Reggie Bush (AP)

Saints Let It Slip
New Orleans beaten on the lines, Brees throws 4 INT's

posted October 7, 2007 - print me!
neworleansprofootball.com
by neworleanssaints.com

New Orleans- Carolina Panthers kicker John Kasay booted a 52-yard field goal as time expired to give the Panthers a 16-13 win in the Superdome.

The Saints had led 13-7 in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers clawed their way back, taking advantage of two Saints missed field goals. The Panthers improved to 3-2, while the Saints remain winless at 0-4.

"We gave this game away," said QB Drew Brees. "There is no other way for me to say it. We didn't make the plays that we needed to make."

The Saints, despite picking up 341 yards of offense to the Panthers 243 yards, held the ball for 35:13 in time possession, and were able to convert 8-of-16 third downs for a 50% conversion rate, but the missed field goals and two turnovers proved just too costly to overcome.

“Obviously this is a disappointing loss,” said Head Coach Sean Payton. “If we continue to make dumb mistakes, drop passes and incur penalties, then the results won’t change.”

Payton, who was clearly agitated after the game, said, “For the amount of time we had the football it’s sickening and it’s a shame. But you aren’t going to win many games when you score 13 points and do things that cause you to lose.”

Payton also stated that he and the coaching staff would take a long, hard look at the composition of the roster. “I am going to take a long look at who is doing what, and who isn’t doing some things. It’s not going to stay the same.”

The Saints had capitalized on a 54-yard completion from Drew Brees to Devery Henderson that set up a 2-yard TD run by Mike Karney to give the Saints a 13-6 lead with 12:18 left in the third quarter. The score held for the remainder of the third quarter. The touchdown broke a 6-6 tie that the two teams went into the locker room with at halftime.

The Saints started their first drive at their own 36 and drove into Panthers’ territory but were victimized by a turnover, as Drew Brees’ pass intended for Lance Moore was intercepted by Richard Marshall at the Carolina 19 yard line and returned to the Saints’ 47.

The Panthers’ Steve Smith picked up nine yards on a short reception, followed by a 27-yard completion from Carr to tight end Jeff King. The 42-yard drive ended short of the end zone, though, as Carolina settled for a 23-yard field goal by John Kasay.

The Saints tied the game at 3-3 after an impressive 12-play drive that covered 64 yards in 4:44. The biggest play on the drive came via a third down conversion from Drew Brees to Devery Henderson that covered 32 yards and set the Saints up at the Carolina 24. The Saints through could not get further than the Carolina 6 and ended up with Olindo Mare’s 25-yard field goal.

The Saints’ defense then turned up the pressure on the Panthers after a 5-yard gain on their third set of downs. On a second down, Hollis Thomas crushed Foster for a three-yard gain, which brought up third-and-eight, and Will Smith came around the corner to blindside Carr for Smith’s first sack of the season. Carr needed assistance in leaving the field, and with the Panthers already having designated Jake Delhomme as inactive, the Panthers inserted rookie Matt Moore.

Moore hooked up with WR Keary Colbert on a 43-yard completion into double coverage that set the Panthers up for the go-ahead field goal with 11:22 left in the first half. The scoring drive covered 69 yards in eight plays and 3:40 in time of possession and the Kasay’s second field goal of the game gave Carolina a 6-3 lead.

The Saints then started a drive at their own 23 and picked up 9-yards on a quick hitting pass from Brees to Eric Johnson. Reggie Bush then picked up a first down with a 1-yard run and Bush acquired 4 more on the next play, and 4 more yards on shuffled pass with Brees under duress. Aaron Stecker then bolted up the middle for six yards on a third and four. Three plays later Brees scrambled and hit Devery Henderson for a key third-down conversion that saw Henderson come back to the ball despite tight coverage from Panthers corner Ken Lucas.

The Saints continued picking up short gains and converting them into first downs and seemingly had scored the go-ahead touchdown on a short pass from Brees to Stecker, but Saints LT Jammal Brown was guilty of an illegal procedure call that pushed the Saints back to a firs-and-goal from the Carolina 15. Bush picked up 6 yards on an inside run on the first down, but the second down screen pass from Brees to Stecker was snuffed up for a 6-yard loss by rookie LB Jon Beason. Brees then hit Colston for a 5-yard gain and the Saints attempted a 28-yard field goal with 1:07 remaining in the half that Mare converted.

The drive that knotted the scoring at 6 all covered 67 yards in 19 plays and gobbled up 10:20 in time of possession.

Carr returned to action despite being described as doubtful late in the second quarter but handed the ball off twice before time expired.

The Saints took the opening second half kickoff, a 27-yard return by rookie Pierre Thomas, and picked up a big third down on a 3rd-and-7 when Brees found an open Lance Moore for a 16 yard gain to the Saints’ 45. Brees then dropped back in the pocket for a play-action fake and found a streaking Henderson down the left sideline for a long completion. Henderson put two moves on cornerback Ken Lucas, turning the defender around before racing the remaining yards for a 54-yard pickup. The official call was originally signaled as a touchdown by the on-field officials was overturned.

Panthers Head Coach John Fox challenged whether Henderson was indeed able to make it into the end zone, as Henderson was reaching with the ball as he crashed into the pylon. The officials reviewed the footage and determined that Henderson stepped out of bounds at the Carolina 2-yard line.

FB Mike Karney made it a mute point by barreling right behind right guard Jahri Evans for the go-head TD run.

Carolina started their drive of the second half at their own 20 and picked up 3 yards on two DeShaun Foster carries and a third-down pass attempt from Carr fell incomplete. Carolina’s Jason Baker hit a 41-yard punt that was fair caught by Lance Moore at the Saints’ 36 with 10:49.

The Saints went three-and-out and punted away, with rookie Marvin Mitchell tracking down the elusive Steve Smith a 6-yard gain. The Saints stopped the Panthers after five plays, as two penalties thwarted any attempts the Panthers had of getting on track.

Carolina, however, picked up a 57-yard punt by Baker that was downed at the Saints’ 5 yard-line. On first down Bush ran behind left tackle for a gain of 1 yard and Brees second down pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage. The Saints took a timeout, their first timeout of the second half with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter and faced with the prospect of the 3rd-and-9 from their own 6. Whatever strategy was discussed clearly worked, as Brees hit Bush for a 12-yard gain on a nifty screen pass that Bush plucked from the top of his shoelaces before picking up the first down.

The Saints were found guilty of a holding infraction on a second down when Colston got tangled up with a Panthers defender. But Carolina returned the favor when DT Damione Lewis was tagged with a roughing-the-passer infraction that gave the Saints 15 yards and a first down at the Saints’ 27. Bush lost a yard on first down, but picked up 6 yards on a quick out pass from Brees, taking the ball to the Saint s’ 31. Carolina called a timeout, their first of the second half, with 2:35 remaining in the quarter. Brees tried to hit Stecker up the seam, but the fleet running back has being held by LB Thomas David, who had coverage on Stecker, which gave the Saints an automatic first down at the Carolina 36.

Brees then drilled an out route to Moore for a gain of 11-yards on a first down for another first down and Stecker dashed through an inside hole for a 6-yard gain and into Carolina territory. Brees attempted to go deep to Henderson, but the long aerial but missed it missed its mark by a few yards as did a third down offering to Terrance Copper.

Steve Weatherford took a snap and waited until a linebacker stepped up to engage with a blocker and then bolted off of the right side for a first down, narrowly picking up the third first at the Carolina 42 despite being hotly pursued by three Panthers defenders.

Bush picked up 2 hard yards on an inside run on the final play of the third quarter. The Saints converted a fourth and three when Brees hit Bush four a 4-yard gain over the middle. Bush held onto the ball despite taking a big shot from two converging Panthers.

In the next play, Bush ran off the right side but was brought down by his facemask by Beason, which drew a 15-yard penalty and put the ball of the Carolina 15. Bush then tried the left side for two more yards on first down and Brees and Bush hooked up for 6 yards on a pass over the middle. On the third-and-two, Bush bolted off right tackle for the first down with a 2-yard run.

