The Right Combination for a Winner in New Jersey
Marc Viquez
Tuesday July 30, 2002
"It was very important to have the free agents to show what the differences in the Arena Football League were," said head coach Frank Haege on af2 players learning from the veterans. "It was a good combination of guys who worked well together"
 Jay McDonagh Image courtesy of Tim Parry |
Former Quad City stars QB Jay McDonagh, WR/DB Dennison Robinson, FB/LB Frank Carter, WR/LB Jeremy Wilkinson, and OL/DL Jamaar Ward all followed Haege up north to New Jersey. McDonagh and Robinson picked up where they left off with Quad City last season. McDonagh threw 62 touchdowns for 3,359 yards and Robinson added over 1,000 combined yards and 14 touchdowns.
OS Mike Horacek, WR/LB Sedrick Robinson, and OS James Bowden topped the list of veteran acquisitions. Horacek`s 118-receptions and 31-touchdowns led the league and he was the main go-to guy for McDonagh this season. Another Robinson, Sedrick, picked up 1,559 yards and 15 touchdowns. While an original Gladiator, Steve Videtich established a league record when he converted 64 consecutive PAT`s.
"I have been impressed with the former af2 players," said Horacek. "Dennison Robinson is a great impact player and Jay McDonagh has been making good leads and finding open receivers."
"This team is loaded with young guys who want to play, so it`s always competitive," said S. Robinson who was named the AFL Offensive Player of the Week during week thirteen of the season.
The mixture of the new and old turned produced New Jersey’s first winning season since the team was known as the Red Dogs in 1998. The only time the franchise won a playoff game was when they upset the Albany Firebirds during that 1998 season.
"Coach Haege coached most of the guys last year and they really set the standard for us," said S. Robinson. "They showed us what to expect from the coach. I don`t even consider them af2 players anymore"
Pre-season Predictions
I had asked Haege before the start of the season on his team making the playoffs or possibly winning the division. Haege predicted that the division was going to be tough and that the parity in the league was strong.
"It has been a battle every week," said Haege. “We won two games in overtime and won a lot of close games."
This was said before the loss to Arizona that came down to a last-second call that nullified a Gladiator touchdown. Three of the five losses were of 9 points or less, but the teams suffered their worst setback against Chicago when they fell 44-14. The Buffalo Destroyers were the only team in the division to defeat the Gladiators.
A fan of the sport since 1990 Marc has covered both the New Jersey Gladiators and Cincinnati Swarm (Af2) for Arenafan Online. Marc now resides in Indianapolis after graduating with a Masters in Sports Management from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. When not at a Firebirds game Marc can be found traveling the Midwest covering sports for various Internet and print publications.
