Saints 24 Rams 38 Wasted first quarter field position and a third quarter collapse added up to a demoralizing loss in the first game of the Ditka Era. The game began with a hold by the Saints on the opening kickoff, but on the first play from scrimmage Heath Shuler connected with Randal Hill down the sideline for a 33 yd gain. The team struck again on the next play when a flea flicker to Andre Hastings put the ball at the Ram 20. Mario Bates was stopped for no gain on 3rd & 3, so Doug Brien opened the scoring with a 31 yarder. On the Rams' first offensive play, Eric Allen picked off a Tony Banks throw at the St. Louis 49. The visitors gave the ball right back, however, when a second flea flicker attempt was thrown into a crowd of Rams and intercepted. After the D held the Rams to a 3 & punt series, an 18 yd catch-and-run by Troy Davis moved the sticks on 3rd & 6. A play action throw to Hastings for 13 and an 8 yd Davis run put the ball at the 7, but on the next play Ray Zellars coughed up the pigskin during a run. St. Louis took over at the 1. The Rams again were held without a first, and the short punt was returned by Eric Guliford to the St. Louis 35. Three incompletions later, Brien crushed a 53 yd FG through the uprights. The home team's offense finally got untracked by moving the ball from the 18 to the 46 via a pair of Phillips runs and a catch each by Kennison and Conwell. A neutral zone violation, followed by two carries and a catch by Phillips, put the ball at the NO 37. An 18 yd Kennison catch put the Rams into the red zone, and one play later Conwell took a throw to the 6. Ironhead ran to the 1 to set up a tackle-breaking TD run by Phillips. The team began the ensuing possession with a run by Bates and two by Zellars for a total of 30 yds and a 1st at midfield, but an incompletion, a sack, and a Zellars screen for -5 killed the drive. After the teams traded 3 & punt series, Torrance Small hurt his old team with a 22 yd catch to the NO 33. One play and the 2-minute warning later, he burned Eric Allen for a 30 yd TD. A fake reverse on the ensuing kickoff worked to perfection, as Guliford sliced to the middle of the field and completed a 102 yd return for TD. Shuler hit Hastings to tie the game with a two-point conversion. Good D, a couple of timeouts, and a fine punt return by Guliford permitted the O to regain possession at the Ram 35 with 1:05 left before halftime. Shuler's miss of a wide-open Daryl Hobbs was sandwiched between two short gains, so Brien hit a perfect 46 yarder just before the end of the half. A 15 yd catch by Small opened the second half, but the D prevented a second 1st. The O moved the chains once via a pass interference penalty before a delay of game call, a false start, and a sack pushed the team back 20 yds. The second play of the ensuing drive saw Kennison take a crossing pattern 41 yds to the NO 34. On 3rd & 12 from the 36, the Rams were called for holding during an incompletion. After Ditka's questionable decision to take the penalty instead of the result of the play, the wheels came off- * On the next play, Conwell caught a short throw, broke numerous tackles, and ended up with a 46 yd scoring play. * Troy Davis then fumbled the kickoff. One play later Phillips ran for a 25 yd TD. * The team backed from the 30 to the 5 via two holding calls and a false start. * Shuler tripped into the endzone, got up, then threw an ill-advised floater that was easily intercepted at the 24. * Four plays later, Phillips scored his third TD of the game from 5 yds out. * Three incompletions followed (two of which very easily could've been intercepted). * The Rams got out of a 2nd & 19 hole with an Amp Lee run and a Keith Crawford end-around. Wilkins' miss of a 36 yd FG marked the start of the fourth quarter and the end of the nightmarish sequence. Danny Wuerffel came in for a battered Shuler. The rookie QB twice moved the chains via the air before a 3rd & 10 sack ended the drive. A good 3rd down tackle by Anthony Newman forced a punt, which Guliford returned to the 50. After Wuerffel got away with a throw that should've been intercepted, a 12 yd 3rd & 10 run by Davis was followed by an 18 yd Irv Smith catch. Following yet another holding penalty, Wuerffel put nice touch on a 30 yd TD throw to Hastings. A long St. Louis drive culminated in a 36 yd FG and ate most of the remaining time. The game ended with an interception of a Hail Mary throw. stats (from my notes, not official) ^^^^^ ..runnin'...../................throwin' & catchin'........................ heath Shuler Danny wuerffel 7-28 mario Bates 8-24 ray Zellars 3- 5 1- 9 4-30 Troy davis 1- 18 Andre hastings 2- 52 2-43-1 Randal hill 1- 33 Irv smith 1- 8 1-18 incomplete 11 7 intercepted 2 1 19-82 8-21-116-0-2 4-12-70-1-1 yardage histogram ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (players identified by capital letters as in stats above- B=Bates, etc.) Z B <--runs ZZT B T Z BBBZZB ZT ZT B ***************************************************************************** - 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 yards gained 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 <------ ***************************************************************************** Z Z ZIZ A I A R A A T <--passes comments ^^^^^^^^ * the whole offensive line (including Roaf) was really rattled in the second half * Guliford and Brien were the lone bright spots * Isaac Bruce did not play due to a hamstring injury * there should be no controversy- start Shuler vs. San Diego * we must do a better job of finishing our drives ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu