Suddenly on the Bubble
Ron Groh
Saturday July 7, 2001
Suddenly, the Cobras offense and special teams stumbled. They couldn’t follow through, and dropped the game. With their first home loss in overtime to Houston 58-52 and then losing their first divisional game to Toronto 62-56 the following week, Carolina put themselves on the bubble.
After going eight games with only one interception, Fred McNair has thrown two INT’s in each of his last two games, all returned for touchdowns. “I don’t remember ever throwing four interceptions in a row and all were returned for a touchdown. It kind of hurts. [I’ve] just got to get better,” said McNair. “I hate to lose,” McNair continued, “and this losing falls on me.”
Although he has taken the responsibility for the team’s slide, he is not alone. The Cobras kick coverage has also slipped giving up multiple touchdowns to two of the leagues best return men, Houston’s Sedrick Robinson and Toronto’s Anthony Derricks.
Offensive Coordinator Mike Neu has not lost faith in his quarterback. Coach Neu praised the QB saying, “Fred McNair is a guy that I believe deserves to have success in this league. The last couple of weeks he’s made some mistakes that are out of character; he usually does a very good job taking care of the ball.” Using the brilliantly devised Coach Neu offensive strategy, McNair has guided the team to several impressive wins. “We’ve had a different group of receivers in every game,” Neu stated. “ You have to go back to the basics and be fundamentally sound and take care of the football.”
Carolina has not quit and can look to several bright spots when gearing up for their next critical road game against Aaron Garcia and the New York Dragons. With the return of OS Carl Bond who filled in for the injured Aaron Bailey and the recent addition of WR/DB Kevin Jackson who has had two outstanding performances in a row, the offense remains a potent weapon. Add the bruising running of Jason “The Body” Bratton and the Cobras remain the favorite to win the Eastern Division. RB/LB Bratton set a franchise rushing record last week with 45 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, the Cobras have done just about everything right. The match up between DS Corey Johnson and the AFL’s leading receiver Kevin Swayne should be explosive. In the previous meeting, Swayne lit up the Cobras for four touchdowns, but Johnson may have something to say about how often he touches the ball on Saturday.
The TNN game of the week has been changed to cover this pivotal divisional rematch. The entire season is riding on the outcome of this game for both clubs. A loss by either team will make it difficult to make the playoffs.
Ron Groh was a writer for ArenaFan Online during the 2001 season.
