Return to the Graveyard
Jack Bedell
Tuesday March 13, 2007
The VooDoo certainly didn’t disappoint in their homecoming. They gave the fans a hell of a hard-hitting, back-and-forth game. And while the Destroyers put up quite a fight, in the end New Orleans’ defensive pressure, quality quarterbacking, and talented young roster hung a 52-45 toe tag on Columbus.
As easy as it would be to chalk the win up to quarterback Andy Kelly’s veteran leadership and consummate consistency in the pocket, the story of this game lies on the other side of the ball. No matter how the roster evolved, the one constant of New Orleans VooDoo football has been hard-nosed defense, and this team brought plenty of that Saturday night.
New Orleans’ defensive line, led by sackmaster Henry Taylor, made Matt Nagy look like a fidgety rookie with constant pressure. Nagy was completely unable to find a rhythm, spraying passes everywhere. At one point in the first half, the Destroyers’ QB was 9-22 (a long way from his career completion percentage), and he was so off-target the arena PA announcer actually had to mumble, “Nagy’s pass incomplete, intended for. . . .uh. . . . the ninth row.”
After the game, VooDoo head coach Mike Neu couldn’t give enough praise for his defensive line, “We did a good job of pressuring the quarterback. It’s not always about registering sacks. It’s about affecting the QB’s timing with his receivers, forcing him to throw a little bit earlier than he wants, and I thought we did a great job of that all night.”
As clutch as Taylor and his defensive line-mates were, though, defensive player of the game honors went to rookie defensive back Alex Wallace who stole the show with his coverage skills and resiliency. The box score credits the rookie DB with three tackles, two passes defensed, and an interception, but anyone at the game would say he was the difference between a bitter homecoming and the party that actually broke out in the Graveyard when the gun sounded.
After giving up an early score, Wallace was everywhere on the field. His recovery speed and confidence were apparent on every play, whether the ball was coming his way or not. He’s definitely a player to watch, and a name to remember, because he’s going to be a real defensive force in our league, no doubt. As coach Neu put it, “I’m proud of [Alex]. We talk about it all the time. The most important thing you have to have in this league is a DB with a short memory. He did that. He battled back. He made a huge play (the interception) when the score was tied 38-38. He made a play for us to get the momentum back, to help us play with the lead, and that was huge.”
With veteran talent like Kelly and receiver Tyronne Jones and impact rookies like Wallace and Darnell McDonald, this squad is going to be a lot of fun to watch this season. And with a crowd as crazy as the one we had Friday night, the VooDoo are going to have one gruesome home-field advantage.
NEXT WEEK
The VooDoo travel to Las Vegas Sunday to take on the Gladiators and their new QB Shaun King. My humble prediction: New Orleans will light them up like the Vegas strip.
Jack Bedell was an inaugural season ticket holder for the af2's Lafayette Roughnecks and the AFL's New Orleans VooDoo. He's been a fan of the league since he first saw Browning Nagle heaving touchdowns for the Buffalo Destroyers. Jack's married to a lovely wife, Beth, and has two sons, Jack and Samuel Eli. He works as an associate professor of creative writing at Southeastern Louisiana University.
