1989 Week 9 - New Orleans at San Francisco

candlestick park in san francisco on a beautiful northern california evening big game in the nfc's western division the northern saints in the san francisco of 49ers and welcome everybody to the final game of a wild nfl weekend we could have more of the same tonight the new orleans saints come in tonight desperately needing a win to stay close to the san francisco 49ers in this nfc divisional western division and of course the san francisco 49ers off to a great start they are and 7-1 on this season but the saints are coming in with a red hot quarterback bobby a bear and a defense is gradually emerging as one of the finest in the nfl they are on a bit of a roll but the 49 as well you've already seen they have been on a roll throughout the entire decade and they continue they know if they win tonight they will stay tied with the giants for the nfl's best record and they will have a three-game lead over the rams in their division they have been doing it not with mirrors but as you watch this football team perform now you realize that they're doing it without a lot of key people they've had ronnie lott out of the lineup joe montana has been out of it and a lot of other key players that you think would at least lose one along the line somewhere it's amazing frank they just haven't missed a beat walsh leaves after 10 years the last eight spectacular seasons seaford comes in they go through a lot of really difficult situations this year with montana missing two of the last three games ronnie lott has missed five consecutive games each is back in the lineup tonight now they have another problem michael carter is out they have to wonder about kena turner he is hurt as well but still through it all they are seven and one and not only that they are six and oh on the road that means of the final eight games of the season six are here at candlestick park including the next four in a row so the 49ers try to go to eight and one tonight and day in the new orleans saints try to go to five and four they were one and four they won three in a row but tonight's game obviously a very vital game for the saints really al you know they were out of it there one and four nobody gave them a chance and now miraculously the saints have battled their way back into it and they got a lot of help over the weekend i think if jim moore could have drawn up a script the teams that lost would have lost i mean you're looking at the eagles and the bears and the rams and the redskins a lot of the teams that the saints are competing with for wild card positioning all lost now it's time for the saints to help themselves and can they do it they're playing the world champions they're playing on the road what do you need to win on the road against the world champions you need a tremendous defense and take my word for it the saints have that the number one team in the nfl against the rushing and against the rush rather and to beat the 49ers to beat them here at candlestick they'll need it all and more and so as this crowd settles in at just past six o'clock in san francisco incredibly enough this is only the second game this season the 49ers have played in the stadium there is jim mora the coach of the new orleans saints the 49ers were scheduled under george seifert to have played three home games by now but one of the home games was to have been played october 8th against the new orleans saints and because the giants got into the baseball playoffs and eventually the world series they flip-flopped these games this game originally scheduled for new orleans and then the weekend following the earthquake because candlestick park was not ready for football or baseball that weekend they moved a home game to stanford stadium and in that game joe montano was hurt he left the game with a sprained knee then he missed last week's game at the meadowlands against the new york jets but steve young and steve bono led the 49ers to a 23-10 victory and montana will be back at the helm tonight the two top quarterbacks in the nfl through the first half of the season are matched up in this one as we get set for monday night football from candlestick park rod harris gene atkins and bobby morris dropped back deep to receive for the new orleans saints [Music] and mike colfer to kick off for the 49ers so the 49ers trying to go three games up on the rams in the west trying to go four games up on new orleans and this one is underway at candlestick park park gopher's kick fielded at the two yard line by rod harris out past the 20 and harris to the 23-yard line the rookie from texas a m is stopped there by daryl pollard bobby a bear has been very hot over the last three weeks the saints have not only done it with great defense in their three-game winning streak but with a bear as hot as he's been in his career hilliard and buford jordan are the running backs jordan spells craig hayward martin and hill are the wide outs and brenner is the tight end and there are the guys up front the veteran stan brock number 67 the right tackle first and 10 at the 23-yard line they split jordan to the right give it to hilliard their main man and hilliard takes it out to the 29-yard line a pickup of six the linebacker michael walter number 99 in on the tackle the 49er defense again minus michael carter holt keith coogler spells carter at nose tackle and kevin fagan and then the linebackers haley can line up up or down he's the pass rush specialist millen released by the raiders earlier this season and the revamped secondary minus fuller minus mackayer who is now second string but lot has come back at free safety and four from the 29-yard line and it's tillyard again fighting his way out to the 34-yard line for what should be a first down michael walter being on the tackle and hillyard picking right up where he left off last week in fact over the last three weeks he and a bear and the defense have been the keys and time out on the field there is an injured scene at brett edelman the left guard number 63 who needs the attention edelman came into the night suffering with a back injury and right now they are looking at the left leg but he's had on and off back trouble throughout the entire season kevin happened he's able to put the weight on his foot he's able to support himself as he goes off and that's uh that's good news for brad edelman and the saints al mentioned that it would be kevin haberdink who will fill in the rookie out of western michigan he's big but obviously inexperienced 6'5 285 pounder so he lines up on the left side with a bear leading the things to the line at the 34-yard line on first and ten bobby's first pass of the game is knocked down at the line of scrimmage by the big hand of haley charles haley number 94. the sack specialist batting that one down well you see the saints had to make an adjustment haberman came into the line came into the line to play but he's also playing out at left tackle dombrowski moves into the inside and this is nothing but push by mr haley inside working against hilgenberg and that is a pressure move nothing more than moving your man back a couple of yards and then timing your leap to knock it down great feel for the ball charles haley saints come up in the eye second and ten from the 34 yard line and this is hilliard finding the hole out past the 40 and then pushed back by kevin fagan number 75 and that'll set up a third down in about three thanks use hillyard much says the 49ers use roger craig he is the principal man in the running game last week against atlanta he had 190 yards of offense 93 