New Orleans Saints vs Falcons Archie Manning 9-2-1979 Clips

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• published: 06 Nov 2015
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1979 New Orleans Saints vs Falcons Archie Manning 9-2-1979, Highlights from the game played opening day in the Louisiana Superdome. Coach Dick Nolan, Archie Manning, Chuck Muncie, Ike Harris. This was the first time a home season game was broadcast locally to fans because it was a sellout crowd. For the first time in recent years, New Orleans Saints fans where actually looking forward to a new season. Dick Nolan had brought New Orleans their finest season yet the preceding year and there was no reason to expect anything different. Pro-Bowler Archie Manning was back with the same receiving corps. Roger Finnie was obtained from St. Louis to help out an offensive line looking forward to the return of injured Conrad Dobler and Emmanual Zanders. If the defense could get the hang of Nolan’s flex defense, things could get interesting. The collage draft produced only two names that would be remembered. Kentucky linebacker Jim Kovach who played 6 seasons with the Saints, and Texas Kicker Russell Erxleben. Nicknamed “Thunderfoot”, Erxleben had had a legendary career at Texas hitting 11 field goals over 50 yards and 3 over 60….. including a record 67-yarder against Rice in 1978. By season’s end though, his nickname would be changed to “Blunderfoot”. As opening day against the hated Falcons of Atlanta arrived, memories of the previous years games where still fresh in the minds of these Saints……visions of “Big Ben” and last second scores. Fate would still be unkind to the bearers of Black-and-Gold. In overtime, with the score knotted up at 34, a deep snap sailed over rookie punter Russell Erxleben’s head. Erxleben managed to recover the foiled snap and hurl a desperation pass into the air…… only to be snatched away by back-up running back James Mayberry, who trotted 6 yards into the end zone for the winning score. For the third consecutive time, the Falcons had won in the losing seconds. While offense managed to hang tough (Muncie had 158 yards on the ground) the defense yielded 552 yards to the Falcons.