Week 10 ArenaFan Dubious Distinctions of the Week
Adam Markowitz
Wednesday June 9, 2010
Two weeks have elapsed since the last time that we handed out our ever-so-popular awards, which can only mean one thing: We get a bonus helping of Dubious Distinctions right now!
The Sparky McEwen Bonehead Coaching Move of the Week: Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz Head Coach Sparky McEwen successfully ran the Grand Rampage into the ground for three seasons, finishing 13-35 and drawing the ire of many across the state of Michigan. This award will be handed out to the head coach who displayed the most ineptitude for the week. And the award goes to...
Ernesto Purnsley, Ron James, and the rest of the Utah Blaze: I mean, I understand that QB Michael Affleck also happens to have the same last night as the owner of the team, but c'mon guys. How many more weeks do we have to watch this kid attempt to play quarterback before we just put him out of his misery once and for all? The former Utah State signal caller in two weeks has completed 26 of his 44 passes and has really looked like a joke trying to manage this Blaze offense. In those two games, Utah was knocked off by a combined score of 158-97.
The John Dutton Interception of the Week: Having thrown 92 interceptions from 2003-2008, the most by any player in the AFL, John Dutton can throw interceptions like none other. His timing for INTs is usually impeccable, as it often puts his team into a hole that it can no longer dig out of. This award will be given to the quarterback that makes the most costly interception of the week. And the award goes to...
Justin Allgood, Tulsa Talons: In Week 10, Tulsa's signal caller made the blunder of all blunders by tossing a pick right near the Orlando end zone that really crushed any chances that the Talons had of coming back and keeping their undefeated season at home alive. Allgood completed just 23 of his 43 passes, but of those 43, the pick to Orlando DB Kenny McEntyre was the one that really put the Talons in a world of hurt.
For Week 9, how could we point out anyone aside from both Kevin Eakin and Gary Colston of the Alabama Vipers? Those two combined to throw five picks against just two touchdown passes in what amounted to be an incredibly ugly 65-39 loss to the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz.
The Choke Job of the Week, presented by the Dallas Desperados: No team in AFL history successfully figured out how to choke more often down the stretch when it counted most than the Dallas Desperados. In spite of the fact that they arguably had some of the most talented teams that ever played indoor football, they never even advanced to an ArenaBowl thanks to countless choke jobs. This award on their behalf is given to the team that does the best job of putting its own hands around its throat at an inopportune time. And the award goes to...
Week 9 - Cleveland Gladiators: C'mon Cleveland, how do you blow this!?!?! The Glads took a 49-45 lead with 22 seconds remaining against the Chicago Rush in a game that could've made matters in the Midwest Division a heck of a lot more interesting. However, on the ensuing kickoff, Cleveland allowed Chris Martin to race the length of the field for what proved to be the game winning score. Now, instead of being 5-4 and even with the Rush, the Glads are two games in the rears of them and need to make a huge push to make the playoffs in the second half of the season.
Week 10 - Iowa Barnstormers: If you're up nine points at home in the middle of the fourth quarter when your season really could effectively be on the line, you had better hold on to the game. But alas, the Barnstormers found yet another way to snap defeat from the jaws of victory by failing to score a touchdown on any of their final three drives of the game to end up losing to the Alabama Vipers 45-44.
The Bill LeMonnier Blown Call of the Week, sponsored by ArenaBowl XXII: ArenaBowl XXII had some of the most questionable officiating in it that anyone has ever seen. The number of times that Bill LeMonnier announced a penalty or a call against the San Jose SaberCats was uncountable. In LeMonnier's honor, we call out the official that made the worst call of the week. And the award goes to...
Greg Lefils and his crew in the Tampa Bay Storm/Orlando Predators Game: First of all, we're going to give a lot of credit to Jason Dixon for his blog post entitled www.tampabaystorm.com/2010/06/01/looking-back-at-the-last-one-in-the-jungle/" mce_href="http://www.tampabaystorm.com/2010/06/01/looking-back-at-the-last-one-in-the-jungle/" target="_blank"">"Looking Back at the Last One in the Jungle." In that piece, Dixon found this rule about onside kicks in the rule book...
Protection for receiver on onside kicks – On a grounded kick, contact with a receiving team member who is attempting to field the kick may only be make by a kicking team member who is also attempting to recover the kick, otherwise the contact (other than going for the ball) will be kick catch interference. This would not allow the kicking team to contact (other than going for the ball) a player attempting to catch the on-side kick until both his feet are on the ground.
The Storm had a defenseless receiver in the air trying to recover an onside kick by the Predators in that ridiculous fourth quarter rally that Orlando put on two weeks ago in the Jungle. He was absolutely destroyed by a Predator trying to recover the ball in the air. Originally, the refs flagged Orlando for kick catch interference; it was the proper call, mind you. But after several minutes of bickering back and forth, the refs picked up the flag and awarded Orlando with the football. It's not often that we can really point directly at the rule book and say, "Yep, you screwed up," but in Week 9, the Orlando crew definitely botched it up. The only godsend is that the Storm, the better team, won the game.
Tim Marcum Presents the ArenaFan Second Guessin' Award: In a quote several seasons ago, Tampa Bay Storm Head Coach Tim Marcum said, "We leave the second guessin' up to those guys over at ArenaFan." With that being said, second guess we will! This award goes to the player or coach who deserves to be second guessed the most for a decision that he made that cost his team a game. And the award goes to...
Sparky McEwen, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz: First of all, I need to take a second to apologize to Sparky. I had never actually seen him coach a game live before in all of my years in the AFL (after all, Orlando seemingly never played Grand Rapids, and it felt like every season, Tampa Bay was traveling to Van Andel Arena). His team played well enough to win on Saturday night at the St. Pete Times Forum, and even though his 2-26 road record all-time is about as laughable as it gets, maybe it's not as bad as the stats seem. (Ok, it HAS to be better than the stats seem, right?)
So consider this a friendly gesture. I'm second guessing the fact that you put your quarterback, Tommy Grady under center all the time. The dude is just too tall to be playing under center. Almost every quarterback/center exchange was at least bobbled just a bit if not dropped, and it's causing him to be awkward in the pocket. Playing QB is hard enough without that extra pressure. Why not put him in the shotgun 100% of the time, so he can immediately get the ball, stand tall, and deliver a great throw from the pocket to make that 6'7" frame be advantageous instead of a hindrance.
Instead, what happened in Week 10 at the worst possible moment, was that Grady fumbled a snap that went backwards through his own end zone for a safety. The final score: Tampa Bay by 2.