rushing 97 receivings and they'll use him much as the 49ers will use roger craig very similar offenses too they're they're very high percentage tough they don't take a lot of risk either ball club they'll throw the ball underneath to the back do some slant ends do some crossing patterns both of them very high percentage with their offensive scheme out of the shotgun third and a long three the niners nearly jumping in fact contact is made and all kinds of flags are thrown four in fact well you can see the saints jump a little bit but if one of the 49ers touched them before coachman 78 that's it five pierce holt and he came across the line and made contact and that's the end of that play there's hope oh and you can see you see his left arm come out and he hits steve travilla the right guard so that's an easy first down for new orleans and that's back to back first down for the saints out at the 45-yard line first and ten fake to hillary then look out and would you say that holt made up for that last penalty that's what he had in mind on the last play that was naked as bobby hey bear rolling out naked sending backs to the left nobody even touched hold and he was into a bear before he could do anything here's holt right here and just this is nothing more than honoring your responsibilities [Applause] everything goes away the right guard pulls away the right tackle pulls away they're faking a trap but pierce holt is buying none of that he's going to go up field boy you need a defensive end who's going to bite and close in on the trap coming at him and pierce holt did not oblige three and a half sacks this season now for pierce holt second down and 19 from the 36 yard line and hillard takes it out to the 40 it'll be third down and about 16 with eric wright and johnny jackson converging on the tackle dalton hilliard out of lsu bobby eber out of northwestern louisiana saints like to stay at home a lot of fellas not only from southeastern conference schools and schools in louisiana but from the area and a lot of their key people as well guys like floyd turner paul frazier the rookies upholding the tradition third and 14 from the 41. a bear stepping up and then throwing complete to the 45-yard line to brett perriman and he stopped at the 46 and so after two first down the niners hold the saints new orleans forced to kick wright and pollard in on the last tackle 11 minutes to play in a scoreless opening quarter tommy barnhart's a kick that number on the left the average is not very good but it's very deceiving a lot of his kicks have been from near the 50-yard line he's angled and out of bounds or they've dropped dead inside the 20. he's been doing a fine job all things considered and barnhart's check this time is a decent one a fair catches call for and made at the 21-yard line by john taylor and the 49ers and joe montana will take over there 10 31 to go in the first quarter in san francisco san francisco has the ball at the 22-yard line the 49ers have their first possession of the night upcoming joe montana three weeks ago out with a sprained elbow and missed the dallas game then came back to help lead them to a victory over new england but spraying his knee in that one missed the jets game and so here he is making his seventh start of the season in this 49ers ninth game in his 11th year joe montana three super bowl rings and the 49ers were the first and 10. at the 22-yard line with roger craig going in motion montana a short drop the pass is caught by taylor and a first down out at the 35-yard line you'd never know that seaford's the coach that's the same way they might open up with bill walsh and did many times over 10 years here they are offensively craig and ratsman are the running backs taylor and rice the great wide receivers and brent jones the tight end the offensive line they've had some problems up front but they're getting better and better you'll see tauschelad at guard and steve wallace will spell paris from time to time a tackle from the 35-yard line roger craig out to the 40-yard line it has not been a vintage season thus far for craig and some of the problems have to do with the adjustments on the offensive line but he is starting to get it in gear a gain of five here and defensively for the saints who've been terrific over the last three weeks wilkes the long time defensive end has moved to nose tackle flanked by warren and gethers ricky jackson mills johnson and swilling's been on a tear lately massey cook atkins and dave weimer the free safety was a teammate of montana's at notre dame in the late 70s from the 35 yard line montana is going for a first down and more as taylor goes out of bounds at the saint 46-yard line there's a list that george seifert is looking at he has not changed from bill waltz in the sense that the plays were given some 15 of them to the 49ers last night and barring anything unforeseen they would go out and run all 15 of them crossing pattern underneath very high percentage safe pass to john taylor who in the first game when montana threw three touchdown passes taylor had two of them rice had the other one this next play will be on the list rice goes in motion from the 45-yard line a little misdirection with craig pulled down from behind by pat swilling as he takes it to the 43-yard line and we'll take an isolated look at number 56 pat swilling here's a guy that is really back into the play and the 56 that he wears shares that with lawrence taylor and in many ways there are players that share a lot in common great pass structure eight sacks in the last four games for patchwork rasman in motion second and eight a little cost to roger craig he has rules but it closes in a hurry vaughn johnson smacking him at the 39-yard line backing him pretty good choice of words now that was a smack hear so much about linebackers from various teams but the new orleans saints are not second to many teams with jackson on the outside of swelling and von johnson the number one draft pick those many years ago putting a smashing hit on craigs they have a another inside linebacker sam mills at 5-9 a 225 pounder he's who can hit third down and four from the 39-yard line montana protected well throws hits rathman and a first down they love to go to ratsman as a receiver that's his 38th cash of the year for the fullback out of nebraska first down 49ers look at the way the 49ers are getting back and getting rid of the football too i think you're looking at several things here one a great pass rush by the new orleans saints so joe montana doesn't want to sit on the ball even if he's 100 healthy secondly he's nursing the bad leg you know he doesn't want to stand in the pocket and take a shot i think new orleans has got to realize pretty quickly that montana is going to throw rhythm passes at least early in this ball game getting rid of the ball in a hurry from the 34-yard line fray goes through the middle there's not much there and he picks up about two so the 49ers as they did with walsh a lot of different looks in the early stages of the game running and passing and mixing it up very very well new orleans coming in to tonight led the nfl against the rush they have allowed only 77 yards per game average running the ball but again seaford will as we look at the last three games but you've got to keep that defense honestly you'll see craig set inside just to make sure they don't disregard the run totally and go for montana in the past second and eight from the 32-yard line montana that short drop and then a little slant to rice rice inside the 15-10 tucks down jerry right oh he's magic not bad either he is bad it's a crossing pattern they use it again it's a high percentage stuff and montana with a quick look short drop hits rice and then rice just does the rest of it as a great athlete well you can see right off the bat that the 49ers and joe montana are not going to tangle with the pass rush of the saints one two three drop this is just an ordinary completion robert massey lost his footing when jerry rice made his break to the inside massey went down and then it's like the rest of the secondary i know they were trying but the greatness of a jerry rice it looks like a man among boys heading for the end zone third nfl new 49er record isn't it for rice where he ties one gene washington's record of 59 touchdown receptions he's doing it all so quickly six minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter at candlestick park where the 49ers lead it seven to nothing as they go 78 yards and it culminates with a montana to rice pass for 32. rod harris the rookie from texas a m is back he's in the middle flanked by gene atkins and bobby morris as culprit puts it in the air this time a shorter kick at the 10-yard line it's rod harris and he brings it back out to the 26-yard line and the saints take over at that spot for their second possession their first resulted in two first downs and then upon a little skirmish right there ronnie lot involved in it for the moment not much action in the saints ready to take over at the 26th with bobby a bear and again it's kaberdink in the game spelling the injured edelman meanwhile it's almost like when steve carlton and nolan ryan were going to head to head when they were both active in strikeouts rice and craig in a good battle for touchdowns and touchdown receptions gene washington has now been tied by jerry rice for the all-time 49er mark saints from the 26 yard line a bear throwing into traffic and it's dropped at the 40-yard line and it's incomplete dropped by holby brenner no fumble incomplete michael walter and chef brooks converged to dislodges what a perfect pass though from bobby aber hobie brenner is splitting the coverage right between two 49ers now that's of course why he takes such a big shot but what a wonderful throw that time by bobby a bear michael walters going to get in there and make the shot but look at the touch on the ball right on to the hand that was something special and then chet brooks comes in and pops it loose hobie brenner try but beautiful beautiful throw by airborne jordan goes in motion from the 26-yard line and they give it to hilliard big hole and he exploits it gets out past the 40 and spins his layout to the 45-yard line where daryl pollard makes the tackle a 19-yard pickup for dalton hilliard well that's just great running on the part of hilliard he's only five eight but he has enormous fives and he is so quick the little opening now watch this move right there just totally juking the man right off his feet eric wright and getting the first down out of the 45-yard line but at 5 eight and 204 pounds this is quite a package [Applause] great strength in those legs from the 45 yard line first and ten new orleans 49ers aren't top seven nothing five and a half minutes to play in the opening period [Applause] and this time he picks up about four michael walter and matt milton and ronnie lott also entering the picture and in fact uh entering the picture a bit too late according to jim tunney ronnie lot is back yeah he's characteristic of him he's back 15 yards i mean that is really a a late late hit by this guy he's out five weeks you can understand maybe wanting a taste for combat and for contact but this is drastically late now watch this hillard is now down and there comes ronnie lott helmet first and uh that's going to draw a flag in any game on any field i mean they're they're sizing a guy up and just putting a hat right on him a blatant blatant cheap shot by ronnie lotta a classy player making an unclassy move first and ten saints at the 36-yard line and this time billiard is split to the left jordan is the sole setback and a bear going deep but a little too deep for eric martin who had sprung free second and ten martin their big play man this season he's averaging almost 19 yards a reception and that's a that's an area in which the saints fans have been critical in the past figuring that new orleans have been too conservative offensively and they've begun to open it up just a bit more this season they've been a big play team passing this year whereas in the past they haven't but that time martin was wide open crossing with hill and a bear who had just shown that great touch a few moments ago in that pass to brenner just overthrew it [Applause] second and ten saints at the 49 or 36 yard line and hilliard gets taken down a nice tackle made by kevin fagan who got him around the ankles and brought him down at the 34-yard line short of the first down by about seventh and third and seven up coming [Applause] that very well might have been a first down for new orleans if not for that tackle by kevin fagan billiard was just a half a step from getting around the corner the only 49ers would have had to deal with was ronnie a lot and that would have been for another six or seven yards down the field [Applause] third and seven with a bear out of the shotgun from the 33-yard line four-man rush a bear under pressure gets it away coming back to make the catches lonzell hill first down at the 14 yard line tackled by pollard and the rush put on that time by larry roberts who was draped around a bear as he released a 19-yard pickup and that's why the ball flutters down there i mean this might have been a situation where roberts could have come to the sidelines receiving congratulations for causing an interception because this ball comes out of here real slow and it's really a pop-up and hill is the guy that's able to make the correction hollard reacts to it way too late and new orleans getting a decent drive when they need it son of the great former receiver j.d hill gives him a first down at the 14-yard line saints on the move after a 49er touchdown drive a bear protected well as time throws and the catch is made at the sixth by hobie brenner who gets taken down by matt millen at the six yard line it'll be second down and two in a perfect throw by e bear millen's got to be saying frank i'm sorry i can't cover a guy any better than this and again a perfect touch by a berry into the tied in hobie brenner let's look at it this time brenner comes down with the football and millen is right there the former pro bowler from the raiders he was draped all over brenner but a bear put it just exactly right for brenner [Applause] second and a short two at the six yard line two and a half minutes to go first quarter seven nothing san francisco hilliard on second and two picks up the first down it'll be first and goal at the three yard line push back by ronnie lott among others the saints this season have had 14 first and goal situations and they've converted 13 of them into touchdowns so they know how to get it in from here that is really just an incredible stat it's the toughest part of the field to get much of anything done the entire defense is condensed and to convert 13 out of 14 times into touchdowns the best in the nfl first and goal just inside the three-yard line jordan takes it to the one-yard line craig hayward this week missed practice time because of a personal problem had to go back to pittsburgh jordan's been bothered by a hamstring but he is now healthy and that's why he is in there tonight and not iron head he's been out for four weeks with that hamstring and you might recall that at the end of last year he had replaced haywood as a starting pullback and early in this year he was the starter until he pulled that hamstring but he has to be just a little bit rusty he's been out for a long time and as you mentioned hayward with personal problems sick child missed a couple of practice days this week 10th play of the drive coming up second and goal jordan and hilliard in the backfield it's hillyard looking for room cuts inside and he's over for the touchdown behind jim dombrowski nice little adjustment made by hilliard to find the spot and get it in and the saints counter a 49er touchdown drive with one of their own actually dombrowski pulls on the trap he's moved into left guard since brad edelman has left and he traps ronnie lock who comes across the line of scrimmage look at dombrowski number 72 he's going to get out in front see him kick a lot to the outside it's read by hilliard and he jumps back to the inside a great measure of a team's mental toughness how well they operate near the goal line and i think the saints proving that they're the best in their league a mentally tough team orton anderson boots it through and with a minute and 15 seconds to play in the first quarter the game tied 7-7 49ers trying to go up by three in the west and the saints trying to make it close in the west saints with a long drive that ends with a one-yard run by hilliard for the touchdown the last time these two teams met on october 8 the saints that day rushed for a total of 35 yards tonight already 53 yards anderson's kick taken at the six yard line by terence flagler and he is dropped out at about the 15-yard line by walter johnson number 19. offensive line and again there is edelman who had come out of the game as they talked things over and we'll be back in a moment [Music] steve young is the backup 49er quarterback he helped lead them to a victory last week then he had to leave with knee and ankle injuries montana back joe as we mentioned has missed two of the last three weeks and you'd never know it on that first drive leading them 78 yards and here he begins this one from the 15-yard line first and ten 105 to play first quarter at candlestick park in the game is tied 7-7 joe montana 108.9 is pass rating for this season he's first a bear is second in the league rice goes in motion montana five step drops and throws wide open is roger craig and spraying almost to the first down marker not quite it'll be second and one cooking junction in on the tackle let's go back and take a look at new orleans tying touchdown 300 pound pulling guard ronnie has to say hey wait a minute this was not in the job description give me another few weeks a second in inches and they don't get those inches and roger craig gets spun back to the 21 by frank warren so it goes from second and one to third and about four well we've been watching this game for a long time and when you start talking about numbers like the saints and their defense are putting up only 77 yards a game through half of an nfl season on the ground that's an extraordinary number it's difficult to lose a game there's steve sidwell their defensive coordinator it's tough to lose when you give up less than 100 yards rushing third down and four montana on his first roll of the night lost one it's caught by raphman he breaks a tackle takes it to the 41-yard line as the quarter will come to an end rathman on third and four makes the catch out to the 41 a second reception of the night rathman is their second leading receiver behind only rice is 39th of the year a 21-yard gain and that takes us to the 15-minute mark he was not even thinking about stepping out of bounds tom rather he loves to play this game he's out a couple hours early he just turns it north and south for tom rathman back after this message and a word from our abc station in san francisco he started the second quarter al michaels frank gifford dan dierdorf a 7-7 tie the 49ers were the first and 10 at the 41-yard line joel montana had a perfect first quarter saints nearly jumped but there is no flag and then the cash is made out of the 45-yard line by john taylor his third reception of the night and we'll take a look at the numbers through the first 15 minutes of play meanwhile montana is now 7 for 7. time of possession there the saints dominating but again we have a 7-7 ball game and john taylor laying off john taylor considerably and they did that in the last game and they'll photo him underneath and just count on his broken field running to make a little one into a big one he's very capable of doing it second and five he now sends taylor wider to the left and montana stepping up firing patches made at the 43-yard line by the tight end brent jones he takes it to the 37 tackled by sam mills a first down what a difficult thrill for a quarterback to make first of all you're unsettled you have to move to buy a little more time but then your receiver is moving from your right to your left perfectly parallel to where you are so in other words it's not a situation of dropping a ball over the top or anything like that in joe montana buying a little extra time and just sawing a perfect pass watch the right of your screen there comes jones across the middle and just look at that look at the lead right out on the hands could not have been better by joe montana first and ten at the 37-yard line montana throwing wide open is rathman and rasman is taken down at the 31-yard line after a pickup of about six gene atkins the safety makes the tackle so many weapons bryce and taylor and they throw to craig of course a lot and rathman and brent jones what a well-conceived play for the 49ers they fled both backs out of the backfield craig naturally is going to draw primary attention he takes a deep downfield you bring rathman right behind him you almost guarantee he's going to be covered black with the linebacker he was wide open and gets the reception you throw for 71 percent or better that'll win and joe montana he hasn't missed yet has he yeah that knee's really bothering him huh yeah second and four here's rasman a first down taking it to the 26-yard line montana's into tonight passing it 68.6 possibly couldn't hit have a 70 season hasn't been done since kenny anderson did it in a strike shortened season back in 82 and the last time prior to that was way back there sammy ball was he nine for nine so far tonight joe montana off to a perfect start in 1987 he set the nfl record with 22 consecutive completions over a two game period five against cleveland and then 17 the following week against green bay a little problem at the inception of that play but no problem at the end for rathman taking it to the 16 yard line he is stopped by dave weimer so not the best executed play but it works nonetheless i wonder how many of the 49ers players understand this play you had three or four going one way three or four going another looks like a fire drill half the line is one way half the line is other roger craig is going to his right tom rathman somehow gets the ball from joe montana and if it's not for dave weimer he may have scored dave weimer makes a good open field tackler tom rathman may have found the end zone and when all is said and done it's a nine yard gain that's the one if we want to telestrate that play it would be a white out second and one from the 16 yard line fake to rathman then he fires inside the five-yard line to jerry rice it'll be first and goal the diabolical dr montana is in the operating room new orleans sitting back there