Saints 24 Vikings 43 summary ....... The Vikings blew out the Saints thanks to a nearly isentropic performance by Warren Moon. play-by-play ............ Moon gave a preview of things to come with a 9 yd completion to Reed on the game's first play. A 2 yd run by Stewart moved the sticks. On 3rd & 6 from the 45, Moon hit Reed for 7. He then hit Carter for 21 & Ismail for 4. On 3rd & 3 from the NO 20, he connected with Carter for 5. On the next play, he went back to a wide-open Carter for a 15 yd TD. The Saints went 3 & punt. The Vikings moved quickly into Saints territory with Stewart's runs of 4 & 51 yds. Three plays later Lee caught a 2 yd TD. On the ensuing possession the O managed a 10 yd Quinn Early catch before bogging down & punting. On 3rd & 4 from their own 30 Moon hit Ismail for 8. That was followed by a 2 yd Lee run, a 16 yd Evans catch, a 9 yd Evans run, and a 1 yd Stewart run for a 1st. The Saints missed a big opportunity by failing to recover a freely-bouncing Lee fumble (the Vikings wound up gaining 17 yds on the play). A Willie Broughton sack and a false start killed the home team's momentum, so Reveiz came on to make a 37 yd FG. The O again managed a single 1st (via an Early catch) before punting. The Vikings marched downfield to the Saint 2 yard line- Stewart 5 run, Carter 13 catch, Stewart 2 run, Lee 21 catch, 3 yds for defensive pass interference, Graham 5 run, Carter 6 catch, Evans 4 run. Minnesota couldn't get the TD, so they settled for a 20 yd FG. After a 6 yd Derek Brown catch on 3rd & 7 from the NO 40, the Saints finally reached the Vikings' side of the field with a 30 yd Irv Smith catch. Mario Bates' 8 & 3 yd runs set up a 13 yd Early TD catch. With 3:56 left in the first half, the Saints were down 20-7. Ismail put the Vikings in the hole by bobbling the ensuing kickoff out of bounds at the 8. A 4 yd Carter catch and a 9 yd Graham run moved the chains, but two plays later the Vikings were facing 3rd & 9 from their own 22. A stop here would've given the Saints a chance to pull with a touchdown before halftime, but instead Ismail got behind the defense on a post pattern for a 78 yd TD. The O moved into scoring position via a 9 yd Brown catch and a 48 yd gain on a quick slant to Michael Haynes. One play later a Viking secondary breakdown left Quinn Early wide open in the endzone, but Jim Everett threw the ball over his head. On the next play Wesley Walls failed to catch an endzone throw that hit him in the hands. Doug Brien came on and hooked a 40 yd FG try wide. Minnesota took over with 53 seconds left and marched to increase their lead with consecutive catches by Walsh (17 yds), Jordan (12 yds), Carter (16 yds), and Ismail (13 yds). An endzone pass interference call against Eric Allen put the ball at the 1, but the Vikings had time for only one (unsuccessful) shot into the endzone. Reveiz made a 19 yarder on the half's final play. The O retained possession of the ball during the opening drive of the second half with a 7 yd catch by Walls on 3rd & 4. That was followed by a 17 yd Bates run, a 2 yd Zellars run, and a 25 yd Early catch. Brien came on to make a 30 yarder after the drive stalled. Ismail returned the ensuing kickoff to the Minnesota 45. The Vikings shrugged off a holding penalty via a 19 yd Lee screen, a 2 yd Graham run, a 4 yd Lee catch, a 7 yd Lee catch, and a 9 yd Palmer end-around. On 3rd & 2 from the 24, Moon hit Carter for 4. On the next play he went back to the WR for a TD. The Saints picked up a couple of first downs via a defensive offside penalty and a 14 yd Early catch, but a false start and a sack brought about a punt. By this time Moon had taken a seat on the bench, but the Brad Johnson-led Vikings drove for another score anyway- Lee 4 yd run on 3rd & 2, Ismail 39 yd catch on 3rd & 12, Carter 10 yd catch on 3rd & 5, Graham 3 run, Carter 13 yd catch, Evans 2 yd run, Graham 2 yd TD run. Tyrone Hughes returned the ensuing kickoff into Viking territory, but a holding penalty on the play negated the yardage. The O managed to move quickly against the soft D- Early 15 catch, Brown 2 catch, Smith 6 catch, Early 6 catch, Brown 10 catch, Smith 23 catch, Brown 9 run, DeRamus 10 catch, Zellars 4 catch, Walls 2 catch for TD. Smith caught a throw to convert a play for 2. The Vikings recovered the onside kick but failed to convert on 4th & 8. The Saints took over and got another garbage score when Early slipped behind the defense for an easy 47 yd TD. The try for 2 was no good. The Vikings recovered another onside kick and ran out the clock. 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 1:34 A >>>>>>>>P 2:13 I >>>P 1:07 N >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 2:56 Early T >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>M :57 S ....................................................halftime | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 5:01 Brien | >>>>>>>>>>P 4:10 | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>8 4:08 Walls/Smith | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>6 1:07 Early | ....................................................gameover | 23:13 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G V >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 6:02 Carter I >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 2:26 Lee K >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 5:24 Reveiz I >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 4:22 Reveiz N >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 2:06 Ismail G >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 :53 Reveiz S ....................................................halftime | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>6 4:51 Carter | >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>7 7:14 Graham | >D 1:57 | E 1:32 | ....................................................gameover | 36:47 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 10- 43 Brown 6- 42 2- 17 Zellars 1- 4 1- 2 Walls 2- 9-1 Smith 4- 65 Haynes 2- 55 Early 9-150-2 Small 1- 6 DeRamus 1- 10 incomplete 12 intercepted 0 25-37-335-3-0 14- 68 Vikings: Moon 25-32-338-4-0, Carter 12-137-2, Ismail 5-142-1 notes ..... * this is what the Dolphins game would've looked like if Marino had started * Some of you may remember that my uncle used to live next door to Sam Mills. When he went to Carolina, the Field Mouse sold his house to Jimmy Spencer. I may ask my uncle to peek in the window to see if the DB likes to decorate his house with soft cushions. ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu