Saints Top Bucs 24-20 in Season Opener
by Doug Miller, NewOrleansSaints.com
Sunday, September 07, 2008 – 3:30 PM
New Orleans, La. – The New Orleans Saints concluded a hectic week that saw them practice and prepare for their opening regular season game of the 2008 conclude with an emotional, see-saw battle against the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers that the Saints pulled out with a 24-20 in front of a packed and rollicking Superdome crowd.
Reggie Bush caught a 42-yard pass from Drew Brees for a score that gave the Saints (1-0) a 24-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter over the visiting Buccaneers (0-1). The Saints’ defense, particularly a key interception in Saints territory by LB Scott Fujita, made the lead stand up as the Saints earned their first win of the season in a front of their emotionally charged up fans.
Reggie Bush runs around the end
“That was a heck of a game,” said Head Coach Sean Payton. “It went back and forth and both teams were throwing punches and making the others respond. It was a big win for us because it was at home in front of crowd that needed something to cheer about after a tough week, and against the team that won our division last year.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Jon Gruden was succinct in his assessment of the game. “I’m proud of our team. We fought hard,” Gruden said. “Give credit to the Saints. They are a very good team.”
Gruden credited the Saints’ defensive front for causing some chaos throughout the game, as well. “We pass protected pretty good, honestly,” Gruden said. “We threw the ball 30 times or so. They’ve got Sedrick Ellis. He is the real deal. Charles Grant and Will Smith are factors. (Bobby) McCray is a hell of a pass rusher. They beefed it up here. Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton deserve a lot of credit. They will be a handful for everybody this year.”
Bush said after the game that he was most pleased with the entire team effort that he witnessed from the Saints in the victory. “Every guy in that locker room, from the guys that have been here the past few years, to the new guys like Jonathan Vilma, Sedrick Ellis, Jeremy Shockey, all left everything on the field. It was a total team effort.”
New Orleans had earlier in the half taken a 17-13 lead, but their grasp on the lead was short-lived, as the Bucs drove 73 yards in 11 plays, capped off with a two yard touchdown pass from Jeff Garcia to WR Ike Hilliard early in the fourth quarter and took a 20-17 lead.
But Bush and Brees erased the lead and the Saints’ defense made it stand up and sent the packed home into an uproar inside of minutes and with their backs against the wall. Fujita, a defensive captain, thwarted the Bucs’ final drive.
Brees connected with Devery Henderson on an 84-yard TD pass on the second to last play of the third quarter to regain the lead, 17-13, in a seesaw game at the Superdome.
The Saints’ Martin Gramatica booted a 34-yard field goal with 2:49 left in the third quarter to pull the Saints even with the visiting Buccaneers, 10-10, but his counterpart in Pewter hit a 33-yard field goal of his own a few minutes later to give the Bucs a 13-10 lead.
Jeremy Shockey fights for yardage
Tampa Bay placekicker Matt Bryant had earlier hit a 37-yard field goal with just :03 left in the first half to send the Bucs into the locker room with a 10-7 lead in the season opener at the Superdome.
In what would prove to be a true defensive game, the Saints jumped out to a fast start, driving 76 yards in just six plays, culminated by a 39-yard touchdown pass from Brees to David Patten that gave the Saints a 7-0 lead just 3:33 into the game. But that would prove to be the only scoring of the half for the Saints.
The Bucs, meanwhile, took advantage of a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown by CB Phillip Buchanon midway through the first quarter that tied that game at 7-7.
Pierre Thomas, who returned the opening kickoff 22 yards, started the Saints’ first drive of the season with a four-yard carry. Brees then hit Bush sprinting out the backfield for a completion that picked up 16 yards. Bush then ripped off a 10-yard gain. The only setback the Saints experienced was a five-yard delay of game penalty that pushed them back five yards, but Thomas picked up the five on a screen. On second down from the Bucs’ 45 Brees hit Bush for a gain of seven yards, which brought up a third-and-three from the Bucs’ 39. Brees coolly dropped back, scanned the field, and fired a deep pass over the head of Bucs CB Phillip Buchanon to a wide-open Patten, who caught the pass and waltzed the final few yards for the opening score.
The Saints’ defense then threw a three and out on the Bucs’ offense, with Grant first pressuring QB Jeff Garcia on second down and then stopping Garcia after a one yard scramble.
The Saints then started their second possession at their own nine-yard line. On first down Brees connected with Bush for an 11-yard gain to the 20. Bush was then stopped for a one-yard loss and the Saints were flagged on second down for a holding call on a downfield block on a screen-play. On a second and 15 from their own 15, Brees dropped back and was hit by blitzing LB Barrett Ruud as he released the ball. The pass, intended for WR Lance Moore, fluttered into the air and Buchanon intercepted the ball at the Saints’ 26 and had clear sailing into the end zone, which following the extra point, tied the game at 7-7 with just over eight minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Saints once again were guilty of a holding infraction and were forced to start at their own six-yard line. A deep pass for a streaking Henderson was off the mark on first down and a four-yard carry by Bush set up a third-and-six from the Saints’ 10, but Brees and WR Marques Colston were unable to connect for the first down when S Tanard Jackson knocked the ball out of the outreached hands of Colston.
After a five-yard screen pass, Garcia hit Warrick Dunn for an 11-yard gain. On the ensuing play, Vilma rocketed through a gap in the offense and drilled Earnest Graham at the line of scrimmage for no gain. On second down Grant once again harassed Garcia and forced an incompletion, which brought up a third down. Grant and Smith pressured Garcia as the hurried quarterback tried to connect with Joey Galloway over the middle, but coverage from Vilma forced the quarterback and the receiver to misfire and the Saints had forced the Bucs to punt.
The Saints’ fourth offensive series began in less than ideal circumstances, as the Saints were flagged for two false starts and pressed back to their own 4 before they even got a snap off. But Pierre Thomas bailed the team out, first with a four yard carry and then a fantastic weaving run through traffic for 18 yards to the Saints’ 27. The Saints continued to run the ball on first and second down, but were once again stopped on third down as Brees and Moore couldn’t connect.
Steve Weatherford hit a 50-yard punt, but the Saints were guilty of an illegal formation. The penalty was the Saints’ sixth penalty of the quarter, compared to none for the Bucs.
Charles Grant sacks Tampa QB Jeff Garcia
The Bucs, though, picked up their first penalty on the next play with an illegal block in the back. Tampa started at their own 25 and Graham picked up 14 with a hard run up the middle of the defense. Tampa was then guilty of a holding call that pushed them back 10 yards. Ellis stopped Graham after a short gain before Grant sacked Garcia for a loss of eight yards on second down, blowing past a block by RT Donald Penn.
The second quarter began with the Bucs facing a third-and-long and Graham was stopped after a third down carry and the Bucs punted away to the Saints, who set up shop at their own 26 yard-line. Bush was stacked up behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of two yards and Brees then connected with Shockey for a gain of six yards, marking his first reception as a Saint. On third down Brees hit Colston across the middle, but a big shot from S Sabby Piscitelli stopped Colston half-a-yard shy of the first down markers and the Saints punted away to the TB 30, where they started their next drive.
Graham started with a five-yard carry before being stopped by Fujita. Garcia then took a deep, seven-step drop and looked deep down field for a receiver, but saw his options tightly covered by the Saints’ secondary and elected to dump the ball off to TE Alex Smith, who picked up eight yards and first down. The Bucs then took their first timeout with 11:01 left in the second quarter and with the ball resting on their own 48 yard-line. Graham then spun through a hole on the line and picked up five yards before being decked by S Roman Harper. Garcia then hit WR Ike Hilliard over the middle for a gain of six yards and the Bucs were in Saints’ territory. Dunn then picked up a yard and a major pile ensued, but Tampa T Jeremy Trueblood shoved Smith into the pile and was flagged for a personal foul, which pushed the Bucs back 15 yards. The Saints then stopped the Bucs on the next two plays, forcing them to punt the ball away, which they did well, as punter Josh Bidwell’s 45-yard punt was downed at the one-yard line by rookie CB Aqib Talib.
