Saints    3
Falcons  20


The Falcons' third consecutive season sweep of the Saints added to the
already-large '97 collection of turnovers and missed opportunities.


Starting QB Doug Nussmeier got off to a rough start when his first pass of
the game was tipped and intercepted at the NO 32 on the second play from
scrimmage.  The Falcons failed to covert, though, as Morten's 43 yd attempt
hooked wide.

The Saints picked up 16 yds of field position on an exchange of 3 & punt
series, but before long it was time for another turnover- Nussmeier's
handoff attempt hit Ray Zellars in the elbow, and Atlanta recovered at
their 44.  Morten wound up getting another shot at a 43 yarder, and this
time he made it.

With the team facing 3rd & 9 from the Atlanta 47, the ball was snapped
just before the play clock was due to expire.  The left side of the line
was slow to react, the officials blew the play dead, and it appeared as
though a 5 yard penalty of some sort was in the offing.  After a lengthy
conference, the zebras announced that there was no infraction, it was just
our old friend the "inadvertent whistle," which meant that the play was
over, time to punt.  The visitors were forced to accept this completely
bogus result and boot the ball away.  Mark Royals' punt scooted past
Brett Bech into the endzone for a touchback.

Atlanta managed a single 1st before punting back to the Saints.  On
3rd & 3 from the NO 37, a bad Nuss decision was picked off.  The Falcons
eventually converted the pick into a 22 yd FG.

The O retook the field with 3:50 left in the half.  Nussmeier hit Irv
Smith for 23 on the first play of the drive, then threw to Eric Guliford
for 14 on the next play.  One play later, he dumped one to Fred McCrary
for 11.  He then scrambled on back-to-back plays for 15 & 10 to put the
ball at the Falcon 5.  The team couldn't punch it in, so Doug Brien
halved the deficit with a 22 yarder eight ticks before halftime.

In the first possession of the second half, Atlanta crawfished from their
36 all the way back to the 7 thanks to a holding call and a pair of sacks.
Guliford's punt return set up the O at the Falcon 45.  Abramowicz went
for the endzone on 1st down, but the throw to Randal Hill was broken up
at the last minute.  Danny Wuerffel came in for one play (he handed off)
while Nuss massaged a leg cramp.  The Idahoan's reentry was ugly- on
3rd & 2 from the 37 he threw right to a Falcon, who made the grab.

With the home team facing 3rd & 3 from the NO 37, Chandler threw a ball
that Sammy Knight should've caught (and returned for a TD), but the pigskin
hit the turf.  The Falcons punted; three plays later the Saints punted back.
Kinchen's return set up the blackbirds at the NO 46, and two plays later
Emanuel got past Alex Molden for a 36 yd TD.  The PAT made it 13-3 Atlanta
with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

Another 3 & punt series followed for the Saints.  A 41 yd Emanuel catch
on 3rd & 10 put Atlanta at the NO 18, and on the first play of the fourth
quarter, Mathis caught a 4 yd TD.

Yet another 3 & punt series ensued.  The D provided a spark by forcing a
fumble and recovering the ball at the Falcon 22, but the result was a Keith
Poole drop in the endzone on 3rd down followed by a 42 yd FG attempt that
fell short after being tipped at the line.

The final 9:46 eventually rotted away, with recently-acquired QB Billy
Joe Hobert leading the team downfield on the Saints' final drive before
a forced pass was deflected and picked at the Atlanta 15.


comments
^^^^^^^^

I don't have the usual array of stats; there's not much to be learned
there this week.  They will return- in the next couple of weeks I hope
to (finally) finish my new, enhanced game report package.

In case you haven't heard, Ditka was very depressed after the game and
dropped hints that he won't be back next year.  For much of this season,
his mental state has seemed unstable to me.  The cartoonishly crimson
face hues, the teary assertion that last week's lucky win over Seattle
was a turning point, the rumored locker room blow-up earlier this week,
and Sunday's grim press conference were (to me) only the latest signs
that Ditka has picked up where he left off with the Bears (and has
actually gotten worse).

I won't say that his coaching stint with the team is necessarily over,
but it seems to me that Ditka is in a downward spiral from which it will
be difficult to recover.  In the press conference he told how he found
himself indifferent to the game's outcome, and I have to admit that I've
found myself in a similar thought mode more than a few times this season.

Maybe it's good for *my* mental health that I'm not agonizing over this
year's troubles, but I don't want to stop caring.  The Saints coverage
I have planned for '98 will absolutely dwarf my efforts to date, and I'd
much rather report on a team on the rise than document a sad Ditka
denouement.  I figure Da Coach is reluctant to be seen as a "quitter,"
but stepping down before the three years are up may turn out to be the
best thing for all parties involved.


*******************************************************************************
Frank Serpas III    serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu