Rattlers Dig 1-3 Hole
Patrick Daly
Tuesday February 22, 2005
Going into the game, the Crush were not as bad as their 1-2 record might have indicated. With a solid win over the Grand Rapids Rampage and two close losses to the Orlando Predators and Chicago Rush, Colorado could have easily been 3-0. Entering just the fourth week of play, the playoff races haven’t taken shape quite yet, but this was one of those games that could make or break the playoff chances for both teams.
"They’re as good a team as we’ve played," said Rattlers head coach Todd Shell. "They could easily have been 3-0. They had a few plays go awry for them. They’re a quality football team and they were eight seconds away from playing in the ArenaBowl last year. They came out with their backs against the wall as well. This is a situation where it may come down to what team may be in the playoffs or not depending on this game."
On the other side of the field, once the final gun sounded Colorado was able to breathe a little easier and enjoy a win that pushed them back up to .500.
"It’s a big win," said Crush DS Rashad Floyd. "We’ve just needed to prove to ourselves, individually and collectively, that with a minute left we can get it done. We’ve had a chance to win and didn’t get it done, so it’s big."
After giving up a 21-0 run midway through the first half, the Rattlers eventually trailed 50-35 at halftime, but used a 20-0 second half run to pull ahead early in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Rattlers, they couldn’t hang onto the lead after a late Joe Germaine interception gave Colorado a one-possession advantage. However, Arizona managed to get on final shot, but Germaine’s net-bound pass slipped past the outstretched hands of Rattlers WR/LB Tom Pace and hit turf.
"They just kept playing," said Crush QB John Dutton. "That’s a testament to them, being a veteran group. We’re lucky to hold them off."
This time the Crush did get it done, although they didn’t make it easy on themselves. However, the win help Colorado avoid a 1-3 start with a tough game against the Los Angeles Avengers looming before a bye in Week 6.
"1-3 is not real good," said Dutton. "2-2 is better. We’ve got one more week and then a bye week. Hopefully, we can go out and get over .500 before our bye week and keep it rolling. We struggled again in the second half, the defense picked it up for us."
What the Rattlers can’t afford to do is continue to dig early holes. Doing so the last three weeks has put them at a disadvantage and allowed their opponents to control the game. The Rattlers have shown resiliency, particularly by battling back after falling behind early, and in the last four games they’ve even outscored their opponents in the second half, but no team can be successful by falling behind early.
"My biggest concern right now is not the other team, it’s ourselves," said Shell. "We continually put ourselves in a tough spot, having to climb out of a hole early in the games. It’s tough. I was proud of them, the way they battled back in the second half and made some big plays to give us an opportunity to win the game. Any time you’re throwing the ball off the net like that you’re counting on a lot of luck.
"What’s happened to us the last couple weeks is we’ve been taken out of what I really want to do defensively," continued Shell. "We’ve had to come up and pressure them to try to get off the field, because we’re trailing. That’s been the most frustrating part."
Turnovers Not so Tasty
As a number one goal, the Rattlers have to improve on turnovers. Not only does a turnover throw away a chance at scoring, it also provides the opposing team an opportunity to make it a 14-point swing when they score. String a few turnovers together, whether they’re fumbles, picks or just failing to score points, and the hole gets pretty deep. Only the Austin Wranglers and Las Vegas Gladiators have given the ball up more often, which isn’t a good sign for Arizona at this point in the season.
"You can’t be in the minus territory in turnovers in this league," said Shell. "If you are you’re not going to win football games."
At 1-3, all hope is not lost for a team that’s made three straight ArenaBowl appearances, even with shaky starts to the season. The Rattlers are no less talented than any other team in the league, which they’ve showed on occasion. But it’ll take more than just ability to win games.
"I think you saw what we’re capable of doing," said Shell. "In professional football, they’re all some of the best athletes in the world. There’s such a fine difference between them and it’s the mental part of it; what you do mentally to prepare yourself in the game, in tight situations and things like that when the pressure’s on. Can you hold up mentally? That’s usually the difference."
With a long road trip to New York next up on the schedule the Rattlers will have a chance to prove that they’re capable of winning the mental game, and turn losses into much needed wins.
Just Kicking It
In his first two games back with the Rattlers, K Anthony Brenner has already made an impact. He’s hit all but one of his extra point attempts, including a perfect nine for nine on Saturday, and hit both field goal tries. On Saturday, he had to battle through a hamstring injury that he appeared to have suffered early in the game, although that may have contributed to all of the Rattlers’ onsides attempts bearing no fruit.
In the first half, Brenner attempted two onsides kicks that were easily fielded by Colorado, while the Crush were able to knock his second half onsides kick attempt harmlessly into the crowd.
"I’ve got to hand it to him; the kid continued to play in the game," said Shell. "I really thought we were going to have to kick with Hunkie [Cooper]. He wasn’t able to approach the ball like he normally would. He didn’t really get a lot on the one we were really trying to pooch further down the field. The other one was supposed to hit the ground first and pop up, and we missed that one, too."
Where’s Hunkie?
After returning from injured reserve for the first time in his career, Hunkie Cooper hasn’t been involved too often so far, particularly on offense, where WR/LB Tom Pace and WR/LB Wilson Thomas have seen most of the playing time.
While he has seen some action on the nets for kick returns, including the 28-yard return last week in Georgia that enabled him to break Hall of Famer George LaFrance’s career all-purpose yardage record, he can’t do what he does best from the sideline, which is demonstrated in the leadership he shows on the field with his passion for the game. While I know that setting that record was a nice milestone in his career, losses in the last three weeks have made that record seem rather unimportant to Hunkie.
When he is on the field, he’ll make the most of his opportunities, which he showed when he jarred loose a ball on a Colorado kick return this past weekend that Rattlers WR/LB Randy Gatewood recovered for a touchdown. Aside from having to lay himself out to get past a blocker and hit the return man, it came at a crucial point early in the second half and helped pull the Rattlers to within one point. That’s the type of play you expect from a leader like Hunkie Cooper and it shows the other players what it means to really play Arena Football.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
