Inconsistent Riptide Prepare for Green Bay
Keith Antigiovanni
Monday June 2, 2003
In arena football there aren’t too many excuses for putting up only 24 points on the board. In previous weeks Morris noted that the team was flat during games and were fatigued from back-to-back road games. From an outside observer, the problem seems to be more than fatigue. The Riptide must re-evaluate its roster immediately. Good teams shouldn’t be struggling from week-to-week the way San Diego is. If you want answers just look at the statistics.
QB Kane Claunch completed only 13 of 32 passes for 158 yards and threw two interceptions. Five possessions ended on missed field goals and San Diego’s final drive ended on a safety. Missing that many field goals means one of two reasons. The Riptide offense is unable to move the ball or that the kicker is inaccurate in the red zone. In either case it adds up to scoring problems. The numbers also seem to reflect a lack of desire or motivation.
If the problem with these guys is motivation then what does Morris have to do to get these guys to play better? At some point the players must accept responsibility and play better. The coach can only do so much. He can’t catch, pass, or kick for you; he can only encourage the players to play the best they can. If San Diego wants to return to the play-offs this season they better get this thing turned around fast.
This week they travel to the frozen tundra of the Resch Center to face the expansion Green Bay Blizzard. If you are a Riptide fan, you might think this is a walk in the park but the way San Diego has been playing of late there are no guarantees and a loss to lowly Green Bay (0-8) would make San Diego the laughing stock of the league only a year after receiving numerous accolades as an expansion club in 2002. Or the Riptide could use this game as a showcase to propel them on a winning streak. Given the fact they will be in the same town that the legendary Vince Lombardi once coached maybe they can have a Lombardi-like turnaround next week to their once promising season.
Keith Antigiovanni is a free-lance writer in San Diego, California. He has worked for several local newspapers covering sports, government and business. Keith started writing in 1995 after graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Mass Media Communications from the University of San Diego. Aside from working as a sportswriter he has a side business of providing marketing assistance/research for small businesses and also directs,produces and hosts a regular public access television show on Time-Warner Cable named "San Diego Yesterday". Antigiovanni is also a member of the San Diego Sportswriter Association.
