Weak Show by L.A. Receivers Hands San Jose Another Win
Steven Herbert
Sunday June 9, 2002
The Avengers` usually dependable receiving corps, one of the league`s best with Chris Jackson and Greg Hopkins, had trouble both holding on to the ball and freeing themselves from San Jose defenders.
"I told the team the receivers didn`t live up to what they usually do and that`s what probably hurt us the most," Los Angeles coach Ed Hodgkiss said. "The second half San Jose came out, walked up in our face as far as the defensive secondary is concerned, went into press coverage and we didn`t make the plays. We`ve got guys that 99.9 percent of the times make those plays and tonight, they didn`t."
Avengers’ quarterback Tony Graziani had a nightmarish second half, completing just three of 17 second-half passes for 13 yards and was intercepted twice.
"The one pick was probably one he shouldn`t have thrown. The other one was probably more the receiver`s fault by not making a play on the ball by not making a play on the ball and not getting open very well," Hodgkiss said.
Los Angeles’ lone second-half points came on Remy Hamilton’s 26-yard third-quarter field goal. The Avengers’ three second-half points matched the lowest output for a half in the team’s three-year history.
The Los Angeles defense allowed San Jose to score touchdowns on its first three second-half offensive possessions. The SaberCats then got an interception from Barry Wagner that he returned 19 yards for his fourth touchdown, ending any Avengers comeback hopes as San Jose’s record improved to 8-0.
"Overall, I thought our defense played well enough for us to win," Hodgkiss said. "The loss is more with us failing to put the ball in the end zone. We had a solid lead. If we could match scores, we would have won the game."
Los Angeles fell to 4-4, losing back-to-back games for the first time in 2002. However, Hodgkiss said his team overall improved from its 62-55 loss to Dallas June 1.
“As a team, everybody got better this week, and probably my strongest position, my receivers, played down a little bit,” Hodgkiss said. “The encouraging thing is that everybody else brought their level of play up. Chris Jackson and Greg Hopkins are great players and I’m pretty confident they’ll respond next week.”
The game started with great promise for the Avengers, with Chris Jackson taking Daron Alcorn`s opening kickoff off the rebound nets and returning it 51 yards for a touchdown -- the first kickoff-return touchdown of his Arena Football League career.
Jackson, who entered the game leading the league with 21 touchdowns, would never reach the end zone again. Jackson had scored at least two touchdowns in each of his first five games this year, including two five-touchdown games and a six-touchdown game against Georgia May 24.
Jackson, who also entered leading the league in receiving yards, finished with six catches for 24 yards, with none of his catches going for more than nine yards.
A long return also set up Los Angeles’ second touchdown. Mark Ricks returned Alcorn’s unsuccessful 60-yard field goal try 47 yards to the San Jose nine-yard line, with Graziani completing a nine-yard pass touchdown pass to Greg Hopkins two plays later.
The Avengers game plan was to try to slow the game down, run more than usual and have Graziani throw more short passes, Hodgkiss said. One by-product of this approach was to put Los Angeles into third-and-long situations.
Twice in the first half the Avengers failed to reach the end zone after driving inside the SaberCats 15, only to have to settle for Hamilton field goals. Hamilton also kicked a season-long 42-yard field goal as the half ended, increasing Los Angeles’ lead to 30-21. Hamilton had missed his only try between 40 and 49 yards before Saturday.
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.
