Jim Mora's second Saints team was 2-2 as they headed to the Windy City to meet Mike Dit­ka's undefeated Chicago Bears. However, these were the "replacement Saints" since the NFL players union had gone on strike after the first week of the season.

The "real Saints" had beaten Cleveland 28-21 in the season opener. The replacements went 1-2 the next three weeks, stomping the Los Angeles Rams 37-10 in between losing to the Phil­adelphia Eagles 27-17 and the St. Louis Cardinals 24-19.

The Bears' veterans remained unified during the strike as no one from the 45-man active ros­ter crossed the picket line. The 24-day walkout ended when Chicago's players accepted the $108 per diem to work out under the supervision of the Bears' coaching staff. However, the Saints' NFL Players Association members declined a similar offer.

The Bears' player representative, all-pro LB Mike Singeltary, spoke for his veterans. "We're back for the duration." But their participation wouldn't start until Week 6. So the Bears' replace­ment team would play the Saints.

Several Saints veterans would take the field against the Bears. Among them were six-year NT Tony Elliott, six-year DE Bruce Clark, second-year SS Antonio Gibson, third-year OT Daren Gilbert, and third-year WR Eric Martin.

Ditka said, "This will be the first game (with replacement players) where we're outmatched. I don't know that it'll matter because we'll still play hard. Whether that's good enough or not, we'll find out."

Chicago QB Mike Hohensee was working as a bartender and junior-college football coach in Maryland before joining the Bears. His resume included two years in the USFL, two years in Cana­dian football, and a year of Arena football.

Ditka: "Mike knows what to do with the football. In these kind of games, you better know what to do with the football when the blitz comes. He plays with poise. He plays with confidence."

Unfortunately for the Bears, Hohensee would miss the Saints game with an injury.

The Saints signed K Florian Kempf four days before the Bears game after Mora criticized his club's kicking game following the 24-9 loss to St. Louis in week four. Kempf had been Houston's kicker for three years (1982-84)

The Bears jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. First, Saints QB John Fourcade, retreating from a heavy rush, threw a screen pass on the Saints' third play from scrimmage that was intercepted by his old Arena ball teammate Jon Norris, who returned the ball to the NO eight. When the Bears went nowhere on three downs, their replacement K Tim Lashar booted a wobbly 22y field goal that fell through the uprights. Bears 3 Saints 0

Then DB Michael Adams, a Saints third-round draft choice, watched Lashar's kickoff take a high bounce in front of him. But Bears DB Egypt Allen hit Adams just as he received the ball, forcing a fumble that Adams recovered at the Saints 8.

On the next play, Bradley, who had only one week of practice, rolled out to his left and threw to RB Chris Brewer in the flat. DB Reggie Sutton was right there, but Brewer broke his tackle and fell across the goal line. Lasher booted the extra point. Bears 10 Saints 0

The Saints offense finally got moving and advanced far enough for Florian Kempf's 48y field goal. Bears 10 Saints 3

Chicago got a big break in the second quarter. DB Jon Sutton broke through the Bears' line to block Kevin Brown's punt. The ball hit the foot of Saints LB Ken Marchiol and bounced toward the end zone. Brown tried to recover the ball, but it bounced off his chest. Sutton wres­tled Brown to the ground in the end zone. Meanwhile, SS Gene Atkins pounced on the ball in the end zone for an apparent touchdown, but Sutton was called for defensive holding. First down Bears at their 32.

Referee Gene Barth said the ruling was made because Sutton wasn't playing the ball.

"We have a rule, a holding rule, that if one player holds another player to grab possession of a loose ball, that's a foul."

Brown's next punt led to a Chicago touchdown. Eric Martin let the ball bounce in front of him before trying to field it. The ball hit his shoulder pad just as Bears' RB Chris Brewer hit him, and Egypt Allen recovered the fumble at the NO 18.

"The wind was a factor," Martin said. "Once the ball was over the stadium, it just died. There's no excuse. The same thing happened to Michael Adams. You just have to concentrate more. We gave them so many points, and we had to come back."

Two plays later, Bears WR Glen Kozwlowski beat Saints CB Michael Allen on a post pattern and caught Steve Bradley's pass for an 18y touchdown. Lasher kicked the extra point. Bears 17 Saints 3

The Saints responded with a touchdown drive in the second quarter that covered 80y. QB John Fourcade, despite constant pressure, completed four passes and ran out of the pocket for a first down. Finally, he found veteran WR Eric Martin who made a diving catch for a 14y score. Bears 17 Saints 10 (1:42)

Martin led the Saints with five receptions for 84y. "It was a corner route. We were running a lot of slant routes, and I gave him (DB Bruce McCray) that move. He took it. John just threw a perfect pass."

Fourcade presented some problems for the Bears with his scrambling ability. The former Ole Miss quarterback completed 16 of 34 passes for 198y. He also ran for 38y.

The second half was all Saints. They didn't score a touchdown, but Kempf kicked three more field goals (31y, 42y, and 21y) while the defense held the Bears scoreless.

Kempf: "When you go out to kick, there's one thing in your mind, and that's the goal. What­ever it takes to get the ball through. I was fortunate today. My holder (Tim Riordan) did a great job. The timing was great."

Mora praised Kempf. "We needed to improve that phase of our game. He made some pressure kicks." Nevertheless, the contest would prove to be Kempf's only game with the Saints and his last in the NFL.

The Bears were limited to 67y rushing. So midway through the third quarter, Ditka started to shuttle his backup quarterbacks, Steve Bradley and Sean Payton (the future Saints coach), on nearly every play.

Reggie Sutton, the Saints nickel back before the strike, ended the Bears' last possession when he intercepted Payton's pass at the NO 23 with 1:31 remaining.

"All they were running was three-step drops," Sutton said. "I backed off the guy (WR Gary Mullen) so I could read the quarterback. ... He (Payton) gave himself away and only took two steps. He threw it high and sort of behind the receiver, and I had a good break to the ball."

The victory gave the Saints a 2-1 record during the strike.

Coach Ditka said he wasn't surprised by the result. "We had a few problems today. They knew we couldn't run the football. Their veterans executed a little better than our guys. I thought it would come down to a field goal, and it did."

Saints DT Tony Elliott: "We had questionable calls. Our defense dominated their offense. Our offense got us enough points to win."

Elliott was one of the Saints regulars who didn't join the strike. He said he expected "the cold shoulder" when the veterans returned. But he was prepared for it.

"I'm going to work. If they don't want to shake my hand and be my buddy, I'll survive. It's a business, man. This is something me and these guys (the replacement players) can cherish, and those guys (the strikers) can't. I think in some small way, those guys probably didn't want us to do well. Hell, we're 2-1 with this team. We beat two good teams. ... We are the best team in the NFL at this point. "That's a helluva lot better than when we were playing with the union players. I hope this sparks some fire in those guys' butts so we can keep this tradition going."

The Saints veterans returning from the strike were scheduled to report to the Saints' training facility Monday at 10 AM.

Mora: "I'm happy to see the strike over, and I'm looking forward to having the guys back. But these guys (the replacement players) have done a good job for us."