in their zone defense looking for a pass rush montana just taking about a five step quick drop rice reads it right away steps to the inside finds that seam and is wide open and montana threads the needle well i know one thing that robert massey the rookie of the new orleans saints their number two draft choice this year locked up on jerry rice is a mismatch that the 49ers are going to attempt to exploit all night long split back set first and goal from the two-yard line they send rice in motion montana on a roll montana throws touchdown jerry rice again when you watch the 49ers you realize that maybe it's not as complicated a game as some people might think just get the ball to jerry right a beautiful beautiful drive by the 49er precision two beautiful drives by the 49ers anne rice sets that 49er record that he tied a short while ago 11 touchdown this season well neil anderson has 10 the bear running back hilliard got his 11th earlier and now rice with two tonight has 11. and the niners are on top again with 10 and a half minutes to go in the first half [Music] helping holes coffers kick is good and the 49ers on two long drives lead by a score of 14 to jerry rice came in motion across the backfield brett maxie is going to try to come all the way across number 39. antonio gibson was there but not his man but look at maxey how'd you like to be brett maxey you gotta chase this guy all the way across the field and try to keep him from making just a couple of yards and a touchdown not going to happen whether it's 2 yards 20 or 80. this guy's going to score shooting about last night in grant park and we ran over after the shooting to get into the stadium they were playing the bears were playing green bay packers the play i remember and play everyone remembers is and back at candlestick quack 14-7 is the score with the 49ers on two possessions moving down the field with the plum and with deafness and with perfection from that man joe montana who is now 11 for 11. with the plum and deafness a plum it's been a wonderful just to be in the booth with this [Music] let me put this thesaurus away for a second here get the speed card back out at the 11 11-yard line this is rod harris taking it out to the the 31-yard line and you know it's an amazing thing bill walsh was such great success and then george seifert takes over and they're picking right up where they left off doesn't change a whole lot either as you look down and uh george secret i think he's handled probably one of the major problems anyone has when they replace what basically was a legend around here well how about not only who's coaching but who's playing i mean it doesn't matter whether it's joe montana or steve bono or steve young at quarterback i mean it's they're interchangeable parts i i think you have to look at the organization you have to start with eddie debartolo and come all the way down the line this is this is not just a good football team this is a good football organization or sonny bono could probably do it at this point from the 32-yard line this is dalton hilliard wrapped up after a gain of four and you know when you see that type of a tackle that number 42 is at the other end ronnie lott at the 36 yard line it'll be second down and six meanwhile good double header coming up for you this week or what amounts to a split national for us as the rose bowl race really heats up you will see either michigan against illinois with the winner most likely going to pasadena january 1st or usc against arizona the trojan's very much in the driver's seat for a return spot at the rose bowl it begins at 3 30 eastern and 12 30 pacific this saturday second and sixth from the 36 yard line fake to hillary a bear with time throws and it's broken up just broken up by don griffin at the very last moment [Applause] here's don griffin he's one on one with lonzell hill and he's beaten right there he is just a little bit out of the play but look how the ball is a little underthrown you can see hill had to delay slow down and that allows griffin to come back into it and get his hands on the ball good recovery that time by don griffin third down and six saints at the 36 yard line a bear lining up in the shotgun clock down to five seconds down to three seconds and he just gets it off on a low snap and on third and six open over the middle is brenner and he has a first down as he takes it out to the 45-yard line and he is tackled there by pollard and griffin talk so much about montana his high percentage of completions coming into tonight bobby a bear was throwing it just under 67 coming off of several hot games and the last five consecutive games he's passed for over 250 yards so he's right behind joe montana as the number two passer in the nfl we're looking at one and two tonight montana has been perfect tonight a bear is four of eight for 42 yards first and ten new orleans at the saints 45-yard line [Applause] hilliard behind jordan into 49 a territory a nine-yard game he's tackled by walter who's a little shaken up on the play but michael gets up favoring his right arm yeah michael gets up but that right arm is hanging you know you talk about these are the number one and the number two rated passers i think a lot of that has to do with the system in which they operate both of them are ball control type of passing operations the short stuff underneath the quick rhythm passers neither one of these guys is what you might call your classic seven step drop back quarterback that stanza holds it holds it pumps once or twice and then gets rid of it a lot of it has to do with the system but these two executed the perfection second and one at the 46. hilliard gets that one and about four more taking it to the 41-yard line pierce holt makes the tackle and we have about 7 40 remaining in the first half san francisco on top 14-7 we'll see the niners twice more on our monday night schedule and next week to the house of pain we go warren moon had a big day yesterday to lead the oilers over detroit but the bengals have to rebound after losing to the raiders cincinnati and houston next monday night they'll be mumbling something like bow bow bow a remarkable day for bo jackson that's today against cincinnati from the 41-yard line jackson by the way did something we'll get to it in a second that nobody else has done is a bear throws and it's a little bit behind the intended receiver lonzell hill you realize that nobody in the history of the national football league has ever had two runs of over 90 yards until bo jackson we saw one of them on monday night football last year up in seattle and then again yesterday against the bengals went 92 yesterday and 91 in our game uh up in seattle two years ago i guess it was in seattle not last year he's the threat to do it any time he gets his hand and both of them uh runs of the same type up the far sideline and someone has the angle on him and that angle was not not to be away he went and in true raider fashion both of them around the left side [Applause] on second and ten hill makes the catch hill running parallel along the 25-yard line and is dropped there finally by michael walter a first down appears to me frank that the saints are serving notice after both of the 49er touchdown drives they've come back with good drives of their own and lonzell hill here keeps it alive again much like the 49ers we talked about the obvious similarity the two teams a little crossing pattern he had to keep in mind now he came close at one point to losing the first down he already had but he stayed with it and got the first down but a little crossing