There Is a Bright Side
Tim Ball
Saturday February 26, 2005
Perhaps it’s all in the perspective, but it is still early. There are twelve games left in the season for the SaberCats and they’re known for good times in their own house. There are seven home games yet to be played. Even with a record of one win and three losses their glass could still be filled with champagne by seasons end.
Fair weather fans may be complaining as fair weather fans always do and those elsewhere hoping the reign of the SaberCats is over may be relying on wishful thinking. San Jose has rough seas ahead but they have endured this storm before.
At the end of last season, San Jose lost three of the last four games just before the playoffs. C’mon sports fans, it wasn’t that long ago. At the SaberCats first home opener this year, the ArenaBowl XVIII banner was unfurled and hangs there still.
"Sometimes things can be deceiving," said offensive coordinator Terry Malley. "We’ve scored a lot of points but we’ve turned it over more than we’re accustomed to. We’re still adjusting to different players in different roles."
"To fit all of the pieces together," continued Malley, "to have players healthy at the same time and to get some consistency, when that happens we’ll be much better off."
Though San Jose’s coaching staff isn’t looking for excuses, two of the three defeats this year have legitimate questions for the outcomes and anyone who’s panicking right now may need to find another sport. In fact should.
The AFL Week Four League Leaders in all four production categories: Quarterbacks, Wide receivers, Touchdowns and Kickers includes SaberCats players Mark Grieb (399 YDS, 7 TD, 3 INT), James Roe (147 YDS, 10 REC, 4 TD) Rashied Davis (117 YDS, 8REC, 2TD), and Dan Frantz (9 PAT).
Not exactly the sign of a team without promise.
San Jose fans (real fans) have seen the team go from the basement to the penthouse and their numbers are growing. Anyone who wants off on the floor of discontent will find many SaberCats faithful to show him or her the exit good weather or bad.
Point of view
We could argue all day about the linebacker being out of the box on those interceptions in the second quarter in the LA game but Grieb is a big boy and bears the responsibility for the interceptions he threw.
When told that he led the league in week four with 399 yards passing and seven touchdowns his response was pure veteran. "You can see how important stats are, absolutely not important." said Grieb. "I’d rather have won. But I am proud of the way this team continues to play and respond to adversity. We have the guys to turn this around."
Fans can discuss the what-ifs in the New Orleans or Los Angeles games and we should debate a SaberCats defense that is not getting the stops. This is Arena Football and a different lineup on offense each game may not matter too much, but on defense you’re toast. A revolving roster is not where you’ll find depth or consistency in the arena game. It demands both on every play.
"I’m responsible for what happens on the field," said defensive coach Michael Church. "It comes down to communication. I send in the plays and it’s my responsibility to have us all on the same page."
The SaberCats were only four points away from being written about once again as being in the next ArenaBowl to face whomever. The league experts who wrote about San Jose at the beginning of the season making it back to the ArenaBowl had good reasons for doing so. The San Jose roster is strong with talent from rookies to vets and it’s only a matter of time to see the team playing up to expectations.
"Hopefully we can build on the LA game," said Roe. "Things looked bad at halftime but we were right there at the end. If there’s something good we can take from our last game it was that no one ever gave up."
"We have to play SaberCats football," continued Roe, "and that’s paying attention to details. It wasn’t so much what teams did against us in the last two losses, it was the mistakes we made. We can work on that."
Not done yet
What should be talked about are the SaberCats last three touchdowns in the fourth quarter against the Avengers.
Any San Jose fan recognized that team. None of those namby-pamby two yard passes hoping for a missed tackle to get yardage plays. And, a defensive stop when it counted big.
How did the game in LA end up decided by two points?
Grieb decided to play like the scoring machine that he is, that’s why. There is a reason San Jose has the highest scoring offense in the league since 2002 and Grieb is it.
In what was an embarrassing outing in the second quarter, turned from a blowout to cliffhanger on three touchdowns in about thirty seconds.
The score was 68-49, "Na-Na-Na-Na, Hey-Hey, Goodbye" chorusing throughout the stands when Roe hauled in a one-play, 41-yard pass from Grieb for a touchdown at the one-minute warning.
There wasn’t another Na, Hey or Goodbye to be heard after San Jose executed a perfect pop-up onside kick. In eight seconds, Grieb had Avengers fans full attention, as this time Davis was the recipient of a one-play TD strike. Even Remy Hamilton’s field goal stretching the Avengers lead to 71-62 with thirty-four seconds left didn’t get the party re-started. There were far too many seconds remaining on an Arena Football clock for Avengers fans to sit back down and their experience was acknowledged.
The greatest star in the history of the AFL is on the SaberCats. Barry Wagner, on three consecutive catches, his second a record-breaking 950th career reception, took only sixteen seconds to go 45-yards for a score that brought the SaberCats to within two points.
And with 18 seconds left on the clock and Frantz again teeing it up for an onsides attempt, the long faces of those "in the know" wouldn’t be smiling until all four zeroes on the clock told them they could. Fortunately for the home crowd it didn’t have to, as Frantz’s kick was not rewarded.
Bye for now
As the Staples Center scoreboard did indeed allow the Avengers a well-deserved celebration at the expense of the reigning ArenaBowl Champion SaberCats, the last minute performance of San Jose should serve them well as a reminder of the caliber of team they possess.
There’s no denying the SaberCats are in a bad place at 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the division. The franchise hasn’t seen a start like this since 1996 and has many questions to answer and problems to solve.
But anyone taking bets against San Jose hasn’t followed the team for very long and should join the fair-weather crowd on the escalator leading to the parking lot, where neither their spot nor empty seat will be vacated for long.
A loss by one point and another by two points does not herald the twilight of an era. Reality is just as strong in supporting a bright future for the SaberCats this season as well as many to come.
From the San Jose perspective of twelve games left to be played and seven at home, for those who have a cup half-full of promise or half-empty with reality can still have either filled to toast another successful season.
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.
