Spokane’s offense is just not clicking like it was during their five game winning streak. For the first time in 2013, they were held to under 60 points. Erik Meyer had perhaps his worst game of the season. Although he avoided interceptions, he could only manage three touchdown passes. He also fumbled on the Shock’s opening drive of the game. Utah would score soon after, taking the early lead and possessions advantage. Spokane would also turn the football over on downs late in the 1^st quarter after four red zone incompletions. Again, the Blaze would take advantage of the Shock’s blunder, scoring again and taking a two possession advantage at 27-14.

The Shock’s offensive woes continued well into the third quarter. After recovering a fumble in the middle of the 3^rd quarter, Spokane had a chance to take the lead. But they were once again stopped by the Blaze defense in the red zone. That has been the Shock’s problem in their two losses. They make too many mistakes early and can’t capitalize when the opposition makes similar blunders.

Even with their many miscues, the Shock made enough plays to put themselves in a position to win in the 4^th quarter. Utah got sloppy and their quarterback Tommy Grady made a couple huge mistakes. First, he threw an interception to Shock DB Cameron McGlenn, who would take it back 17 yards for a touchdown. That gave the Shock a 44-43 lead. Later, Utah found itself in the red zone, looking for the potential dagger after they retook the lead and recovered a kick that the Shock return team couldn’t handle. But again Grady was picked off, as Paul Stephens would take it back 53 yards for another Shock touchdown.

But the comeback wasn’t meant to be. Spokane had another opportunity in the red zone with about a minute left on the clock. Instead of using all four downs going for the score, head coach Andy Olson instead decided to use his first three downs to run the clock down. That left Utah with no time left should Spokane score, but also left the Shock with no room for error. On 4^th down, Erik Meyer’s pass was batted down and the game was over. Given the Shock’s red zone woes earlier in the game, it would have made more sense to use all four downs trying to score. It’s scary leaning on defense to win a game in the AFL, but they had made some big plays in the second half. Just ensure you can capture the lead and see what happens from there, getting too cute with time management has a tendency to backfire.

Spokane unveiled a unique, “wildcat” style package in the red zone early in the 3^rd quarter. Arvell Nelson, the backup quarterback, entered the game to take snaps from center. He attempted two designed quarterback runs, one of which resulted in a touchdown. They likely have passing plays from the formation as well. Nelson has been Andy Olson’s Swiss Army knife thus far. Nelson is Erik Meyer’s backup as quarterback. He can also play wide receiver, already catching a touchdown pass this season in a relief role. He has rushed a touchdown as a goal line specialist. He can even be seen making tackles on special teams. With active rosters being set at twenty, it’s a huge advantage to have players that can successfully play multiple roles. It will be intriguing to see how often Olson decides to utilize Arvell Nelson near the goal line in the future.

The Spokane Shock have definitely hit a rough patch. Mental mistakes early in games are dooming them to losses. They will look to rebound this Saturday with a home game against the Orlando Predators, now led by former Sabercats quarterback Aaron Garcia. Paul Stephens will be licking his chops. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PST.

Jeffrey Giuliani is a sports journalist from Renton, Washington. He is a senior at Western Washington Univeristy where he is studying journalism. Giuliani is currently the sports editor for his college paper, The Western Front and hopes to move on to a daily after obtaining his degree. This will be his third season covering the Spokane Shock for ArenaFan.