pattern again high percentage tough we talked about it earlier both the 49ers and the saints they like that kind of offense consequently high percentage passing jordan in motion after that 16-yard pickup and this time hilliard is wrapped up by haley but he's still able to fight forward to pick up an extra yard and a half or two yards taking it down to the 21-yard line i think if the one thing that's been overlooked over really the decade of the 80s with these 49ers and lost in so much of the celebrity of joe montana and roger craig and now jerry rice the fact that this defensive unit has been absolutely superb and coached by this man for so many years under bill waltz they were the top team in the nfl in 1987 they were third last year and they're always right there in the top five and that makes a big difference they get the ball back great field position for their outfits second and seven from the 22-yard line hilliard and he's wrapped up as pollard and walter converge on the tackle for no game it'll be third down and six [Applause] this defense really has never had the comparable big names with the exception perhaps of ronnie lott a lot of players have come in and gone but they have maintained those big numbers always in the top five look at the legs i spoke up a moment ago big thigh he's only five eight but he weighs 204 pounds and so much of it in the lower part of his body a bear from the shotgun third down and seven from just inside the 22-yard line just a three-man rush and the pass is locked in and broken up in the end zone by eric wright number 21 intended for brett perriman uh that looked like the eric wright of the 84 season a pro bowl cornerback who's had all kinds of physical problems ever since but watch this coverage snip it out if you want to teach how to go man on man coverage eric wright see how he plays the ball how many times have we watched a game where a cornerback ends up playing only the receiver look at eric wright play the ball he feels where his man is but at the same time has the presence of mind to go back and play the ball martin anderson a 39-yard attempt and after he had slumped through the first four games this year he has now hit nine of his last 10. he's perfect from 39 the saints come up with three 425 to go in the half and the 49ers lead by four at candlestick morton anderson as we said he slumped in the second half of 88 and again this year off to a slow start but now there are the up-to-date rankings field goal percentage the minimum 100 made there he is leading nick lowry of kansas city gary anderson of pittsburgh is as close as it can get that's right up to the moment after his 39 yarder his kickoff here fielded at the seven yard line by terrence flagler not past the 20 and a good run back for flagler as he gives the 49ers a first down at the 33 yard line one thing about morton anderson now taking the lead over lowry and anderson i think lowry and anderson would be quick to point out that they'd like to kick in a dome half the time like morton anderson gets to do at the superdome down in new orleans kansas city pittsburgh not exactly ideal conditions a lot of the year kicking outdoors i think they'd gladly trade places with this guy they might trade salaries with them too at the 33-yard line first and ten jones the tight end in motion montana who's 11 for 11 and this time incomplete unable to hold on is brent jones so the uh the record for most consecutive completions in the game 20. back in 1982 brent jones showing that there's more than one way to lose a shoe we saw herschel walker a couple weeks gets stripped of his and here brent jones diving for this joe montana pass ends up sanju excuse me that's a good song good look at montana who had a way of cooking wanted to go to john taylor on the other side he was well covered and he knew instantly when he was covered before he was going to go with the ball even though it was incomplete turned and fired to jones dan you delivered that with deftness and a plum thank you second and ten over the middle it's incomplete so montana after hitting 11 straight gets decked here flag goes down very late [Music] units against the 49ers who have been near perfect on their true drive jim tunney has been not a very busy man tonight very few flags in the game and now they're discussing this with the saints do they want the player the penalty morris is pushing back well it's a 10-yard penalty so uh his choice there do you want it to be second and 20 or third and 10. well i think what jim mora wants is to take the second and 20 and let his guys do a little pass rushing something they've been doing very well lately it's an interesting option though joe montana has been doing a lot of completing lately too yeah gives montana an extra pass and he throws this one a little swing out to rachman and rachman gets about half the distance needed for that first down as braun johnson bumps them out of bounds out near the 33-yard line and they're about 10 yards shy of the first and on second and twenty you get half of it back now you're looking at a third and ten and so you can go with something again with a little higher percentage of possibility of completion and less of the percentage for interception of the sac maybe they're back to where they would have been anyway they declined the penalty third and ten [Music] 357 to play first half 14-10 san francisco [Applause] montana with time throws and it's almost picked off and wilson had to become a defensive back when toy cook stepped in front of him and nearly picked it big play by wilson to save the interception montana just a little slow getting it out to wilson and toy cook had played it absolutely perfectly wilson hangs on to the right arm of cooker he's gone watch cooks he's actually got the ball but look at wilson hold on to that right arm cook is trying to gather it in with his left arm but mike wilson hanging on to the right arm pulling it down towards his waist doesn't allow the interception that that would have been an easy touchdown barry hilton's first kick of the night a low-lying drive fielded on the run at the 30-yard line by rod harris and he gets spilled out of the 38-yard line by bill romanowski new orleans ball 3 42 to go in the first half and san francisco ahead by four in terms of points overcome to win a game it was the greatest comeback in nfl history new orleans led by 28 at halftime but lenville elliott tied the game with this run in regulation ray wirshing won it with a field goal in overtime and the niners beat the saints 38-35 [Music] as you look at that shot just to the left of that post on your screen jim finks the president gm of the saints and of course a man who a lot of people thought would be the commissioner is not remains in his role at new orleans with paul tagliabue the new commissioner and in fact paul is here tonight watching this one and it's a good one late in the first half craig hayward is in the game for the first time he stays in the block and a bear's throw out to the 45-yard line and dalton hilliard makes the catch there for a gain of about five now at the half tonight we will have for you as usual monday night football greatest moments and don makowsky the green bay quarterback who led the packers to that thrilling victory over chicago yesterday and of course the replay controversy [Music] qb [Applause] [Music] second and long five hayward is in the squat to the left and welcome hilliard has the football and he's wrapped up by michael walter after a gain of a couple and upcoming will be a third and about three from the 47-yard line this