Brees hit Colston down the sideline for a gain of 16 yards on a quick little hitch route. Thomas then picked up four yards over the left side of the line and came right back on second down with another three yard gain. On third-and-three from the 24 the Saints took their first timeout of the first half to discuss matters and the result paid off with an eight-yard reception by Moore. On the next play, Brees tried to connect with Bush on a screen out of the backfield but the running back was met with a huge head-to-head hit from CB Ronde Barber.
On second down, the Bucs blitzed again and Brees’ pass to Shockey lost a yard after the tight end was met as soon as the ball arrived. On third down Brees nearly fitted a deep pass to Patten down the middle of the field, but the two couldn’t connect.
Rookie Jo-Lonn Dunbar then hammered return man Dexter Jackson with a huge open field hit. The Bucs started at their own 35 and the Saints’ defense pitched a three and out with big plays turned in by Vilma, who stopped Graham for no gain on second down and then a third down pass rush that forced Garcia to miss his intended receiver.
Bidwell’s punt sailed into the end zone and the Saints started at the own 20 yard-line with just over three minutes remaining in the half. On first down Brees and Moore hooked up for a nine yard gain and Bush picked up a first down on second down with a two-yard run over a hole opened by Jahri Evans. On first down at the 31, Bush picked up two yards on what would be the final play before the two-minute warning. Brees then hit Shockey for a gain of five yards, which brought up a third-and-three, but Brees couldn’t connect in the face of the Tampa blitz. Weatherford uncorked a 61-yard punt that bounded into the end zone, setting the Bucs up at their own 20 with under 2 minutes remaining.
Tampa looked to be in midseason form running their two-minute drill. Starting at their own 20 yard-line, Garcia hit Galloway for 13 yards and first down. Garcia then hit WR Antonio Bryant for a 26-yard gain, although Saints CB Aaron Glenn very narrowly intercepted the pass. Garcia to then checked a pass down to Ike Hilliard for eight yards and the Bucs called a timeout with :29 remaining in the half and the football at the Saints’ 33. Garcia and Hilliard once again hooked up for short seven yard completion and Garcia spiked the ball to stop the clock at the New Orleans 26 with :14 left. Warrick Dunn then scampered for seven yards and the Bucs called their final timeout and Bryant ended the seven play, 61 yard drive in 1:25 by booting a 37-yard field goal through the uprights with just a few seconds left to play and with the Bucs holding a 10-7 lead.
Second Half
Tampa started the second half at their own 20 yard-line, but was guilty of a holding call on first down. But Dunn atoned for the earlier sins of one of his offensive linemen with a 13-yard gain. Tampa couldn’t shake the penalty bug, though, as WR Antonio Bryant was flagged for a 10-yard pass interference call on second down. On the replay of second down, NT Kendrick Clancy drilled Garcia in the pocket as he released the ball, which was incomplete. On third down and long Galloway caught a short pass but was dropped by an alert Randall Gay and Bidwell elected to keep the ball out of Bush’s hands, instead opting to kick the ball out of bounds after 30 yards.
New Orleans had the best starting field position of the game, setting up shop at the Tampa Bay 48. Thomas swept the right for a gain of two yards on the first play. Bush then managed a yard and the Saints appeared to have offensive momentum on their side when Brees and Shockey teamed for a third down conversion on a third-and-seven with an eight-yard gain. But the Saints were stymied with two consecutive incompletions and misfortune struck as C Jonathan Goodwin and Brees weren’t on the same page on third down and the shotgun eluded Brees, which Thomas fell on near midfield but the Saints had to once again punt.
Garcia for three-yard completion, then again hit to Graham for five. On third down Garcia and TE Alex Smith couldn’t connect and Tampa was forced to punt. Tampa was penalized for an illegal man downfield and the Saints made them punt again.
