Lack of Depth at Quarterback Could Cause Problems

Mick Cornett
Monday April 2, 2001

It looks like Oklahoma Wranglers Head Coach Bob Cortese is ready to roll the dice. And the stakes are potentially huge. Rather than bring in an experienced back-up quarterback, Cortese is apparently willing to gamble that starting QB Ron Lopez can stay healthy, at least for a month.

Here’s some of the factors involved:

1. Paging Dr. Coupens...—Despite last year’s lingering injuries, Lopez does not have a history of health problems. However, his fierce competitive nature makes him a likely return visitor to the training room. When in the pocket and looking for a receiver, Lopez likes to hold onto the ball as long as possible. He’d rather throw a fistful of twenty-dollar bills into a trashcan than throw a ball into the grandstands. This is admirable except that it leads to a lot of quarterback sacks and knockdowns which increase his chances of getting hurt.
   
   
2. QB Justin Fuente-Cortese believes, or at least wants to believe, that Fuente is ready to win games if Lopez suffers an injury. Problem is, Fuente is out until at least week three of the regular season with a broken finger on his (non-throwing) left hand. Experience is extremely important in the Arena Football League and when it comes to game-experience Fuente has as much as you or me—none. But he won as a starting quarterback at Oklahoma and, after transferring, he set passing records at Murray State. Cortese believes in Fuente. Cortese hopes he doesn’t have to use him, but after spending a year with Fuente in practice, he thinks the team can survive if Lopez goes down. Plus, he can always pick up another quarterback along the way.
   
   
3. Joe Phears and/or Bill Lindquist— Meet your new starting quarterback if Lopez goes down in this week’s exhibition game or during the first two weeks of the season. Both may have a fine future in this league, but they aren’t ready to win games right now. With these two taking all the snaps, the Wranglers had five turnovers in their exhibition opener at Carolina and all five turnovers were quarterback related.
   
   
4. Salary Cap—By not signing an expensive, experienced backup, Cortese will have extra money to keep other players. This is a significant factor. As is, the Wranglers will be cutting players that can start for other teams.
   

Key dates-Saturday-April 7- Exhibition game versus Buffalo in the Myriad. Saturday- April 14-Regular season opener versus Houston in the Myriad. Tickets-236-0131

 

The opinions expressed in the article above are only those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or official stance of ArenaFan Online or its staff, or the Arena Football League, or any AFL or af2 teams.

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