1988 - Week 05 - Atlanta Falcons - Seattle Seahawks

[Music] national football league [Music] today from atlanta fulton county stadium it's the seattle seahawks versus the atlanta falcons brought to you by ford and your ford dealer have you driven a ford lately by budweiser proud sponsor of the 1988 u.s olympic team this bud's for you and by gte at gte the power is on [Music] we are live at fulton county stadium in atlanta georgia for this afternoon's inner conference battle between the seattle seahawks and the atlanta falcons overnight and early morning rains have subsided and given way to partly cloudy skies with a game time temperature of 70 degrees very humid down on the field but surprisingly not as wet as we had thought hello everyone kevin slaton alongside former green bay packer jerry cramer two teams with difficult losses a week ago seattle losing embarrassingly so to san francisco and the falcons dropping a heartbreaker to dallas both will go with some young players today backups at quarterback for seattle it'll be a rookie untested kelly stauffer kelly stopper has his work cut out for him but so does the whole seattle football team seattle was embarrassed last week they had 154 total yards to san francisco's 580. kelly came in in the second half had 11 of 15 for 133 yards and played pretty well this is his first nfl start and the pressure is on kelly stopper today on the other side of the coin the youth movement continues here in atlanta the number one pick in last spring's draft linebacker andre bruce he is expected to be an impact player as yet he has not made that severe an impact the atlanta falcons could be called the peach fuzz gang there are 30 players on that football team who are 26 years old or younger i think the atlanta football team is personified by andre bruce a young man with great physical talent great physical skills 245 pounds runs a 40-yard dash in 4-5 but has not played up to his potential yet a little uncertain on his defensive assignments not quite sure of where he should be at all times on the football field but when he gets it together it's going to be a great football team chuck knox the headband for seattle you can see what he has done over his entire career 10 playoff teams he is coach marion campbell on the other hand has had a career of rebuilding teams two stints here in atlanta and this is his second time through here down in georgia the seahawks have won the toss they have elected to receive and that means that greg davis will go out there to kick it off for the falcons and he'll be kicking deep to either randall morris there is davis or bobby joe edmonds morris at the top of your screen edmond's doing his stretches down at the bottom this kickoff is sponsored by budweiser the king of beers falcons coming in at one and three the seahawks two and two davis who replaced mick luckhurst allows the crowd to get into it we're underway in atlanta this is edmunds at the two he comes across the 20 before he is dropped down there first charles dimri for the falcons number 22 as stauffer leads the team onto the field offensively he'll have the veteran kurt warner john l williams banged up a cracked rib the great steve largent and ray butler at the wide out spots and his big offensive line mattis bailey bush millard and wilson who went to the university of georgia making his return home first play of his career as a starting quarterback for kelly stafford he hands it off to warner and he finds the running room extremely stingy over that left side mike gann number 76 was up there first he plays up front with casius and brian casillas and rick ryan first round draft picks and then linebacking core led by bruce he's a first round pick brady tuggle and joelle williams the veteran the secondary has given up some yardage passing butler case moore and clark robert moore number 34 and he got some help from john ratey the linebacker number 59. not much surprise in the opening moments take a look at andre bruce a fine linebacker for the falcons number 93 runs right past the ball carrier he was more intent on warding off his blockers than he is on exactly where the ball is again a young guy feeling his way not quite sure of his assignments three wide receivers now for the seahawks on third and eighth argent jumped on the far side stauffer is going deep for butler so his first pass is incomplete and butler pulls up lane he was stepped for step with bobby butler and looks like they tangled legs jerry looks like he might get that infield there somewhere here we see him number 83 closest to us coming down the field and right at the end oh he gets rolled on rolled on just a little bit on the ankle steve largent was offsides on that play which is a little bit of a surprise the first two plays were not a surprise warner left warner right the penalty was declined and the falcons will have to punch what does that tell you when a veteran like margin jumps the count with a rookie that's interesting you certainly wouldn't expect steve largent to be excited or nervous it's just the rhythm and maybe they're going to have a little trouble getting used to the rhythm they've been with dave craig for so many years and you can almost anticipate dave's hot hut you know when it's coming and you know when to go and you always want a little jump especially a guy in his 13th season who is looking for a little edge on those cornerbacks and those dbs so just a little problem with the rhythm right now of course craig going down with that shoulder separation in the third game at san diego against san diego he is expected to be lost for four to six weeks we're going to try to get a closer look at what happened to ray butler as he went downfield it looked like bobby butler stepped on his foot first and then rolled on him take a look at him right here just on the coming into your screen right here closest to us number 83 bobby butler covering right there he does kevin you're absolutely right steps on him and then rolls on him butler is up now and he's walking off under his own power good to see that nine-year veteran from southern cav chuck knox and his staff wanted to get stauffer off to a very good start for his confidence a little bit surprising jerry that he threw deep with his first pass oh yeah it wasn't surprising that we saw warner in the line a couple times but that deeper pass but on the other hand you know you know marion campbell the falcon coach is sitting here what's the kid going to do he's going to throw square outs he's going to throw screens he's going to throw something underneath some flares to the back and the other coach says hey let's cross them up let's throw it deep air it out the first shot so you know the strategy will unfold as we go along you saw reuben rodriguez dropping back to punt blue barnes is deep for the falcons rodriguez averaging nearly 45 yards a kick and he hangs this one very high oh he drives him deep inside his 30. nowhere to go for barnes and he in fact loses a couple of yards on the return ml johnson number 52 was there first and now the falcons back up quarterback steve dills will lead his offense out there after a 49-yard punt from rodriguez settle and primus are not the regular running backs they are placing and playing in the place of the injured gerald riggs as well as sylvester stamps bailey and dixon are out there wiz and hunt playing because higdon the tight end is hurt they're really banged up ken dukes rattle off the great bill fralick houston hoover a rookie making his first start and he's going up against a good one in jacob green first down pass nearly intercepted but now caught and they get it across the 30. primus was there to snare it but it looked as though bruce schultz nearly had himself an interception steve dill is a veteran quarterback he's been in the business about 10 years seemed very confident very relaxed this week getting ready for the game green nation brian up front that linebacking core is active brian balsworth gets all the publicity tony woods may be the best player melvin jenkins a surprise starter in place of terry taylor on second and seven they run it over the right side with primus he gets perhaps a couple paul moyer number 21 out of the secondary along with bosworth number 55. there to greet him first that'll bring up a third and four for the falcons their first possession bill's a very intelligent quarterback out of stanford and a veteran he won't get rattled down there very easily but he is a short quarterback just standing 5 10. on third down he hits primus but he can't hold it vernon dean was over there on the coverage for the seahawks and primus will have to take that drop to the bench and the falcons will have to punt it away and that really hurts quarterback in there a little uncertain a little shaky rick donnelly led the nfl in punting last year his first of the day nearly got it blocked but he gets it off edmond signaling for a fair catch and he does so at about his own 27-yard line so that is where seattle will put it in play first down we'll retire to fulton county stadium more nfl football coming your way in a moment we're back live in atlanta kevin slaten along with jerry cramer each team has traded punts here in the first quarter we're scoreless the falcons and the seahawks both looking to rebound from difficult losses a week ago and may be looking not to lose the game early kevin not make any mistakes don't give anything away just be careful let's be cautious from the viewpoint of seattle going with that rookie quarterback kelly stauffer he runs john l williams straight up the gut this time joelle williams number 54 for the falcons is there the outside linebacker the veteran to bring him down john l playing with a very painful rib fracture jerry those things hurt boy i tell you i've been asked a lot if the kids today are as tough as they were when i played i'm telling you it takes a tough kid to play with a fractured rib that is painful and he picked up four yards that time brian blades number 89 in a wide receiver for the seahawks the bottom of your screen replacing ray butler who was injured on last series kurt warner no room around the side rick bryan number 77 chasing him down the falcons number one pick in the 84 draft just excellent pursuit by uh rick bryan and that whole defensive line watch the move here because see that cathedral's tried to string it out and you see john ray d coming across there but bryant makes the tackle and we've got a lot of pursuit by the whole defensive club six defensive backs in there now for the falcons on a third and five they run it underneath with williams he makes a nice move and is able to get close to the first down marcus cotton number 51 along with greg brown number 98 in there to get him and he is a little bit short and thus they'll have to put it away cotton there you see him playing with a sprained ankle that hampered him and kept him out of the lineup last week they're going to measure it now so they're not so sure that he's short we didn't expect to see much of marcus cotton today maybe only on pure passing situations see very little of him with that bad ankle and i mean they're that short so the punting team will return for seattle two possessions and not a first down yet that's not the kind of thing that stuffer needs to build his confidence certainly not need to get a first down need to move that ball a little bit complete a couple of those short passes get a rhythm going and some movement going rodriguez nailed his last one you see 49 yards and hang time was excellent lou barnes is deep he gets another dandy barnes that is 19. dances his way to the 26th before he is brought down the first man there for the seahawks with spagnola the tight end number 88 a 44-yard punt tommy agee also down there to bring him down there's a flag down way back at the original line of finally scrimmage first down because of the seven yard return they declined the penalty we'll return to atlanta for more nfl football back live in atlanta kevin slaton and jerry kramer marion campbell on your left chuck knox on the right 35 years in the nfl for marion campbell trying to rebuild this falcon organization and chuck knox on the other hand has known nothing but success ten times in the playoffs coach of the year four times these two teams doing battle here with the first quarter nearly six minutes old on first down the falcons straight up the middle of john settle some of the other scores from around the league the oilers out in front of the eagles and pittsburgh leading cleveland those are early scores checking the ticker giants with a field goal over washington and they lead early on steve dills he's been there before he told me in practice the other day he really wasn't surprised to be thrust into his starting role so early with as many injuries as they've been around plenty of time now he has to dance out of there and throws it away intended for john settle and melvin jenkins let him know that he's there normally a sign of good coverage when you have a quarterback take that much time comes two or three times and finally has to throw it away take a look at the jacob green 79 copier screen working against houston huber the young rookie houston did a fair job stand with him stand in his face whoa and gives him just a little pat there at the end jesse hester number 89 and at one wide receiver spot to the top of your screen for the falcons third and seven bills again with a lot of times the defender hester is in seattle territory inside the 40. he's still on his feet out of bounds inside the 30-yard line jesse hester new to the falcons lets everyone in atlanta get introduced to him in a big way good protection steve dills has plenty of time and hester makes a great move the defensive back takes a shot here and falls down and hester has wide open country ahead of him gets a block downfield takes it up the sideline down to about the 30 yard line nice game oh moyer was back there to stop him they'll spot it at the 30. he's a game breaker hester is this is settled he gets around the corner near first down yardage up near the 20. eugene robinson number 41 the free safety stopped in there it looked as though settle really kind of just lost his own balance falcons with the most impressive offensive drive of the day to this point john cell doesn't always look pretty but he's a producer every time he gets the ball he gets yards coach marion campbell marion also said he has never let us down and he ripped off a 62-yard run earlier in the season against detroit that is the longest in the nfl this year bills flips it outside the primus trying to run away from one he does but wyman number 92 was able to get a hand on it the success of settle running the ball jerry allowing dills to be able to throw on first down situation makes a tremendous difference if you have more than one weapon in your attack the defensive line has just got to honor that run and cannot be off on you it makes a tremendous difference two tight ends in the game now for the falcons as they send in gary wilkins number 80 to replace floyd dixon second and seven bills play action rolls it back the other way to number wilkins the second year linebacker out of pit he's the number one draft pick screen to the tight end wilkins awfully close to being a great play hills goes back looks right looks right looks right got braleek out in front blocking for him throws it over to wilkins bobbles the ball a little bit and that gives the defensive team just enough time to play with just a little off timing wilkins checks out hester number 89 in along with michael haynes number 81 to give the falcons four wide receivers on a third and nine play from the 18. they run the delay to settle bosworth has him and brings him down as he gets inside the 15. they said randy cross to the 49ers said bossworth for sue's better than any linebacker in the league but you can run at him good block up front by the rookie houston the hoover the houston the mover hoover i guess that crowd boo was uh in response to boz's name on the pa system greg widely loved greg davis who learned how to place kit from his mother and he nails that one he is six of seven on the year and that puts the falcons on the