Dragons Show Strong Support of Harding with Swayne
Dwayne Smith
Monday February 21, 2005
Swayne was activated only days before the Kats’ game and with WR/LB Mike Horacek still ailing Garcia admitted the Dragons "rode Kevin a little bit more." The Dragons rode Swayne to the tune of 115 yards and 5 touchdowns, including his 100th Arena Football TD reception. In fact Swayne caught half of Garcia’s 18 completions and all of his passes in the first quarter.
Despite being banged up, Horacek made a tide-changing play when he picked off a pass from Kats QB Leon Murray three minutes into the third quarter. When FB/LB Josh "Zeus" White plunged into the end zone on a fourth down shortly thereafter, the Dragons had 14-point lead and never bothered to look back. Horacek’s pick made him the clear choice for Defensive Player of the Game. The honor already gives Horacek Offensive, Ironman and Defensive Player of the Game awards on the season in the Dragons third game. This type of contribution, along with the play of Swayne, must have been what New York had in mind when they aggressively went after offensive talent despite already having a top receiving corps.
This has also led to a clearly aggressive tone in New York’s play calling and offensive demeanor. It’s what Garcia calls "attack mode." This mode was on display when New York went for it on fourth down, but more even more so when, with two seconds on the clock at the end of the first half, the Dragons elected to go for a TD rather than kick a field goal. Dragons head coach Weylon Harding explained, "I didn’t bring all these horses in here to kick field goals."
This strategy works two-fold: the first is that going for it and succeeding takes momentum while not awaiting another opportunity later in the game. This worked to perfection, scoring at the end of the half and early in the third quarter essentially put Nashville on their heels and forced them away from a running game with which they were more comfortable with. The second, and possibly more important aspect, is establishing a trust between a new coach and his players.
Harding said, "I have confidence in my team and I have confidence in my offense…. (Going for it) gives them a vote of confidence." The effect of this is already showing dividends, as the message is being well received by the young players on defense and especially the established offensive stars.
Most of all, the confidence resonates with Garcia. "As a QB you want the ball in your hands in pressure situations and I feel like I’m supposed to make plays in those situation," said Garcia. "Today he showed me a lot and I just wanted to be able to show something back and my appreciation by getting the ball back in the end zone." Garcia’s seven TDs on the day effectively showed that Harding’s faith is well founded and has jump started a relationship that may be closer than what the QB has had before.
With that in mind, the Dragons will welcome former head coach Todd Shell next Sunday as he brings his struggling Arizona Rattlers (1-3) to Long Island. While there may be a level of sub-plot to this game, the current Dragons coach will have none of it. The Dragons currently find themselves in second place and have very little time to be caught up in that kind of drama. The game will be a great opportunity to get a win against a team that will be very tough to beat despite the record. Arizona is already in a must-win situation and being able to defeat the Rattlers will be a huge step in the lofty goals this organization has set forth for 2005.
Dwayne Smith covers Arena Football and the NFL for different web outlets along with providing a fantasy column to FantasyGMs.com. Dwayne has also been a contributor to other online and print outlets, including the Dallas Morning News. In 2003, he covered the NFL Draft from the Headquarters of the New York Jets.