game is just flying by 2 45 on the clock and ticking away here at the end of the first half in this game just a little over an hour old a very well played game the execution by both offenses there's carl smith the offensive coordinator of the new orleans saints and both offensive teams tonight have been clicking third and a short three from the 48-yard line [Applause] a bear pump fake then he throws and it's underneath and not enough i don't think for the first down hayward stretching and reaching and maybe with that second effort but we'll see michael walter we're going to wrap them up nope they're not going to mark it even close there's the old pump fake in reverse normally the pump fake is to set up a long throw down the sidelines i've never seen the pump fake used to set up a one-yard bomb before [Laughter] he was down you'll watch he he's down and then he tries to reach and there he is and they they spot it on the same side of the 50-yard line you'll see the chain will extend past the 50. and into 49 a territory so they are that much short of the first down fourth and inches oh a tough call for jim mora boy this is one you really mull around for a while [Applause] can you afford to turn it over to the 49ers at midfield no i don't think so when you've got a defense playing like yours you've got to play the percentages and put it away meanwhile they're going to try to get the kick away in a hurry before the 49ers can set up the 49ers had to wait the punt unit getting in is the kick is lofted and is fair caught at the 15-yard line by taylor and that takes us to the two-minute warning it comes with exactly 159 to play in the half and montana and the 49ers with all of their timeouts left [Music] boy it seems like a long time ago but it was only what uh nine nights ago that logo remains and that's where uh the home plate area is at candlestick park you can see the infield has been filled in with sod you're taking up residence here again here yes i have candlestick in the cliffs i'll tell you it's uh it's been the home away from home at the 15-yard line the 49ers take over you're you're totally shameless uh i just want to say one you're just shameless i think we know we can't go to louisville again at the 15-yard line first and ten for san francisco all of their timeouts remaining roger craig cuts it back and takes it out to the 21-yard line and he is stopped there by frank warren and of course this is a situation that montana has been in so many times in his career and with such success in his career and when it comes to using the clock has there ever been anybody better second and four from the 21 over the middle taxes made by craig after the 30-yard line [Applause] [Music] you'll also be very cautious too with the four-point lead johnny united wasn't too bad at using the clock was he [Music] a little throw out to craig and troy cook makes the tackle as well in terms uh contemporary quarterbacks and the ones with plastic helmets you made as opposed to leather yep and johnny could get it done yep and so can joe we'll go over to talk to seaford and mike holmgren as well time out san francisco earthquake and tonight the national football league owners through nfl charities made the largest single grant in the history of their charitable organization an nfl charities check for one million dollars to the united way of america to specifically assist victims of the earthquake that struck northern and central california in addition san francisco 49er owner eddie bartolo jr made another 250 000 donation on behalf of his family and the 49ers making these contributions to united way president william armani our newly elected nfl commissioner paul tagliabue and 49ers owner edward j debartola jr the nfl owners now have made contributions totaling nearly 11 million dollars through nfl charities and what i've noticed here alan of course you know this area so much better is the courage and the way these people have come together this is a city once again and casual talk about it but that disaster that took place here on the 17th uh i mean it's almost forgotten here well it's terrible and the after effects are going to be felt for a while there's no question about that but i mean the city is standing in all of its regal splendor uh you guys have been downtown the past couple of days uh there's a traffic problem there's no question about that the bay bridge is still down and will be until uh the end of november they'll get that back in working order and then things will start to really get back to normal but um the folks in san francisco are saying hey look we're resilient we're coming back and come and visit us is what they're really saying i think the key to all this so it's quite simple there's still a great deal of work to be done and there's still lots of ways to help flag is down on second and four and montana just throws it away and there isn't a red shirt within 15 yards and there was a penalty marker at the inception of the play just want to finish that up by saying that you know how much work is still left to be done here in the bay area and uh there's still ways to help you can still make a donation to organizations like the united way and designate that you wanted to go to northern california to assist in the rebuilding process and it will be going on here for a long time [Music] i think you're right dan there's a tendency as time goes on to forget about it and this one should not be forgotten the resiliency however these people in this area absolutely amazing to me and the 49ers very much helping to brighten the days as they have of the populace throughout this decade leading here by four and the pass is broken up intended for taylor john taylor sprinting down the sidelines and it was milton mack who was back there with him he plays in the nickel and dime [Music] and as packages as the offenses have been playing so far we've also seen some outstanding examples of coverage in the secondary this is going to be one of them by milton mack see look at that left arm how he digs it in there that's the kind of contact that you can still get away with as long as it's not blatant and he's that's good defense frank i'll tell you it's also uh it's a strange defense to have one man on a dangerous perceiver like john taylor which obviously tells you where they're concentrating and that's against jerry rice on the opposite side of the field i think you'd assume there were two on rice second and ten and the pass is caught by rice rice french into saint territory has a first down at the 45-yard line clock ticking down to 50 seconds now 49ers have a pair of timeouts remaining and they won't use one here as montana leads them up to the line at the 45. [Applause] first and ten taylor the slanted breaks two tackles inside the 20. inside the pan taylor in for the touchdown [Applause] the throw was good but what john taylor did with it after catching the montana pass was brilliant i said earlier there i don't think there's anyone in the league right now capable of turning a little one into a big one like john taylor great return man jerry rice shaken up on that play being assisted off the field but john taylor took the little simple down and in and just turned it into a thing of beauty well he broke a couple of tackles and then he dragged dave weimer for about three or four yards and then as he's going down leans out with his right arm and just lays the football right across the goal line that's that's a big time play by john taylor he had two four weeks ago in a 24-20 win over the saints and uh and a year ago he had