Four up, Four down. Not Many Teams left to Wrangle

Mick Cornett
Tuesday June 13, 2000

In the world’s natural order, almost any streak is more likely to continue than to end. This is not good news for the Oklahoma Wranglers who have lost four straight games and will be heavy underdogs when they play at Arizona Thursday night. While some of the weaker teams in the Arena Football League seem to be ascending, the Wranglers are clearly descending.

As you may recall, and it does seem a distant memory, this team opened the season with four straight wins and averaged 63 points a game. Theories abound. One is that the winning streak was actually counter-productive because it caused the players to think they were better than they really were. Another is that opposing defenses have simply reacted to Oklahoma’s penchant for throwing the deep ball and is forcing them to call shorter routes. The lack of big plays leads to longer possessions and that means a greater chance of a turnover. Indeed the Wranglers do often stop themselves.

The story isn’t any more promising on defense. Saturday night at New Jersey, Red Dog quarterback Tommy Maddox consistently marched his team down the field tossing seven touchdowns. The Wranglers changed their uniforms for the game, basically playing in all-white attire. But even new jerseys couldn’t stop New Jersey’s passing game, which saw Maddox find four different receivers in the end-zone.

Bright spots? Tough to find. Ironman Brian Greene looks completely healed from the knee injury he suffered in week one. Quarterback Ron Lopez looks healthier than he’s been since April, but he can’t be happy with the way he’s

Johnson and Abdul-Salaam have had little room to trash talk in recent weeks. Image courtesy of Jeff Marshall

playing. Lopez is caught in a streak of hard-luck where his good passes are not always caught and he seems to pay dearly for minor mistakes like tipped-balls that turn into interceptions – returned for touchdowns. But this is a game, and a league, in which quarterback-play frequently determines if you win or lose football games and this team is losing football games. Everyone involved must at least be wondering if the team would fare better with back-up quarterback Jeff Loots in a starting role. That move still seems like an over-reaction, but the longer the losing streak continues the more inevitable it becomes.

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After the game in Phoenix, the Wranglers play two straight home games. They’ll host Iowa on Saturday, June 24 and Arizona on Monday, July 3.

 

The opinions expressed in the article above are only those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or official stance of ArenaFan Online or its staff, or the Arena Football League, or any AFL or af2 teams.

Mick Cornett Articles
ArenaBowl Recap and Rumor Mill 8/21/2001
Loots More than He Appears 7/26/2001
Lead Changes 17 Times and Wranglers Lose 7/16/2001
Tough Run to Playoffs for Wranglers 7/11/2001
Wranglers Can`t Start Winning Streak 6/26/2001
Lopez Ties TD Record 6/19/2001
Wranglers Losing Style is Baffling 6/11/2001
Wranglers Mid Season Report Card 6/6/2001
A Perfect Game Makes for Wranglers Win 6/3/2001
Phantoms Demolish Wranglers 5/21/2001
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