No Place Like Home My Butt.
Dave Harwood
Sunday May 27, 2001
Other than a calendar and a print out of the standings, what San Jose could have used was John Gruden in the lineup to give his kid brother a licking. The SaberCats were not only out-played, but out coached as well.
The Predators led from the gate and never looked back. In a possible turning point, the SaberCats had a first and goal on the six in the fourth quarter and proceeded to run the ball three straight times without reaching the end zone. Then, rather than having PK Carlos Huerta kick a chip field goal, SaberCat Head Coach Darren Arbet decided to go for a touchdown. In going for it, the SaberCats got lucky with a holding penalty and a first down. Rather than learning their lesson the first time, the SaberCats ran four more plays, three runs and an incomplete pass, and turned the ball over on downs at the one-yard line. You would have thought the Steel Curtain defense was in the house. Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, L.C. Greenwood and `Mean` Joe Greene in the Compaq Center in Predator gear. Eight plays, five yards? Yeah... that sounds about right.
There seemed to be a spark missing on the field as even Mr. Don`t Blink had my eyes fully closed. Though Papin passed 11,000 all-purpose yards for his career, he wasn`t able to break any of his returns open. If WR/DB Barry Wagner was treating this game as some sort of `personal` contest between him and his old team, I`ll tell him now, he finished last. I think the guy on the Harley covered more yards than Papin and Wagner combined.
If you can`t score, you have to at least be able to stop your opponent. Not the case on Saturday as former University of Pacific QB Craig Whelihan thought the game was a party in his honor. He hit receivers left and right, mostly OS Siaha Burley. Who? As much Arena Ball that I watch, even I had no idea who this guy was, but he certainly made a lasting impression with his six touchdown catches.
What was even more costly was that Arizona won, tying both teams with two losses for the season. The SaberCats (5-2) will travel south next week to Los Angeles to play the Avengers (1-5). Let’s hope they can pull it together by then.
Dave Harwood was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2001 to 2003.