The Saints took possession at their own 29 following the punt and caught a spark, as Bush bolted through the middle for a 26-yard run. On the play however, Bush was guilty on a personal foul facemask call that took 15 yards off the run. Brees then hit Shockey for 26 yards. Two short runs set up another Brees to Shockey completion on third down, this time for 10 yards and a first down. Brees and Colston then picked up five yards, and Thomas scampered through the middle for six yards and first down. On first down for the 12 Brees threw the ball away and was sacked on second down for a six-yard loss by DE Greg White. On third down the Saints could only muster two yards on a completion between Brees and Bush and the Saints elected to send Martin Gramatica out for a 34-yard field goal attempt, which he drilled. Tampa was forced to call a timeout after nearly getting caught with 12 men on the field, which cost them their first timeout. The Saints’ scoring drive covered 55 yards in 11 plays and ate up 5:24 in time of possession.
Earnest Graham bulled his way off the right side of the Tampa line for a 46-yard gain to the Saints’ 20 on the Bucs’ first play from scrimmage. Dunn then managed four yards on an inside carry on first down and then another yard on second down. Tampa then called their second timeout and Garcia tried to test rookie CB Tracy Porter with a post route by Antonio Bryant in the end zone. But the rookie was up for the challenge and defended the pass, setting up a Matt Bryant 33 yard field goal that gave the Bucs a 13-10 lead with: 33 left in the third quarter.
Brees didn’t allow the Bucs lead to hold up all that long. In fact, it took just one play, an 84-yard completion to a streaking Henderson that went for the score. On the play, Bucs DE Gaines Adams jumped offside and Brees and Goodwin caught him on the neutral zone and Brees took advantage of the free play with the perfect spiral. It was Henderson’s long play as a professional.
The Saints’ lead didn’t hold up, though, as Tampa turned in their most impressive drive of the game. The Bucs marched 73 yards in 11 plays in 4:35. The biggest plays on the drive was a 13 yard gain on a third down via a Garcia to Galloway completion, and an 18 yard completion from Garcia to Graham. Tampa scored on a two-yard touchdown pass from Garcia to Ike Hilliard with 10:38 left in the game, that following the extra point made the score 20-17 in Tampa’s favor.
That lead, as well, wouldn’t hold up. The Saints, largely behind the outstanding athletic prowess of Bush, ripped 80 yards in five plays, with Bush touching the ball on all five plays. Capped off by a 42-yard catch and run down the Saints’ sideline. On the play, Bush caught the Brees offering right in stride and deked out a safety coming over and then flew the final three yards with Buchanon all over him. The TD gave the Saints a 24-20 lead with 7:38 left in the game.
The Saints’ defense, behind a series of big plays from their once-maligned defensive secondary, held Garcia and the Bucs on their next possession, which also saw the Bucs use their third and final timeout. Tampa’s Bidwell punted the ball away to Moore, who fair caught the ball at the Saints’ 17 with just over five minutes left. Thomas picked up three yards on a run, he then tried the other side of the line for a gain of four yards. On the play Thomas was injured and the clock stopped with 3:42 left in the game and the Saints facing a third-and-three. Bush picked up a yard, but the Saints were forced to punt with 2:36 remaining in the game. The Saints allowed the game clock to wind all the way down before calling their second timeout of the game.
Tampa, after a 14 yard punt return by Jackson, took over at their own 49 with 2:24 left. Garcia hung in the pocket with pocket with Clancy in his face and hit Bryant for a 13-yard gain to the Saints’ 39. On first down, Garcia got rid of the ball as he was being dragged down by Ellis, but despite the crowd’s pleas, wasn’t flagged for an intentional grounding call after the officials huddled. The ruling was that Garcia was out of the pocket when he ditched the pass. On second down and underneath the two minute clock from the 39, Garcia hit Smith for an 11-yard gain and the first down. Garcia was then sacked by Bobby McCray from the blind-side for a loss of seven yards to the 35. The veteran QB then hit Galloway for an 11-yard gain. The two couldn’t connect on third down and six, which brought up a fourth-and-six from the Saints’ 24 with :44 remaining. The Saints called their final timeout to regroup before the pivotal play.
Garcia dropped back but an alert Fujita darted in front of his intended receiver and intercepted the pass at the Saints’ 21 and the Saints only had to take one knee to end the game and leave with the victory.
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