board first they take the three to nothing lead with 121 left first quarter will return to atlanta for more nfl football after this back live in atlanta kevin slaten along with jerry kramer scoreboard clock malfunction you see 620 remaining in the first quarter instead of the 121 that we gave you when we went to the commercial break falcons on the board first thanks to the 32-yard field goal from greg davis and he will tee it up and kick off to the seahawks edmonds and morris are deep and that's going to be bobby joe edmonds at the goal line he's a slashing type of return man who gets thrilled by wilkins the tight end who made that catch and we were talking with jack faulconer the scout for the rams who said wilkins is a heck of a special teams guy take a look at the young rookie houston huber number 69 blocking an all-pro jacob green on that last long pass play down the sideline stays in front of him moves his feet well keeps him away from the quarterback and generally has been doing a fine job there's a houston taking a sip of juice on the sidelines right in the middle of your screen and a well-deserved rest you like to see those young guys perform well at that position don't you here i do let's go for a first down pass under pressure he does well to just get rid of it rick ryan and mike gand were both in there and it didn't fool rick ryan at all normally the only recognition the offensive line gets in a situation like this is when the quarterback gets rushed you can see rick bryan putting a lot of heat on kelly stopper it's nice to pick out a young man who you know has got to be nervous going up against an all-pro like jacob green doing a good job and say hey doing fine second and ten for stopper who has yet to complete a pass in his first start he'll try it again has time guns at complete to mike tyse the tight end he's hauled down short of the first down john ratey number 59 the linebacker was there along with robert moore number 34 the strong safety you know the seattle offense generated 29 yards rushing last week they had some problems with the quarterback but they certainly had problems with their overall running game and been practically every phase of their football game so while we need a performance from the quarterback we also need a performance from everyone else on that football team third and one stuffer's offense has not picked up a first down yet warner in trouble and i don't think they had it they stopped him for a loss everybody was in there helping out jessie tunnell number 58 the second year player out of valdosta state was the first to get him you like jesse tuggle don't you i like jesse tuggle a free agent from valdosta state a lot of heart a lot of courage watch this defensive surge the offensive line is getting beat off the ball now this is the you know a play that the seattle seahawks should make they should make short yardage first down play nothing to do with the quarterback it's the people up front in the running back that should make that play hmm [Music] hello what's this awful close to taking his head off right here gets away from the first tackler but rufus is waiting for him in the wings and finally takes him down about the 45-yard line and we'll be back in just a moment we're back live in atlanta 444 remaining first quarter the falcons on the strength of a greg davis 32-yard field goal lead it three to nothing steve dills in command for the falcons he'll throw it on first down guns it deep intercepted by jenkins he's at the 50. jenkins in atlanta territory fumbles the ball and i think the falcons have it recovered it for atlanta number 45 after due to technical difficulties the sound portion of your program is temporarily impaired it is not your set please bear with us we're working on it been a great play steve dills had plenty of time went back was very cool very calm in the pocket just simply throws the ball over the receiver's head can't get to it steve jenkins is waiting there can get to it melvin jenkins excuse me brings it back is tackled fumbled whizz and hunt makes a recovery atlanta's ball so the falcons have an unorthodox first down bailey was open jerry he was wide open he really they reviewed the replay to see if he had fumbled but it seemed pretty obvious that the ball popped loose so it's a first down for the falcons at the 43 yard line and now they're resetting the clock they're adding six seconds on you so all kinds of technical malfunctions with the clock here this afternoon and when it all gets started the falcons will have it now at the 43-yard line first down with 4 25 left in the first quarter they run it with primus over the right side big hole he breaks loose at the 45 inside the 45 down to the 41. melvin jenkins number 24 and paul moyer number 21 had to run him down but that rookie 9th round pick from ucla looked awfully good i like this young back he's a rookie 5 96 pounds got good speed blocks well and runs the ball well i like him i think he's going to be a fine addition to this football team played in the shadow of gaston green and ucla first down at the 41 this time it's settled inside the 35 down to the 34 bruce schultz number 58 brought him down the scoreboard as we check the ticker the bears in front of buffalo big game there the unbeaten bills you see the other scores giants have added a touchdown to their lead over washington and green bay has a lead over tampa bay in the battle of the bays you watch those green bay scores like a hawk second and four for the falcons fuels will throw it he's getting plenty of time heading for bailey in the end zone touchdown stacy bailey made a headlong completely outstretched dive and it appeared he had it the official slipped down and didn't have a real good angle at it he just couldn't hold on to the ball and hit the turf watch stacey bailey number 82 going down the field cuts into the inside and just simply outruns the two safeties and almost is able to hang on to it in the end zone stacy caught four balls last week for 169 yards so it's an obvious deep threat that himself a 36 game streak 36 consecutive games with at least one catch it stands [Music] making good use of that replay stacy bailey's 36 game streaks really makes you appreciate steve largent's 156 game streak incredible he has not caught one today so we'll keep an eye on it for you falcons are one of three in third down situations this the third and four bills rifles it incomplete for dixon went off his hands put a little behind him tell you that falcon offense is looking pretty good running the ball well right they're running it left they've got plenty of time to throw the ball a little high a little off a little behind protection is good you know they're looking pretty good offensively zeroes into those receivers they're wide open this will be a 52-yard attempt for greg davis his longest is 47 yards from lakeside high school here in atlanta partially tipped rolls around at the 12-yard line and that's where play will stop jamie duke says hey pick up that ball and head to the end zone maybe the only chance i ever get he's wearing a familiar number isn't he 64. he's wearing a great number 254 remaining in his first period of action so the falcons maintained their three-point lead but don't add on to it as we try to see who blocked it can't see that number but right in the middle of that 92 right in the middle maybe 72 joe nash believe that's who it was right in the middle of the seattle defensive line first down for the seahawks they've yet to establish themselves offensively and pick up a first down stuffer to throw on first down he's going deep blaze is there who's going to come away with it bobby butler bobby butler had that ball but the tie goes to the receiver when they come down with it take a look at him coming right at you now kelly stopper goes back and ryan blades is running a deep post bobby butler goes up catches the ball but now we get in a wrestling match for it simultaneous possession as they hit the hit the ground and the ball goes to the offensive receiver and bobby butler can't believe it brian blades just a rookie out of miami nice to see a rookie with that kind of intensity and desire for the ball jerry he thinks steve largent is the greatest thing that ever happened he walks like steve largent he runs his patterns like steve largent i suppose he even eats breakfast like steve largest and he took the ball away from butler who still hasn't gotten up just like largent would have done 53 yards on the play here it is again from the end zone hustling over the baller butler clearly has the ball as a start down and blades gains possession of it in the tumble and comes up with the catch after they tend to butler it'll be first down seattle from the atlanta 13-yard line bobby butler a former first round pick out of florida state is not going to continue at least for now really big play for seattle the kind of thing that might get them going they needed a spark they needed something to happen in a big long past reception like this that you take away from the defense might just pick everybody up scoffer now two of four for 62 yards as chuck knox looks on a rookie combination hooking up there scoffer to blaze blaze is in there because ray butler injured himself earlier and spagnola double tight end situation for seattle the toss to warner's inside the 10. headed for the end zone touchdown atlanta can't believe it they're arguing with the officials down on the goal line but he gave the signal seattle touchdown so warner goes in from 13 yards out a fine block here by the offensive line mike wilson number 75 comes up in there and springs warner loose and he gets in the very corner of the end zone to score the touchdown for warner his fourth touchdown rushing this year and chuck knox's team which had really been struggling just one touchdown in the last 10 quarters happy to get one here with 204 left in this first quarter norm johnson on attack on the conversion he does so the seahawks grab a 7-3 lead officially they'll call it a 12-yard touchdown run for warner and the big play passing combination of stauffer to brian blades sets up this touchdown run another look from ground level you see that offensive line coming out mike wilson there in 75 getting a block on the corner and kurt warner just runs it into the end zone you know nice blocking up front well designed well executed play sixth season in seattle for chuck knox the only coach in history that's taken three different teams into the playoffs here's the big passing play really a big play as we indicated earlier this may have been the boost to start the beginning of a seattle offensive explosion now we'll wait and see how it happens but boy just one play like that can often spark your offense and really get you going if you're a rookie quarterback making your first start jerry like stauffer is what does that do for your confidence to see your receiver go for the ball oh wonderful just wonderful johnson will tee it up and that first touchdown is an awful big move also you know [Music] michael haynes number 81 deep along with gene lange and this is haynes he gets close to the 20 before he is brought down first guy down there laid a hand on rufus porter again down there on special teams number 97. a reminder to our viewers that we'll be selecting the budweiser most valuable player for today's game at the conclusion of the game so stay tuned and jerry and i will be selecting that recipient for you first down for steve dills in the atlanta offense they go with a first man through settle breaking tackles gets close to the 25 yard line jerry the atlanta coaching staff the other day when we were talking them in practice very worried about how thin they were at the running back spot but while worried about their depth they weren't at all worried about these two guys even though they're playing in substitution roles yes losing gerald riggs the three-time pro bowler you would think would have a great impact on your offense but john settles has stepped in and played very well for him in the past second and four after that six yard pick here comes settle again to the left side running hard he has a first down up at the 34 yard line before he is taken down by alonso mitz the third year player out of florida number 61. mitch the kind of guy that ralph andrews the seattle secondary coach was telling us yesterday he'll run right over you get a lot of energy smith likes to refer to himself as the warrior the warriors playing better the warrior made kind of that a guy you guys went against two years ago the hammer right total difference under a minute left first down for the falcons that one's deflected at the line intended for primus jeff bryant number 77 got a hand on it talking with jack faulkner the rams advanced scout before the game he said dills will get a lot of passes tipped as we check the ticker bills of course coming out of the rams organization chicago still leading buffalo nothing much changing in those games the packers holding on to their field goal lead in the second quarter our game second and ten seven three seattle over atlanta 39 seconds left in the quarter they run it again with settle he's up near the 40. short of the first down got to be averaging six seven yards of carry on that offensive running game they are impressive they came into the game averaging 5.3 per rush the falcons did and that's the best in the league now this is a team that was dead last in total offense a year ago also a team that against san francisco rushed for 196 yards the seahawks manage 29. so they have got a great rushing team see if they get this play off and they do and they try the running play settle first down up to midfield still on his feet paul moyer number 21 out of the secondary had a wrestling match on his hands and the crowd applauding the moves and settled a second-year player out of tiny appalachian state the end of the quarter 7-3 seattle leaves we'll be back with more number 60 was an unusual number for a quarterback but this player won with unusual regularity in 10 seasons as quarterback of the cleveland browns he led his team to 10 championship games who was this the winningest quarterback ever he may have been football's most skilled passer live in atlanta kevin slaton and jerry kramer the look at the numbers from the first quarter falcons able to run the ball jerry and everybody thought they would be able to do that against seattle exactly right up the middle as we open the second quarter 7-3 seattle leading here goes set up he stared eye to eye with bosworth and got away from him moyer came up to make the stop number 21 but the boss left grab an air that time gave boss a little uh hip move and a little straight arm take a look at the boss here as he moves in to fill a hole john settles comes up gives him a little move here puts a straight arm out and leaves the boss gasping and grasping i've got to ask you a little later how vince lombardi would have handled bosworth second and nine after a pickup of one they'll continue to run settle this time this time the buzz maligned after that last play had his ears burning and it came right through to make the first hit boz has the headset and heard him talking about him here's another iso on him as you watch him move up into the line reads well reacts well makes a tackle behind the line of scrimmage this time excellent play he needs to get fired up a little bit too some of the seattle coaches saying yesterday as good a player as he is he doesn't have that nasty streak of a butkus or a nichky hills to the air on third down down the middle knocked away good job defensively from vernon dean number 31. he just stayed right on jesse hester and made sure that he didn't come away with it take a look at from a defensive point of view [Music] hester on that one jerry edmonds has dropped deep for this punt now here they come the rush a nice high end over end job not very deep though edmonds from his 18. gets to the 24 before wilkins knocks him back gary wilkins number 80 an expert at special teams we'll return to fulton county stadium for more in a moment today's game is brought to you by dodge cars and trucks on the street or off the road it's the new spirit of dodge by