Saints 10 Rams 26 summary ^^^^^^^ A bad Rams team beat a very bad Saints team by sixteen points. play-by-play ^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Rams returned the opening kickoff to midfield. Following an incompletion, Harold Green touched the ball on six consecutive plays- -1 run, 13 catch, 3 run, 15 run, 6 run, 2 run. A false start ended the string, and on 3rd down good coverage by Eric Allen forced the visitors to settle for a 35 yd FG. William Roaf and the rest of the offense took the field and moved the sticks twice via catches by Torrance Small, but the drive didn't reach FG range. Klaus Wilmsmeyer's punt went into the endzone for a touchback. Penalties forced the Rams to punt from their 5, and Ernest Dixon managed to get a piece of the kick. The O failed to move the ball, though (a 3rd & 3 run from the 7 lost yardage), so Doug Brien tied the game with a 30 yarder. On the next play from scrimmage, Bruce caught a short pass along the sideline, managed to (barely) stay inbounds, and took off for the endzone. It appeared that he would score a TD, but Mark Fields caught him from behind at the NO 10. The speedy LB's effort was worthwhile, because St. Louis wound up settling for a FG. Tyrone Hughes returned the ensuing kickoff to the Ram 40. A pair of Mario Bates runs gained 11 & 12 before Small scored on a 17 yd end-around (thanks to a monster block by Everett). With 12:32 left in the half, the Saints were up 10-6. The Rams took the kickoff to their 46, then moved the chains with an 11 yd catch by Wright on 3rd & 10 and an 18 yd catch by Green on 3rd & 11. On 3rd & 9 from the NO 24, Greg Jackson picked off a throw but carelessly stepped out of bounds at the 10 (he had plenty of running room). A 3rd down shovel pass to Ernest Hunter came up inches short, and this time it was the Rams' turn to block a punt. A personal foul on St. Louis during the play put them back at the NO 43, but the visitors made up the yardage right away with a nice throw to Clay to the 9. One play later Bruce caught a 10 yd TD. The Rams gave the O a free 1st by jumping offside on 3rd & 2, then two plays later Hunter caught a 12 yd throw on 3rd & 5. A catch by Small one play later gave the team a 1st at the Ram 38, but three incompletions followed. With 54 seconds left before the half, the Saints lined up as if to kick a long FG. Wilmsmeyer threw to Hendrick Lusk, who was (illegally, as it turns out) hiding along the sideline. The play was negated, and the half ended with the score 13-10 St. Louis. Everett was kneed in the head during a sack on the third play of the second half. St. Louis quickly went 3 & punt, so Doug Nussmeier came in to take his first-ever NFL snap. On 3rd & 8, after scrambling for his life, he threw his first NFL pass- a deep desperation heave that fortunately was caught by Mercury Hayes for a 50 yd gain to the Ram 34. The play went for naught, though, because Brien's 48 yd FG attempt sailed barely wide. At this point the FOX crew grew bored with the game and shrunk the action to a corner of the screen so John Madden could watch the sunset. A catch by Kennison set up a successful 49 yd FG, and Earl Campbell decided it was time to leave. Nussmeier's second throw became Terry Guess' first-ever NFL reception, a 12 yd gain. One play later, though, Nuss was hit and fumbled, and St. Louis recovered at the NO 38. A late hit on a QB scramble put the ball at the 16, and on the last play of the third quarter Green scored on a 1 yd plunge. The Saints went 3 & punt, but Kennison fumbled during the return, and the Saints recovered at the Ram 35. The team's last real chance to stay in the game ended with a 4th & 3 incompletion. St. Louis marched downfield to set up Chip Lohmiller's fourth successful FG of the day. The Saints reached the Ram 9 but turned the ball over on downs with 1:28 to go. The Rams kneeled away the remaining time. stats (from my notes, not official) ^^^^^ ....runnin'....../......throwin' & catchin'.... Jim everett 3- 6 Doug nussmeier 6-11 ray Zellars 8-28 mario Bates 1- 0 lorenzo Neal 3-10 2- 11 4-24 Ernest hunter 2-21 2- 18 1-17-1 torrance Small 3-39 Mercury hayes 2- 60 terry Guess 1- 12 incompletions 8 8 interceptions 0 0 23-86-1 8-16-70-0-0 7-15-101-0-0 yardage histogram (player marks are as in stats above- Z=Zellars, etc.) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ E B D <--runs B DD BBE Z BBNZZZZZ E E BB S ***************************************************************************** - 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 yards gained 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 <------ ***************************************************************************** NN NN EEE SSS M N M E G <--passes comments ^^^^^^^^ * a paraphrase from the WWL broadcast of today's game- Jim Henderson: "Do you think Nussmeier is the Saints' QB of the future?" Archie Manning: "I sure hope so." ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu