Destroyers Desperate for Dallas
K.E. Schlosser
Thursday February 26, 2004
After dropping their opener to Carolina, the Desperados find themselves in a first place tie with the Cobras after back-to-back wins against the Philadelphia Soul and the New York Dragons. Out of the gate, the Desperados and the Destroyers were two very similar teams; rookie quarterbacks, new coaches, new players, new systems, and a shared need to develop chemistry and consistency. In the fourth week of the season, these are two teams with a lot less in common as Dallas appears to have addressed many of their would be issues, while Columbus has only managed to create more questions.
Last week in Philadelphia, the Destroyers played their worst game to date. Collectively, the only thing consistent about Columbus as a team has been their inconsistency on the field and the fact that they have allowed each of their three opponents to build double digit leads in each game. Individually, players such as Cornelius White and Sedrick Robinson have elevated their level of play to that of the elite players in the league, but they have also made several individual mistakes that have contributed to the Destroyers losing streak.
For the Destroyers to start winning football games and move up in the standings, they will need to take care of the details. Mental mistakes, stupid penalties, and individual breakdowns have contributed more to their losses than lack of chemistry or anything else. Football is a game where you are only as good as your last play. You can have the perfect coverage for the first two plays of a series, but when you get burned on the third to give up 14 yards and a first down, what really matters?
While Nationwide was a sellout for opening night, attendance on Sunday will be a good gauge of community and team support. It is a given that Columbus is a football town as it also known that the residents are very finicky fans. Outside of Ohio State football, the fans will be there when a team is playing well, but support dwindles when play and performance take a direction for the worst. While I would expect a full house Sunday, I doubt that trend will continue if the Destroyers cannot break their losing streak.
This week’s game will say a lot about the direction that the Destroyers will take, and create in their inaugural season. It’s hard to say that the fourth game of a season could make or break a season, but that just might be the case. A win by the Destroyers will move them back to .500 and give them their first win in the Eastern Division. A victory would also keep the fans walking through the doors and talking about the team. A loss will only continue to compound the Destroyers problems as they would fall to 0-3 in the division and remain in last place. The key to this week’s game for the Destroyers will be playing four quarters of football and not just the fourth quarter as they have made a habit of doing.
