Reggie Bush (AP)

First Half Explosion Leads to First Season Victory in Seattle, 28-17
Bush lights up Seahawks in first, dissappears in second in win

posted October 14, 2007 - print me!
neworleansprofootball.com
by neworleanssaints.com

The New Orleans Saints traveled into the nest of the fabled 12th man and, in the process, uncovered the team’s most complete effort to date this season, en route to defeating the Seattle Seahawks, 28-17.

The Saints jumped ahead early via a key special teams play turned in by the punt return unit, and never looked back, at one point holding a 28-7 first half lead. Rookie RB Pierre Thomas scored his first professional career touchdown after he recovered a botched Seattle long snap after the game’s first possession of the game. Thomas, dressing for just his second career game, picked up a loose ball that fellow rookie Usama Young momentarily had, as did first-year S Chris Reis. But the bouncing ball nestled softly into Thomas’s mitts and the rookie from Illinois did the rest, as he found his way into the end zone.

Thomas’ first score gave the Saints a 7-0 lead just two minutes and 22 seconds in the Sunday Night game at Qwest Field. The Seahawk had recently signed their long snapper, second-year man Boone Stutz. His first long snap of the game was low and punter Ryan Plackemeir was unable to field the low line drive.

“We had a good week of practice and it translated into a good showing tonight,” said Head Coach Sean Payton. “I was pleased with the intensity and the effort we showed.”

When asked whether he thought the game might serve as a turning point for the Saints, Payton stated, “The turning point comes from good preparation and translating our week of practice into execution on the field, which we did tonight. This is a tough place to play.”

“New Orleans came in here and played a very good game,” said Seattle Head Coach Mike Holmgren. “Drew Brees had a very good game and we couldn’t get much pressure on him and Reggie Bush hurt us, particularly in the first half.”

“It was good to snap the four game losing streak,” said FB Mike Karney. “This is a tough place to play and they are a great team. We needed this and it was a complete team effort.”

Three Saints who are newcomers to the roster in 2007: RB Pierre Thomas, TE Eric Johnson and WR Lance Moore, scored their first touchdowns as Saints staked the Black-and-Gold staked to a 28-10 halftime lead. WR Marques Colston also scored his second TD of the season, which occurred just before the end of the first half, on a two-yard pass from quarterback Drew Brees. And the Saints’ offensive line held the dangerous Seattle defense without a sack on the evening, a huge key in allowing Brees time to pick apart the Seattle defense, particularly on third downs.

The Seahawks’ first offensive season ended at their own 37 yard-line after DT Hollis Thomas sacked Matt Hasselbeck for a six-yard loss. The Seahawks had made one first down on their initial drive, but the Saints’ defense stepped up on a third-and-short to drop Hasselbeck.

After holding the Seahawks to a three-and-out on their second possession, the Saints’ offense finally got on the field with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half. Reggie Bush ripped off the Saints’ longest run from scrimmage of the season, a 22-yarder, but the Black-and-Gold offense couldn’t pick up another first down and were forced to punt.

Seattle drove to the Saints’ 43 yard-line on their third possession and took a shot into the Saints’ end zone midway through the first quarter. Hasselbeck’s high arching spiral, intended for WR Nate Burleson, was neatly knocked down in the end zone by CB Mike McKenzie when the veteran corner timed his leap and batted the ball straight down, which forced Seattle to punt.

On the Saints’ second possession, a nifty screen pass that picked up nine yards was nullified by a penalty, but the Saints were able to convert a third-and-ten when Brees and Bush connected on a screen play out the Saints’ 25. Once again the Saints faced a third-and-ten, and Brees connected with David Patten for a 15-yard gain. The ball was punched out of Patten’s arm and bounded down the field, where it appeared that Seattle S Brian Russell recovered it. But an alert Eric Johnson swooped in and recovered the loose ball. Which gave the Saints new life in Seattle territory. Brees and new starter Lance Moore connected on a third-and-long enabling the drive alive, and then Bush ripped off a 19-yard carry before the Saints again were flagged for a penalty one play before the end of the first quarter.

Facing a second-and-14 from the Seattle 20, Bush took a delayed handoff and bolted up the middle for 13-yard carry before being dragged down by his facemask, which gave the Saints a firs-and-goal at the Seattle five. On the next play, Brees connected with Eric Johnson’s first touchdown as a Saint on a goal-line reception. The touchdown capped a 13-play, 86-yard drive in seven minutes and four seconds.

Seattle, trailing 14-0, put together their most impressive offensive drive of the game early in the second quarter. The moved into Saints’ territory primarily on short runs and short passes over the middle into the Saints varied defensive looks. Seattle converted a third-and-three on a short pass from Hasselback to Burleson before being knocked out of bounds by S Josh Bullocks at the Saints’ 28.

Seattle, facing a third-and-eight at the 26, nearly forced a Seattle turnover when Usama Young very nearly intercepted a Hasselback pass intended for Burleson down the sideline. Young couldn’t keep his feet in-bounds and the Seahawks settled for a 44-yard field goal attempt by veteran kicker Josh Brown, but Saints’ S Bullocks leapt high and blocked the field goal attempt, and the Saints took over at their own 34 yard-line with 8:06 left in the first half.

On the Saints’ third offensive series, Reggie Bush carried the load. Bush accounted for 55 yards as the Black-and-Gold ripped down the field on a six-play, 66-drive in 2:48. Brees and Bush first connected on a 17-yard completion to the Seattle 45, before also connecting on a 12-yard pass before Bush ripped off another 22-yard gain. The drive ended when WR Lance Moore scored his first pro touchdown on an end around that went for seven yards and put the Saints ahead 21-0.

Seattle got on the scoreboard late in the first half on a 16-yard pass from Hasselbeck to WR Ben Obomanu. The pass cut the Saints’ lead to 21-7 with just over 2:00 to play in the first half.

The Saints started their own fourth drive of the game at their own 20 with just over 2:00 left and struck quickly and deeply, courtesy of a 36-yard sideline bomb from Brees to Patten. Brees and Patten also hooked up for completions of 18 yards, 7 yards and 9 yards on back-to-back plays. Brees and Johnson also hooked up for 9 yards down to the Seattle 4. Brees then drilled a timing route to WR Marques Colston that gave the Saints a 28-7 lead with :30 remaining in the first half.

Seattle was not content to kneel on the ball and attempt to regroup in their locker room and mounted a late drive and closed the Saints’ lead to 28-10 on a 52-yard field goal by K Josh Brown with :02 left in the second quarter.

The Saints accepted the second half kickoff and played like a team in intent on distancing themselves from what has been a season of frustration to date. The Saints, facing a fourth and inches, kept the clock moving with Brees dove over the top of the pile at the Saints’ 29. The masters of the third-and-long conversions, Brees and Patten hooked up 13-yard gain to the Saints’ 43. Bush nearly broke another long run after a 6-yard gain, but was tripped up near midfield on a second down run. The Saints were unable to pick up the first down however, but had chipped over five minutes off of the clock. P Steve Weatherford pinned the Seahawks at their own 14-yard-line.

Seattle meet a fearsome Saints pass rush on their first series of the second half were only able to hang onto the ball for four plays. DT Brian Young and S Roman Harper drilled Hasselbeck for consecutive sacks.

The Saints again received a key third down play when TE Billy Miller recorded his first reception of the season on a twisting nine-yard reception in the third quarter from Brees that converted a third down. Moore then recorded another chain moving reception with a 6-yard gain on a 3rd-and-5. The Saints committed their first turnover of the night when Bush was stripped of the football at the Seattle 12 yard-line with :37 left in the third quarter.

Seattle attempted to convert the turnover in an opportunity of their own and came out firing, as Hasselbeck moved the team down the field with an array of intermediate passes. However, two big plays halted the Seahawks’ momentum the first was a two yard loss that Scott Fujita after he tracked down RB Shaun Alexander behind the line of scrimmage. The second big play was turned in when DE Charles Grant drilled Hasselbeck with a big hit on a 3rd-and-5 for a 6-yard loss, which forced Seattle to punt the ball away with just under 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Seahawks pinned the Saints at their own 2-yard-line on the punt, but the team quickly got out of the shadows of their own goalpost via a 17-yard first down pass from Brees to Miller. The Saints were unable to advance any further than their own 22 yard-line, through, but had managed to let 2:03 evaporate from the game clock, thus holding an 18-point edge with 9:50 left in the game.

The Saints backed Seattle up against the wall with 9:10 remaining in the game as the Seahawks went for it on 4th-and-3 from their own 34 yard-line. Initially, the Seahawks had sent their punt team onto the field, which was met with a chorus of derisive boos from the faithful, but the Seahawks then called timeout and attempted to catch the Saints with a quick inside handoff, but Kendrick Clancy sniffed it out and brought down FB Leonard Weaver after a one-yard gain.

The Saints, with 9:03 left in the game, took possession at the Seattle 35. The Saints couldn’t muster any yards, though and punted away to the ‘Birds with 8:10 remaining. Seattle mustered a 6-plays, 80-yard drive in 1:31 that was capped by a 22-yard TD pass from Hasselbeck to Burleson with 6:39 left in the game that narrowed the Saints’ lead to 28-17 following the extra point.

Seattle then attempted an onside kick that was recovered by the Saints at the Seattle 41. The Black-and-Gold tried two runs that were stuffed before a third down pass in the face of a heavy blitz fell incomplete and Brees was flagged for an intentional grounding call that resulted in a 12-yard mark off.

Following a Weatherford punt that was downed at the Seattle 14, the Seahawks went into a no-huddle mode and started the drive with two consecutive completions before Harper blasted through on a blitz and dropped Hasselbeck for a 7-yard sack that forced Seattle to expend their second timeout with 4:07 remaining in the game. Two plays later, Hasselbeck lofted a pass that was intercepted by Bullocks at the Saints’ 5 yard-line that he returned to the New Orleans 12 with just over 3:45 left in the game.

The Saints and Seahawks then traded possessions, with the Saints stopping the ‘Birds inside the Saints’ 20 with less than 2 minutes to play in the game and the Saints kneeling on the ball.

The Saints were paced offensively by the efficient passing of Brees, who completed 25-of-36 passes for 246 yards and two touchdown passes, while Reggie Bush had 19 carries for 97 yards and added 44 yards on six receptions for 143 yards from scrimmage. WR David Patten had one of the biggest games of his 11-year career, finishing with team-high eight receptions for 113 yards.

Defensively, the Saints shut down Shaun Alexander, limiting the former Alabama star to 35 yards on 14 carries for a 2.5 yards per carry average. S Josh Bullocks had eight tackles, an interception and a pass defensed, while Scott Fujita added 7 stops and Mike McKenzie also tallied 7 stops and three passes defensed. Roman Harper had six stops and a career-high two sacks, while Charles Grant, Brian Young and Hollis Thomas also registered sacks.

“Coach stressed the importance of getting pressure on their quarterback all week in practice,” said DE Will Smith, who battled perennial Pro Bowler Walter Jones all evening. “And we were able to get the running game stopped early and get after their quarterback.”

“They brought it tonight,” said Hasselbeck. “They showed a lot of different looks and pressures. It was more what they were doing than what we were doing. They got some breaks and made some nice plays.”

“I though Drew Brees had a great game, especially converting some of those third downs he converted,” the Seattle signal-caller stated after the game.

Notes: FB Mike Karney, a native of Kent, Wash., had a personal cheering section of over 200 people in his first-ever professional game in his hometown … The Seahawks won the opening kickoff and elected to receive with the Saints electing to defend the south end zone in the first quarter. The NBC overhead camera broke early in the game and the myriad of wires hands some 40 feet above the playing field ... Brian Young sacked Hasselbeck in the 3rd quarter and then Roman Harper drilled the quarterback with a perfectly timed blitz, dropping Hasselbeck for a 9-yard loss … Saints CB Usama Young injured one of his shoulders and his return is listed as “doubtful” … Patten established a career-high in receptions when he caught his 8th pass of the night in the third quarter … the Saints’ 5 sacks were the most by the team in a game since September 25, 2006 against Atlanta .. Brees finished with a passer rating of 106.9, his highest pass rating of the season ... the Saints’ offensive line did a great job of holding Julian Peterson in check, limiting the dangerous defender to 3 tackles and out of the sack column.

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