The Saints tried to catch the Panthers with a quick out pass from Brees to Stecker, but the play was stopped for a 1-yard loss. Bush then picked up 4 yards on a draw play but the Saints were unable to hit pay dirt after the third down pass was incomplete in the end zone and Mare’s 20-yard field goal was blocked, thus ending a 24-play drive that covered 93 yards in 10:22.

“We had a 24-play drive,” said Brees. “That might be a record. Obviously we came out of there empty handed. That is so frustrating.”

“When you get in that position it’s almost a given, a guarantee that you are going to win,” he continued. But we proved today that you can’t take anything for granted. Unreal.”

Carolina, with new life, started at their own 15 with 10:11 remaining in the game. Foster picked up 6 yards off of the right side and Carr hit TE Jeff King for 6-yard gain and fumbled the ball when Will Smith stripped it. Mark Simoneau seemingly fell on the ball, but it squirted free in the pile and the Panthers retained possession. Foster picked up a first down on a third-and-one with a 5-yard run, marking conversion of the game. Carr then tried to connect with Smith down the middle of the field, but Josh Bullocks dropped a shoulder into Smith and forced the incompletion. Charles Grant and company the stopped Foster for a 1-yard loss, but Carr hit Colbert for 19-yards on third down, which took the ball to the Saints’ 41 with just over five minutes to play.

Foster then bulled his way for 12-yards to the Saints’ 29. Carr then faked a hand-off and tried to connect with Smith down the seam, but the pass fell incomplete, but not before Roman Harper was guilty of an illegal contact infraction. The Panthers, on first down from the Saints’ 24, didn’t pick up any yards as Carr was flushed out of the pocket and threw the ball out of bounds. Foster then picked up 7 yards on a run and on a 3rd-and-3 from the 17, Carr found Smith open in the flat and the receiver did the rest, scampering 17-yards from the score, which tied the game.

The Saints came right back with a 12 yard pass from Brees to Henderson to the Carolina 37, but two plays later, was victimized when S Chris Harris snared a pass that had tipped off of the fingertips of Henderson. Harris returned the ball to the Saints’ 37 with 3:00 left in the game.

On first down Foster tried the right side of the Saints’ defense but a hamper full of yellow was thrown on the field with off-setting infractions (holding on Carolina and a facemask on the Saints), causing the play to be replayed.

Mike McKenzie, who was guilty of the facemask, atoned for the mistake by swiping a pass intended for TE Christian Fauria and returned the ball 33 yards to the Carolina 36. The Saints were unable to pick up more than one yard on three plays and Mare’s 54-yard field goal sailed wide left of the uprights despite having plenty of distance.

Carolina took over at their own 44 with 2:14 remaining in the game, and Foster picked up a yard with an inside run and the clock hit the two-minute warning. Foster hammered away again at the middle of the line, picking up 3 yards before the Saints called a timeout, their final one of regulation. On the 3rd-and-6, Carr slung a pass into the flat that was reeled in for a 7-yard gain by Keary Colbert, enough for the first down. Foster picked up two yards on first down before Charles Grant stopped Williams for a loss of 2-yards on second down. On the third down, Carr rolled out of the pocket and hit Smith along the sideline and he bulled his way for the first down with :21 remaining at the ball at the 35 yard-line.

The Panthers let the clock run down to :03 remaining in the game and Kasay trotted out to try a 52-yard game winning field goal, which he converted before being mobbed by his teammates as the Saints dejectedly headed towards their locker room.

Saints Notes: Reggie Bush had 67 yards rushing on 21 carries and had a team-high nine receptions (52 yards) …WR Devery Henderson had a team-high 101 yards receiving on four receptions … DE Will Smith and DT Hollis Thomas lead the Saints in tackles, with seven stops each. Drew Brees finished the game with 252 yards passing on 47 attempts (29 completions).

Panthers Notes: Panthers rookie Jon Beason had a game-high 13 tackles. David Carr had 119 yards on 10 completions and 17 attempts. WR Keary Colbert had 74 yards receiving on four receptions, while Steve Smith also had four receptions for 47 yards.

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