd Brooks catch, 8 yd Bennett run, 4 yd Bennett run, 9 yd Levens catch. The drive was halted when Wayne Martin recorded a sack and broke up a screen pass on consecutive plays. The O couldn't pick up a 1st, though, and the punt was returned to the NO 48. Brooks burned Tyrone Legette for a 35 yd reception on the Packers' next offensive play, then Freeman caught an 11 yd TD against Legette one play later. With 4:14 left in the half, the Saints were down by 21. A pair of Zellars short gainers brought boos from the crowd, but a 12 yd catch by Small on 3rd & 4 quieted them somewhat. William Roaf was beat for a sack on the next play, but Everett came back with 6 consecutive completions- Small 18, Small 28, Brown 5, Early 7, Brown 7, Small 4 for TD. With only 19 seconds left before halftime, the Saints tried a short kick to prevent a long return. The strategy backfired, though, as Green Bay took the ball to the NO 45. A Packer receiver couldn't handle Favre's first attempt at reaching FG range, and Hughes broke up a second throw. Favre set up to throw deep on the half's final play, but Martin sacked him. Everett picked up where he left off by hitting Walls for 18 on the second half's first play from scrimmage. On 3rd & 9 he hit Early for 34 to put the ball at the GB 20. Roaf was called for holding on the next play, however, and the drive stalled. Doug Brien missed from 44 yds out. Favre hit Brooks for 12 on 3rd & 4, then one play later he connected with Chmura for a 14 yd gain and a 1st at the NO 35. The Packers wound up settling for a 47 yd FG. The O was unable to earn a 1st on the next series. Green Bay took over and picked up 34 yds right away with a misdirection dump to Bennett. Favre hit Freeman for 7 on 3rd & 3 to give the Packers a 1st at the NO 19. Four plays by Bennett put the ball at the 3, but they couldn't get in the endzone. Jacke's 21 yd FG put the visitors up by 20 with twelve seconds left in the third quarter. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Lee DeRamus took a short throw 27 yds to the GB 48, then caught a 9 yd ball on the next play. After Bates picked up the 1st, DeRamus caught a ball for 8. The O reached the 16 before a false start and a QB fumble (recovered by the Saints) pushed them back. Brien made a 43 yd FG. The Saints tried a high onside chip to regain possession, but a Packer grabbed the kick near midfield. Green Bay ate clock en route to the NO 1, but the D produced a goal line stand to give the ball back to the offense. By this time, however, there was only 2:58 remaining and the team was out of timeouts. Everett managed to move the team down the field and hit Small for a TD as time expired. 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 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 3:41 Zellars A >>>>>>>>>>>>P 2:14 I P :24 N >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I 4:23 T P<<< 1:18 S >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 3:55 Small | ....................................................halftime | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>M 3:40 | >P 1:17 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 5:08 Brien | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>6 2:58 Small | ....................................................gameover | 28:58 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G P >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 4:02 Morgan A >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 1:03 Brooks C >>>>>>P 1:44 K >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 1:58 Brooks E >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>P 3:58 R >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 1:01 Freeman S E<<< :19 | ....................................................halftime | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 4:35 Jacke | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 5:16 Jacke | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>D 7:06 | ....................................................gameover | 31:02 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G .......throwin' & catchin'...../...runnin'.... Everett 1- 7 Bates 1- 5 8-22 Brown 4- 20 3-10 Zellars 6-15-1 Walls 5- 73 Smith 1- 11 Early 8-117 Small 6- 82-2 1- 1 DeRamus 4- 56 incomplete 15 intercepted 1 29-45-364-2-1 19-55-1 Packers: Favre 21-30-308-4-0; Bennett 26-80 run, 3-70 catch; Brooks 5-118-2 notes ..... * the Packers gained over 25 yds on the 1st play of 4 of their 10 possessions ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu