There’s Optimism for Blaze Fans… Sort Of

Don Eisenbarth
Friday May 14, 2010

Utah fans tend to be pessimistic bunch. In 1984, Utah’s own Brigham Young University won the national championship in Division I College Football, after that a movement was made in which bigger schools came together in a movement to make sure a mid-major could never win the national championship in football again. This is now known as the BCS.

Since 1984, teams from Utah have come in second in a wide variety of sports including the NBA finals twice, the NCAA basketball tournament and strangely enough, Division I College Football. But since Utah has only been hosts to good teams, not great teams, we’ve developed a bit of an inferiority complex. It’s gotten pretty bad and I hate to say it, but I think it’s gotten to me.

The Utah Blaze won their first game of the season against the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings on April 30, and over the proceeding bye week that followed I found myself cautiously optimistic about the remaining ¾ of the season that still needs to be played. But the more I examined the current situation of the Blaze the more I realize that there are still some issues that need to be sorted out. It’s as if I want to be super excited but there’s something deep that’s still bothering.

But seriously, let’s be optimistic here. We won a game! If you have told Utah fans after the thrashing of the home opening loss to the Spokane Shock that the Blaze would be able to put together a competent, fast scoring, and strong defensive game in less than four weeks, you would have been laughed out of the E Center. The turnaround the team has undergone is nothing short of amazing. The coaching staff of the Blaze should be lauded for turning raw talent that had very little experience in arena football into a strong complete AFL team in just four weeks time.

The improvement is really something that Blaze fans can really hang their hats on. Offensive production is raising every game; the Blaze scored over 60 points for the first time against the Battle Wings this week. Defensive ability is also improving with the Blaze allowing less than 50 points for the first time this week.

The team has made the changes it has needed to be competitive. The pre-season report and the current team leaders feature only one common name: Aaron Boone. Defensive Back standout Brandon Hampton wasn’t a standout but was instead an af2 player that had been bounced from team to team, Quarterback Brett Elliot wasn’t a starter and Kicker Ben Scott wasn’t even playing.

Speaking of Scott, you have to be pleased with the three year “veteran’s” performance as a late addition to this Blaze squad. Scott has gone 12 of 14 in extra points and 1 of 3 in field goals in his two games so far. Scott’s 86% in extra points and 33% in field goals is a far cry better than Kenneth Byrd’s 40% in extra points and 0% in field goals, and while it’s hard to really judge ability based on about a dozen or so kicks, you do have to feel like the Blaze’s kicking woes are now on the mend with Scott’s leg leading the way.

But the best reason to be optimistic as a Blaze fan is to realize that it’s still way early in the season and the Blaze are still in the playoff hunt, only being a game behind the Arizona Rattlers, Cleveland Gladiators and the Iowa Barnstormers for the final spot in the National Conference. With 12 games still to go in the season, the Blaze still have a great chance to continue the great success of past teams, as no Utah Blaze team has ever missed the playoffs. This is an improving team that has the ability to continue to improve and gain additional wins as the season progresses…

Oh! But who am I kidding!? One game does not a season make. This is still the only team that hasn’t scored 200 points so far this season. This is still the only team to be have three games in a row where the spread was in double digits against them. Brett Elliot is 13th in the AFL in Quarterback Rating. Aaron Boone is the highest rated Blaze receiver and he’s 28th in the AFL in total receiving yards and tied for 13th in Touchdowns. Don’t get me wrong the Blaze are becoming a good team, but they aren’t a great team, and they’re going to need to become a great team rather quickly.

The upcoming schedule is brutal. This week features the Blaze playing on the NFL Network against the league leading Milwaukee Iron team. Let’s face it; playing on the road against the best in the league isn’t how the Blaze wanted to make their cable television debut. I’m going to put this as nicely as I can, and I’m a huge Blaze fan: There’s no possible way the Blaze win this game. I want to be wrong, but I won’t be.

The AFL is a league where Quarterbacks rule, and Iron Quarterback Chris Greisen is the best in the league. Not just that, he’s far ahead of the rest. He currently has no sacks, no interceptions, and has somehow completed a pass to himself.   (I think that last one is a statistical error, but still.) His favorite target, Wide Receiver Nate Forse, has more receiving yards than Chris Fancies, Aaron Boone and Brandon Hampton combined. In fact the entire Blaze receiving squad has only 4 more touchdowns than Forse does by himself.

The Iron offense is just too powerful for the Blaze to keep up with, and the defense is crazy good as well. Marcus Everett, Iron WR/DB has more interceptions then the entire Blaze defense. Tyus Jackson, Iron FB/LB has as many sacks as the entire Blaze defense. It just seems to be too much for the Blaze to handle, and so the winning will probably stop at one game. At least the BYE week allowed Utah fans to savor it for two weeks.

If the Blaze are to win, they’ll need to play a perfect disciplined game. The Blaze must hold possession of the ball and score something on every drive. They most also force the Iron to start playing sloppy, which they’ve been prone to do from time to time. The Blaze are averaging about 7 penalties per game to the Iron’s average of 11 penalties per game, and if the Blaze are able to limit turnovers and capitalize on each drive, then they might have a chance… a small chance, but a chance none the less.

The Milwaukee game is followed by a repeat performance against the division leading Spokane Shock. So, the upcoming schedule doesn’t really give this team much of an opportunity to start a new winning streak. The Blaze will be extremely lucky to come home with a single win after those road games, but a 1-5 record going into their next home game against the Arizona Rattlers seems not only much more likely, but inevitable.