Saints 10 Ravens 17 summary ^^^^^^^ The Saints played fairly well but still found a way to match last year's 0-5 start. sing-along ^^^^^^^^^^ Hey folks, time for a song! Perhaps the dozen-or-so fans that go to next week's game can stop off in Duncan Plaza and sing this ditty before bringng their funeral wreaths to the 'Dome. [sung to "Maryland, My Maryland" (or "O Christmas Tree," if you prefer)] O, rake the scum-pit in our town, For eczeming our heroes' name- Oh, bring the paper Schwegmann's crown That marks the D'oh! of all our shame. McMillan lets them bump-and-go And frizzy Carl entwines each throw; Parole him with your voices now: Nays to Jim, all nays to Jim. We ought not ask where Early's gone Nor dream of games with winning scores. Some cities aim to tour endzones, New Orleans can't beat Baltimore. Tom Benson's wealth will escalate; Defensive end's an open gate; Bad memories tend to propagate. Nays to Jim, all nays to Jim. Madonna, until thee appear Our wont to mend will barely start Enamored of guys' past careers, Entrenched with Philly's DB chart. Now sweaty hands poor tosses fling, Now Who Dats' tongues loud "Hate ya!"s sling Until the heavens P. Manning bring: Nays to Jim, all nays to Jim. You can write off the above as what you get when a frustrated Founder's Day veteran types up a game report while watching "The Pun Zone" on cable access. play-by-play ^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Saints gained 12 yds on a Jim Everett to Michael Haynes throw on the first play from scrimmage, but the team failed to move the sticks a second time. The muffed punt was recovered by the Ravens at the 9. Baltimore got out of the hole right away via a Greg Jackson pass interference call, then converted 3rd & 12 with a 15 yd Michael Jackson catch. A Wayne Martin sack set up 3rd & 14, but Testaverde found Alexander on a crossing pattern, and the WR took the ball up the sideline 64 yds for a TD. The O came back thanks to Mario Bates' best running of the season- the RB picked up 27 yds and a pair of 1sts on the first four plays of the drive. Back-to-back catches for 1sts by Paul Green and Haynes followed, then two plays later Hendrick Lusk caught a 10 yd pass on 3rd & 9. Two more Bates runs set up 1st & goal at the 7. Everett hit Torrance Small in the endzone on 3rd down, but the WR dropped the ball. The Saints settled for a 23 yd FG. Alexander picked up where he left off by catching a 20 yd pass on the first play of the ensuing possession, then a Jackson catch and a Byner run gave the Ravens a 1st at the NO 34. The home team couldn't advance the ball any further, though. The shanked punt was downed at the 4 after taking a Baltimore roll. The offense embarked on another long drive with a 7 yd Bates run on 3rd & 1. A defensive pass interference call netted 21 yds, and Derek Brown soon took a pass 14 yds for a 1st. Bates gained 12 on 3rd & 1 from the Baltimore 40, then another flag on the Raven secondary put the Saints at the 24. The drive stalled, though, and Doug Brien's 38 yd FG attempt became his first miss of the season. On the second play of the next possession, the D flashed back to last week and gave Byner a 43 yd burst up the middle. The Ravens were unable to get another 1st, but they did manage a 38 yd FG to increase their lead to 7. The Saints failed to move the chains, and a good punt return gave Baltimore the ball at midfield with 41 seconds left before halftime. The timeout-less Ravens rushed their FG unit onto the field to try a 48 yarder on the last play of the half, but Tyrone Hughes got a piece of the kick and the ball fell to the ground short of the uprights. The teams traded 3 & punt series to start the second half. The Ravens penetrated into Saint territory with a 21 yd Byner run, but the D stiffened, and a 49 yd FG attempt was wide. Another pair of 3 & punt series took place before the O took over at their own 25. Everett hit Haynes for 11 on 3rd & 9, then snuck for 3 on 3rd & 1. The QB then found Small in a seam for a 23 yd gain on 3rd & 15. On 3rd & 8 from the Raven 31, Everett scrambled around before throwing one deep for Haynes. The WR narrowly avoided a push-off call and took in the pass for the score. Tweleve seconds into the final quarter, the game was tied. Byner gained 4 on 3rd & 1, then back-to-back catches by Jackson and Kinchen were good for 25 & 30 yds, respectively. On 3rd & goal from the 6, Jackson used his 6-inch height advantage to catch a high pass over Eric Allen in the corner of the endzone. The PAT restored the Ravens' 7-point lead. The O fought back owith a 6 yd catch by Lee DeRamus, an 11 yd Haynes catch, a 2 yd Bates run, and a 17 yd Haynes catch. On 3rd & 1 from the Raven 31, Bates came up inches short. Everett tried to sneak for the needed yardage on 4th down, but a poor exchange led to a no-gain play. Baltimore took over with 6:21 left in the game. A Byner run gained 4 on 1st down, then Gardner picked up 6 to move the sticks. Testaverde then handed off to Byner seven times in a row (including successful conversions on 3rd & 1 and 4th & inches) to put the game away. By the 2-minute warning the Saints were out of timeouts, so the Ravens kneeled thrice to end it. stats (from my notes, not official) ^^^^^ ....runnin'....../......throwin' & catchin'.... 3- 5 jim Everett 23-83 mario Bates 2- 9 4- 8 Derek brown 1- 14 lorenzo Neal 3- 15 michael Haynes 6- 93-1 torrance Small 2- 28 haywood Jeffires 1- 6 lee deRamus 1- 6 Irv smith 2- 5 paul Green 1- 13 hendrick Lusk 3- 16 incompletions 7 interceptions 0 30-96 22-29-205-1-0 yardage histogram (player marks are as in stats above- B=Bates, etc.) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ E DB BBE <--runs B DEBBB B BB D B DBBBBBBB BBBB B ***************************************************************************** - 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 yards gained 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 <------ ***************************************************************************** IL NB SJN LHHGD H S H L H B H <--passes N R I comments ^^^^^^^^ * don't worry, the Saints did run their once-per-game reverse- it didn't show up in the stats because Everett was called for a crackback block on the play (it was a no-gainer anyway) ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu