Los Angeles Defeats Last Year`s Champs
Steven Herbert
Monday June 17, 2002
In their opening 11 possessions, the Avengers scored nine touchdowns and kicked field goals on the other two possessions to end a two-game losing streak. (Los Angeles had the ball once more, where it ran out the final 25 seconds to preserve the victory.)
The victory improved the Avengers record to 5-4 and with tiebreaker advantages, moves them back into fourth place in the overall league standings. The top four teams get first-round playoff byes and home field advantage for the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
The seeds of the victory were sewn in practice, Hodgkiss said.
“We worked hard last week on what Grand Rapids did defensively,” Hodgkiss said, referring to the Rampage’s use of tight “press coverage.” “The players did a great job of carrying over from practice to the game and we had some success with it.”
Los Angeles faced similar coverage in the second half of its 52-33 loss to San Jose and it managed to score just three points as quarterback Tony Graziani completed just three of 17 second-half passes for 13 yards and was intercepted twice.
It was a different story against Grand Rapids as Graziani completed 20 of 31 passes for 288 yards and six touchdowns. Graziani did not throw an interception and he was not sacked.
“Tony had a good game and we played well up front,” Hodgkiss said. “The linemen did a great job. We’ve been up and down in that area all year long. They take a lot of pride in it. They did a pretty good job protecting in the second game against San Jose and did a good job this week, so we’re looking for that to continue.”
The offensive line’s improvement stems from the amount of time it has practiced and played together, Hodgkiss said. Like most Arena Football League lines, the Avengers line is primarily composed on natural defensive linemen with a natural center.
“It takes a while for those guys to develop and learn how to play the other side of the ball and that’s what they’re doing now,” Hodgkiss said. “They’re carrying over what their learning in practice and they’re getting better and better at it. There’s nothing like game experience. They’re getting that game experience and they’re coming together as a front.”
Other reasons for the turnaround from the Week 8 loss to the Week 9 victory were “recognizing our deficiencies and working on them,” said Hodgkiss, specifically citing improved running of pass routes against press coverage.
“They took what we worked on into the game and continued to practice it,” said Hodgkiss. “Sometimes you don’t have success one play and you’ll get away from it because you think you’re not doing it right. But if they stay with their fundamentals and what got them there, you end up with success and that’s what they did.”
Los Angeles’ defense allowed touchdowns nine of the 10 times the Rampage (5-4) had the ball, excluding a kickoff return to end the first half, which is considered a possession.
“A lot of the credit goes to Grand Rapids,” Hodgkiss said. “We knew going in they’re hard to stop. They’re one of the best teams offensively and Clint Dolezel is a very good quarterback. We knew we were going to have to get a possession change though clock management, special teams or get a stop defensively.”
The Avengers got a possession change when they recovered Remy Hamilton’s onside kick in the second quarter, which lead to Graziani’s four-yard touchdown pass to Greg Hopkins. Their defense got a possession change by forcing the Rampage to turn the ball over on downs 16 seconds before halftime, with Hamilton kicking a 24-yard field goal 15 seconds later, putting Los Angeles ahead, 30-26.
“Ideally we go in hoping we get four stops defensively—one a quarter,” Hodgkiss said. “We expect our offense to score every possession. If we do that, we should always end up with the upper hand.”
A key to the Avengers offensive success was Greg Hopkins. With Chris Jackson remaining in Southern California because of a pulled right hamstring, Hopkins made a team record-tying 13 catches for 162 yards and five touchdowns. The performance earned him the league’s Offensive Player of the Week award.
“He’s unbelievable and that’s why we went after him so hard in the off-season,” Hodgkiss said. “He has a great sense of urgency of when he needs to step up. He always plays a very, very solid good game for us, but there are times when he realizes Chris is out and he’s got to step up and take the extra load and he’s always able to do that and did a great job of that Saturday.”
J.J. Washington, who recovered from a sprained ankle to be able to replace Jackson as offensive specialist, and fullback/linebacker Chad Dukes also received praise from Hodgkiss.
Up next for Los Angeles is Southern Division co-leader Carolina (4-5) Saturday night at Staples Center, with Jackson returning to the Avengers lineup, Hodgkiss said.
“Carolina reminds me of us a little bit,” Hodgkiss said. “They’ve got a lot of new members on our team and a new coaching staff. They’re been through some of the same problems—hot one week on offense and then a bit cold. One consistency they’ve had is defense. They’re very good on defense. We have a challenge for us offensively.”
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.
