Saints 6 Chargers 20 A lackadaisical, turnover-prone Saints offense handed the game to a weak San Diego team. Doug Brien's out-of-bounds opening kickoff allowed the Chargers to start the game at the 40, but on the third play from scrimmage Fletcher lost the ball while fighting for first down yardage. The O took over at the SD 47 and advanced to the 32 on a pair of Troy Davis runs. An 11 yd throw to Eric Guliford moved the sticks on 3rd & 4, but the team eventually wound up settling for a 37 yd FG. San Diego managed a single 1st before booting the ball back to the home team. The momentum shifted one play later when Davis failed to catch an on-target pitch. The ball somehow found its way into the endzone, where the Chargers fell on it. The PAT made it 7-3 SD with 5:39 left in the first quarter. Mike Ditka successfully rolled the dice on 4th & an inch from the NO 31 when Heath Shuler sneaked for the 1st. A 14 yd Randal Hill catch, a defensive offside penalty, an 11 yd Irv Smith catch, and Davis runs of 4 & 17 immediately followed. The drive stalled when Ray Zellars gained only 1 on 3rd & 3. Brien's 31 yarder reduced the deficit to a point. Two uneventful series later, Wayne Martin deflected a 3rd & 2 throw to force a punt, which travelled only 15 yds before going out of bounds at the NO 49. Davis was thrown for a 1 yd loss on 3rd & 2, but the field position wasn't entirely wasted, as Vashone Adams downed the ensuing punt at the 1. Jim Everett guided his new team out of the hole, though- Bryan Still beat Eric Allen on a pump-and-go route for a 36 yd pickup, then Eric Metcalf caught throws of 17 & 23 yds. San Diego wound up kicking a 37 yd FG with 1:15 left in the half. Though the team came within 2 yds of midfield via throws to Hill, Davis, and Hill again, the half ended with a string of incompletions, the first of which was a sideline throw to Daryl Hobbs that looked like a good catch. The second play of the second half saw Davis get hit and fumble at the SD 23. San Diego recovered the ball and kicked a 34 yd FG three plays later. The gracious hosts followed that up with a fumble by Guliford on the ensuing kickoff, but the D bailed out the team one play later when Darren Mickell's QB hit allowed Winfred Tubbs to intercept a throw. Mario Bates came in for Davis and gained a yard on 1st down. Andre Hastings took a 3rd & 6 throw 8 yds to move the chains, then (following a sack) Shuler made Hobbs' first reception as a Saint a 22 yd one. On the next play, a Charger rolled into Smith's right knee while the TE was blocking for Bates. Smith was assisted off the field, and the drive concluded with a punt into the endzone. A 3rd & 2 Metcalf catch for 5 moved the sticks, but the D soon pushed San Diego back- on 1st down a Tubbs-Fields blitz produced a sack, on 2nd down an inside screen lost 4 yds, on 3rd down Brady Smith sacked Everett at the 5. Guliford returned the punt 12 yds to the SD 36. The field position was (literally) thrown away on the next play when Shuler tossed the ball right to a LB (who might've been shielded by the umpire). After San Diego went 3 & punt, the O got lucky when a pass interference call on a doomed 3rd & 9 throw put the ball at the SD 48. One play later, a pressured Shuler blindly threw into an assortment of linemen. The guy who used to live down the hall from me grabbed the pigskin to end the possession. For the fourth time in the Chargers' five second half series, the visitors failed to move the chains a single time. To the crowd's displeasure, Shuler retook the field. He moved the O to the NO 41 before Mark Royals' services were required once again. The D slowed the Chargers geometrically by giving up a 16 yd catch by Still followed by Brown runs of 8, 4, 2, and 1. San Diego was able to run a little clock when Mickey Washington let Fletcher get past him for the needed yardage on 3rd & 7. Three plays later Guliford fair-caught a punt at the 10. A sack-incomplete-incomplete-punt series gave the ball to San Diego at their 48 with 5:45 left. On 3rd & 17 from the NO 46, Metcalf ran a short crossing pattern, and Everett dumped the ball to him. It looked as though Alex Molden would make a tackle outside of FG range, but Adams knocked the CB down while trying to make a tackle of his own. The play ended as a 21 yd gain. Two plays later Everett used play action to hit Freddie Jones for an easy 21 yd TD with 2:10 left. For good measure, Shuler further dropped his QB rating by having a Charger catch a careless scoop pass. San Diego ran the final 91 seconds off the clock to end it. stats (from my notes, not official) ^^^^^ ..runnin'...../.....throwin' & catchin'....... 4-12 heath Shuler 10-36 Troy davis 4- 47 3- 4 mario Bates 6-13 ray Zellars 1- 5 Andre hastings 5- 35 Randal hill 7- 63 Eric guliford 1- 11 darYl hobbs 1- 22 Irv smith 1- 11 incomplete 15 intercepted 3 23-65 20-38-194-0-3 yardage histogram ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (players identified by capital letters as in stats above- B=Bates, etc.) S BB Z BZ <--runs TSZZ SZ T TTTTZTST TT ***************************************************************************** - 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 yards gained 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 <------ ***************************************************************************** RRAARTET R T Y ZR AR I R A T <--passes A comments ^^^^^^^^ * Naeole saw his first action when Verstegen suffered a minor injury * Tubbs played a fine game * Everett was adequate * last week's QB controversy- D. Wuerffel vs. H. Shuler this week's QB controversy- D. Wuerffel vs. P. Manning ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu