Preds breathe as Wranglers choke
Jason Lucas
Monday May 21, 2007
In a city where the fans chant “Choke, Choke, Choke” to the opposing kicker on every field goal try, apparently the home team were the only ones cooperating with the fans wishes as far as choking goes.
Orlando won the game at the buzzer on a seven yard pass from Quarterback Shane Stafford to receiver Jimmy Fryzel to lift the Preds to a 46-45 victory after trailing by as much as 15 points in the fourth quarter.
For 58 minutes the Wranglers completely dominated the Predators by putting pressure on Stafford and getting the Preds to make silly mistakes resulting in easy scores. Somehow, with 3:38 remaining in the fourth Stafford found Javarus Dudley for a 32-yard touchdown pass to bring the Preds within 45-40.
Austin had the ball at Orlando’s 15 with 55 seconds remaining. Then the Wranglers did something completely inexplicable by pulling QB Lang Campbell for receiver Otis Amey. Amey would run for just one-yard and the Preds called timeout.
The Wranglers then decided to throw two consecutive passes by Campbell—both of which were incomplete, leaving the Preds with two timeouts and sending on Austin’s Kicker Mark Lewis for a 21-yard field goal try.
Lewis missed the kick wide-right and Orlando took over on their own 12 yard-line. Stafford would then dink and dunk the Predators down the field setting up his final connection with Fryzel for the game-winner.
The Brian Partlow saga continues
Coming from the Predators side of things you almost have to feel this game was handed to the Preds on a silver platter by Wranglers coach Brian Partlow. In handing Orlando the victory, Partlow effectively robbed his team of a golden opportunity to get back into the playoff picture when they played well enough to win for 58 minutes.
His decision to throw the ball on second and third down in the final minute was nothing short of the worst coaching decision I have ever seen. Yes my friends, this counts the Clint Dolezel and Will McClay gaffe from last season's National Conference championship game. You remember, was it fourth down or fifth down?
The Wranglers could simply have run the ball forward those two plays to exhaust the Preds timeouts. If that does not work for you, simply have Campbell back up 20 yards and heave the ball into the stands twice.
Either way, that runs enough clock to where you go up by eight points on a field goal or leave about five seconds for the Preds to try for a miracle play. Instead, Orlando had 36 seconds and two timeouts to go down the field and score to win the game. The Preds even used their last timeout to setup the game-winning play when the clock was already stopped.
Honestly, you have to feel for the players of the Austin Wranglers who left their hearts on that field today only to be cheated out of victory by their own coach.
Listen, I am not going to sit here and say fire the guy. I am nobody’s boss. Partlow is a very nice man and I am sure he has a family who depends on his job to get by in every day life. However, he has now personally cost the Wranglers a victory; one which could have gone a long way in putting them back in the playoff picture. Adrian McPherson did the same thing two weeks ago against the Tampa Bay Storm. Where is McPherson now? A back-up QB in Grand Rapids.
The message was loud and clear in that situation. Do your job, or get out of Austin. Sadly I have to say that Partlow’s job is in trouble right now.
You also have great fans in Austin who were robbed of feeling good about their team today too. One unidentified fan sitting behind me could be heard after the game sarcastically yelling, “Way to go, Partlow.”
Sorry to say, I completely agree that this loss was on him and not the players this time.
No Escape
Well I guess there is not going to be much escaping my wrath. The Orlando Predators were outplayed by a clearly lesser opponent and were handed a gift in the end. For the first three quarters this looked like a team who forgot to get off the bus.
This is the Southern division people; we take victories on the road when they are gracious enough to come our way. However, the Preds made some mistakes today and nearly self-destructed before Austin’s late meltdown.
It is the little things that this team needs to perfect before they enter the playoffs if they want to have any chance of competing with the Georgia Force and Dallas Desperados.
Luckily for the Predators they have a head coach in Jay Gruden who knows what it takes to get to the mountain top. Gruden and his trusty assistant coach Les Moss will no doubt make the Predators a force to be reckoned with before the 2007 playoffs conclude.
Week 13
This week the Utah Blaze (5-7) make a visit to the Amway Arena to face the Predators who are now seeded third in the National Conference. Utah is led by former Predators receiver Siaha Burley and this season’s touchdown pass leader QB Joe Germaine.
Utah poses a lot of threats to the Predators who do not possess a high-scoring offense. The Blaze average around 60 points per game this season and the Preds defense give up just 43 points per game. Something will have to give in this match-up.
The Blaze enters this game on a five-game losing streak after starting the season 5-2. If the Predators are to win this game they will need to eliminate the silly mistakes on special teams. Any extra possessions for Utah will spell disaster for the Preds who are not built for competing in shootouts.
Game time is set for 7:30pm in Orlando.
Personal Thanks and Condolences
I just quickly wanted to plug the great fans in Austin who have been so generous to Adam Markowitz and myself during this road trip. You all definitely deserved a better fate today and I just want you all to know that we appreciate your efforts to make our trip an enjoyable one.
And finally I want to offer my deepest condolences to Storm player Nyle Wiren who tragically lost his wife this past week as well as ArenaFan’s own Fran Stuchbury who lost his mother to cancer Saturday night. To both, your pain is felt throughout the league by your fans and your friends. We are all praying for you both!
Jason Lucas is a part-time freelance writer based in the Orlando, Florida area. A former director of media relations with the Orlando Predators, Jason is making his return to Arenafan.com after a short stint as a public relations assistant with the UFL‘s Florida Tuskers in 2010. Lucas has followed the AFL since 1992 and began covering the Predators for Arenafan during the 2004 season. He held that position until being picked up by the Preds front office after the 2007 season. Jason‘s knowledge of arena football and love of the game is what drives him to continue covering the sport.