Even New Cowboys Get Blues as Saints Are Superb, 28-0

They have long memories in Louisiana.

They remember Jean Lafitte, Huey Long, and Archie Manning. They remember the September day that the temperature was 124 on an outdoor playing field, the day that Manning won his opening game as a rookie quarterback in 1971.

In the last second that sweltering afternoon, as thousands cheered, the young pro from Ole Miss ran the last yard to upset the Rams by four points.

So New Orleans will doubtless remember Troy Aikman’s first performance as a National Football League quarterback Sunday. Aikman surely will.

Although the No. 1 draft choice from UCLA played well enough, the Cowboys were shut out before an overflow crowd at the Superdome, where the New Orleans Saints breezed, 28-0.

Staying even with the Rams and 49ers in the warmly competitive NFC West, the Saints won by taking a 21-0 first half lead and a defense that held Dallas to 20 yards rushing.

Behind quarterback Bobby Hebert the Saints drove 74, 73 and 89 yards to three touchdowns and also scored on a punt return to embarrass the heirs to America’s Team: the rookie coach, Jimmy Johnson, and the rookie owner, Jerry Jones, not to mention Aikman.

“We’re a much better team than this,” Johnson said after his linemen had been dominated on offense and defense.

Aikman said much the same about the offense’s part in a rout in which the Saints held the ball for 44 minutes 2 seconds, the Cowboys only 15:58.

Asked how it felt to join the league on a day like this, the new leaders responded differently.

Johnson: “I didn’t expect to walk in here, win the first game, and go on to win them all.”

Jones: “You don’t get to be an NFL owner if you haven’t learned to get kicked once in a while and get up the next day with a smile.”

Jones owns 88% of the Cowboys. The United States, which foreclosed on one of his partners, owns the other 12%, but couldn’t be reached for comment.

Aikman, who could, said: “One (game) doesn’t make or break your season. Today we just didn’t execute. (The Cowboys) didn’t play well in any phase of the game.”

Most of them didn’t, that’s true. But if all had played as well as Aikman, there could have been a different winner.

Again, as he did all summer, the tall, well-built Bruin quarterback looked more like a polished veteran than an NFL rookie.

He threw a fourth quarter touchdown pass that was recalled on a penalty and lost three first downs on other penalties. He completed 17 of 35 attempts for 180 yards.

Heavily rushed, usually hurried, and sacked twice, Aikman threw mostly short-range passes with his customary accuracy. His three longest serious attempts were powerful, mid-range sideline passes of 20 to 24 yards--one for the aborted touchdown, one dropped, the other also a bulls-eye.

His longest throw wasn’t serious. A 50-yarder on the last play of the half that was intercepted. His other interception came on a gamble on the game’s last play.

Aikman’s statistics were ruined by New Orleans’ early lead, which prompted Dallas offensive coordinator David Shula to send in mostly pass calls thereafter.

“Our (first-quarter touchdown drive) seemed to take some starch out of them,” New Orleans Coach Jim Mora said.

Said Aikman: “I think we gave up on the run a little early.”

Johnson, defending Shula, said there wasn’t much point in rushing because, “New Orleans’ (defensive) strength is against the run.”

Proving it, the Saints quickly and continuously stuffed Herschel Walker, the principal Dallas ballcarrier, restricting him to 10 yards gained on eight carries.

Exempt Aikman’s 13 yards on a scramble, the Saints held Dallas to seven yards rushing.

That left everything to Aikman’s arm.

“We got some heat on (Aikman) from our standard defense,” Mora said. “We didn’t do anything against him that we wouldn’t attempt against any quarterback.”

During the 44 minutes they held possession, about all the Saints did was run the ball, using Dalton Hilliard and rookie Paul Frazier, and convert little third-down plays with Hebert.

Continually throwing short like Aikman, Hebert completed 16 of 19--seven times for first downs on third down--for 153 yards.

The difference was that Hebert had a sound, experienced team with him. If Dallas rookies Johnson, Jones and Aikman are headed in that direction, they aren’t there yet. They aren’t even up with Archie Manning.