city corp because americans want to succeed not just survive and by united airlines airline of the 1988 u.s olympic team [Music] rookie kelly stuffer making his first nfl start for the seattle seahawks has his team out in front of atlanta 7-3 kevin slaton along with jerry kramer 13 35 remaining in the first half and they operate from their own 24 yard line first down warner the right side ducks under a tackler gets it up near the 28-yard line before he is brought down jesse tuggle number 58 the linebacker there to make the stop if you joined us late as you look at warner he'll hold all of the seattle rushing records before he's done it was a 53-yard stoffer to brian blades pass that set up warner's 12-yard touchdown run at that point seattle had not mustered as much as a single first down but the big play ability of stauffer came to the front second down warner again eludes one attacker but not rick bryan number 77 who grabbed him and held on and then got help from robert moore number 34. seattle getting their running game going a little bit now obviously stopper cannot sit back there and throw the ball all day long we've got to compliment his abilities with the running ability and get a total offensive picture moving third in one the type of situation you guys used to love at green bay you play action fake and then bart start a boy dollar or mcgee absolutely right seattle normally likes to go up the middle in this play big john l williams blocking for warner but it looks like we're going to do something a little different everybody in tight double tied in this is john l going outside to get the first down up to the 40 almost before jesse tuggle rides him down john ratey also over there tuggles an interesting story jerry how they picked him up coach marion campbell was telling us that he was down at the georgia hall of fame dinner a while back and jesse's coach came up to him and said hey you got to give this kid a try out coach campbell listened to him signed him as a free agent number 58 there right in the middle of your screen jesse tuggle from valdosta state a free agent who is playing some fine football and can't be moved out right now he's earned the starting job with a performance like that a week ago against the cowboy stuffer on first down to the air guns it for largent the streak is kept alive he's inside the falcon 35 157 consecutive games now for that man with a catch and don't you like to see a streak stay alive but don't you like to see it stay alive with about a 25 35 yard reception instead of a little dinky flare pass or something like that watch kelly stopper go back in the pocket steve largest got a lot of room he made must have put quite a move on the run on the defensive pack there scott case to get that open imagine an eighth-round draft choice landed the nfl's all-time leading receiver in terms of number of catches and in total yardage received soon to be in touchdown receptions here's warner on the delay a burst of speed up the middle gets him down near the 20-yard line before he's wrapped up and brought down joelle williams number 54 the veteran linebacker got warner but the throwing of stauffer to large and loosening it up a little bit for the running game to get going now seattle office woke up with that long play in the first quarter and they're continuing to run the ball well throw the ball and now look like the contender looks like a potential championship team their quarterback coach ken meyer told us yesterday that there's not an ounce of nervousness in kelly staufford and he hasn't shown any jitters yet warner again they're getting a steady diet of kurt warner this time they're ready for near the original line of scrimmage scott case ran him out of bounds number 25. we checked the scores the bears adding to their lead over buffaloes houston still leading over philadelphia and the steelers boy cleveland just in a lot of trouble in their quarterback situation those scores remaining the same into the second quarter our score 7-3 the seahawks over the falcons stauffer is hit 3-5 for 93 yards margin had to wait till nearly the end of the game last week to keep the streak alive but he continues it early today fake to warner down the middle for tice inside the five down to the one-yard line stuffer looks like a cool-handed veteran out there jerry isn't that nice the way that works when your running game gets going you fake that play-action pass into the line freezes the deep watch this takes the hand off here warner steps back good offensive blocking up front mike tyce comes across the middle bingo right down to the one yard line 19 yards on that play and the seahawks threatening to score again williams warner up ended as he goes airborne and i don't think he got in there rick bryan knifed through there and got the penetration big number 77 out of oklahoma that's the play we expected in the middle of field a short time ago on short yardage they like to go right straight ahead with big john williams blocking and warner following now watch warner try to go over the top boy he gets hit by joel but rick bryant making a big play there in the middle and the whole atlanta defensive team they turned them every way but loose we mentioned one touchdown in the last 10 quarters before warner scored in the first quarter here today here comes john l williams a race to the corner he gets there first and it's a seahawk touchdown a nice block by kurt warner on that play play we saw earlier for a first down warner has to block for john l williams on that play and did a good job there first touchdown rushing of the season for john l watch john l maybe you'll see kurt earlier you can't see the block but he just races the defensive man to the end zone to the sideline and gets in for the score norm johnson on to tack on the conversion so stauffer like a veteran drives his team down to their second touchdown in as many possessions the last two times they've had the ball they've scored johnson slides it to the right but got it through there 14-3 seattle here's another look at that block by warner this is the reason the play goes warner is able to take and seal to the inside seal the defensive back and prevent any outside pursuit but john l can go around the corner to the outside 8 33 left in the half [Music] foreign [Music] so [Music] for a half century and more business travelers have depended on united airlines to get them to their most important meetings united dedicated to giving you the service you deserve come fly the friendly skies [Music] on your path to success reach for america's strongest financial helping hand city corp and citibank more american families own their own homes and attend college with our help and more get what they want with mastercard and visa cards from citibank than from any other company we also serve millions of customers in every major marketplace worldwide citycorp because americans want to succeed not just survive back live fulton county stadium kevin slayton with the former packer jerry cramer 14-3 seattle johnson steps into it for the seahawks michael haynes three yards deep's gonna bring it out in trouble down he goes brian blades the rookie got him let's go to new york an nfl live for an update gail sirens in chicago the bears go up 14-3 over buffalo jim mcmahon splits the seam hits number 84 ron morris 63 yards for the touchdown 14-3 chicago in the second now back to atlanta and kevin and jerry all right gail thank you very much first down pass from steve dills he has his man out in the flat gene lang making his first appearance of the ball game david wyman over there number 92. you know a touchdown pass that gail mentioned in chicago ron morris may make some people forget willie gold he's had a great season so far with the barrett hasn't he really has and from some of the comments back and forth i think some of the guys would like them second and five after they got five they'll run it with settle busts outside there is jenkins who one wrestles under the turf on that infield portion of the field you know it's interesting jerry a guy like settle kept in the shadows not many people know of him but yet everybody we talked to from the coaching staffs of both teams to the advanced scouts from the rams all they keep saying is this guy can play football this guy can play and what a nice move on that last play kevin that little dip to the outside things were clogged up in the middle a couple little jab steps and dipped outside and uh what a nice move gerald riggs watching from the sidelines partial ligament tear had a hip injury earlier in the season that's not where he likes to watch from now the play action dills has to hurry down he goes i don't know how he held that ball jeff bryant number 77 with his first sack of the season making his first start after missing training camp jeff bryant um has been holding out and a little late reporting the training camp and he's not late getting to steve dills right here beats the left tackle and gets his first sack of the season defensive lineman love that clean shot don't they it doesn't happen very often you struggle you struggle you struggle and so many things seem to get in the way so many people it doesn't happen very often loss of five second and 15. bills flips it outside nice catch out there by settle eludes two tacklers now is dropped as he crossed the 22 vernon dean number 31 over there to make sure that settle couldn't continue both replacement quarterbacks if that's the right word uh handling themselves pretty well so far neither has made the kind of mistake you might expect from a backup quarterback now dale's uh comfortable uh collected calm setting back there doing a pretty good job see a guy walking through the stands with a boss haircut and a sooner jersey number 44. he's number 55 now and he's out there on the field dills down the middle deep prediction overthrew moyer was back there covering along with patrick hunter number 23. if anything dills has been strong armed he's overthrown two receivers watch what happens at the end of that play if you ever think about playing quarterback he gets in the middle of his own there and three three people surround him and hello mr dixon really didn't want that ball that badly there were a lot of other a lot of traffic in the area dills took a shot at the other end and now rick donnelly on to punt it away bobby joe edmonds dropping deep for seattle he's back inside his 30 there's 40 i should say not a very good kick one off his inside of his foot and seattle has excellent field position when we return to fulton county stadium in atlanta that's our story in atlanta kevin slaton along with jerry cramer 5 51 left in the half kelly stuffer has been poised cool and has led his team to touchdowns in each of their last two possessions and they start this time at to have for the young midfield cut the field in half john l williams who scored their last touchdown twist inside the 45 jesse tuggle over there number 58 the first to greet him and then he got some help from john brady number 59. that's really what you like to have for a young quarterback second and five they love that next week on nbc we continue our nfl season an exciting double-header 12 30 eastern nfl live then the afc's top rated passers square off the jets and the red hot bengals followed by a battle by the bay when the broncos take on the 49ers plus regional action check your local listings for the games and times in your area second down and four now for seattle stover nearly lost the snap flags go down ron mattis the left tackle may have jumped early [Music] that's who it was gordon mccarter letting us know so now we got everything working the officials mike is working and we can hear everybody clearly everything but the rhythm on the seattle seahawk offense still a little out of sync still getting used to the young quarterback and i'm sure his excitement level is up a couple notches for the ball game and his juices are flowing a little bit first penalty of the game makes it second and nine for kelly stauffer and the seahawks kill throw forth outside he goes to warner who is hit and dropped immediately by andre bruce first time he's made a tackle today jerry not making as we said at the top of the show the kind of impact that people might have thought he would make i believe that this young man is going to be a great ball player we're not we're talking about andre bruce number 93. this is a kid that high jumped 6-7 in high school long jump 23-4 and stuff the basketball he's six five two forty five runs to forty and four five he has got physical equipment that won't end you could use used to do that when you're in green bay sure with a strong wind behind me i lied marcus cotton number 51 the other rookie linebacker marcus said this team doesn't have enough oomph in it so i'm going to put it in there and he did so that time and this is the other rookie linebacker that kind of gets bruce going he is a little better on the pass rush andre has not had that much time in the rest you can see marcus go around the offensive tackle and make the sack and tell everybody about it he's a fine young ballpair again kind of the future of atlanta his first sack in the nfl reuben rodriguez on to punt it away this guy hits rainbows another fine high pump fair catch down near the 16 yard line rodriguez got dropped this is a new rule in the nfl you know you can block a guy into the punter that punter is laying there rising on the grass and the ref looked at him and said not today we're gonna look at it again a 38-yard pump but watch tim gordon number 41 he goes into him right from the right of your screen and he is blocked into the punter but quite a uh quite a blow there received by rodriguez since watching rolling around on the game on the ground afterwards i'll tell you they're taking a few shots at the punters it's a dangerous play when he's exposed here's primus he runs into the bars as he gets across the 20 jeff bryant number 77 also there falcons able to move the ball jerry on the ground but when dills has had open receivers he has tended to overthrow them so far been fairly sharp with the short passes kevin but the longer passes he has overthrown he has not been shot sharp on these longer paths and i'd stay with that running game for a while i believe if i was him second down and six oh the youngster jamie dukes third year player out of florida state he was ready to go full start 64 offense five yard penalty still second down so we hadn't had a penalty in the game until mattis moved for seattle on the last possession and now dukes answers with a five-yarder of his own a young young football team you're going to see those mistakes you're going to see those errors those kinds of things from a young football team as we look at the ticker cleveland going ahead of pittsburgh in new england ahead of indianapolis washington closing the gap on the skins deals to the air in trouble he guns it oh and a sliding catch on the far side is well short of the first down wizzenhunt made the grab boy the rush was coming from joan ash joan nash the nose tackle beats the center wayne radloff right away and puts a lot of pressure on steve dills and he is running and throwing and moving and the ball is low and not that well thrown again but pressure that time third down and nine for the falcons official timeout on the field a two-minute warning here 14-3 seattle leads the falcons we're coming back to atlanta the winners when the game was on the line i just dearly just loved it i just love the big game terry bradshaw's romance with victory has been well documented with four super bowl victories bradshaw created a reputation as the best quarterback in the biggest games perhaps the best athlete ever to play the position terry bradshaw's talents and perseverance combined to make him a winner kevin slaten along with jerry kramer two minutes left in the first half from atlanta the seahawks trailed three nothing but then kelly stauffer got his offense going and they drove to two consecutive touchdowns and they lead at 14-3 atlanta faces third and nine from their own 19. dills is hit on seven of 15 in the starting role today down the middle he goes for dixon he's got it this time and