Turnovers doom Saints against Cleveland Browns

By By Richard Dark / EMG sports writer
Nov. 25, 2002
NEW ORLEANS Consider the luster of a strong start officially tarnished. The New Orleans Saints found a familiar way to implode against another seemingly inferior opponent. How? That's easy, turnovers.
Turnovers once again told the tale, spelling doom as the Cleveland Browns accepted all half-dozen gifts that were bestowed upon them Sunday en-route to beating the Saints 24-15 in front of 68,295 disgruntled fans inside the Louisiana Superdome.
The loss was New Orleans' third in four outings and as expected, the coach was none too happy about it.
The most glaring deficiencies came from the skill positions. Every turnover either killed the Saints chances in the red zone or led directly to a Cleveland score.
The first, a fumble by Brooks at the Browns 16 yard-line, kept the hosts from regaining the early lead. The next Cleveland drive was born as a result of a muffed punt by Michael Lewis at the Saint 26. Browns quarterback Tim Couch, who finished the day 12-of-22 for 176 yards, was also picked off twice, but the only difference was the hosts could only muster field goals instead of touchdowns.
Couch's initial miscue was snared by cornerback Dale Carter to ultimately give the Saints their only lead at 3-0, early in the first quarter.
Despite all of their mistakes, the Saints (7-4) were still in it in the final quarter, trailing 21-15. But that's when the Browns (6-5) went to work, embarking on a clock-chewing 13-play drive that consumed nearly seven minutes, moving the chains via the ground game.
The result was a Phil Dawson 28-yard boot to provide the final margin. "Putting it back to a two-score game was huge for us," said Browns coach Butch Davis.
New Orleans trailed by nine with 3 1/2 minutes remaining, but Brooks again ended any hopes of a frenzied, albeit thrilling, comeback by hurling his third pick of the afternoon on the third snap of the drive. His line read a 23-of-40, 318-yard effort.
Perhaps the biggest story was who didn't play in the contest. Saints running back Deuce McAllister dressed but was a last-minute scratch due to an ankle injury for New Orleans, which dropped its third game in the past four tries.
But the Browns made certain no fan left the Superdome without witnessing a tried and true rushing attack. Cleveland rookie William Green ran the ball for 114 of the squad's 163 yards on the ground to go with his touchdown. "At times we played good, but overall we didn't play well enough to win," said defensive tackle Kenny Smith, who collected three tackles. "We let a team beat us that wasn't supposed to beat us, so we have to look past this and get ready for Tampa Bay."
It was the fourth victory in five games for the Browns (6-5). The Saints dropped into third place in the NFC South.
Without Deuce, the Saints mustered only 74 yards rushing between the duo of Curtis Keaton and James Fenderson and managed only a single TD inside the opposing 20. "The turnovers hurt us, they came in the red zone," said Brooks, who was responsible for four of his team's six giveaways. "Turnovers took the team out of scoring. We didn't play well offensively, as you saw."
Penalties also hampered the club. Although they were flagged only five times for 24 yards, they all directly aided Browns scoring drives.
New Orleans opened the second quarter with a 27-yard field goal from John Carney after their drive stalled at the 8 to make it 7-6. But two plays after the Lewis gaffe, wide receiver Dennis Northcutt took a handoff and scampered 36 yards for the TD, putting the visitors up 14-6, less than four minutes before the break.
The Saints tried to answer right before the second quarter gun, but Brooks, from the Browns 2, threw the ball right to defensive back Anthony Henry on third and goal.
New Orleans started the third quarter with the ball and finally put together a touchdown drive, when backup running back James Fenderson capped a lengthy 12-play, 80-yard production with a 17-yard bolt up the gut into the end zone. But the 2-point conversion failed and the Saints still found themselves down 14-12.
Couch came right back with a nifty 24-yard strike to Kevin Johnson with 4:44 to go in the third quarter to put Cleveland up 21-12. But the prevailing theme of moving the ball up and down the field only to come up empty, continued as Brooks drove his team to the Cleveland 17, only to be intercepted on a third-and-7 by Browns' safety Earl Little in the end zone.
Couch did his part in keeping fans from leaving after he was swiped by cornerback Fred Thomas early in the final frame. But again, they had to settle for Carney, who kicked a 49-yarder that made it 21-15 with 10:14 to go. Lewis was tops in all-purpose yardage, touching the ball nine times for 224 yards, including a receiving-best 3 grabs for 114. The Saints actually outgained Cleveland 383-339, while punting only once.