L.A. Maintains Status Quo in Low-Scoring Win Over Tampa
Steven Herbert
Saturday May 18, 2002
One pattern is win-loss-win-loss-win, continued by Friday night`s 38-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm at Staples Center.
If that continues, it won`t be enough to fulfill coach Ed Hodgkiss` preseason goal of a Western Division championship, but figures to be enough to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in the team`s three-year history. All three teams that finished 7-7 in 2001 qualified for the playoffs.
Another is an ability to win at home. The Avengers have won five of their last seven games at Staples Center over two seasons.
Los Angeles` victories over Tampa Bay and New York have shown it can beat bad teams, a positive because losses to inferior teams are unacceptable to coaches in any form of football, at any level.
Conversely, their 78-44 loss at San Jose May 11 showed a significant gap between the Avengers and the Western Division-leaders, who remain as the league`s only undefeated team after five weeks.
(Los Angeles will get another chance to compare itself to the SaberCats June 8, that time in the friendly confines of Staples Center.)
Against Tampa Bay, Hodgkiss` acclaimed offense was sluggish until the fourth quarter. The defense, which surrendered a franchise record-equaling 78 points in its last game, held the Storm to 17 until the final minute.
“I thought the defense played really well and won the game for us,” Hodgkiss said. “The defensive group and the coaching staff was a little embarrassed last week by giving up 78. We made a challenge to them to come out and do better this week and that’s what they did. I’m really proud of them.”
Playing a Tampa Bay team with the inexperienced Shane Stafford at quarterback (instead of San Jose with the experienced Mark Grieb), getting two turnovers, improved focus and playing assignments better, were among the factors for the defensive improvement, Hodgkiss said.
“I haven’t watched the film yet, but I thought we didn’t blow any coverages,” Hodgkiss said.
Against San Jose, Hodgkiss said he called a wrong coverage that led to a touchdown and players “had to do a better job of playing what’s called,” on two other plays that went for SaberCats touchdowns.
Defensive specialist Terrance Joseph made a pair of high-profile plays in his debut for Los Angeles. Claimed on waivers from the Grand Rapids Rampage May 1, but not reporting until Monday, Joseph’s tackle on a second-quarter kickoff return nearly flipped the Storm’s Kusanti Abdul-Salaam over the boards.
Five plays later, Joseph tackled Lawrence Samuels at the Avengers’ three-yard line, immediately after he caught Stafford’s third-down pass. Tampa Bay coach Tim Marcum opted to go for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal, only to have Stafford (23 of 40 for 253 yards and two touchdowns with one interception) face a fierce rush, then throw a pass to Melvin Cunningham, which was broken up by several of the Los Angeles defenders he was surrounded by.
“He played for San Jose last year and I knew his history,” Hodgkiss said of the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Joseph. “We were looking for a little help there -- a guy who can play physical and be able to cover some man-to-man -- and he fit the bill there. Tonight, he showed his skills and did a good job.”
Also coming in for praise from Hodgkiss “were all the front guys.”
“All the front guys did a heck of a job defensively,” Hodgkiss said. “We really were pressuring the quarterback really well.”
Linebackers Chad Dukes and Greg Hopkins each come up with takeaways. Dukes recovered fullback Basil Proctor’s fumble at the Avengers two-yard line on the game’s opening series. Hopkins intercepted a Stafford pass at the Storm 18 and returned it nine yards. Los Angeles converted the turnover into a score two plays later, with Hopkins catching Tony Graziani’s four-yard touchdown pass.
A switch at offensive specialist to Kevin Ingram from the injured J.J. Washington was a key to the offensive improvement, Hodgkiss said. Despite a slightly sprained ankle, Washington made his second consecutive start, filling in for the injured Chris Jackson.
Washington failed to make a catch, dropping one of three passes thrown him. Ingram made six catches, five in the second half, including a 15-yard touchdown pass from Graziani with 13:26 to play, which broke a 17-17 tie.
“If you don’t have a guy who’s 100 percent there, it’s going to be really tough on us,” Hodgkiss said. “Towards the second half, we made the move with Kevin Ingram. He provided a little spark for us there and that’s when we started getting a little rhythm going.”
(Jackson will have the cast removed from his wrist and have his broken bone reevaluated Monday, Hodgkiss said. After Jackson sustained the injury in May 4’s 52-51 victory at Dallas, it was said he would be sidelined two-to-six weeks. Jackson was the AFL’s leading scorer and receiver when he was injured.)
Ingram’s touchdown and Remy Hamilton’s extra point began a streak of 21 consecutive points for the Avengers. Grazini (21-of-37 for 227 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions) threw six- and one-yard touchdown passes on Los Angeles’ next two possessions, after Tampa Bay’s Mike Black missed a 39-yard field goal attempt and the Storm turned the ball over on downs at the Avengers 11.
Marcum called his team’s play “just terrible.”
“I’m very, very disappointed,” Marcum said. “It’s just a heart-wrenching performance. It was just pitiful. We just weren’t ready to play. You can blame it on a lot of things. Guys were out there making mistakes that we made in the first week—busting assignments, busting protections. Our quarterback struggled a little bit, making reads and getting the ball to whoever.”
Steven Herbert began covering Arena Football in 1988, the league’s second season. He has covered the sport for The Associated Press, Arizona Republic, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Providence Journal-Bulletin, Palm Beach Post, Daily Oklahoman and other publications. Herbert has also written on college and NFL football for The Washington Post and spent five years as a Los Angeles Times staff writer.
