Wranglers Remain Inconsistant
Mick Cornett
Tuesday July 18, 2000
Other Wrangler issues:
Quarterback—Maybe Head Coach Bob Cortese can turn this into a positive after all. The old football adage says that if you have two quarterbacks you don’t have any quarterbacks, but right now it appears he actually does have two quarterbacks. Of course only one can play at a time, but the Wranglers may have the best quarterback depth in the league. At the beginning of the season this was a glaring weakness. Jeff Loots now appears to have taken over for semi-injured Ron Lopez but it wouldn’t surprise many people if Lopez suddenly started playing again. One of the factors a coach has to consider in a dual quarterback situation is the psychological effect on the rest of the players: “will they takes sides?” So far, that hasn’t been a factor. Lopez was doing OK and now Loots is doing OK. If the rest of the players have a preference, it hasn’t surfaced.
Wide Receiver—Carlos Johnson is leading the league in receptions with one regular season game to play. Iowa’s Mike Horacek is in second place, six catches behind. Despite the injuries, the receiving corps is a strength, if not a perfect fit.
Linemen—First team group is playing well, second team is struggling. Because everyone plays, the Arena Football League really punishes a team that lacks depth in the trenches. Wranglers gave up four sacks at Milwaukee. If the blocking doesn’t improve, Loots will have to learn to get rid of the ball earlier.
 Mark Ricks goes up for a short kickoff against the Mustangs on Saturday Image courtesy of Drew Kennedy |
Defensive backs—Barry Dillard has developed into an outstanding cover man. Mark Ricks has missed some practices due to a death in the family and has been inconsistent. This position is a strength but pass-defense is also tied directly to the pass-rush and that’s been iffy.
Kicker—Alcorn has had an off year. He missed three field goals last week and has missed eleven extra points on the season. Still, he kicks-off well, and his nine tackles are a major reason the Wranglers haven’t given up a kickoff return for a touchdown all season.
Schedule--Wranglers game with Grand Rapids will kickoff just after 7:00 Thursday night at the Myriad. The Wranglers won’t know their playoff assignment until several other teams play the following night. Only one scenario can lead to another game at the Myriad: Wranglers defeat Grand Rapids, Milwaukee beats Houston and Carolina beats Tampa Bay.
Mick Cornett was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
