Quitters never win ...
Panthers stun Saints 31-17 for first victory of year
Posted: Sunday November 01, 1998 07:22 PM
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Hard knocks: Lane (left) punished the Saints on the ground, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown AP |
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) -- Not long ago Kerry Collins and victory
cigars were staples at Ericsson Stadium. Both were treated like curious
oddities Sunday.
With many in the crowd unsuccessfully pleading for an appearance by
Collins, now an outcast playing for the opposition, Carolina rode a solid
outing by his successor, Steve Beuerlein, to beat
New Orleans 31-17.
"It's been too long since I had one of these," Beuerlein said as he
inspected a cigar he was given to mark the end of the longest winless
drought in club history.
Beuerlein threw for 132 yards and two touchdowns to help fuel the Panthers'
first victory in 10 games, including eight this season, and their first at
home in seven games dating back nearly a year. Carolina opened the stadium
in 1996 and won its first nine games, then lost nine of 11 before Collins
and the Saints came to town.
"We know we can play a lot better than we did today, and that's the
encouraging thing," Beuerlein said. "We haven't accomplished very much, but
it's a start."
The pent-up frustration generated by Carolina's losing ways was vented
Sunday at Collins, their former No. 1 draft choice who was cut last month
after reportedly saying he no longer had the heart to play. The Saints
picked him up the next day, but coach Mike Ditka said he would not play him
Sunday because there were "too many sharks in the water" at Ericsson.
Ditka stayed true to his word, but that didn't stop many in the crowd of
62,514 from chanting for him to put in Collins. Some wore replicas of
Collins' old jersey with his name replaced with words like "quitter" and
"coward," and one person even came with a stuffed likeness of Collins
holding a beer can. The doll was dangled over the lower-level railing,
secured by a rope around its neck.
Ha, ha: Carolina fans got the last laugh on former quarterack Kerry Collins -- Collins was cut last month after reportedly saying he no longer had the heart to play AP | |
"He expected it," said Billy
Joe Tolliver, New Orleans' lame-duck quarterback. "When somebody leaves
a team and comes back, you're going to get heckled. He handled it, never
opened his mouth and went about his business."
Tolliver, who has been told by Ditka that he will be replaced by Collins on
November 15, completed 24 of 48 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns,
but he was intercepted twice.
After the game, Ditka said he was having second thoughts about his target
date to start Collins.
"We'll see. I don't know what's going to happen," he said. "I don't even
want to talk about Kerry."
The Saints (4-4) were penalized nine times and had three turnovers that the
Panthers converted into 14 points on the way to their highest scoring
output of the season. Eric
Davis led Carolina's defensive effort with a 56-yard interception
return for a touchdown.
"We're capable of overcoming some things, but not all those things," Ditka
said.
Meanwhile, over in the Panthers' locker room, team owner Jerry Richardson
was making the rounds to congratulate players, including Davis.
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Collins is scheduled to make his first start as a Saint on November 15 AP |
"We know we haven't dug ourselves out of this hole," Davis said, "but I'd
be lying if I didn't say it was a relief."
Beuerlein, making his fourth start in place of Collins, completed 13 of 17
passes. He threw scoring passes of 31 yards to Raghib Ismail and 1 yard
to Muhsin Muhammad.
Beuerlein set the tone by directing a 17-play, 73-yard drive to open the
game. He completed all seven passes for 62 yards and ended the drive by
rolling out to the right from the 1-yard line, finding everybody covered
and doubling back to the left, where he hit Muhammad in the corner of the
end zone for the score.
Davis gave the Panthers their biggest lead of the season when he stepped in
front of an underthrown pass intended for Sean Dawkins, intercepted
it and raced down the left sideline to make it 14-0.
Up 17-3 at halftime, the Panthers knocked the ball away from the Saints' Qadry Ismail as he was
returning the second-half kickoff. Juran Bolden recovered the
ball, setting up a 5-yard scoring run by Fred Lane that put
Carolina up by 21.
The biggest excitement the rest of the way came with slightly more than two
minutes left when Tolliver got knocked down on an incomplete pass and was
slow to get back to his feet. The crowd cheered and again began chanting
for Collins, but Tolliver was able to stay in the game. Extra
points
The only significant injury reported by New Orleans was a concussion
suffered by cornerback Alex
Molden in the fourth quarter. He did not return. Capers said the
Panthers had no significant injuries. ... Carolina's 17-play drive to open
the game was the second-longest in club history and one short of the
franchise record. ... The Saints, who had three sacks, have recorded at
least one in 57 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the NFL
and the longest this decade. The league's all-time record is 60 by the Washington Redskins.
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