San Jose 5-1 with win over Las Vegas 79-62
Tim Ball
Thursday March 25, 2004
If there is one theme to this season, with all of the talent that flooded to the league this year, it is that more than one play will make or break the game. Forcing the other team to fail is separating the winning teams from those with losing records.
Well before the opening kickoff, defensive coordinators Stan Smith from Las Vegas and Michael Church of San Jose were relentless in preparation. They went from man to man like officers preparing their troops.
“This game will hinge on turnovers. It’s going to be a big lead, not a one point situation,” said Smith.
Knowing the cost of playing the caliber of players on the Gladiators, Church had the same feelings as Davis. “There can’t be a slow moment in this game for us with the scoring capability of Las Vegas,” said Church.
There’s a reason these guys have their jobs. After San Jose scored in three plays to put the first points on the board, it took the Gladiators just one play to tie the game on a 45-yard pass from QB Clint Dolezel to WR/DB Maurice Bryant.
It was going to be defense and not the will to match scores that would produce the right result. Forcing failure on the opponent brings with it success. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, Davis predicted right. It was defense that separated the win-loss columns but the Gladiators ended up on the wrong side of the points. For the second week in a row it was the San Jose defense that came up with the play that put a 20-point advantage between them and their opponent going into the locker rooms at halftime.
SaberCats DS Omar Smith read the play perfectly and stepped in front of a Dolezel pass and raced 48-yards for his first interception return for a score this season.
“Omar’s a special kind of player,” said Church. “His preparation at practice is unbelievable, he prepares for every situation and it shows on the field.”
“You can’t give a team like San Jose that kind of lead,” said Dolezel. “Smith made a great read and I left the ball in the air far too long. You have to give them credit on a night like this.”
The San Jose Way
The Gladiators came into this season picked by many to go all the way, and they’re still far from being out of the race. But San Jose has a formula for winning that many teams have yet to equal.
Las Vegas came in needing in a win over San Jose for two reasons: the first for a winning record, and the second, and most importantly, to prove that the preseason press was not all hype. And when playing San Jose a team faces both the hype and undeniable facts.
“We were successful on both sides of the ball tonight, but that success came from overcoming some mistakes,” said San Jose head coach Darren Arbet. “Of course I’m happy with the outcome but there are some things we’re going to have to work on.”
Las Vegas head coach Frank Haegefound some light in the darkness. “You have to learn from the losses. Clint threw for over 450 yards and we matched up well in several areas,” said Haege. “ I have confidence in this team. We have the guys that will work on what is needed.”
Performance plus
This was San Jose’s house and this was San Jose’s night. The game was basically out of reach for Las Vegas coming out of the locker room at halftime. But SaberCats players look at each other far more than the scoreboard. San Jose teammates motivate each other as if they were on the field alone.
It was only one season ago that a backup QB John Dutton won the MVP award of the ArenaBowl while the man he replaced, Mark Grieb, won Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Obviously backup doesn’t mean second string in San Jose.
Lineman George Williams sums up the philosophy of SaberCats football on why replacement or “backups” in San Jose seem to dominate when making a start or coming in for a series of plays, even against a great team like Las Vegas. “There are a lot of guys who are hungry, wanting their chance on the field,” said Williams. “It’s not a day off when you face the caliber of players we go against every day in preparation for games. We have guys on the sidelines that are starters and are just waiting for their chance. It’s part of being a SaberCats player and we all know it.”
San Jose’s Rashied Davis is now a player on everyone’s list. The speedster was everywhere against Las Vegas from start to finish. On the Gladiators’ drive at the start of the second quarter it was Davis that started the beginning of the end for Dolezel and his talented team.
After driving the length of the field, Las Vegas was poised to take the lead due to a missed extra point by San Jose that left the score 20-14. Davis picked off Dolezel’s pass over the middle in the endzone, returning the ball to the SaberCats eight yard-line. On the ensuing play San Jose’s Mark Grieb threw a quick out pass to WR/DB James Roe who streaked 42-yards for a touchdown to stretch the lead over the Gladiators 27-14.
Davis’ interception set up the two-score lead that San Jose would never relinquish. His night of productivity included a rushing touchdown, a pass reception for a touchdown and his league-leading fourth kickoff return (57-yards) for a score.
“I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it tonight,” said Davis. “To come out against a team like Las Vegas and be able to produce for your team is a great feeling. This is a division win and that makes it a bit sweeter.”
Many Shots, One Bull’s Eye
San Jose’s five wins have followed a similar pattern. The superstars like Roe, Grieb, and OS James Hundon hit the target dead center.
But, many players are taking their shot and are going unnoticed.
Arena Football is football. Without a line of scrimmage being attacked and defended with success the game breaks down to luck and chance. What happened at the Las Vegas game mirrored what went on against Colorado the week before and was glaringly missing against New York.
The game is won or loss in the middle of the field as much as in the endzone.
Two players playing the same position are making things happen for San Jose. When not snapping the ball to Grieb, centers Frank Beede and Dan Loney, are facing the opposition head on as nose guards. Both are replacing 11-year veteran and three-time ArenaBowl champion center Darrin Kenny, who left the team in preseason.
It was clear from the pressure up the middle in both the Colorado and Las Vegas games that things went badly for opposing quarterbacks in the same way. If given the slightest bit of time, high caliber quarterbacks like Dutton and Dolezel will dismantle opponents.
Beede and Loney keep up a constant pressure throughout the game that can only be described as unusually frustrating for opposing centers to deal with. Beede is 6’4 and 300 pounds and Loney is markedly shorter with huge muscles and immensely powerful.
“We have to establish a strong rush up through the middle and keep it up the entire game. That allows the outside linemen to get through the line,” said Church of his two middle linemen. “Beede and Loney have done a good job on both sides of the ball, and Dan may be the strongest guy on our team. With his size, once he gets under the opposing player, they’re in big trouble.”
Trying to adjust to each different player is a challenge for centers and has shown its effects in each of the last two games. Multiple times, quarterbacks have been tripped up by their own centers being shoved into them, and a rapidly collapsing pocket is the worst thing an Arena Football quarterback can face, as it forces errors into a pitilessly compressed area.
The SaberCats have led by 20 points the last two games going into halftime, both the results of hurried throws.
SaberCats’ Grueling Calendar
It doesn’t get any easier for San Jose from here. Next up on Friday, March 26, is Los Angeles. Though not an historic rivalry the likes of Rattlers/SaberCats or Predators/Storm, there is that swagger to have to deal with every time these two teams are on the field together.
There are definitely dark clouds looming between the two teams.
LA QB Tony Graziani gets all the headlines for slinging touchdowns left and right to OS Chris Jackson and WR/DB Greg Hopkins while Grieb, who hasn’t even lost 10 games in his AFL career, wins games with an array of plays that include virtually every teammate allowed to score on offense.
Los Angles sets out to prove they’re elite at the expense of San Jose, while the SaberCats prepare for a talented team like so many others. While the press seeks headlines in tinsel town, Silicon Valley real estate still shines on.
Regardless, the SaberCats have a winning record again. At the same time, we should also know the Avengers are for real where it counts, between the lines on the field and not in an article.
Football games are also decided by failing. As in not doing so more often than the opponent . . . One missed extra point in Arena Football is as costly as not scoring at all, as wins and losses ultimately decide who goes to the playoffs.
Those who get it right and don’t fail as often as those who do always have one thing in common.
They are called winners.
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.