drops it and you can see how upset steve dills is as they walk off the field didn't see that i didn't see if the defensive man might have got a hand on that it looked like dixon should have caught the ball it was in it is midsection bobby joe edmonds drops back for the seahawks ball was a little bit late getting there but he still was there and plenty of time to grab rick donnelly to put it away needs a good one and he gets a good one sends edmonds all the way back inside his 30 where he calls for a fair catch 147 left in the half we're coming back to atlanta in a moment nixon stopper on first down to kurt warner makes a nice move he's up to the 40. has a first down out near the 45-yard line brett clark number 28 john ratey number 59 combined to make the stop the kind of safe pass that's good for a rookie quarterback in the two-minute drill jerry exactly right it'd be interesting to see what we do in the last two minutes here brian millard out front there was a nice block for kurt warner and got a minute and a half to go let's move it down the field let's see what we can do 16-yard pickup that time a minute 10 and it's ticking away they run the draw to john l williams a little bit surprising gets across the 45. tuggle was there number 58 and seattle shots the clock with a timeout don't know that i would have a draw play in the two-minute drill on a regular basis it's not conducive to being able to use the clock is it well thus far we talked about how important it was for both of these teams to win this game at the top of the show and how important for that man kelly stoffer to make a good impression to the guy behind him chuck knox i would say so far jerry he's passed the test i would have to agree with that it looked pretty good and the rest of the falcon football or the excuse me the seahawk football team is playing pretty good football too that offensive line up front is blocking well warner and john l williams are running the ball everybody is playing better football today they got off to a cold start didn't pick up a first down in their first three possessions but then they have scored touchdowns each of their two next possessions so once stuffer got it going with that 53-yard pass to brian blades the rest of the offensive unit took off the running game opened up seemed to catch fire after that didn't it four wide receivers on second and eight out of the shotgun three-man rush outside for john l williams heads to the sidelines gets maybe a yard bobby butler who's returned to the atlanta lineup number 23 came up from the secondary to knock him out of bounds this is the conservative two-minute drill hasn't thrown it down field yet well that's all right let him get let him get the feel of it you know he's he's been throwing the ball well been throwing it downfield well let him go for it now you see in that last shot his nose looks like it's healing it was not a play last week before he threw that touchdown that was really something got his nose broken on the play by kurt warner's teammate he fell down stalford hit got back up had the presence of mind to fire a 46 yard touchdown to ray butler in trouble bruce is there oh he likes that sack his third of the season now you see a little excitement out of andre bruce and a little bit out of the crowd the crowd came alive and started chanting bruce bruce bruce i think they did at auburn when he was back there watch it coming in from the left side of your screen there he just overpowers the tackle and makes a very impressive sack staff are very fortunate to hold on to the ball 6'5 245 runs a 40-yard dash in 4-5 his teammates call him draco after the russian boxer and then the rocky movies he is a very impressive physical specimen when he makes plays like that he looks like drago's power he combines it all though has the great speed the finesse the ability to elude blockers the seahawks report card we talked about stauffer passing the test warner has run well and probably the biggest play of the game so far for their offense was that pass play to blaze on the falcon side dills has overthrown open receivers jerry but they've been able to run the ball well 62 yards running for settle that's a fairly respectable first half but for the falcons it's come between the 20s rodriguez punt sailing high downfield oh a great hit and a loose ball no fair catch was signaled in seattle has it i believe it was melvin jenkins that did it all made the hit and then recovered the fumble boy it certainly looked like you should have called for a fair catch here he certainly didn't know where melvin jenkins was melvin was right on top of him gave him a shot caused the fumble got up and recovered jerry as you see that on the replay it appeared as though jenkins really didn't give lou barnes a fair shot at catching the ball he ran right through it if he wants to uh yeah that's true i don't if he wants to catch the ball i think you know you can ride but the same time the ball arrives but if he doesn't put his hand up for a fair catch doesn't hit him early before the ball gets there golden opportunity for seattle 35 seconds left from the 16th stauffer to the air into the end zone for large scott case was back there defending number 25 and a flag is down at the line of scrimmage usually we're holding his call an illegal chop block against mike wilson a 12-year veteran out of the university of georgia well that'll cost the seahawks steve largent was relatively open in the end zone that time little the penalty is unsportsmanlike conduct for an illegal chop block and that'll cost him 15. i kind of think mike wilson may have had a comment about that illegal top block and maybe what the referee could do with it but what he did with it was mark 15 off that's right and hurt the seahawks field chances with 30 seconds remaining in the head like that old story i think that call smells marked off he'll find out when he gets to the sidelines and meets up with chuck knows seven defensive backs in there for the falcons what do you suppose they're thinking stalker to the air oh nearly picked off by marcus cocky he would have been gone the other way i'm impressed by that rookie he was the second pick after bruce was taken in the first round didn't think we'd see much of marcus cotton today he's had a sprained ankle and we thought we might see him a little bit on passing situations but we have seen him quite a bit stopper is just going to throw a quick screen out to the right and you can see marcus cotton fighting off the block and just letting the ball go off the end of his fingertips pair of bookend linebackers taken by the falcons in the draft 25 seconds remaining scanty number 82 kane number 81 in their wide receiver for the seahawks as they go with four wide receivers stuffer into the end zone that's for scancy but he overthrew him robert moore was back there number 34 defending so seattle is going to face a third and 25. this would be a great momentum breaker for atlanta if they could hold the seahawks after that fumble on the punt maybe some of you are wondering what a chop block is watch number 75 mike wilson on the right side of your screen come in and chop the legs out from under the defensive end that is a chop block and that's illegal and a very dangerous one and it destroyed their position really they were in position to score a touchdown move them back 15 outs third and 25. they run it underneath with john l williams good job defensively from brett clark number 28 who smelled it charged up from the secondary to stop him well short of the first down seattle just trying to improve their field goal position for norm johnson john l williams playing with that cracked rib every time he carries the ball i wince you've played with those before i'm sure yes they have and and there really isn't a lot you can do for a cracked rib as far as deadening the pain it's something you just gotta play with 43-yard attempt he has it airborne plenty of distance and he's got it perfect so the fumble punt by lou barnes as the falcons punt return men continue to struggle they cut loose aubrey matthews earlier this week because he fumbled a punt or two cost him a ball game and then dropped that potential game-winning touchdown pass last week lou barnes the guy that got to replace him fumbles upon here and gives seattle a gift of three points they'll officially mark it as a 44-yard field goal and it's 17-3 with 10 seconds left in the half at the beginning of the show we said the atlanta falcons had 30 players who were 26 years old or younger and the type of play we're seeing here this afternoon is typical of a young team coach marion campbell watching on the sidelines discussing it with his assistants they're going to make some great plays like we've seen marcus cotton and andre bruce make and they're going to fumble a ball they're going to be offside they're going to be inconsistent that's exactly what's happening this afternoon michael haynes has dropped deep for the falcons as johnson gets set to kick off with 10 seconds remaining so seattle has scored 17 consecutive points and johnson really gets his foot into this one haynes decides to stay right there and they'll try it from their 20. perhaps time for the old hail mary the falcons used to work that real well when steve barkowski was here i think it's time for the one knee on the ground let's go in the locker room and talk it over they're down 14 and they can afford another mistake here we'll see what dills does when he comes out of the huddle he'll send bayley wide to the top of the screen and dixon wide to the bottom they'll just nicely straight up the middle with settle well that'll add to his rushing statistics he picks up 21 yards so he'll be over 80 yards rushing for the first half and they quickly call a timeout with two seconds remaining now we get down a little closer to the middle of the field and maybe we'll throw the hail mary i don't know how far dills can throw that ball he doesn't have the wrap on him is the arm strength doesn't have the strong arm that a chris miller has if you see him there out with that sprained ankle and as we talk about settle who has 82 yards rushing in this first half and how everybody likes him equally impressed is everyone with the young quarterback miller i tell you i'm impressed with chris miller we were talking yesterday and he told me about going to atlanta and shooting at 70 or to augusta and shooting a 75 on the course down there where they play the masters and that impresses me a lot of pro golfers in the tour would like to shoot a 75 down there very talented young man don't forget we'll be going to nfl live at halftime to catch you up to date on all the happenings around the nfl triple wide receivers to the bottom of the screen dills will throw it up there he guns it deep down the middle and it is intercepted nesby glasgow the veteran out of the university of washington formerly with the colts picks it off and that kills the falcons last gasp of the first half so they will go into the locker room trailing seattle 17-3 nfl live halftime activities will be coming up in a moment we'll be right back after these messages from your local station welcome to halftime len berman with paul mcguire as you see seattle bouncing back nicely from their san francisco debacle last week all the scores and highlights some interesting results so far chicago big over undefeated buffalo it is 24-3 as they approach halftime and walter payton watching from the sidelines the former bear loving what he sees from jim mcmahon he's having a big afternoon against the bills defense nobody's been able to do this yet this year but the bears have solved the riddle this is ron morris connecting with mcmahon 63 yards chicago took a 14-3 lead how's it going for jim kelly of buffalo well driving fires the perfect pass to the crossbar that's what you call a perfect post pattern paul mcguire that's where you run to the post you hit the post we did the feature at the beginning about the chicago bears number one on defense number one in rushing and offense they have a variety of things neil anderson said that jim kelly's having his problems the bills when they get inside the 20 cannot score they can't score against the bears and they are struggling today a wild one going on in philadelphia houston led 16-nothing the eagles have now come back to take the lead 17-16 as buddy ryan has had a certainly an up and down day for him particularly for his punter john telstra first quarter it is blocked by eugene seal of houston chris dishman of purdue with the touchdown but wait more to come telstra goes to punt once again in the first quarter and once again is blocked this time by eric fairs for a safety nine nothing it was 16 nothing before the game was seven minutes old but glanville's cheers would turn to groans as the eagles came back randall cunningham to greg garrity gorgeous play for the touchdown 17-16 garrity replaced mike quick who broke his leg he is out eight to nine weeks now indianapolis at new england the colts have just scored as they near halftime it is 7-7 dickerson's already near 100 yards pittsburgh leads cleveland 9-7 that game in the second quarter your game seattle over atlanta 17-3 at halftime like to show you one highlight from this game kurt warner as he is having a fine afternoon 12 yards touchdown fourth touchdown this year seattle took the 7-3 lead and of course steve largent has caught a pass in 157 straight games the giants in lawrence taylor back he has two sacks 17-9 over washington the battle of the bays green bay and tampa bay they are 10 10 as they near halftime more of our nfl live halftime activities coming up right after these words from your local stations back at halftime i'm gail sirens earlier on our pregame show we talked with dr robert boyd chief medical officer of our olympic team he spoke about the use of performance enhancing drugs by top flight athletes he estimated that as many as 50 percent of the players in the nfl use steroids and he suggested that the only way to curb drug use is to test players on 48 hours notice instead of the current policy of telling them well in advance when they'll be tested for some this kind of surprise testing raises questions of civil rights violations john westard of duke university law school is a specialist in sports law he is joining us now dr wood testing an nfl player on 48 hours notice violate his constitutional right gail a lot of the the public discussion that one hears in the newspapers about testing suggests that the common issue that runs throughout all testing is this question of a violation of civil rights i think it's really important to make clear and just as crystal clear as we can that in the context of the nfl the constitution does not come into play but the nfl is essentially a private employer and the whole issue in the nfl is one of labor relations and that is does the employer have the authority either from the collective bargaining agreement or from some other source to engage in testing so it's really not a question of civil rights it's really it's much more a question of what did the parties agree to at the bargaining table so they can in fact negotiate away their constitutional right as it were again they would not be negotiating away a constitutional right because the constitution doesn't come into play but it does indicate a really important uh point about what's going on in the nfl and that is that we're in a period now where collective bargaining has broken down so there there is a bit of a legal cloud that hangs over the nfl's testing program that cloud would be eliminated if we ever got to the point where again the union and the employer were able to find their common ground at the bargaining table if that happened we would then essentially have the situation we have in the nba where as far as i know nobody is raising any legal controversy about the enforceability of the nba the nba drug testing program what is the difference between testing say an nfl player versus an ncaa player and an olympian there's there really is a very significant difference your question about constitutional rights is directly applicable where ncaa athletes are involved in the case of olympic athletes obviously the the u.s constitution doesn't have any application uh the events uh involving ben johnson affected a canadian citizen who was running in seoul korea so we we shouldn't be so presumptuous as to assume that our constitution would apply the nfl again is entirely different it's not a question of international law it's not a question of the us constitution it's a question of what happened at the bargaining table and it's a really pretty good example again of the extent to which the employer the nfl owners really need the union and what they need is a testing program that the union has agreed to if that happens as we can expect it eventually will then any residual legal issues essentially will go by the board and and the testing program will be upheld very interesting and thank you for being with us thank you obviously steroids are a problem whether we're talking about the nfl or an amateur athlete and something has to be done about it because it poses a serious health risk it sure does and the question has to be how far will athletes go to try to enhance their performance will they endanger their own lives well dr robert voy of the us olympic committee told us a chilling tale i don't know whether you're aware but some years ago prior i think to the 84 games a study was done that on a group of athletes olympians asking them the question whether or not if they took a pill an anabolic steroid in particular that would mean a gold medal for them however having taken the pill they would die in five years from the result of the of the medication would they indeed take the pill over 50 percent responded that they would indeed take it uh that's that's the danger of these particular substances it's uh the drug is so pervasive and so capable of of putting on muscle uh and increasing strength that it's difficult to control that gives whole new meaning to winning isn't everything it's the only thing we'll be back with more of our nfl live halftime activities in just a minute back live at fulton county stadium we're at halftime where the seattle seahawks have scored 17 unanswered points and they hold a 17-3 lead over the atlanta falcons here at the half kevin slayton alongside jerry cramer and really there were two plays that got kelly stuffer's offense going in the first half they had had to punt each of their first three possessions they did not pick up a first down on any of those possessions and then an injury occurred to ray butler one of his wide receivers and the rookie brian blades out of miami came in to replace him and it was a big play between the two rookies that got him going jer it was a big play kevin and it seemed to get the whole seattle offensive team on fire we watch kelly stop or go back and heirs it out brian blades goes down the field you see bobby butler the defensive back where the falcons get first possession of the ball but in the ensuing struggle brian blades comes up with the ball and the possession that really started the offense rolling and it was 14-3 late in the half when seattle had to punt and lou barnes was back deep for the falcons bad news bad news should have called for a fair catch here didn't judge mr jenkins presence all that well jenkins hit him a good lick fumbled the ball and jenkins made the reception and another big play for the seahawks and that resulted in a 44-yard field goal from norm johnson to give them the 17-3 lead that they now enjoy so the seahawks taking advantage of the big play and the break and we'll be right back after these messages from the national football league [Music] back live fulton county stadium atlanta 17-3 seahawks at the half kevin slaton along with jerry kramer the tale of the tape from the first half and if you look at the rushing statistics for the falcons keep in mind that settle has 82 of those yards rushing they've averaged jerry 6.9 yards per rush and yet they're down 14 points just haven't been able to get the passing game going obviously 7 of 17 a little fits and starts no cohesion can't keep anything going the running game is looking great dills on a few shorter passes looking pretty good but overthrowing the longer passes and just can't keep a rhythm going can't get a smoothness going atlanta came into this game averaging better than five yards per rush to lead the nfl on their 6.9 here at halftime will not hurt that at all but they have not been able to turn that into any points so thus the question begs answering what do they have to do jerry to turn things around in the second half well they're so close as we said they're rushing the ball well they're doing a lot of good things they've made a couple mistakes the fumble was a mistake because we didn't fair catch the ball we've overthrown our receivers a couple times receivers who were wide open things like that offsides a couple times a couple penalties we have to reduce the mistakes reduce the middle errors and just continue to run the ball and throw the ball when we can and take what they give us on the other hand the first half of kelly stauffer in his very first start remember now he was drafted as a number one pick two years ago by the cardinals they didn't sign him stauffer citing principles sat out the entire year then was traded to seattle for a first rounder a fifth rounder and a sixth rounder and after that season of of non-activity where he threw to a curtain in his old high school gym stauffer has come out here and looked like a cool poised veteran was not expected to play this year the feeling was in seattle that we have two veteran quarterbacks we'll give you a lot of time to adjust a lot of time to learn the system we'll give you some wide receivers to throw at instead of the curtain take your time no hurry and all of a sudden bingo he's thrust into the position much sooner than anyone anticipated and is doing a pretty decent job michael haynes deep for the falcons this kickoff is sponsored by budweiser the king of beers not too many speedy wide receivers in rushville nebraska for stuff for the throw to boy johnson has pinned the falcons in their end zone on these kickoffs that's the second one that they haven't been able to return they tried to return another one from three yards deep and didn't make it to the 20. so a dying art in the nfl is revived by norm johnson today so the falcons will have first crack at it offensively the big turnover on the fumbled punt bills had a pass intercepted but it was fumbled on the return so those were the only miscues that resulted in any turnovers in the first half and here's primus in trouble drop tony woods great defensive play number 57 knifing through there second year man out of pit he was a number one pick in the 1987 draft both of these teams drafting well with their number one picks a lot of number ones on the field today boy there's a lot of fine young linebackers in football today the outside linebacker has become the glamour defensive position used to be the middle man was the man that got all the tackles and all the notoriety but the outside guys were doing it today loss of five second and 15. dills underneath to settle makes a nice move on bosworth has the first down yardage no not quite a little bit shy he picked up 14. but again boss was left grab in the air john settles an exciting football player like to get the ball to him just any way you can get the ball to him whether it's a hand off or a short pass across the middle like this watch number 55 the buzz grabs some air there settles gives him a moves and comes awfully close to the first down pickup of 14 makes it third and one baw is about the only inside linebacker that still does get his share of publicity double tight ends primus runs into his own man spins off with a great second effort to pick up the first down bosworth made the tackle that time and got some help from melvin jenkins number 24. well do you think coach lombardi could have handled him well i think there had to have been some adjustments maybe some adjustments by the buzz and maybe some adjustments by coach lombardi he uh coach lombardi didn't like blue shirts he thought blue shirts were a sign that you were spending too much time on outside activities he'd have gone bananas over the colored haircut he may have clipped some of that air himself settled trying to elude bosworth this time it's tripped up over on the far side paul moyer number 21 came out of the secondary to help out and now they get going over there some of the tempers flaring hunters in there along with moyer boyd dixon is going to lose that battle he's just 5'9 and 170 pounds even though moyer and hunter aren't a whole lot bigger two on one is still not good eyes no matter where atlanta doing about what they should the second half moving the ball on the ground short pass across the middle if they can keep the have the patience to continue this they might score two tight ends they've gone with that nearly exclusively here in the second half first man through his primus flag is down and now they're going at it bailey and another flag goes down bailey came in there and picked up where dixon left off battling patrick hunter in the secondary so we have one flag on the play and then we have another flag after the play was dead and we'll allow the officials to sort that out because that's a mess and that's what they get paid for officials have been very quiet today there haven't been many flags only two in the first half now this is the third actually the fourth if you count the second one after the play double file illegal motion number 45 on the offense personal fall unnecessary roughness number 22 on the defense this is a 15-yard penalty assessed against the defense in this situation crowd loves that wizard hunt was in motion let's see if we can pick up what happened in the secondary with stacy bailey on that third in one situation bayley comes down and then we start yeah yeah with the left hand gives him a left hook and they called it against nisby glasgow but he's nowhere around so he got he's gonna complain about that patrick dixon and bailey have been open all day jerry it's a good sign for falcon fans that bill's settling down now able to get it to them and the seahawks getting a little physical after the whistle now you could either fight or you can play football the falcons decided to play football and dixon is wide open as dills hits him on the sideline for a nice game 30-yard pass play that time for the falcons leading receiver of a year ago stephen f austin first down at the 22-yard line i'll go back to the running game and primus falls forward for a couple bosworth is there jeff bryant also number 77 the first to get him from behind interestingly we were talking with ralph andrews the seahawks secondary coach yesterday we asked him if there was some resentment toward bosworth from the seattle team and he said he didn't think so anymore he thought there was last year but he thinks that some of the defensive players now look to him for leadership he calls the defensive signals out there jerry and i i guess that's a maturing process and some of the defen the resentment has been traded to indianapolis in the person of freddie bill's on the draw to settle bounces outside runs away from woods gets down to the 15 where he lowers his shoulder into patrick hunter number 23. settle showing a little speed getting to the outside you like to see that kind of speed in the back the ability to stop at the line of scrimmage when everything is plugged up take it outside and to pick up six or seven yards instead of going to the sideline for no gain settles said he's going to make the most of his moment in the sun getting to start because of the injuries to jail riggs 91 yards so far he's made a lot of moments for the falcons today third and two double tied in into the end zone wilkins knocked away at the last second great defensive play from eugene robinson number 41. boy wilkins was there but a little bit slow in getting there the receiver was wide open uh dill's pumps a couple three times watch now as he starts to throw starts to throw oh little indecision and when the ball gets there the defender gets there also and just barely gets there ahead of the ball and knocks it out of his hand could have been a touchdown very easily interesting call on third and two and now greg davis will come on they'll spot it at about the 22 32 attempt he is perfect so davis and the falcons get a much-needed three points in their first possession of the second half 11 minutes left third quarter 17-6 seattle field goal from that man greg davis 17-6 they trail the seahawks kevin slaton jerry kramer bobby joe edmonds down there awaiting the kickoff 11 minutes left third quarter we're going to talk a little bit about the play selection of the falcons on their last series in a moment after the kickoff a high kick comes down to randall morris flag sails in morris breaking tackles up to the 34-yard line and we'll wait and see what the flag is about thrown right at the feet of mike tice a tight end who is not getting up very easily jerry while we wait for them to sort it out falcons averaging better than six yards per rushing play third and two deep in seattle territory and they throw the ball drive me bananas as an offensive lineman i like to throw the ball in certain situations but when we need two yards we're down near the goal line i would rather run the ball what was that call for finally worked against seattle moves them back to the 10-yard line and they'll start out first down so that puts stuffer in a hole i wonder what the reaction in the huddle was a big test for the atlanta defense here's warner flags are down warren breaks outside picks up seven or eight bobby butler number 23 runs him out i knew i shouldn't have spoken about the lack of flags earlier because we've had a slew of them the last two series again jumping the call will the seahawks go back any further stuff will be thrown from the end zone and this is a situation precisely the situation that you want to avoid with the young quarterback first and 15 third and ten those absolute passing situations where the defense knows exactly what you're going to do where they can tee off on you they can gamble a little bit with you and pick off a pass or cause you some more trouble they're going to be he'd be doing it from his own end zone now five penalties against the seahawks that'll hurt them for 50 yards this is where the falcon defensive unit can smell a turtle operator please reset the clock to 10 50 10 50 before the fall start thank you there was no play rule because they had blown the play dead at the moment the false start took place and they add six seconds back onto the clock so first and 15 for stuffer well ken meyer told us yesterday his quarterback coach this kid has nerves of steel doesn't get rattled if he's going to this will be the spot hurt warner and that's the way to take the pressure off your quarterback absolutely kurt warner pro one of bowl player the finest runner in the history of the seattle franchise great performer pressure player and you don't know what to do give the ball the curt the only times he has missed rushing for a thousand yards in his pro career the first time when he got injured in the very first game of the year and missed the rest of the season then he came back from that knee injury to have back to back thousand-yard seasons and then last year he missed it by 15 yards but he missed three games because of the strike second and ten more second and eleven really scoffer to the air has time incomplete flags are down that's the kind of pass when it gets tipped around it usually gets picked off that's dangerous that's nervous but again it was a it was not a dangerous pass initially at that tip when it went flying through the air is where the danger came from boy this is a big penalty against the falcons [Music] now it is a first down usually those mistakes come from a player without the experience of williams a 10-year veteran it's only a five-yard penalty but it looms large seattle out to their 14-yard line stalker on first down has time safe pass for tice but he only gains about a yard or two the big tight end who was injured momentarily on that kickoff return awakens to make a sliding catch it looked like that leg might have been bothering a little bit more there but i guess not the scores the bears handling buffalo easily philadelphia has made a comeback down 16 to nothing they scored 20 straight pittsburgh regaining the lead over the browns at the half indianapolis has scored a tie new england the giants pounding the redskins with all the quarterback injuries as the packers in tampa bay tied at ten biggest one i guess in terms of notoriety doug williams having that happened second and nine warner on the delay hole over the left side but not for too long he really got busted john rady who held out in training camp six-year veteran out of boise state really put the shoulder in the curt the linebackers for the falcons are playing excellent football two guys in the middle tuggle and ray d playing very well andre not that consistent but again a pretty good football player even at this early stage i am back with a good solid football player third and two for the seahawks they'll go out of the shotgun only one of seven on third down but they lead 17-6 stolfer has avoided the mistake to this point warner cannot hold it is it a fumble yes it is it's going to be an atlanta touchdown no another official waves it off now this will be interesting jerry i'll bet you they'll review it the official right in front of the play called it a fumble another official came over and thrilled it incomplete the official running across the field waving his hands in a no-play signal that the ball was down or there wasn't a catch continued a little hesitantly but finally that's what it was ruled it'll be interesting to see if they do review it robert moore picked it up warner would have had the first down there's a timeout on the field i would assume they're reviewing it referee is holding the seahawks marion campbell wants him to review it now we will watch it with us and we'll see how long kurt warner has the ball he has it he bobbles it bobbles it bobbles it he really never had possession of it appeared from this angle never really had possession now it appears that the final call was the right one but we'll wait and see because they are reviewing it that's the kind of a break chuck haberling official substantiates the incomplete pass call good to see him get it right and they do and that would have been a big play for atlanta of course as it is the fact that warner couldn't hold on on third and two is big enough they'll get the ball back in good field position unless rodriguez decides to surpass his all-time high of 68 yards or unless lou barnes decides to do something exciting again a low spiral this is one that he can return on the run he feels it barnes to midfield and they're in seattle territory and that gives bills and company good operating room a 37-yard punt 8 15 left third quarter the falcons on the move trailing by 11. back in atlantic kevin slate and jerry kramer 8 15 left third quarter seahawks lead it by 11. falcons in good field position though and they've owned the third quarter thus far they drove to a field goal for first possession they take over just this side of the seattle and seattle territory this side of the 50. steve dills has gone all the way playing in place of chris miller who injured his ankle here is settled ballsworth has him but he falls forward for four yards maybe five i mentioned earlier ralph andrews but i mean ralph hawkins the secondary coach for the seahawks we paused briefly for station identification this is the nbc television network ralph hawkins was telling us yesterday that he analyzes his seattle defense to a baseball pitcher that you can't just throw fastballs because somebody's going to knock it out of the park so they have to mix it up a little bit but they have not been able to mix it enough successfully to stop atlanta on the ground here they come again with primus this time bosworth sticks the shoulder in there and stops him cold he also said that he expected him to try to run up the middle they're going to try to run on us and they certainly have although the seahawk defense shut that off very well is on the sidelines or the checking his hat here for a minute just checking his head gear letting everybody see the hairdo maybe the stereo system broke down 7.05 left in the third quarter big third and six four wide receivers for the falcons bill's goal bailey's wide open that's a touchdown [Applause] looks like a possible defensive mix-up on this play plenty of time deals in the pocket plenty of time bailey out in front by 15 yards no one close to him jerry i was watching bayley run the pattern he hadn't even turned around and that ball was already halfway there a great throw from bills right on the money high snap on the point after dills the holer gets it down and davis converts it 17-13 another look first catch for bailey today stacy bailey four for 169 yards last week now watch him i'm not sure exactly but he's all alone just wide open we saw melvin jenkins jumping up and down and uh very unhappy with the thing with this reception but not sure what happened kevin slaton and jerry cramer live fulton county stadium falcons right back in it two big offensive series this third quarter they've scored on each one a field goal and then the electrifying 45-yard touchdown catch for bayley and defensively they stopped seattle they just passed out for jackson you see fifth time fifth place on the all-time list bill's made a great throw the passes that he overthrew in the first half jerry he's hitting now second half belongs to the falcons so far davis to kick morris and edmonds are deep short kick randall morris at the 11. morris crosses the 25 gets out near the 27-yard line where scott case and gary wilkins down there drop him take another look at that touchdown pass see who blew the coverage we can't see melvin jenkins in the final part of this touchdown pass but you see bayley number 82 going downfield all by himself catching the ball and kind of dancing into the end zone and putting on a really nice fight he must jenkins must have thought he had some kind of deep help because he just let him go john l williams oh bruce hit him first now he's going nowhere jesse tuggle made sure bruce got there first but the whole football team is excited the offense is scoring some points and the defense is getting pumped up andre bruce makes a great play right here fights the tackle off and gets a shot at him and jesse tuggle comes up and then everybody joins in john ray d at the end your man jesse tuggle loss of a yard second and 11. scoffer is being put to the test now as time throws it into the ground intended for warner i'm not sure that it wasn't tipped but if it wasn't he just simply made a bad throw let's check the rest of the scores around the league 17-13 here seattle the bears pounding buffalo cleveland now has retaken the lead over pittsburgh the redskins have scored a touchdown in that one to pull closer to the giants and the other two games still tied you think buffalo will come back i doubt it not against that bear deep against chicago when they get hot and the buffalo offense has struggled all season long one of eight on third down in seattle they face third and 11 here has some room close to being in front of the line of scrimmage but he found a large a flag goes down and i think indeed he was past awful close but it looked like he stepped across the line of scrimmage before he threw the balloon they'll have to punt it away chuck knox feeling his team losing a grip on this game that they had at the half leading 17-3 atlanta's defensive unit much maligned holds kelly stuffer in the offensive team now for the second time in a row and atlanta will take over again in pretty good position pretty good field position watch stovery just awfully close to that line but you can see the official standing there on the sidelines watching and made the correct call fourth down rodriguez to punt it away ruben's had a pretty good day since that first one that went 49 yards his average is dipped he hit a bad one the last time lou barnes has fumbled one so far that gave seattle a field goal at the end of the first half there's a high one not as deep as he would have liked at the 31 barn runs into his own man a flag is down all over the place in the line of scrimmage down field so we'll let him sort it out four point seattle lead rodriguez signals that it's against atlanta but there's more than one down there more than one flag [Music] holding number 30 on the receiving team the defense 5 yard penalty from the previous spot automatic first down oh what a big play david crutip committed the infraction we'll come back to fulton county stadium in a moment we're going to stay here we'll take a break in a few moments but boy i'll tell you jerry uh that's the kind of play that a young team makes and i guess the kind of plays that atlanta has been victimized by the kind of mistake a young team makes and a silly mistake in a position that you just can't afford to make a mistake again right when the defense had held twice consecutively and all of them belonging to atlanta great field position and now seattle has it first down john l williams he's tripped up as he crosses a 30-yard line not only do you retain position of the ball from if you're from seattle but again that psychological boost that hey we got a break hey it's coming back to us we got it again let's go with it and the defense we stopped him and now hey what happened we have to stop him again so there's a little bit of a letdown defensively and a pickup offensively and often that can change the momentum in the game and it allows williams to pick up five yards you can just sense that feeling of the error going out of the falcons balloon bills was ready to bring his offense back out they're hot second and five stopper to the air here comes the rush he gets rid of it incomplete the strong rush came from tony casillas another of the falcons number one draft picks andre bruce was back there defending tony casilla is playing nose tackle for the falcons as we watch andre bruce 93 limp off the field doesn't appear to be serious a little bit sore but nothing serious it's hard to say tony has got a difficult task in this tackle you normally have two guys blocking on you sometimes three and to get loose and cause pressure is quite an effort quite an accomplishment staffer six of 13 now 118 yards third and five not much success in the second half for him there's larger as the first down what large in those are those sticks are scott case number 25 defending first first down of the second half for seattle other than the one on the penalties stephen 13th year mature intelligent poised what more can you say gets the first down catches the ball as he has 765 times now or something like that it's old hat owns the yardage record for a career the reception record for a career and with four more touchdown catches we'll own that and become the first player in over 40 years to lead in all three of those categories at the same time first down for stauffer it's john l williams who's immediately buried jesse tuggle number 58 was there and so was help from teammate michael reed number 95 who gets up off the bottom of the pile there wasn't much room for john l williams there the falcon linebackers close to the line of scrimmage did not drop deep in past coverage so there just wasn't any room at all what a courageous effort again from john l williams playing with a fractured rib and a flak jacket on and he really took a shot that time second and seven after they picked up three there goes warner straight up the middle on the delay tuggle number 58 at the bottom of the pile and on top was john ratey number 59. john rady boise state boy from my hometown home neighborhood he and i had a chat this week playing good football for the falcons he seemed to think that once stopper made up his mind to throw the ball then he was going to throw it he had a feeling that stopper might force the ball into the coverage and once he picked out a receiver he was going to go one way or another so they had some hopes of intercepting haven't been able to do it yet third and three the toss to warner boy it appeared they had him hemmed in but he's a slithery back and he gets the first down tuggle number 58 ran him out of bounds but now the seahawks jerry as you mentioned they got that extra chance because of the penalty on the punt and they've moved to back-to-back first downs john l williams out front on that last play throwing a block too again we will not mention that rib again but only the people who have had broken ribs or fractured ribs will understand what john l is going through there's no way you can convey that verbally you just have to have experienced it and he has played the whole game warner once more bounces outside for big yardage robert moore number 34 chased him out but another seattle first down as warner begins to make things happen offensively number 28 kurt warner number 33 is now in the ball game throwing the block for him tommy you see warner take it outside and tiptoe down the sidelines so john l perhaps after making that block that she described a minute ago jerry too much pain set in and he did head to the sidelines for the first time first down seahawks they're on the move inside the 35 atlanta same play to warner taking the toss again big yardage look at him break it now great speed and acceleration from warner took bobby butler to save a touchdown and the falcon defense really down now tommy agee has replaced john l williams tommy agee number 33 in front of 28 throwing this block right here on the right side of your screen to allow kurt warner to come back inside and pick up about 15 yards on that run that is not the tommy agent who played the outfield for the miracle mess needless to say he's not a young guy anymore but this youngster in his second year out of auburn is first down at the 11 for the seahawks stay with warner rick bryan says hello as he got close to the six tough situation here we can get a first down speaking for the seahawks but it'll be at about the one-yard line be very difficult to get a first down and not score and therefore it's tough to get the first down at all when you're down this close it's much easier to say if you're on the 15 and you only have to get to the five when you have to get to the one things tighten up considerably run out of room for your receivers to run patterns second and six from the seven randall morris giving warner a break runs out of one tackle but then gets stopped after perhaps a yard gain john ratey number 59 robert moore number 34 combining to stop randall morris he's a sixth year player out of tennessee and that's his first carry tommy kane and paul scanty 81 and 82 check in for the seahawks and wide receiver they're going to look at third and four i think john l williams is back in two at running back he is four receivers john l malone setback shotgun for stuffer quickly incomplete intended for blade flag goes down charles dimry number 22 was defending blades tried to run that quick slant two big penalties in this drive working against atlanta if this one indeed does that pass interference number 22 defense automatic first it looked like demery got his hands on the blades as he came inside one stopper you can't see much of the past interference call but it appeared like got a hold of him and uh held him dimry as trying to get into the end zone he is a rookie out of nevada las vegas first and goal seahawks williams that's the touchdown warner out in front to lead the blocking so the seahawks immensely aided by two atlanta penalties one on a fourth down punt that was a holding call another on a third down in completion of pass l williams interference the sidelines there we noticed that he left the ball game for a few plays but we get close to the goal line you see number 32 taking the ball around the right side blocked by kurt warner number 28 allows him to get into the end zone but when we get close when we're getting ready to score 32 comes back in the ball game carrying 226 pounds with him his second rushing touchdown today norm johnson 40 seconds left in the third quarter is perfect 24-13 the seahawks increase their advantage and regain the momentum 11 points seattle lead 40 seconds left third quarter kevin slayton and jerry cramer live from fulton county stadium in atlanta and if you're just joining us and missed that last drive the falcons had regained all the momentum with 10 quick points here in the third quarter trailed by just four and then on a fourth down punting situation seattle kicked it away the falcons guilty of holding automatic first down they moved down and on third down through incomplete in the end zone pass interference against the falcons the second break and they converted it into a touchdown round now johnson a high kick haynes a yard deep boy he's dropped short at the 15. great coverage on these kick teams by seattle mesby glasgow number 22 down there steve dills was ready to come on the field the last time had to stay back because of the penalty and the scoring drive for seattle impressive aided by those two penalties and jerry now you wonder mentally if these falcons on offense can come back but we'll find out right here they've got a 70 5 yard 85 yards to go to get in the endzone now the seahawks are all fired up they got a touchdown they got things clicking their way and the defense is ready to play so atlanta has really got their work cut out for him now anybody who doesn't think momentum rules this game that'll probably be the last play of the quarter unless they hurry up and there's the gun ending the third quarter of action from atlanta will return to fulton county stadium with the seahawks in command [Music] back live here in atlanta kevin slate and jerry kramer as we begin the fourth quarter of action with seattle on top by 11. and jerry we talked about momentum and it certainly belongs to the seahawks now it certainly does the atlanta team has made several mistakes a young football team that you would expect to make some mistakes the seahawks the older veteran team should be able to put some pressure on but bailey coming bailey again coming back to the ball and bills has a big completion there well stacy bailey has only two catches but they have been biggies i think stacy bailey led all receivers last week even with jerry rice's great week 169 yards and looks like he's going to do it again this week the falco the seahawks maybe weren't quite ready for a bomb like that and perhaps didn't think dills could throw the ball that far we'd been told earlier that he was pretty decent on short passes but his long passing game was suspect and you watch his reaction with us yeah first down pass play now back to the action that wakes up the echoes that 50-yard completion now a veteran cool under fire just throws it away we were talking to steve dills the other day and i asked him what he thought of bosworth and he bugged him and he said you know he doesn't make an impact on a game from where he plays on the inside and the 3-4 defense it's really not possible for an inside linebacker to do that that's right the impact linebackers are now the outside linebackers like marcus cotton and andre bruce that we've seen today in um long boy woods from the seahawks tony woods tony woods in there now number 57 second and 10. they run it settle again into the middle of the line joe nash is there all 269 pounds of them number 72 along with bosworth number 55. you would expect this seattle defense to kind of rise to the occasion now this is a veteran defense we know exactly what the situation is we're getting in the fourth quarter it's time to jump up and stop somebody third and eight for the falcons four wide receivers settle alone in the backfield good rush down a goes from behind jacob green he leads the league in sacks and that is number six and donnelly will have to come out with a punting unit big defensive stand from the seahawks number that's his first sack of the day the young tackle we showed you earlier houston huber there on the right side of your screen trying to stay in contact dill steps up into the pocket jacob green makes a sack and stops that atlanta offense in its track well you said it was time for seattle's defense to take a stand and they did donnelly trying to pooch it inside the 10. he's got people down there and hit the official he's going to bring it out to the 20. crudip for atlanta was down there in great position so another special teams error by crewdup he was guilty of he should have stopped the ball there watch him he was in position to stop the ball from going into the end zone he misjudged it hit the ground took a hard bounce and certainly would have gone in the end zone if it hadn't hit the referee will return to atlanta 1301 remember back live kevin slaten along with jerry cramer that's the story from atlanta falcons had gotten back into it but big penalties against them hurt them and allowed seattle to get a touchdown late in the third quarter to increase their lead now seattle has it first down at the 20 after still another special teams mistake when crude let the ball get past him it hit the official at the one and bounced dead and they moved it out to the 20. now jerry in a passing situation if the ball hits the official he doesn't turn around and say well if the receiver was wide open he would have caught it let's give it to him but here they're saying well it would have gone into the end zone let's put it at the 20. you got the feeling that it never happened to that official before and he just thought this would be the best way to get out of that and the quickest and the quickest is right he moved it out there quickly first down running play warner tripped up he didn't get much mike gann number 76 second-round pick out of notre dame five years ago bears well in hand over buffalo philadelphia with a great comeback 27 straight points cleveland leading pittsburgh in a defensive struggle green bay tampa bay are tied oh washington really mounting a comeback they were down 24-9 good ball games close a balanced nfl showing it today our score 24-13 seattle they face second and ninth stalford on the sprint he did not hang on he was juggling it going out of bounds he gets up and shows everybody he did catch it though yeah mom just cut it a little late actually made the catch as we all saw but did not have possession of it as he went out of bounds stopper decides to roll out a little bit which is a pretty good idea gives him a little extra time and the ball quacks a little bit on his way to the intended receiver and tice bobbles the ball does not have control of the ball before he goes out of bounds no catch this young falcon defense is about to do something of their own third and nine excellent accuracy from stauffer though on the run with a closely covered receiver see how he does here atlanta needs a big play out of the shotgun for stauffer going deep down the sideline for scans he double coverage he makes a leaping catch but he's out of bounds i don't know how he even caught that with two players all over him stuffer was right on the mark again scancie going down the sidelines the ball's awfully close awfully close oh he just couldn't get those feet in bounds he was just a few inches away from being in bounds with that reception great concentration great catch just slightly out of bounds you could have heard the collected backs of the falcon defense breaking had he been able to get his feet behind now rodriguez touches off a high pump but very short fair catch barns he makes sure this time and the falcons are in business at their own 46. 11 58 left they trail by 11 will return to falcon today's game is brought to you by mazda and the exciting new mazda cars and trucks for 1989 by city corp because americans want to succeed not just survive and by budweiser proud sponsor of the 1988 u.s olympic team this spot's for you [Music] on a day that has threatened rain all afternoon it's held off after an overnight and early morning rain seattle leading 24-13 kevin slate and jerry kramer 11 58 left falcons on the move first down they're settled down the middle great move inside the 40 inside the 35 of seattle before he is dropped by paul moyer number 21. john settle has put the move on several of the seattle linebackers today that time it was dave wyman as the stills goes back throws it almost underneath the defensive player's arm there's comes wyman and a nice move down the field by john settles 21-yard pickup double tight ends now for the falcons well they've moved it all day here goes settle in trouble schultz is there number 58. we talked about how this young falcon team has generated excitement in this town and they had a press conference the other day a lot of talk about them going to jacksonville owner rankin smith said he'll give the city more time and it's because of players like this that the excitement is here chris miller the young quarterback out with a sprained egg gerald riggs their all-time leading rusher kenny flowers a great runner nine starters who have started for this team this year are out with injuries gerald riggs a three-time pro bowler who at the time of this game was a leading rusher and the leading receiver for the for the falcon football team so that hurts a lot we'll be back fulton county stadium gerald riggs takes with him the all-time atlanta rushing leadership to the bench with injuries we talked about how battered this falcon team is kevin slaten alone jerry kramer 24-13 seattle leads the falcons 10 45 left second and 10 the falcons at the 33 of seattle nice fake tipped at the line intended for wiz and hunt that's the second ball that's been tipped against dills today he's 5 10 remember and that was something we kind of anticipated a little bit of a problem he's not as active as chris miller the young quarterback that's injured severely sprained ankle stays in the pocket more does not roll out doesn't get away from that rush quite as well so we'll have a few more balls tip as third downs go this is a big one for the falcons this is a threatening drive and they need to do something with it three wide receivers to the top of the screen bill's in trouble gets to settle trying to get the first down and he does with a great effort that was all john settled dills is smiling out there he's having fun what a super effort by john settle dills goes back moves around little trouble gets out of trouble away from the pressure settles again eludes a couple tacklers and goes to the first down watch the boss come up try to make the tackle and bounces off settles as he goes on downfield for the first down big big first down play for the atlanta falcons melvin jenkins is the injured seattle player we asked ralph hawkins yesterday the secondary coach for seattle if boz was mean out there and he said he'll hit you but he's not as nasty as some of the players that played in your era jerry i take exception to that word you could uh call mr nitschke or mr butkus nasty they were intense they were dedicated they were committed they were disciplined and they might have been just a little bit nasty 16 days ago the olympic flame lit in seoul the games of the 24th olympiad began nearly 10 000 competitors nations came as athletes they leave as olympians tonight they gather to celebrate these games and to witness the extinguishing of the olympic flame to closing ceremonies only on nbc tonight there goes jenkins on the west coast washington and oregon will get olympic coverage after the post game there is chris miller sprained his left ankle severely last week in his stead bills has hit 13 of 26 for better than 200 yards big 45-yard touchdown pass another 50 yards to stacey bailey both of those passes went to baylor maybe none as big as that last one for the first down he flips it out to primus inside the 15 running hard primus now is turned bad tony woods number 57 is the first over there bosworth ran him down also great pursuit from the buzz going from sideline to sideline has got great speed he's got four or five speed and he will go sideline to sideline and pursue really a pretty good physical talent a pretty good linebacker missed some tackles today but a lot of linebackers and a lot of the secondary people on that seattle seahawk team have missed tackle today including mr woods on that last play from settle makes a nice move at the initial point of contact to get past bosworth and then gets inside the five and jerry you just said it and they missed another tackle and it was bosworth again i tell you i know baz is shaking his head john settle is just a little stronger than he looks got great leg power great drive watch as boz comes up and meets him pretty good at the whole thing and expects him to go down doesn't wrap his arms around him and he doesn't go down and he goes down to the five yard line is doing a lot of shoulder tackling not wrapping up over 100 yards rushing for settle now first and goal from the 5. settle oh just short of the end zone and it was bosworth that kept him out of there say this for bosworth there's no quit in him there's no quit in him and there's uh no lack of effort in him you'll watch him on the goal line and he'll hurl his body into that mass he'll go flying over the top of that line he's not at all bashful certainly off the football field but not at all bashful on the football field either he's a competitor second and goal for the falcons patton check comes into the lineup the option bills tucks in for the touchdown hey the boss has seen that with the sooners so they'll try to tack on the conversion greg davis trying to make it a four-point game another bad snap bills does a great job of getting it down for him and we have a four point game seattle on top with 801 left we'll take another look the falcons like this option play as dill comes down the line of scrimmage and will duck underneath the linebacker right here stick his head down and go for the end zone made a nice little fake on the corner here comes boz trying to get outside and he gets blocked this time he gets knocked down jamie two left guard jamie dukes number 64 in your program you like that number 24-20 seattle we got a ball game chuck knox getting a little nervous he didn't want to have a ball game he and his coaching staff said yesterday they don't just need a win they have to win well that situation down there you would expect a veteran defensive team to stop a young inexperienced offensive team kind of a critical situation if this is a contender if this is a bona fide playoff team we should have been able to stop him down inside and now the crowd is into it edmonds timbery gets him a flag comes flying in on both sides of the field dimry may have grabbed a face mask but there was something going on in the middle of the field also atlanta has scored on three out of their four possessions in the second half to get back into the game officials will talk it over looks like there were a couple penalties on the play gimmery and jessie tuggle were mixed up on one side of the field and then over near the where the ball went out of bounds there was another penalty so we'll wait and see here's the end of the play where dim remade the tackle see if he got the face mask i'd say that was a face mask against the kicking team face pass 15 yards number 22 also a face mask further in field on number 21. we'll go 15 from this spot first down [Music] that's the lethal kind of face mask penalty and we checked the rest of the scores philadelphia just poured it on houston cleveland now has taken a commanding lead over pittsburgh the giants holding on for dear life and new england has gone out in front of indianapolis packers in tampa bay still fit to be tied 24-20 here well another crucial mistake on special teams by yet another falcon rookie i imagine bobby joe edmonds head hurts right now though he got it twisted completely around first down from the 35. warner's not going anywhere rick bryan was the first one there number 77. mike gaines 76. got help from everybody jesse tuggle came in to make it look good well now kelly stauffer has some pressure on him he's the rookie quarterback of the seahawks hasn't made that mistake that you might expect out of a rookie yet you would certainly like to see that running game get four or five yards of crack and not put that pressure on the young guy although in this situation we have