Despite Losses, There’s Reason for Optimism in LA
Mike Chanpong
Tuesday March 9, 2004
The Avengers haven’t been running on all cylinders since midway through the second quarter of their first game. First, it was OL/DL Jeremy Staat who went down with a knee injury in the opening day victory over Arizona. Then, following the Avengers shootout win over Las Vegas, starting DS Damen Wheeler was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. As if that wasn’t bad enough, later that week the Avengers’ other starting DS, Cornelius Coe, was forced to leave the team due to legal troubles. Just when it seemed that it couldn’t get much worse, the Avengers not only suffered their first defeat the next game against San Jose, but also lost OS Chris Jackson, who was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury before the loss to the Force.
Even though the loss of Jackson is significant, the offense hasn’t suffered too greatly. Quarterback Tony Graziani has been on fire, throwing for a league-leading 26 touchdowns and 1,021 passing yards against zero interceptions. New addition Joe Douglass has filled in admirably for Jackson at offensive specialist, catching 17 passes for 230 yards and five touchdowns. Combine Douglass with Greg Hopkins, Kevin Ingram, and Jackson, and the Avengers boast arguably the best receiving foursome in the league. All of them have big-play capability, with each player already scoring three touchdowns in a game this season.
Without a doubt, the offense will welcome the bye week to get some much-needed rest, but it’s the defense that will benefit from the break the most. If Wheeler and Staat can use the bye week to get healthy, the defense will be much improved. In particular, the unit will benefit from the return of Wheeler, whose presence will provide stability to the defensive backfield. Both of the Avengers’ losses featured too many open receivers downfield and too many touchdowns through the air. The loss to San Jose was particularly unnerving, with the Avengers victimized for six touchdown passes by QB Mark Grieb. Still, the fact that the Avengers started two rookie AFL defensive specialists and lost to the Sabercats by only six points is encouraging.
Not much can be said about the loss to the Force except it was a heartbreaker. Force QB Leon Murray converted a two-point conversion to Dialleo Burks to win the game in overtime. However the man most responsible for sealing the Avengers’ fate was Force kicker Steve McLaughlin. With one play left in regulation, the Avengers seemingly had the game won, but it was McLaughlin who drilled a 50-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.
With AFL goal posts fifteen feet high and only nine feet wide, kickers in the AFL make 50-yard field goals about as often as it thunderstorms in Los Angeles – very rarely. So give McLaughlin credit for making the play, but realize that if the Avengers can use this bye week to get healthy, a championship season is still well within reach.
Mike Chanpong is a freelance writer living in Hollywood, CA. In addition to
sportswriting, he also works in television production. This is his second
year covering the Los Angeles Avengers for ArenaFan.
