Cobras Looking to Regain Magic on the Road
Chuck DiLullo
Friday March 5, 2004
With halftime leads in both of the home games, the offense scored a total of 26 points in the second half of both games. They turned the ball over four times during those games, something they did not do while away from the friendly confines of the Charlotte Coliseum.
“We didn’t have the ball much in the third quarter against the Predators and that was a problem and that happens,” said assistant head coach and offensive coordinator John Gregory. “But I am thrilled with our offense. Matt Nagy threw at a 77% completion clip last week with five touchdowns and no turnovers and that is playing at a very high rate of football. People keep forgetting that we just put this team together in a very short amount of time and I think every one is doing a heck of job and I think we are progressing very well and will be in the hunt at the end of the season.”
The Cobras get some good news this week as Bernard Holmes returns to the playing field. Holmes was the team MVP last year and led the league with 240.1 all-purpose yards per game. Holmes set franchise rec- ords with touchdown receptions (20), 100-yard receiving games (6) and all-purpose yards (2,641) during the course of just 11 games. Holmes has 421 career receptions for 5,134 receiving yards, 94 receiving touchdowns and 9,194 all-purpose yards and looks to add to an already impressive arsenal of receivers for quarterback Matt Nagy that include Todd Doxzon and Damien Groce.
“Bernard has to come out full bore,” said Gregory. “He will be playing our “Z” position which is a two-way position and he has to be ready to play. He’s a great kid and has been very productive in his career and we expect big things from him.”
“Bernard and I tried to form an identity during camp and we have and we will continue to work to get the cohesion down,” said Nagy. “He has the speed to get down field but is also a great possession receiver. It’s going to help us out because we will have more depth. I know he is anxious to get back out there and I am anxious to start throwing the ball to him.”
The Wranglers are coming off their first loss of the season on the road to the Colorado Crush. Veteran quarterback John Kaleo spearheads an attack that generated an average of 52.5 points per game in their first two games verus Orlando and Tampa Bay including a 56 point outburst versus the Storm. The Wranglers currently lead the league in passing offense averaging 257 yards through the air and this will present a challenge to the Cobras defense which ranks near the bottom giving up close to 250 yards passing per game.
By the numbers, being away from home works for Carolina. The Cobras have averaged over 60 points a game while only surrendering an average of 47 points per game. The offense has averaged 310 yards per game on the road while struggling to average just under 200 yards per game at home. The key statistic may be the Cobras have a +7 turnover margin in their road games while they are -1 at home.
Home cooking wasn’t kind so far to the 2004 Carolina Cobras and they look to regain their swagger and confidence as road warriors as they take on the Austin Wranglers on Sunday, March 7th. The Cobras are currently one game behind the division leading Dallas Desperados while the Wranglers sit a half game behind the division leading New Orleans VooDoo.
Chuck DiLullo works for a manufacturer of process control instrumentation as a sales engineer. He has been a fan of professional, college and high school football since he could walk. Chuck is originally from Philadelphia and he became a huge Arena Football League fan while living in Buffalo. Chuck has lived in Charlotte since 2000 with his wife & three children.
