2012 Orlando Predators Season Officially Buried in the Graveyard
Adam Markowitz
Friday May 18, 2012
As the old saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Is there even a somewhat viable statement now that the Orlando Predators have blown a third lead of 20 or more points this year? The 2012 Predators, who were already the first team in the history of the AFL to blow two leads in a season of 20+ points are now the first team in the history of the AFL to blow three leads in a season of 20+ points. After holding a 47-27 advantage right at the end of the first half, the Preds went on to drop to the New Orleans VooDoo 68-61 on Friday night at New Orleans Arena.
I'll issue my apologies in advance if this sounds a lot like the article that I wrote a few weeks ago when I suggested that Orlando Head Coach Brett Munsey should have been fired after losing to the Tampa Bay Storm 55-31. I don't care what anyone says. I was right. With the Preds being on a bye week, it would have been the perfect time to dismiss the head coach with enough time left in the season to turn things around.
But of course, Brett Bouchy and the gang in the Orlando HQ didn't get rid of Munsey, and all that we got this week was the same old, same old from the Predators.
Oh sure, things looked all fine and dandy when the Predators dropped 47 points in the first half against New Orleans. They went on a 33-0 scoring run that included not just one, but two successful onside kick attempts and a safety. But on the final play of the first half, with Orlando leading 47-27, QB Kurt Rocco connected with WR LJ Castille on a de facto Hail Mary with zeroes on the clock to cut into the lead.
My cell phone blew up at that point. I got text messages from four people in succession, stating that the collapse was on. It was inevitable. There was never really all that much of a doubt.
And, keep in mind, Orlando did get the ball to start the second half with a 13-point lead. Normally speaking, that's a recipe for success in the AFL. But of course, with these Predators in the second half, anything can, and quite frequently does happen.
QB Chris Leak, starting in his first game with the Predators this year, was picked off three times and was stopped on downs once in the second half. Meanwhile, the VooDoo were never stopped, and the lead that once looked like it was going to build up to four scores to start the second half was suddenly gone.
After getting outscored 34-14 in the second half of this one, the Preds are now being outdone by the horrifyingly bad score of 256-110 in the second halves and overtime periods of games this year, and over the course of the last six games, the team is now being outscored by 22.7 points per game in the second half. The team has gone into the locker room with leads in six of its last seven games, and it has just one win to show for it.
Enough is enough. This is two offensive coordinators and three different quarterbacks, and all of the same problems that were happening with Rob Keefe calling the plays and Justin Roper and Collin Drafts throwing the passes are happening now as well. The Preds are 1-8, and they are a brutal embarrassment. It's time for the team to make a change.
Unfortunately for the Predators, it's just far too late at this point. They are four games back in the loss column in the Southern Division, and they have games against the Philadelphia Soul and San Jose SaberCats on the road after a home date with the Jacksonville Sharks. There's no way to finish above .500 now, and that probably means that there is no way to get into the playoffs.
Look, I love Coach Munsey. I really do. He was one of the best coordinators in this league with the Preds for a long, long time. But let's face the facts here. The only reason that he is this coveted of a coach is because he won an ArenaBowl that we all know was awfully shady at best in 2008. If instant replay had worked properly and there weren't shenanigans going on, the Soul would have been knocked out of the second round of the playoffs that year. He wouldn't have an ArenaBowl title, and he would just be looked at as a head coach that had one winning season and is now 20-24 for the rest of his coaching career.
The time might be here to blow the whole thing up in Orlando. Every good thing comes to an end, and it is clear that the playoff streak for the Preds is said and done. And if you're going to blow up the team, you might as well blow it up right from the top and see if the players that are still around respond any better.
Sorry, Coach Munsey. But there's just no reason for you to still have a job in Orlando when your Predators are the biggest bunch of underachievers in the league.
