Undefeated but Unsure
Mick Cornett
Wednesday April 25, 2001
The Wranglers are almost in preseason mode: still looking at players that might be able to start at key positions and trying to juggle a depth chart that gets more confusing each week.
First, the good news. The interior line looks set. Tom Briggs, Chuck Reed and Mike Mari are an impressive first-team unit. Eric Miller is an outstanding second-teamer and Josh Heskew and Demetrious Crowder make up a unit that is an improvement over last year’s backup ironmen.
At fullback/linebacker, Travis McDonald and Britt Bowen are solid. The other half of the team is either underachieving, or hurt, or playing out of position.
Now, the bad news. Since defensive specialist Barry Dillard was injured in the opener and is out for the year, the secondary is a mess. As a unit, they are getting the job done, but how long will it be before they are exposed by a veteran quarterback who can pick on the weakest link? Defensive coordinator James Fuller is considered an outstanding coach. If he can get this group of players to hold its own against the league’s premier teams, he’s nothing short of a miracle worker.
Now the truth. The Wranglers are 2-0, not so much because they’ve beaten their opponents, but because they haven’t beaten themselves. Penalties and turnovers will doom the fortunes of any football teams and in these critical, statistical departments, the Wranglers shine. Oklahoma is plus 5 in turnovers (7 to 2). And the two opposing teams have committed twice as many penalties (28 to 14) as the Wranglers.
To look for a player whose performance typifies the team, look no further than quarterback Ron Lopez. Last year, he threw for 15 touchdowns in the first two games. This year, he’s throw only five touchdowns but he has zero interceptions. That’s partially because he’s played smarter but he’s also been fortunate. More than one of his passes have been dropped by defenders. Lopez is also a key reason the Wranglers have an advantage in penalties. He has been very successful at drawing the defensive linemen across the line of scrimmage.
Offensive specialist Lamont Cooper is receiving a lot of attention from defensive backs. Saturday night, Chicago defensive specialist Derek Stingley did a good job of keeping Cooper from getting deep.
"Stingley got help," Wrangler head coach Bob Cortese explained, "he can`t cover Cooper by himself."
The attention applied on Cooper is allowing other receivers the chance to get open--if Lopez can find them.
Backup quarterback Justin Fuente is expected to be back in uniform next week. He broke a finger in preseason workouts and should assume the number two quarterback role. Fuente has never played in an AFL game (preseason or regular season) but did spend last year as the Wranglers number three quarterback.
Three other injured Wranglers are coming off the injured list. Last year`s offensive specialist, Carlos Johnson, could start working out as a WR/LB. Meanwhile, WR/LB Melvin Phillips is still nursing an injury and may not be activated for a while. Kicker Jeremy Alexander is not fully recovered from a groin injury. His replacement, Chris Sailer played well last week. Eventually, Cortese will have to make a decision between those two.
This week—Oklahoma plays at Detroit Saturday night. The game will start at 6:30 Oklahoma time.
Mick Cornett was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
