San Jose/LA. Not a rivalry, yet
Tim Ball
Sunday February 22, 2004
No, competition doesn’t have to entail grudges or paybacks, and in arena football the offense is back on the field before revenge can replace remember, so forget about last season and start worrying about right now.
And “now” in this brand of football can mean the difference between win, lose, go on, or go home. The first touchdown is just as big as the last one in the last second. With the new playoff format, rivalry faces each team each week and will be put to rest when winning means moving on and losing means going home.
Winners in 10 of their last 13 regular season games, the Avengers are now 17-7 in their last 24 outings. Only the SaberCats, who are 19-5, have a better record over that span of games.
“You prepare for a team but as soon as the game starts it all about the players making plays,” said San Jose head coach Darren Arbet.
“With San Jose it’s going to come down to turnovers,” said LA head coach Ed Hotchkiss. “You know that they are going to be efficient going in . . . In past games interceptions and fumbles have proved to be huge.”
With a stellar lineup on both teams, perfection won’t decide the outcome, failure will. While Los Angeles likes to celebrate touchdowns and the SaberCats succeed in every conceivable way, the last laugh may be had by the defense.
Best verses best.
2003 Defensive Player of the Year: Clevan Thomas, San Jose SaberCats.
2003 Offensive Player of the Year: Chris Jackson, Los Angeles Avengers.
If you’re looking for match-ups, this is as good as it gets. Los Angles knows that dominance in the league runs through the Western Division where San Jose has owned the number one seed the last two seasons.
With all due respects to the Champion Tampa Bay Storm, arguably the best players in the league are going to be under one roof in tinsel town. While Jackson and Thomas head the cast, there is enough talent on these teams to make a fantasy a reality.
San Jose’s Mark Grieb and Los Angeles’ Tony Graziani, do not make many mistakes. In this league one is a thousand too many. It is not touchdowns but the lack of one that decides the outcome between these teams. Neither QB is shaken in the slightest by the score and the only thing that can stop either is time running out.
On the receiving end, San Jose has offensive specialist James Hundon and WR James Roe to depend on while LA has Jackson and WR Greg Hopkins to anchor things down on their side. But it doesn’t end there. When things bog down for the James boys on San Jose, in steps league legend WR Barry Wagner for San Jose and LA counts on the continued performance of WR/DB Kevin Ingram who in the last game outshone even Jackson and Hopkins.
San Jose set the all-time league record for rushing touchdowns with 47 last season and is off to a good start by putting four into the record books in their first game against the Fury. Look for LA to not be shy about running on the SaberCats to show they are in the same class as their division foe.
Mirror, mirror
Don’t let the scoring fool you. It will be somewhat humorous waiting to see what endzone antics follow an LA score, but nothing can beat the joy of defensive in the arena league. Evidenced by the celebration following the Avengers beating the Gladiators on the last play of the game last week. Its points denied that set the also-ran from the champions just as much in this league as any other.
SaberCats defense is the biggest concern for their opponents. And with the return of Omarr Smith, who is once again playing two-way for the SaberCats, and who finished second only to Thomas last season in awards votes. The ex-Storm defensive specialist has already proven that he is the equal of any player in the league.
Smith finished second last season to Thomas for player of the year. In his first game back in a SaberCats uniform against Detroit, Smith stop three straight Andy Kelly to Junior Lord passes to force a turnover on downs, and minutes later came up with his first interception of the year to deny Detroit yet again.
Add to Smith and Thomas defensive back Rasheid Davis, and your head is going to need a swivel to keep up. What Davis can do in the blink of an eye gives rise to new slogans for the league.
In an understatement, LA doesn’t worry much with Hopkins anchoring the defense and Ingram still flying high from his complete performance at Las Vegas. The Avengers feel they are the best team in league and will not be looking past this game to try and prove it. But while LA highlights a few players San Jose has a new star rise every week.
Start to finish
Nothing seems to motivate an all effort from the Avengers like hosting the SaberCats and the war in the trenches will ultimately decide this game. While it is the stars that get the attention it will be the play of the big men that allow it.
Grudges, revenge, rivalry, all make for nice conversation for fans in seats or in chat rooms, but unless the offense or defense can impose their will on the other, it’s all up for grabs on the last play of the game again.
The season opened last year with a one-point LA victory over San Jose in the final moments of the game and ended for LA in one play at San Jose.
And while that doesn’t make for the labeling of rivalry to exist for motivation, it is clear that these teams feel superiority over the other. So forget about last season. The time is now and with the new playoff format, rivalry may have to take a back seat to winning and grudges will have to be settled later in the playoffs.
Game time is noon Sunday Feb. 22nd at the Staples Center Los Angeles.
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
