SaberCats’ Big Dogs Lead to Victory
Tim Ball
Wednesday March 17, 2004
No, linemen don’t throw touchdown passes, but Jacobs threw opposing players down on a night where he shined as a one-man show of intensity. Two separate one-handed takedowns of the five unassisted tackles (and one sack) made by the powerful veteran stopped Colorado players in their tracks.
Each time, the crowd was on their feet as the Crush player in Jacob’s grasp left their own.
On an evening where the SaberCats did what they do best, this night in San Jose the big boys came to play. And no player loomed as large as Jacobs in this game.
“I think we played the way we’re capable of playing,” said Jacobs modestly of his performance. “The goal going into the game was to try and keep up the pressure from the start of the game ‘til the end and that’s a tough task. Colorado came out strong after halftime but we pulled it together and kept up our intensity.”
While it is seldom that game awards are handed out to linemen, eight-year AFL veteran Jacobs outshined even the brightest players on the field with his ferocious and constant pressure all night, earning him Defensive Player of the Game.
Mark Grieb (22-18-0 ints, 6TD’s) and Rashied Davis, who returned his third kickoff of the year 58-yards and had one TD reception, picked up yet more game awards, Offensive Player of the game and Ironman respectively. Even so, Jacob’s consistent performance garnered him Star of the Game status in my mind.
Colorado was 4-1 coming into San Jose and scored easily on their first possession. The SaberCats know very well the capability of the quarterback leading the Crush. Quarterback John Dutton was MVP of ArenaBowl XVI in leading San Jose to the largest margin of victory in AFL championship history. While protecting Dutton was once a mandate, now taking him down was the goal.
San Jose had a 20-point lead at the end of the first half, 27-7, and won the game by the same margin, 55-35. It’s safe to say Jacobs knows what he’s talking about, and not just quoting clichés.
“There’s three important fazes of the game: protecting the passer, rushing the passer, and special teams,” said Jacobs. “On kickoffs, we were tackling their guys inside the 10-yard line and I think that was key.”
Jacobs knows where winning comes from: caring about losing. “I’m not going to make any excuses for the loss against New York, but it was on my mind all week.”
Jacobs also had a quarterback sack on this night of personal and professional excellence. And after the game, when finished signing autographs, he and Dutton spoke face to face. What business took place on the field was left there. The two tall men shook hands, exchanged some personal conversation, and went their separate ways.
Pound for Pound
San Jose’s largest players were worth their weight in gold in the SaberCats victory over the Crush. There were so many players involved in each tackle that stat guys were often at a loss to give credit where credit was due.
Colorado’s WR/LB Kevin McKenzie who played the last two seasons with San Jose had a unique perspective on the game. “I’ve never seen that side of the SaberCats,” said McKenzie. “They came at us from every direction.”
Another lineman produced key results in the victory for San Jose. OL/DL Dan Loney was in the driver’s seat in every play he was on the field. Dutton looked like a three-armed freak on far too many plays as Loney’s strong rush up the middle had SaberCats players reaching out and touching the star quarterback all night long.
After starting center Darren Kenney left the team in preseason, it has fallen to other “backups” to keep up the pace of SaberCats football. Loney shares time with teammate Frank Beede and makes the most of his time on the field.
“We work hard in practice to be ready,” said Loney. “Our coaches keep every player involved at a very high level. There’s no let up. I’m glad I could produce when the time came.”
Signed as a free agent in 2002, Loney has only experienced seven losses in a SaberCats uniform. Loney is a high school football coach in the off-season and his reluctance and almost shyness to take credit for his accomplishments is a fine example for young athletes. Loney represents well the philosophy of being ready when called on.
And in This Corner
Once again San Jose newcomers shined when given the time in the spotlight.
San Jose’s WR/LB Fred Coleman and DS Wendell Davis stepped in their first start of the season and produced on several key turnovers.
Coleman, though no stranger to championship teams as a member of the 2001 New England Patriots, clearly enjoyed his start in the AFL. Coleman recovered a fumble on defense and scored on a 30-yard pass in the third quarter in his first start for San Jose.
“I love football,” said Coleman. “Whenever I get a chance to get on the field and play, I’m just going to go out there with excitement. This game is fun to play and I’m always going to give it all I got.”
“W.” Davis, a SaberCats fan favorite from his bone jarring tackles last season, had to replace league MVP Clevan Thomas who suffered a season ending knee injury (ACL) in New York. Davis was the target of the Crush’s offense right from the start. On Colorado’s second drive of the game, Davis came up with the coverage that stopped the crush and forced the first turnover on downs.
“We had a good night,” said Davis. “I felt ready to play. This was a team effort and I feel we did most of the right things tonight.”
Veterans for a Reason
On the most defining play of the evening, living legend Barry Wagner stopped McKenzie on the three yard-line, as time ran out in the first half.
Though a routine tackle on a routine catch over the middle, just one play earlier McKenzie burned Wagner for a touchdown that tragically for Colorado was called back on a holding penalty. With the Crush receiving the kickoff in the second half, the score could have been reeled into reach for the talented team from the Rockies.
Wagner seemed to sense what was next and when McKenzie streaked inside on a perfect throw from Dutton, rather than wrap up McKenzie at the three, “Wag’s” lifted the speedster up and brought him down without any chance for McKenzie to drive the veteran into the endzone for the most important score of the game.
The first half and, for all intents and purposes, the game ended on that play.
“You can’t give a team like that a lead that big,” said Dutton. “I’m upset about this loss and we’ll learn what we did wrong and go on. Our team is talented and that was not a good example of what we are.”
Six-year AFL veteran Crush defensive coordinator Ernesto Purnsley agreed with Dutton. “Against a veteran team like San Jose, you can’t make mistakes,” said Purnsley. “We played in spurts and you need to put four quarters together. I think we played hard in the second half but obviously when you dig hole for yourself it makes it tough. We’ll review the tapes and be ready.”
The West and Beyond
While San Jose is back on track from their loss in New York by beating central division Colorado, the next two home games are against Western Division rivals Las Vegas Gladiators and Los Angeles Avengers.
Both LA and Las Vegas know that excellence can be achieved by beating San Jose. The SaberCats have been the western division champions for the last four years and have hoisted the banner five out of the ten years they’ve been in the league.
The Avengers and the Gladiators want that prize on the way to a championship no matter what the format of playoffs. What cake wouldn’t taste sweeter with SaberCats icing? And both teams have a bad taste in their mouths from the wrong side of San Jose domination.
The SaberCats dance to their own drumbeat and have fallen enough times to know that nothing is guaranteed and have no time for celebration or sadness over what’s happened so far. San Jose consistency lies in the effort to continue to produce players of equal ability time and time again.
The Gladiators are a fearsome team with the talent to win it all. Ditto to the Avengers, who can score touchdowns so fast they’re hated more by peanut and cotton candy vendors than by defensive specialists.
The next two weeks for San Jose will be the toughest so far this season. Winning takes on a whole new meaning when the SaberCats are involved.
The season is heading towards its midway point in a year when making the playoffs is tougher than any other in league history. Intensity will be greater and greater as one loss at anytime can make the difference of whose in and whose out.
The difference in the teams making it will not just rely on touchdowns, but by individual efforts by each player rising to new levels each week.
Like Jacobs, players play for reasons they hold onto from week to week and that will be the difference in winning and losing.
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.