another one against the saints so he has been quite a force john taylor out of delaware state i wouldn't say their program was in disarray when he went to school there but about two years prior to his going to delaware state they lost the football game 105 to nothing he really came out of nowhere and it wasn't against the university of houston he was looking for a place where he could play i guess take a look at it again again he ties up with milton mack and montana just simple little completion over the middle of it he does all the rest watch how he drags weimer though into the end zone but watch how he lays out with the ball boy oh we were blocked oh just at the last minute but he protected it too to make sure it wouldn't be stripped knowing that weimer would try to strip the ball here he is again with a great broken field runner of course an excellent punt return man and watch him cover the football right here he knows weimer's going to try to strip it and just reaches out and gets the second lays it right out across the goal line oh nice very nice good look at it guys john taylor came upon the scene last year with his reception in the super bowl won the game for the 49ers and that was much the same reaction by joe montana back in january you're going to be a wide receiver on a team that likes to throw the ball like the 49ers well you may as well be a wide receiver on a team that has a jerry rice on the other side because twice now rather than going to rice who was drawing the double coverage montana twice went to taylor just missed him off his fingertips on a play just before and this time he hits him and taylor does the rest of it meanwhile as it turned out it didn't even matter what new orleans did on fourth and issues they punted and they still watched the 49ers march it down 85 yards instead of 50. these are awesome numbers aren't they guess i should have gone for it yeah saints have allowed only five touchdown passes of 20 plus yards this season and that man right there has thrown that entire handful coffers kicked ground ball taken at the six yard line and this is the rookie frasier paul frazier out of northwestern louisiana after the 29 they're going to give rice some early treatment but jerry looks like he'll be able to return in the second half as the clock ticks down right now it's stopped with exactly 21 seconds to play in the half jerry walking in with lindsay mclean the 49ers trainer [Applause] congratulate all our united states marines around the world and we get so many letters from the servicemen from around the world but it is the marine corps 214th birthday congratulations all you leathernecks and i'm not sure they could stop jerry rice at the 29-yard line a bear and the saints they have all of their timeouts left nothing that matters with 21 seconds bobby is going to throw over the middle and the catch is made by hilliard and the saints will take a timeout the thing is with morton anderson as your field goal kicker you got a decent shot if you can get it to within 55. well when you look at where the saints are i mean a loss tonight they drop below 500. i mean i don't see where they're in a position to squander any opportunity to try to put some points on the board now's got a point anderson has kicked one from 55 yards out and he did that off the natural surface did that out in denver a few years ago so he's certainly capable of reaching it and they don't have to advance it too far to give anderson a shot at it well what you'd have to do is you'd have to get it let's see 12 22 about another 20 if you can pick up 25 yards on this play to go out of bounds take a time out then you got a shot or else you could try it from right here yeah right which case you'd have a uh 80 yarder no that's when you call for tom dempsey right well somebody's going to kick an 80 yarder sooner or later we could make our 900 number one of our highlights that's true by the way we're going to take a look and give you a chance to vote on the top performance individual performance in the 70s boy that was tough to spin that one down with some great ones that's at halftime i guess i didn't make that one either you don't know though [Applause] second down and two from the 36 yard line niners nearly jump a three-man rush a bear fires and fires behind the intended receiver eric martin 10 seconds now last third down jamora came out of the usfl carl smith the offensive coordinator out of bakersfield college in san jose and what was going on he was born in moscow just a little longer for bakersfield how come you know so much about bakers you're not eating a lot of kern county long whites great potato growing of course i'm at the same junior college carl high school team is undefeated as they were until this past weekend [Applause] third and two a bear throws hilliard makes the catch to the 49-yard line and they will take a timeout with four seconds so they're not within field goal range but they can get off a hail mary or whatever they want to do on this play maybe set up a screen and try to break it one play left in all probability and we can tell you that we have coming your way from michigan's program has been there on top for a long time but really a lot of credit goes to john macavik and what he's done with the fighting illini they are they are one strong program with jeff george at quarterback more than capable of beating my alma mater and in champaign and i'm sweating this one out so why'd you tell us in the car michigan's going to win by 21. you have mixed emotions don't you no no no i've got to go with the mason blue hampton final play of the half if we don't have a penalty and it ends with a bear being swung down at the 49-yard line by bill romanowski and so the 49ers in only their second game at candlestick park this season and third home game overall leave the field at the half leading new orleans by a score of 21-10 and abc's monday night football returns after a commercial a message from the national football league and a word from our abc station and we're back at candlestick park in francisco of san looming large on our screen asked bubba what he weighed yesterday and uh he wouldn't tell me i said bob it's a great chance to lie i'll say whatever it is he said how about 270. i said you stretched it too far 49ers received the second half kickoff which is run back out to the 15-yard line the return by spencer tillman and san francisco with an 11-point lead and joe montana at the helm taking over at that spot joe in the first half 16 out of 19 for 223 yards three touchdowns and there it is for the season now his completion percentage is an incredible 70.1 percent and we say incredible because if he were to finish over 70 he would be one of only three quarterbacks in the history of the league to do that [Applause] from the 15-yard line rathman goes in motion craig takes the toss can't turn the corner and he gets very back of the line of scrimmage robert massey rookie out of north carolina central comes up to do it the two quarterbacks over 70 kenny anderson in 1982 a strike season and sammy baugh in 1945 and there it is graphically for you i think the other thing you have to take into consideration when you look at the first half of the year that joe montana has had is the fact that he's only thrown three interceptions [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] 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Channel: Sports !

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Id: B29QNbHFYGo

Length: 129min 35sec (7775 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 09 2021