A Little Lesson in Management

Jack Bedell
Wednesday May 30, 2007

The New Orleans VooDoo managed to do many things Monday night in front of a national television audience on ESPN2.    

For one, they managed to stand toe-to-toe with a New York Dragons squad that’s set to go on a tear with the return of their all-everything QB Aaron Garcia.  On a night when the VooDoo defense couldn’t manage a single stop, and Garcia incompletions were about as rare as insured drivers on Louisiana highways, the VooDoo offense managed to stay within a touchdown most of the tilt behind back-up pivot Steve Bellasari after starter Andy Kelly went down.

In doing so, the VooDoo managed to redeem themselves in front of said national television audience after an embarrassing loss last Monday night to the Philadephia Soul (coincidentally playing well after the return of their all-everything pivot Tony Graziani).

The VooDoo managed to find a grade-A kick returner and receiver in Tony Locke.  Locke took one kickoff all the way to the house and was a threat to do it every time he touched the ball.  All totaled, Locke returned four kicks for a 126 yards and a touchdown.  I’m an English professor, not a math teacher, but by my calculations, that’s a hell of an average on a 50-yard field.

On the flip side, though, the VooDoo managed to prove they have zero pass rush without Henry Taylor. They also managed to look like they were playing a man short against Kevin Swayne, Jason Willis, and the rest of the Dragons’ receivers.  And finally, the VooDoo special teams managed to show themselves incapable of catching kicks off the irons.

All that said, however, the VooDoo managed to have the ball with 41 seconds left, trailing by only six points.  On a pretty pass from Bellasari, the VooDoo managed to get to the Dragons’ one-yard line with 30 seconds to play.

Then, the VooDoo managed the clock.

After three running plays intentionally designed to gain exactly zero yards, the VooDoo managed to go for the game on fourth down with eight seconds remaining.

With all that managing going on, though, the VooDoo couldn’t manage to get the ball over the goal line on a game-ending quarterback sneak.

Management has to take it on the chin for that one.

Up Next

The VooDoo host their divisional rival Tampa Bay Storm in what amounts to a life-support game for both squads’ play-off hopes.  My prediction: the VooDoo squeak one out, mainly because no one could live very long with the taste of the last two weeks in his mouth without doing something about it.