Cleveland Seizes Opportunities, Moves to 13-1

Jonah Rosenblum
Saturday June 28, 2014

 CLEVELAND - Defensive coordinator Ron Selesky calls them junkyard dogs.

What's that mean?

"Have you ever seen that movie 'Sandlot?'" defensive back LaRoche Jackson asks.

"You've seen how he guards that lot, right?"

Yeah?

"Well, just like him, we don't let nobody come right in the Q and play around," Jackson said.

All season long, the Cleveland Gladiators have rode their boom-or-bust defense. At times, they've left wideouts wide open. They've pressed one side only to leave the other wide open. The junkyard appears barren.

Then, the dog pounces.

They hit hard, jump routes, jostle the line of scrimmage, take their share of blown coverages and keep on chugging.

On Friday night, their opportunistic defense again came up with a pivotal late turnover and Cleveland rode that to a 48-41 win over the red-hot Tampa Bay Storm - and a 13-1 record.

The Gladiators first took advantage of a turnover to jump out to a quick lead. Defensive back Marrio Norman circled back on a deep ball and made the grab as he fell on his back.

"We trust each other back there," Jackson said. "I know if a man runs a post, I don't even have to look back there because I know Marrio is somewhere around. He makes plays where he isn't even supposed to be."

"Coach called the right coverage," Norman said. "I read a five step. I was supposed to actually bend down in the flat area. I read the five step and kind of seeped and once the ball is in the air, I tried my best to turn to the receiver and attack it at the highest point."

On the Storm's second drive, Norman perfectly contested another deep ball, then helped stack a third down screen with Jackson to force fourth and two. On fourth down, pressure forced Tampa Bay quarterback Randy Hippeard out of the pocket. A disciplined defense took away his first option along the right sideline, as he scrambled for dear life, and his pass went whistling harmlessly into the stands.

Norman ended the night with a single pick. He could've had three.

He is tied for second in the Arena Football League with 10 on the season, more than half of Cleveland's 18 overall.

"I trust my speed," Norman said. "I try to sit a little bit on my man to kind of give the illusion to the quarterback that he has him open."

Coach Steve Thonn said Norman will play tricks on a quarterback's eyes.

"We have him at field corner and that's the one spot where he can disguise a little bit," Thonn said. "He fakes like he's on his man and then when a guy runs a corner route, he drops off and helps on the corner. He just does a great job of hiding in there."

This is not a league of shutouts though. A team that takes risks is going to get burned. Jackson can't press, Dominic Jones can't drift and Norman can't flare off his receiver without occasionally paying for it.

Receiver Joe Hills blew by one press from Jackson for his first score.

Jackson came back with a diving pick-six to send Quicken Loans Arena into a frenzy going into the half.

Boom or bust. High or low.

There was more fire to go.

Norman was caught looking for a pick on a deep ball, hands outstretched like Willie Mays, as if it was just him and the ball alone out there in the vast realm of the Polo Grounds.

It wasn't. Tampa receiver T.T. Toliver was there. It was a touchdown. 27-20 Cleveland. It was Toilver's one shining moment. 41 of a rather pedestrian 56 receiving yards came on that play.

Cleveland kept playing with the same aggression, taking the same risks, regardless of the score, regardless of the time on the clock.

Leading 48-34, Cleveland didn't - wouldn't - fall into a prevent defense. No, the Gladiators pressured Hippeard to one sideline and watched helplessly as he threw to the other.

Meanwhile. Hills was out flinging middle fingers, taunting defensive backs, cocking back his fist, drawing penalties left and right. Cleveland didn't flinch.

"It goes into that whole thing of execution," Selesky said. "Let's play as hard as possible. Let's push that envelope, but at the same time, we've got to be smart."

The junkyard dog just gnashed its teeth and growled.

And stayed on its leash.

Until its moment came.

Leading by seven late, Cleveland managed to rip the ball out just before the receiver fell to the ground. It was the Gladiators' 16th fumble recovery of the season, tied for tops in the Arena Football League.

"It was a momentum changer. It's that opportunistic kind of defense," Selesky said. "We collectively have the mentality that any of the eight out there are capable of making a play,"

Selesky wasn't even watching. He didn't have to.

As Jackson said of Norman, sometimes the logic is simple.

"The ball doesn't find him," Jackson said. "He finds the ball."

The same could be said of Cleveland this season.

"That was kind of the mindset that I wanted the players to hopefully be able to take," Selesky said. "As we started camp and got into it, they've kind of taken the ball and run with it past a level and kind of regardless of what I teach them. They take everything and make it their own. We have a saying: DYJ like a JYD. Do your job like a junkyard dog,"

"He's that animal that has one job and he does it basically until he's about to expire," Selesky said. "We've kind of developed that mindset."

Play of the Game?

The big plays weren't solely the province of the defense Friday. Tied at 34, with the game in doubt, Shane Austin hit Collin Taylor with a quick fire to the hash. From there, Taylor took it and ran. The first 15-20 yards were easy. Then there was a spin and a final push. After that 46-yard score, Cleveland would lead the rest of the night.

Waiting Out the Long Drives

With Cleveland boasting a boom-or-bust defense, the Gladiators tend to get off the field quickly, for better or worse. Of the Storm's first seven drives, six were under two and a half minutes. But then Tampa Bay had two marathon drives. On the first, as the fourth quarter began, the Storm needed seven tries in the Gladiators' red zone to score. The second was even longer, a six-minute drive, as flags flew and the ball moved back and forth, up and down the field. But the Gladiators showed patience and ripped the ball out when the moment was ripe.

Oldie but Goodie

Shane Austin was looking Dominick Goodman's way all night long. The wideout had 10 grabs heading into the intermission. It got crazier after the half when Goodman was targeted five straight times. Goodman ended with 16 receptions, more than all of his teammates combined, but interestingly had just one of Cleveland's five touchdown grabs. Austin's focus on Goodman likely opened up Lewis and Goodman for easy scores.

A Little Too Predictable

It wasn't always a good thing though. As Austin kept going to Goodman, the defense honed in. Then. Austin looked for Thyron Lewis on three straight. The first was a good idea (and a horrible throw) as Lewis was left open by a defense caught playing in on Goodman. The second went for a first down. The third again was too much though. The defense had once again caught on, and Lewis was smacked right as the ball hit his hands. Austin may need to focus on diversification in coming weeks.