Rattlers Mid Season Report Card
Patrick Daly
Thursday June 14, 2001
With more highs and lows than a state fair roller coaster, the Rattlers have been inconsistent in all aspects of the game. However, it’s been the play on the line that has caused the most fits. Over the last four weeks the Rattlers are 2-2 and the formula has been relatively clear: when the line gets pressure on the opposing quarterback the team wins big. Without pressure and quarterback protection, the Rattlers have suffered embarrassing losses.
The coaching staff has struggled to find the right things to do and say, but it all comes down to the players themselves. Head Coach Danny White even said as much prior to Arizona’s contest against Oklahoma last week. In his words, “There comes a time when you’ve done all you can do as coaches from a motivational standpoint and the players have to take care of it.”
Quarterback
When Sherdrick Bonner went down in the first half of the season-opener in San Jose, the leadership task fell to Chad May, with Chad DeGrenier spelling May in a few games. In Bonner’s absence, the Rattlers went 3-1 in the games that May started, which includes a win over Houston where DeGrenier led Arizona to a comeback win over the ThunderBears. When the line gives the quarterback time, Arizona has won easily, although DeGrenier and Bonner have showed the ability to create and get rid of the ball when pressure comes. Grade: B+
Fullback
Bo Kelly returned to the team after a year in Carolina, while the remainder of this crew is made up of younger players. Kelly leads the team in rushing with 65 yards, while second-year man Greg Gales hasn’t gotten a chance to prove himself this year due to injury. Rookies Dominic Reyes, who leads the team with four rushing touchdowns, and John Peaua have good size, but are still learning the game. Grade: B
Receiver
There is no question that the Rattlers are loaded with talent here. When you can line up Hunkie Cooper, Calvin Schexnayder, Maurice Bryant, Randy Gatewood, Muhammad Oliver and rookie Chris Horn there is no one place for opposing defenses to key on. Bryant currently leads the team with 38 receptions for 574 yards, and Schexnayder leads Arizona with 12 receiving touchdowns. Unfortunately, without time for the quarterbacks to find these targets or time for the receivers to get open, the offensive production has been down this season. Grade: B+
Line
Because of the inconsistency shown on the offensive and defensive sides of the line, the only grade applicable here is an incomplete. When the line takes control of the game by pressuring the quarterback, Arizona has cruised to easy wins due to turnovers from pressure and forced mistakes. When the line doesn’t force the tempo the results have been far from satisfactory. To a man, each player on the line has shined at some point this season, but no one player has produced on a consistent basis.
Wendall Gaines and Sebastian Barrie lead the team with two sacks apiece and Barrie also leads the Rattlers with two forced fumbles. Along with Gaines and Barrie, Joe Burch, Stacy Evans, Kelvin Ingram, Oscar Sturgis, Mark Tucker and Charlie Morris have each made their mark, but still have a lot to prove to keep Arizona in contention this season. Steve Scifres joined the team recently when Joe Burch was placed on injured reserve. Grade: Incomplete
Linebacker
Kelly, Reyes and Peaua have handled rush duties at linebacker, while Cooper and Horn have taken care of coverage. Cooper has returned each of his interceptions for touchdowns and Horn has brought back one of his two interceptions for a score. Grade: B
Defensive Backs
The defensive backfield has been one of the brightest spots on the team this season, with defensive specialists Cecil Doggette, Jerrick Bledsoe and Ricky Parker leading the way. Parker brought his big hit capability to the Rattlers after completing his season with the XFL Los Angeles Xtreme and has already recorded two picks and six passes defensed in three games. Bledsoe leads the team with four interceptions and 30 solo tackles. Doggette has missed the last two games due to a foot injury, but still leads the team with 37 total tackles and 11 passes blocked. Oliver and Gatewood make the switch between offense and defense and rank third and fourth in total tackles, respectively. Grade: A
Special Teams
Ignacio Brache has taken over kicking duties after Kyle Pooler was unable to return from an abdominal injury suffered early in the season. Brache has shown his strong leg on kickoffs and long field goal tries, hitting seven of 11 attempts, but has not been consistent on extra point tries. Brache has also shown some inconsistency on kickoffs, hitting the occasional ball out of bounds, which has given the opposition good field position. Grade: B
The Arizona kick return game has been strong, giving the Rattlers good field position on kickoffs and missed field goals. Cooper posted his 18th career kick return for a touchdown earlier in the season, which leaves him tied with San Jose’s Steve Papin and Oklahoma’s Lamont Cooper for the league record. Horn has averaged over 25 yards per return and has come up just short of scoring on a number of occasions. Schexnayder also added a touchdown return on a kickoff against Buffalo in week seven. Grade: B
Of the six remaining games, Arizona’s toughest may be their trip to Tampa Bay to face the 7-1 Storm this Friday. The Rattlers also have divisional games at home against Los Angeles and San Jose, in addition to a road game against Houston. With San Jose and Arizona tied at 5-3, the rematch with the SaberCats on July 6th may still decide the Western Division, but the Rattlers also have to face New York again before finishing the season on the road in Milwaukee.
Overall, the grades work out to B average, but that will only get the Rattlers to the first round of the playoffs and no further. It’s no secret in Arizona that this team has the talent to go deep into the playoffs, but each player needs to take matters into their own hands. The Rattlers have shown what they can do when they take over a game as evidenced in big wins over Los Angeles, Houston, Buffalo and Oklahoma. However, in losses to Indiana and New York, they’ve also shown what happens when the drive is not there. Now it comes down which team shows up each weekend for the remainder of the season.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
