Outwit Outplay Outlast
Charliy Nash
Saturday May 5, 2001
Striking a Balance
Game MVP Darryl Hammond had another great game on both offense and defense, but other than that not one player stood out from the rest. That’s not an accident. Team effort seems to be a formula that is working for the Kats.
“It’s a team game,” says secondary coach Bernard Wilson, “We’re rated number one [in scoring defense] because of our offense being able to control the ball and score points. Also we have a good line that gives a good pass rush, and we’re fortunate enough to have good guys in the secondary that can come in and adapt and play the defenses that are called.”
Likewise, after scoring his first AFL touchdown FB/LB Travis Reece was quick to credit his teammates. “They [the linemen] did a tremendous job on offense and defense all day. It would never happen without them.”
So we have the secondary coach giving credit to the line and the offense, linemen recognizing the contribution of the linebackers, and a running back crediting the line. This is exactly what Coach Sperduto wants from this team, and is why he often refers to them as a family.
Travis Reece summed up the mindset of the Kats: “When we come together as a team it’s hard to stop us.”
Outlast
The biggest impact of the short week (a Thursday game following a Saturday night game), according to coach Pat Sperduto, was the lack of conditioning time. His main concern was the stamina of the linemen in the fourth quarter.
“They were sucking wind,” he exclaimed after the game, “They were scaring me.”
Weakened or not, the line held up well for a final drive to kill the clock. Even with the short week, the Kats had their second consecutive injury-free game.
Any Given Thursday
If you watched the movie Any Given Sunday, you may not have realized that any time you saw Jamie Foxx, but did not actually see his face, you were really watching NJ Gladiators quarterback Connell Maynor.
“When you know it’s coming you can brace yourself a little bit for it,” he explained comparing “movie football” to a real game. “All except for that blind side shot when he knocked my helmet off. I had to act like I didn’t know when it was coming so it would look real.”
An incredible all around athlete, Maynor has a golf handicap of five and has bowled a perfect game. “I average about 200 bowling, and golf - I would love to play professional golf.”
A schedule that includes coaching in the off-season as well as playing in the Arena League has not afforded him the opportunity to play tournaments. Not that he needs to find a new career any time soon.
“We know that Connell is a great quarterback,” said Kats’ lineman Bruce McLure. “He’s very mobile, and we know that he calls his own plays so whenever he gets into the groove of the game and he starts feeling it he knows what’s working and what’s not.”
On this given Thursday, Connell Maynor played very well, keeping his team in striking distance of the Kats all night (and in the lead a few times). The Gladiators have shown steady improvement all season. Recent roster changes have solidified the line protecting last season’s Arena Bowl MVP.
“They’ve improved from week to week up to this point. We knew they were going to come out and play hard,” confirmed Nashville lineman James Baron. New Jersey is poised to be a real threat in the Eastern Conference. Nashville Coach Pat Sperduto fully expects them to “be in the hunt at the end.”
Celebrity Sightings
It’s not unusual to spot celebrities in the stands in Music City. Country stars Billy Ray Cyrus and Deana Carter have been at games this year. We’ve also seen Tennessee Titans receivers Chris Sanders and Kevin Dyson, and quarterback Steve McNair. The Kats have never lost a game with McNair, who was voted “fan of the game” Thursday night, in attendance.
Charliy Nash has covered both incarnations of the Nashville Kats, and now has make the 2 hour drive to Huntsville for an Arena Football fix. He also covers the Tennessee Titans as a blogger for nfl.com and still hopes this will eventually lead to a paying gig.
