Hunkie Cooper Frustrated, but Taking Charge
Patrick Daly
Saturday July 28, 2001
For the Arizona Rattlers, that means they can put their 8-6 regular season record behind them and play one game at a time. That also means that one more loss will end their season.
A 64-47 win over Milwaukee last week helped Arizona secure a first round home game against the 7-7 Detroit Fury. For the first time in team history the Rattlers posted a losing record at home (3-4), but that does not diminish the importance of playing there.
“I think it’s pretty important even though I don’t think we’ve played our best football at home,” said wide receiver/defensive back Randy Gatewood. “With the playoffs coming in you always want that home field advantage. We’re here in front of our fans.”
 Cooper hasn`t tallied up winning personal statistics in 2001 Image courtesy of Mike Wright |
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this game, like every game before, will hinge on winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. Injuries have forced Arizona to make changes on the line throughout the season, which makes getting the job done up front even more important. Linemen Wendell Gaines and Kelvin Ingram rested last week, but are expected to play on Saturday.
“We talk about it every single week,” commented Rattlers line coach Chris Conlin. “You win the game up front or you lose the game up front. Mark Tucker is the only one [on the line] that has played in every game this season. We basically have to shuffle our lineup almost every single week.”
“When you practice hard and you practice techniques, you’re going to do it in the game,” continued Conlin. “If you don’t do it in practice, if just go out there and go through the motions for an hour and a half, you’re not going to get the job done during the game.”
Detroit has been able to rely on strong play from the line with players like R-Kal Truluck and Kelvin Kinney leading the way. Additionally, this may be Detroit’s first season, but the Fury are hardly a true expansion team, with experienced players such as offensive specialist Robert Gordon and quarterback Scott Semptimphelter leading the offense.
“Their pass rush is their strength right now,” said Conlin. “They have a guy that’s probably going to be an all-Arena team—definitely an all-rookie team—in R-Kal Truluck. He’s explosive off the ball. He’s a great pass rusher. They also have the XFL Defensive Player of the Year, Kelvin Kinney. They’re just going to come in here and try to knock our heads off. Obviously, we’ve got to counter that and try to knock their heads off. That’s the bottom line. We talk about it all the time. Up front, that’s where you’re going to win.”
“They run a lot of pass plays,” added Cooper. “They run the same plays, but from different formations. They don’t have an extensive playbook, but they’re real good at what they do. So, what we have to do is go in and be physical. We have to trade [Robert] Gordon that six-yard catch for a massive headache; make him not want to catch that ball again.”
Overall, the level of play in the league continues to improve, which, in part, explains why talented teams like Arizona and Orlando each finished 8-6. Schedules that once featured at least one or two easy games for the top teams are gone. In fact, nine teams finished between 8-6 and 6-8, which shows the amount of parity and level of competition now found in the league.
“I think the league has gotten a lot better,” said Conlin. “A lot of teams have really stepped it up this year. They’ve gotten rookies and they’ve gotten guys from the CFL, guys from the NFL. And they’ve done a great job.”
“The linemen in this league now, compared to five or six years ago—it’s tremendous—the lineman have gotten so much better in this league.”
“A lot of teams around the league this year have gone out and gotten better,” added Gatewood. “You’ve got free agency. Teams are going out and getting good players. There are no gimme’s anymore. Every team you face, week in and week out, has the potential to beat you.”
Despite posting the most losses since their inaugural season in 1992, the Rattlers are certainly not short on playoff experience, which will work to their advantage. The 2001 season marks the ninth straight year that Arizona has made the playoffs.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who’ve been to the playoffs, who’ve been on championship teams, who’ve done well and really understand what it takes to win a championship,” said Gatewood about Arizona’s playoff experience. “Unfortunately, during the regular season, I think as a team you have a tendency to relax at times. I think that’s what happened to us this year. We got kind of complacent and didn’t worry a whole lot.”
“One game we turn it on, the next game we turn it off,” continued Gatewood. “I think with the veteran leadership on this team a lot of guys are well aware of what’s at stake. The playoffs can bring out whole new attitude.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to flip the switch, and take the team’s attitude to the next level.
“It’s tough to go from regular season right into playoff mode,” stated Gatewood. “Normally, you want to be in the playoff mode the last four or five games of the regular season. For us, we’ve struggled a little bit over the latter part of the season. So, now that all of that is over, we’ve got to flip the switch now. We don’t have another one or two tune-up games to try to get ready for the playoffs.”
Many players have taken the team’s disappointing regular season personally, but none more than the heart of the team, Hunkie Cooper. Since Cooper’s first season in 1993, he has been an integral part of the team, both on the field and off.
“You never see me vent,” said Cooper. “I try not to show that, but I’m highly frustrated. Individual stats don’t reflect the season. Every time we’ve had success as a team, as a franchise, I’ve had success individually. That’s not something I’m worried about. I’m worried about the way we’ve started and finished games, the way we’ve competed and the way we’ve gotten away from things that made us successful as a franchise all of the years that I’ve been here. When you see that change and then you see your win-loss [record] change, there’s something wrong.”
“I should be the first one to step up to the forefront and say something,” continued Cooper. “Sometimes being a great leader requires you to be a good follower. I’ve tried to follow that system and it hasn’t worked. So, I’m back up. I’m vocal. I’m stepping on people and if it offends them, it offends them, as long as I’m telling the truth. That’s what I’m trying to get back to, the way it used to be; we work hard, we win hard. We win with class and character.”
“Even in the games we lost we played well for probably two or three complete quarters and in the end we just couldn’t find a way to close the door,” added Gatewood. “Our motto now should go back to what it was in 1997: ‘Finish it.’ Find a way to win the close games. The teams that find a way to win the close games are going to be the ones playing for the title at the end of the year.”
Finally, the Rattlers have placed kicker Ignacio Brache on injured reserve and have resigned Kyle Pooler for the game on Saturday. Pooler was with the Rattlers early in the season, but was waived after spending time on injured reserve following the season opener in San Jose. Brache struggled last week against Milwaukee, as he missed his first three extra point attempts.
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.
