Turnovers the Difference in Los Angeles Defeat
Steve Jacobson
Monday July 9, 2001
The Avengers appeared to be on their way to a sixth victory in the past seven weeks after holding the Kats scoreless on the game`s opening possession and scoring on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Todd Marinovich to Chris Jackson.
"We came out that first series, stuffed them and put points on the board," Jackson said. "We didn`t respond after that. Todd was under a lot of pressure. We couldn`t get down field to use our speed and use our receivers. It was a team effort. The blame isn`t put on any one person. I think as a team, we didn`t respond like we were supposed to."
The heavy pressure supplied by the Nashville defensive line helped lead to four turnovers, all interceptions thrown by Marinovich.
Nashville (9-4) took its first lead of the game when Cliff Green returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown to give the Kats a 10-7 lead in the second quarter. Nashville added to its lead on the following possession on a 4-yard reception by Scott Thomas from quarterback James Brown, who replaced starter Andy Kelly because of two fumbled center-quarterback exchanges.
Marinovich threw two more interceptions in the final minute of the first half, both leading to Nashville touchdowns. Marinovich injured his left elbow on the final interception and didn`t return to the Avenger lineup.
"You have to give Nashville credit," said Los Angeles interim head coach Robert Lyles. "Their defense played well. That`s the way they`ve been winning their games the last four weeks or so. Their defense came out and got big plays, put pressure on our quarterback.
"We were not sharp enough to overcome the situation," Lyles continued. "By our quarterback trying to make plays, I think we did some things that we shouldn`t have done. The effort was there, but sometimes you can`t go for the big one when the little one is there... You`ve got to be smart and take what the defense gives you."
During the second quarter, Nashville put 31 points on the board, including scoring three touchdowns in the final 55 seconds.
"We`re going to have to regroup," said Los Angeles OS Travis Hannah. "The coaches and the players, we need to have a gut check to see if we want this. We have to have a reality check. We`re always starting off slow and ending fast and this time it didn`t work."
The second half didn`t get much better for Los Angeles as the injuries continued to mount.
In addition to Marinovich, the Avengers lost the services of Jackson and backup quarterback Tony Graziani. Jackson suffered a stress fracture to his left ankle and Graziani suffered and injury to the MCL in his left knee. Both players will be re-evaluated early this week to see how much time they will miss.
"We had injuries tonight," Lyles said. "We`ve got to rebound. We`ve got to go in, do what we gotta’ do and get ready for next week."
Graziani did give the Avengers a spark at quarterback going 12-for-20 for 134 yards and two touchdowns against no interceptions before he was injured.
Without another quarterback to turn to in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Avengers put in OS Shannon Culver. On his first drive and first career pass attempt, Culver hit Hannah off the net for an 11-yard touchdown. Culver ended the game completing 2 of 4 passes for 19 yards.
"There was a lot of heat coming at me," Culver said. "I had to make something happen... I was trying to throw that one away."
Despite totaling just 192 yards of total offense, the Avengers did find a bright spot on offense in Hannah. The second-year receiver caught 12 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
"I feel like those touchdowns mean nothing when we lose," Hannah said. "It`s like hitting a home run and you lose the game and that`s how I feel right now. We`re upset, disappointed. I really can`t think of the words to put it in perspective."
Los Angeles did keep the Nashville offense under control, allowing just 151 yards of total offense while collecting three turnovers.
"I think we did OK," Lyles said. "You always want your defense to play better... I thought we played well enough to win the game. Their defense just played better than ours. Their team played better than ours. When they got turnovers, they capitalized and we didn`t. That`s the biggest difference."
The loss drops the Avengers into a tie for 13th place, with a two games remaining. Friday`s game at Carolina will be a big test for the Avengers. The Cobras have a 6-6 record and need the win for themselves to stay on the inside of the playoff picture.
Steve Jacobson was a writer for ArenaFan Online during the 2001 season.