the pressure second and ten velcro nice safe pass incomplete intended for blades he under threw him stopper has performed so well today reminds me when he was drafted on draft day in st louis one of the when they announced his selects they said my god they've drafted a girl let you know what the media say louis thought of the cardinals drafting prowess he's performed like anything but he stood tall as a man in the pocket today had a good day and has certainly got a critical situation coming up here kevin six defensive backs on third down [Applause] listen to this crowd larson with a big catch scott case was defending and again you hear the air go out of the falcon balloon 58 big play by kelly stopper stayed in the pocket cool large and of course number 80 closest to us going down the field you're going to cut across the middle and just good concentration good hands and the kind of thing that has made him one of the finest receivers in the history of the game they're evident right there 19 yards on that play now they can go back to the running game john l williams flags her down he gets to the 40-yard line of atlanta and the falcons continue to make critical mistakes it's interesting that largent really doesn't have that great speed never had great speed but always had good speed but at this point in his career he relies on those precision the precision routes and the ability to move the defensive back around and get open time after time after time it's a beautiful thing to see and he never almost never drops the ball if you get it to him chances are he'll hold first and five williams keeping it on the ground first down again inside the 35 joel williams makes the tackle this is where that young falcon defensive unit has to stand up and be counted or where that seahawk open has to control the ball if they can grind the ball out here and move it on down the field and score they will win the football game we're getting right to the point now where we either win the game or lose the game right on this drive the thing that atlanta could not do in a similar situation against dallas last week exactly exactly now this is why you want a running game you're not going to run the length of the field but when you want to eat up the clock and preserve a victory now is when you want to run the ball rushing numbers for today 5 15 left in the ball game first and ten john l williams boy steady diet of him tuggle holding on around the ankles but not before the battered john l williams gets five or six coach knox on the sidelines encouragement direction critical point in the football game obviously critical point in the season perhaps for both of these teams even though we're only in the fifth week seattle did not want to be two and two falcons one and three with a couple of tough losses in there this would be another one in that category if they lose second and five williams again still on his feet first down fumble atlanta has the football now will they blow it there yes i believe they did first down seattle it looked like the ball was blown dead before the fumble so it's first down from the end zone you watch john l williams the guy we've been talking about all day with a bad rip down the field boom boom boom gets the first down loses the ball as he goes down but the whistle is blowing or he was down one of the two in any case it's ruled no fumble appeared that the ground caused the fumble so seattle retains possession at the 22 first down 3 41. boy there was over eight minutes left when he took over the ball here very impressive warner another five yards and he stays in bounds john ratey number 59 to make the tackle give credit up front for seattle mattis bailey bush millard and wilson along with mike tyson john spagnola the tight end doing the job tommy again they're now at fullback number 33 replacing williams coming up on three minutes remaining warner now over the 100-yard mark rushing today so he and settle atlanta's running back both better than 100 yards today second down and five warner in trouble gets away close to a first down rick bryan had him let him get away that's exactly what i like to see down the field down the field run the ball five yards of the crack eat up the clock two minutes and a half two left to go as we yeah like the old packer style footballs we watch kurt warner make a nice dip outside the things were clogged up in the middle and he dips outside picks up about five yards and we're going to measure to see if we have a first down or not as we look at coach chuck knox on the sidelines and now we're looking at coach marion campbell and the atlanta falcon staff coach campbell in the black hat there first down seattle 2 42 remaining almost six minutes they've eaten off the clock with this drive a big play coming on the third and ninth play when stalford was able to hit steve larger that's the only pass of the drive that was complete the similarity between this team and the green bay team is that all the atlanta falcons know what we're going to do right now it's a matter of stopping it it's a matter of execution as the packers used to weren't real fancy but got it done especially in the clutch warner in trouble this time and down here goes tony casillas rick bryan were there got some help from john brady those packer teams were awfully effective not only running out the clock but thriving down the field timeout called by atlanta 233 remaining if you joined us late seattle had a 17-3 lead at the half the falcons got back in it with 10 quick points in the third quarter only to have the seahawks score again but then the falcons got a big touchdown on a one-yard run from steve dills here in the fourth quarter to close it to 24-20 that's where we are with his big important drive of seattle marching right down the field atlanta taking the time out jerry that's a worn out defensive unit they must be questioning themselves now marion campbell is certainly concerned yes they are they're tired and the offensive unit is tired too you look at kurt warner wandering around back there with his hat off and it's been a long hot muggy day and it's been a pretty difficult day on the football field been a physical day run the ball run the ball pound pound pound and curtain warner has taken quite a bit of pounding as you say the atlanta atlanta defensive team has so we take a breather uh take a shot of water catch our breath buckle our hat and let's go let's go back and do it second down and nine blades on a reverse gets away from two guys still on his feet he's headed for the goal line and he fumbles the ball out of bounds though i believe how in the world terry did he get between two defenders standing there waiting for him you've heard the term swivel hip i don't know what term i would use on this i can't wait to see this again and if you'll see blade there he comes through here and watch right here he squeezes between two defensive players makes another little move goes outside and as daryl royal would say in this situation can my daddy dance but then dance that's beautiful first down i'll tell you when you look at this at the end it almost appears as though he fumbled it inbounds and the falcons recovered it you can't tell from that angle if it hit the white chalk but there's robert moore and he picked it up in bounds and that's what the falcons were complaining about i think they're going to review it i think you're right there's chuck haberling the replay official from that first angle it appeared as though it was a recovery let's watch it again from the end zone camera brian blade's going along the sidelines and loses the ball he's not out of bounds and he loses the ball here the ball appears to be out about hit the ball yeah the ball was out of bounds i believe it hit the marker definitely out on the second kick when it hit blade's foot and hit the white chalk the play stands first down goal first and goal for the seahawks as they attempt to close the door on the falcons [Applause] they've eaten up better than six minutes on the clock with this drive which included only one pass that was complete on third and nine williams runs into stauffer he's close he got in seattle touched down the third touchdown of the day for john l williams big strong full back outside inside blocks well watch that offensive line come off not as good a surge as you would like and john l is stopped momentarily short of the goal line but will not be stopped continues to make the second the third effort gets in for the score last two games seattle scored six and seven points kelly stauffer making his first professional start today has racked up 30 with a conversion to come for number 31. now they'll be talking in seattle about a quarterback controversy craig has to stay on the sidelines of that separated shoulder for at least four more weeks it appears to be kelly stoffer's team to run at this point and if he continues this kind of play when craig's ready to come back jerry there may not be anything waiting it'll be interesting but it'd be a nice problem to have with david craig waiting to get in the ball game we paused briefly for station identification this is the nbc television network amg tv channel 5 seattle and jerry kramer live fulton county stadium glad you could join us for today's telecast 31-20 seattle in the lead some of the folks start to head for home and an early dinner 11-point lead for the seahawks with just 221 remaining atlanta falcons have played a pretty good football game they made the mistakes we anticipated the uh there's david craig on the sidelines separated shoulder right shoulder of course the throwing shoulder david is out for four to six more weeks really won't know how long be interesting to see what kelly stopper does in that period of time you were talking about those crucial atlanta mistakes on special teams parts of a but there were some exciting moments and exciting plays by the offense and the defense and you can see the beginning of a nucleus of young ballplayers here in atlanta that another year or two could be awfully exciting and that's the thing patience patience is needed here in atlanta marion campbell has this team pointed in the right direction there's lou barnes he's knocked down fumbles the ball at the 25. let's wait and see and also keep in mind atlanta is playing without their quarterback chris miller and eight other potential starters there is miller atlanta has recovered and one of the biggest losses that not many people hear about mary campbell said alex higdon the tight end they lost him and he's a big play type of guy bears have defeated buffalo first loss for the bills eagles continue to run it up against houston cleveland adding a field goal at pittsburgh new england ahead by four over indianapolis and the giants held on to beat the redskins packers all right by seven dills outside to settle he needs to get out of bounds and he does at the 30. he has played such a great game today john settles and dill's played a you know pretty pretty decent football game for not being here a month ago coming in from los angeles coming off the bench in a crucial situation they've done a pretty respectable job now those two certainly had nothing to do with a holding penalty on a punting situation nor do they have anything to do with lou barnes fumbling a punt to give seattle a field goal and they were not on the field for that length of the field drive by seattle moments ago so they're 17 points that could have made the difference for atlanta bryant gets his second sack of the day first time this year that he has started after missing training camp he's a very effective inside rusher time out for the two minute warning seattle has things well in hand they lead by 11. we'll come back in a moment george hallas led the bears to 319 victories in 1987 he was joined in the top five winningest coaches by which active head man chuck knox of the seahawks joe gibbs of the redskins or chuck noll of the steelers who would you choose chuck noll you made the right choice chuck noll became the fifth winningest coach of all time in 1987. [Music] two minutes remain between seattle and its third victory kevin slaton along with jerry cramer falcons played him tough all the way seahawks came in are averaging just 16 points a game but they have doubled that almost hard to pick an mvp in this game young kelly stafford had an excellent day you've got to like the way he played kurt warner over 100 yards wow john l williams with three touchdowns playing with a fractured rib so those would be your three leading candidates settles had a great game and a losing cause and he continues to do so but on third down and long with two minutes left to run the ball a little strange 11 points down folks air it out steve fourth down and seven he guns it first down yardage excellent route run that time by jesse hester ticking away on dills and the falcons he finds settle but under throws him stops the clock with 118 remaining hills just doesn't want this game to end he just doesn't want to quit reminder this telecast presented by authority of the national football league and it's intended for the private use of our audience any rebroadcast for the use of this telecast without the express written consent of the atlanta falcons and the national football league is prohibited this game is the property of the national football league the atlanta falcons and seattle seahawks all rights reserved 31-20 118 left bills for settle seahawks more than happy to bring him down in bounds for the day he's had what are his numbers we got the numbers on settles he's had a tremendous day well over 100 yards rushing and he's caught the ball very well out of the backfield they need to go deeper nice tackle inbounds loose ball and i believe seattle may have it they do the seahawks have it and with that to have the ball game vernon dean number 31 comes up with it after jesse hester fumbled it and it ends on a fitting note for the young atlanta offense fumble as we watch from the end zone steve dills goes back combining a time pumps the ball two or three times hits hester on the sidelines fumble seahawks recover vernon dean very gratefully sitting there found a christmas gift at his feet and the seahawks will just ice the final 50 seconds and take their third victory of the year in a must-win situation for them on a long flight back to seattle the falcons another very disappointing loss stuffer touches his knee down nobody's touched him though big day for the seattle seahawks big day for the young quarterback playing time some maturity a game that the team had to win and everybody performed pretty well time for the most valuable player award sponsored by budweiser and today's mvp is chosen by jerry and i is john l williams from the seattle seahawks budweiser will make a contribution to the united way on behalf of all the mvps selected in today's games this one is in the books williams scored three touchdowns this afternoon playing with fractured rib leading the seahawks as well as kelly stopper to a 31-20 victory over the atlanta falcons there are miller and stauffer drafted in the same round together first round picks two years ago we'll return to wrap it up here in atlanta in a moment [Music] clayton and jerry craver the seahawks move to three and two while the falcons fall to one and four another bitter loss for the falcons 31-20 seattle advances with rookie quarterback kelly stoffer making a very successful debut fullback john l williams scoring three touchdowns on the ground and an impressive way to win for the seahawks this afternoon an impressive way to win in a game that they had to win a must-win situation we mentioned stauffer the young quarterback very good day no interceptions that was the key kurt warner better than 100 yards steve largent kept his string alive now counting at 157 consecutive games with a catch steve dills on the other hand threw two interceptions but accredited himself very well settle rushed for over a hundred yards so they did some good things

Channel: Beaubby Vagnert

Views: 2,944

Rating: 4.9047618 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: -CXg-ZhBCx8

Length: 162min 38sec (9758 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 10 2020