Cool Shirts, Ugly Shoes
Charliy Nash
Sunday May 20, 2001
When the Nashville Kats and Los Angeles Avengers met in the preseason I had difficulty finding anything positive to write about. This time around I can only find one negative: the Kats could not stop Avengers kickreturner (and former Kat) Mark Ricks. Other than that, Nashville played a complete game.
Kicker Steve McLaughlin, who had a terrible game in the first matchup, was perfect Friday night, hitting all eight PATs and two field goals. QB Andy Kelly threw for five touchdowns before taking the rest of the night off and turning the game over to backup QB James Brown. The once-anemic red zone offense scored four touchdowns. The defense lowered their league-leading points against average, picked up two turnovers, stopped Los Angeles on fourth down twice, and scored eight points.
The team played one of their most dominating games. They broke a team record, scoring 44 points in the first half. OL/DL James Baron blocked a field goal and recovered the ball for a touchdown. OL/DL Ben Crosland forced a safety. WR/LB L.C. Stevens scored a touchdown and made a key fourth-down pass breakup. OL/DL Aaron Hamilton got a sack. Every player contributed in this emotional win.
The Shirt Off His Back
Look out Tommy Hillfiger and Ralph Lauren. You’ve got competition. Big competition. At practice on Wednesday I saw Baron and OL/DL “Big Daddy” Bob Gaddy wearing “Dogghead” t-shirts. I looked for the man I knew had to be behind this latest fashion statement.
“I’ve got some in your size too” was the first thing FB/LB Rupert Grant said to me when I asked him about the shirts. Designed by his wife Cassandra, they show a snarling Doberman in a muscle shirt peering over word “Dogghead” spelled in tattered letters. “The name’s kind of catchy, so I want everybody to get used to the name.” Grant picked up the nickname when he played for the New England Patriots. “A bunch of friends would always say, ‘What’s up Dogghead?’ The name just kind of stuck.”
Game Face
I once saw a demonstration of police dogs. The dogs were gentle and friendly as long as they were wearing their normal collars. A police officer then placed the “working collar” on a dog and it became a weapon. The German Shepherd transformed from beautiful to frightening as soon as this special collar was placed around its neck. I’m not sure what those collars are made of, but they must use the same thing in the Kats’ helmets.
I was in the tunnel, where the players enter and leave the field, as the Kats waited to come out for warm-ups. The Avengers were already on the field.
“Prove it!” Baron’s voice rang out. “Prove it if you’re bad!”
I looked around at the players, many of whom I had talked to earlier that evening. These guys looked scary. Now you have to bear in mind that at 6’ 3” and 275 pounds I’m as big as all but a few of these guys – and I found it intimidating.
“Prove it!”
Baron continued to urge his teammates as they waited in terse silence. The normally friendly FB/LB Travis Reece looked like a coiled muscle ready to strike. Big Bruce McClure stood motionless and menacing. Grant, who had joked around when he sold me a t-shirt thirty minutes earlier, seemed to smolder with intensity. Soft-spoken Stevens scowled and stared straight ahead. Kelly glared from behind his helmet. Even Tyronne Jones, who I easily outweigh by 100 pounds, looked frightening. The inactive players were standing behind me. I sometimes hang out with the guys from the practice squad before games. I spotted Dan Curran. It was the first time I’d seen him not smiling.
“Prove it!”
After the game I asked Baron the obvious question.
“I thought we proved it tonight,” he laughed. “Finally, I think we played a complete game and poured it on.” He explained the pregame ritual that I had witnessed up close. “I think it’s important that you come out, you want to have a good start and come out hard. I think it’s my job as a leader to try to get the guys going, especially before the game.”
“We came out and played from the beginning tonight,” agreed veteran Darryl Hammond. On the subject of Stevens, who Hammond has tutored on converting to a two-way player, he commented, “Maybe on defense I may teach him a few things, but on offense he has more skills than I do.”
Stevens is fitting well into his new role. “It’s been a lot of fun for me on defense,” he remarked after the game. He described his breakup of a fourth down pass. “Actually I was just trying to read the quarterback’s eyes. He looked off, and I kind of got in between. I didn’t want to over pursue, then he turned back and I caught a glimpse of his eyes, then luckily I just sprinted over that way.” Stevens is quick to credit Hammond for showing him the ropes. “He’s brought me along, a long way, and other guys have been helping, doing a great job to get me in the right position so I can make plays.”
Lose the Shoes
One of the turning points of the game was when Crosland caught up with Avengers QB Todd Marinovich in the endzone. Crosland grabbed Marinovich by the ankle of his red high top Converse Chuck Taylor shoes, causing him to try to throw the ball away. After a brief conference the officials called intentional grounding, resulting in a safety. Marinovich snapped when the officials made the call, protesting vigorously enough to draw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. He then picked up the flag and threw it at an official – a move that drew a second penalty and got him and his ugly shoes ejected from the game, giving the Kats excellent field position once the penalty yardage was added to the ensuing kickoff return.
The referees did an excellent job in this game. They took control early and did not allow things to get out of control. When a scuffle erupted in the second quarter, they quickly ejected Kats center Pat Downey and Los Angeles linebacker Travis Pearson, sending a clear signal that fighting would not be tolerated. No fan is ever going to agree with every call (or non-call), but I’d have to say that the officiating was fair and consistent all night.
Familiar Faces
FB/LB Cory Fleming wouldn’t talk about the condition of his broken ankle. “I can’t talk about it,” he said. “I wish I could.” He is walking normally and said that he can start running on Monday.
WR/DB Jeff Russell was there on crutches. He had planned to play in the XFL next season and was very surprised when he learned of the league’s demise. Comparing the two leagues he said, “As far as going to a game, and being at a game, I think the Arena League is still a little more exciting.” He had knee surgery on May 9 and is recovering well. He is uncertain about his plans for next season. “I don’t like to make any decisions when I’m real emotional about something [the injury]. It’s easy to say when you’re down in the dumps ‘Oh, I don’t want to play any more.’ but when I get back and feel 100% I’ll make that decision.”
Jorge Cimadevilla, former Nashville kicker and General Manager of the af2 Augusta Stallions, told me that the biggest difference between AFL and af2 is not the level of play or the crowd size, but the guidelines that the organizations must work within. Teams in af2 are only allowed to provide housing for two players. If teams need to fill a roster spot, they can’t pay to have a player brought into camp. Instead, they must either find a local player or one who will travel at his own expense. An eight-hour bus ride home immediately following a road game is not unusual. Cimadevilla is currently working for a furniture company in Atlanta, but wants to get back into football.
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.
