It was Ugly
Charliy Nash
Saturday March 31, 2001
When I talked to Kats’ head coach Pat Sperduto on Wednesday he spoke highly of the players he had in camp, but said that the team “still looks sloppy.” Sloppy was a good word for Friday night’s game, but ugly is a better one. Interceptions and penalties plagued the Kats all night, and Avenger receivers managed to get open fairly often.
In Defense of the Defense
The list of missing Kats players would make a very impressive team. The absence of DS’s Robert Davis, Jeff Russell, Ron Carpenter, and Dell McGee, OS Tyronne Jones, and FB/LB Rupert Grant left the Kats playing with one paw tied behind their back. This was a golden opportunity for some of the new players to show their stuff, but there were only a few bright spots. With Russell, Carpenter, and McGee still weeks away from joining the team, somebody needs to step up on defense.
The Bright Spots
Let’s see – during the second half I had an excellent view of Kimberly, my favorite cheerleader. Other than that, a few players did shine in this dreadful game. New FB/LB’s Dan Curran and Travis Reece were very impressive. Curran scored on a 34-yard run that left LA defenders wondering what happened. DS Quincy LeJay showed a great talent for breaking up passes. WR/DB Cliff Green had good plays on both sides of the ball. Second year receivers Freddie Scott and Jarrick Hillery both had good games. Scott’s performance would have been outstanding if the referees had called even half of the pass interference penalties committed by defenders. Hillery was sharp on offense, defense, and special teams, taking one kickoff return nearly the length of the field.
The Very Ugly
Rookie WR/DB Corey Sullivan got jammed into the wall and stayed down for a very long time. He eventually left the field on crutches with an apparent severe ankle injury. Also disturbing was what seemed to be bad blood brewing between these two teams that will meet again during the regular season. A very late (and very intentional) hit to the head on QB James Brown was almost as inexcusable as the referee’s failure to eject the offender from the game.
Man in Black Sighting
AFL icon Billy McGeehee is back with the Nashville Kats. Now a minority owner, McGeehee is working with team president Mark Bloom to fine tune the business end of the operation.
Charliy Nash has covered both incarnations of the Nashville Kats, and now has make the 2 hour drive to Huntsville for an Arena Football fix. He also covers the Tennessee Titans as a blogger for nfl.com and still hopes this will eventually lead to a paying gig.
