Saints 7 49ers 33 The Saints tied a team record by committing 8 turnovers in a pathetic loss to San Francisco. They say there's a heaven for those who will wait / Some said "we're better" but still we're the Ain'ts / Why rather laugh with the Niners than cry with the Saints? / The winners are much more fun / You know, if only we could buy Young... The tone was set immediately when the Niners returned the opening kickoff to the NO 31. On the first play from scrimmage, Steve Young scrambled for 8 without endangering himself. San Fran rolled the dice and won when Floyd gained 3 on 4th & 1, but a subsequent intentional grounding call forced them to settle for a FG anyway. Ditka tried to put off Heath Shuler's first passing attempt as long as possible by starting on the ground- Troy Davis for 6, then 1; Ray Zellars for 12; Davis for 1, Zellars for 5. On the next play Shuler put the ball into the air. Rod Woodson took it out of said air. His INT gave the Forty Niners a 1st at the NO 48. The home team wasted little time in scoring- J.J. Stokes made a fine 29 yd catch on the next play; a wide open Brent Jones caught a TD throw on the one after that. With 6:30 left in the first quarter, it was 10-0 SF. On the third play of the ensuing drive, Shuler's pass was deflected twice before again reaching the arms of Woodson, who ran the ball to the 10. Darren Mickell's 1st down sack of Young pushed San Francisco back 11 yds. A 3rd down screen to Garrison Hearst ended up 3 yds short of the endzone, so SF kicked another field goal. The team's turnover woes continued on the third play of the next possession- Zellars coughed up the ball on 3rd & 2. The Niners recovered at the NO 32, but again the D kept the score respectable by allowing just a FG. Mario Bates and Wes Bender replaced the Davis-Zellars backfield and sort of improved things, in that the team managed to go 3 & punt instead of turn the ball over. Because the refs missed an obvious block-in-the-back, Uwaezuoke's punt return to the NO 48 stood. Young hit Uwaezuoke with a pinpoint throw for 14 on 3rd & 7 before a sack, a holding call, and a false start put the ball on the other side of the 50. A 3rd & 24 Jones reception would've allowed another Frisco FG attempt, but the Saints secondary knocked the ball loose from the TE's grasp. Alex Molden recovered at the 27. The team was able to move the sticks once (via an Andre Hastings end-around) before Tony Johnson lost the ball after making a catch that would've been good for a 1st. The Niners obligingly recovered. Joe Johnson's sack brought up 3rd & 16 from the NO 47, but the Niners kept the drive moving with a pass play to Owens that ended with the WR in possession of the ball at the 13 (despite Eric Allen's near INT at the point of the reception and Molden's forced fumble during the run-after-catch). A run each by Hearst and Floyd put the ball at the 1. Jones then caught an easy TD on the first play after the two-minute warning. The Saints' 3 & punt strategy was foiled by a roughing-the-kicker call, so the O ventured downfield with a pair of Eric Guliford catches and a 37 yd sideline throw to Randal Hill. The visitors' score held at zero when Shuler missed an open Daryl Hobbs in the endzone (he instead registered his third interception by hitting Drakeford). Danny Wuerffel started the second half by moving the chains with an 11 yd toss to Hastings. Two plays later he went back to Hastings for 15 on 3rd & 9. On the next play Bender put the ball on the turf while gaining 5, but for once the Saints recovered. The following play was a textbook example of why Wuerffel's critics believe he won't succeed in the NFL- Woodson stepped in front of a out pattern for an easy INT. He returned the ball to the NO 23. Owens took a throw to the 1 on the next play, and Hearst caught a TD toss on the one after that. It was 30-0 SF with 11:31 left in the third quarter. After Guliford took the ensuing kickoff to the 44, Bates ran three times for a total of 16 yds. However, a sack on the next play pushed the team back to near midfield. Mark Royals' punt went out-of-bounds at the 18. A Johnson sack on 3rd down produced a punt, but on 3rd & 13 a Wuerffel throw seemed to go right through Hastings' hands to a Niner. A little while later SF kicked a 37 yarder. The team finally did something right when DW lofted a nice one to Guliford to put the ball at the SF 8 on the final play of the third quarter. The probable new first-string QB hit Hastings for a TD on the next play. The final 14:54 featured Druckenmiller as the SF QB, another Wuerffel INT, and no scoring. stats (from my notes, not official) ^^^^^ ..runnin'...../.....throwin' & catchin'........................ 1- 0 heath Shuler 1- 5 Danny wuerffel 5-10 Troy davis 8-28 mario Bates 1- 6 4-26 ray Zellars 3- 7 Wes bender 2- 8 Andre hastings 4- 58-1 Randal hill 2-39 1- 7 1-(1) Eric guliford 2-14 1- 47 tony Johnson 1-11 incomplete 3 5 intercepted 3 3 25-83 5-11-64-0-3 7-15-118-1-3 yardage histogram ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (players identified by capital letters as in stats above- B=Bates, etc.) Z D ST BW <--runs ETT WBZ A WBBTBBBTBZ AZ ***************************************************************************** - 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 yards gained 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 <------ ***************************************************************************** RE BRA A A A R E E J <--passes comments ^^^^^^^^ * San Fran's first 5 possessions began in Saints territory * Nussmeier deserves a shot at some point * this is as bad as it's ever been, folks ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu