Saints 19 Panthers 10 Though Ricky Williams' left ankle continued to limit his contribution, the Saints beat Carolina in the season opener thanks to strong defense. The season-opening kickoff was the second-most dramatic one in franchise history, as Fred Weary popped the ball loose from Michael Bates at the 20; Tyrone Drakeford scooped up the pigskin and ran it in to give the Saints a quick 7-0 lead. The D forced Carolina to go 3 & punt, so it was time for Ricky Williams to make his Saints debut. Coach Ditka elected to give him the ball until the Panthers managed to stop him. They didn't, but on 3rd & 1 the refs did- Wally Williams was flagged for holding. A pass to Aaron Craver was good for only 2, so Tommy Barnhardt came on to punt. After another Carolina 3 & punt series, Billy Joe Hobert threw incomplete to Eddie Kennison and handed to Ricky for 8. Craver's 3rd down run came up short of the marker, so the Saints punted again. From their 27, the Panthers knifed into Saints territory in two plays- Biakabutuka 25 yd run, Muhammad 26 yd catch. On the following play, however, a Beuerlein pass was deflected into the air, and Keith Mitchell caught it. He returned the ball to the NO 36. Next came a Saints 3 & punt series that took forever due to a rather inconsequential review of an on-field call. Three more 3 & punt series followed. After the last play of the first quarter, Saints fans saw what they feared most- Ricky limping off the field, favoring the same left ankle injured in the preseason. The team did manage to drive for a 46 yd FG. Carolina struck back- from their 31, it was Walls 25 catch, Lane 4 run, Carruth 5 catch, Lane 23 catch, Carruth 7 catch, Walls 5 catch for TD. Ricky re-entered the game, but the Saints went 3 & punt anyway. The Panthers managed a single 1st before punting; during the return, a heads-up play by Weary prevented Kennison's fumble from becoming a turnover deep in Saints territory. Following a run up the middle, Ricky was limping again. He left the field and stayed on the sideline for the remainder of the game. The series went 3 & punt. Taking over at the NO 47, Carolina moved into FG range with a 13 yd catch by Muhammad. Three more passes fell incomplete, so Kasay nailed one from 52 yds out with 1:39 left in the half. The Saints made it to the Carolina 44 before getting knocked back by an illegal snap and a sack. The teams went to the locker rooms tied at 10. The Saints started the second half with a drive into Panther territory, but on 3rd & 4 from the 41 Scott Slutzker dropped an easy pass that would've been good for a 1st. Barnhardt punted, but the D got the ball back for the team when Austin Robbins forced a QB fumble and made the recovery at the Carolina 20. The O moved close to the goal but ultimately had to settle for a 21 yd FG. Following yet another Carolina 3 & punt series, Hobert hit Keith Poole down the sideline; the big-play receiver ran in for an easy 67 yd TD. The PAT was wide left, so the score remained 19-10 Saints. Over the next four possessions, neither team mounted much of a threat. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Panthers moved into Saints territory thanks to a 38 yd Carruth catch. A 13 yd Lane catch moved the visitors into FG range. On 3rd & 9 from the 28, LaRoi Glover and Brady Smith converged on Beuerlein and sacked him. Kasay's 53 yd FG try was wide left, so the Saints took over at 3:32 with their 9-point lead intact. The team took care of business by picking up a pair of crucial 3rd down conversions- Craver caught a 5 yd throw on 3rd & 4, Lamar Smith ran for 3 on 3rd & 1. A pair of kneels gave the Saints a relatively-rare first-game victory. stats (view with a fixed-width font, like Courier) ^^^^^ runnin'........../..........passin' & catchin' 2- 9 B.J. Hobert 10- 40 Ricky Williams 13- 66 Lamar Smith 1- (3) 9- 18 Troy Davis 5- 16 Aaron Craver 4- 23 Keith Poole 3- 89-1 Eddie Kennison 2- 11 Andre Hastings 1- 12 39-149 TOTAL 11-132-1 inc 11 INT 0 runnin'........../..........passin' & catchin' 1- 8 S. Beuerlein 8- 45 Tim Biakabutuka 1- 5 6- 30 Fred Lane 2- 36 1- 2 William Floyd Mushin Muhammad 4- 64 Rae Carruth 5- 63 Michael Bates 1- 2 Wesley Walls 3- 37-1 16- 85 TOTAL 16-207-1 inc 15 INT 1 notes ^^^^^ * in Carolina's 14 possessions on offense, six went 3 & punt, two ended with turnovers * Keith Poole has 31 career receptions, 13 of which are for more than 20 yds (including TDs of 32, 64, 67, 82 yds) * Ricky is questionable for next week's game ******************************************************************************* Frank Serpas III serpas@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu