Youth for VooDoo still served in spite of loss to Gladiators
Adam Markowitz
Saturday June 13, 2015
NEW ORLEANS - The news was really all bad in the Bayou on Friday night for the New Orleans VooDoo. They never led against the Cleveland Gladiators and dropped to 2-10 following a 51-34 loss, and for all intents and purposes, they had their playoff hopes dashed for good. By virtue of Tampa Bay's win over Jacksonville, the VooDoo are now four games back in the loss column to the field in the American Conference with just six games to play. Even winning out at this point wouldn't guarantee a playoff spot.
The VooDoo clearly aren't heading to the playoffs this season, but that isn't stopping them from trying their hearts out. Technically, this team only has five legitimate rookies on the active roster, but there are six others who have one year of experience, many of which haven't been involved in a full season in this league.
The offense has definitely had its problem. Adam Kennedy and Brian Reader clearly aren't amongst the elite quarterbacks in the AFL, and neither man has the stats you need to see out of pivots to win consistently in this league.
That said, the quarterbacks just aren't that far away from putting this team in the win column. On Friday night against Cleveland, Kennedy played a virtually perfect second half, but his slow start really put the team behind an 8-ball that it would never get out from behind.
Of course, it isn't helping him that he is playing with incredibly young wide receivers. There are still routes which Roger Jackson and Charles McClain could be running crisper. Jackson showed both his brilliance on a 41-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and his youth by failing to wrap up the ball along the sideboards after a catch resulting in a fumble on the very next drive. But then again, we must remember that these two men have now played a combined nine games in the AFL in their careers after playing in the PIFL prior to this.
"I'm proud of the kids. They're playing hard. We're just falling short. We're not making enough plays," said coach Dean Cokinos following the loss.
Defensively, there are enough vets here to really make a difference. Tracy Belton and Cortez Stubbs both had fantastic games against the Cleveland offense. Cameron McGlenn had a few really big hits as well in the secondary and was constantly around the football when it was thrown in his direction.
Of course, on the flip side of things, the VooDoo were flagged for 18 penalties in this game, the most in a single game in team history.
All might be lost for the VooDoo this year, but all isn't lost for the future of the franchise, and all they might have to do is look to the other locker room to get proof of that.
It was only two years ago that the Gladiators finished 4-14. They won two of their last four games to close out that year, and though that didn't seem to mean much at the time, it was the start of what became an excellent 2014 season. Cleveland brought back a ton of its players, many of which were on rookie contracts, and the end result was a 17-1 season and a trip to the ArenaBowl.
The VooDoo probably reasonably can't expect to play for a championship next year, but there are as many as 15 players who are going to be eligible to come back to the team next year either on multi-year veteran deals or on rookie contracts which can immediately be extended if the team elects to do so in the offseason.
Winning games at the end of this season could end up being really crucial, not so much for this year, but for the road ahead. All that the VooDoo need for inspiration is to go back and watch the tape of just how good the Gladiators have become.
