In a Sense of Panic Mode
Manny Nunez
Monday May 5, 2014
Flashback to the year 2000 when the Los Angeles Avengers were seven games into their inaugural season. Just like the Los Angeles KISS, they had struggled to compete against some of the top teams in the league. All but one of their losses were by double digits, quarterbacks Todd Marinovich and Scott Semptimphelter were finding things difficult to maintain a starting spot, and their overall offense had sputtered game after game. Of course, they found a magnificent receiver in Chris Jackson, scoring 12 touchdowns during that span.
Expectations were much different than with the Avengers trying to get used to the fast paced Arena League. The KISS had drafted many faces who had years of experience, and with less teams that have been proven dominant since the 2009 hiatus, they had risen the bar high.
The National Conference though, has posed some tough opponents, and with the Spokane Shock throttling the KISS on Sunday afternoon 70-21 on national television, there seems to be a different feeling in the locker room. A feeling that has brought the entire morale down since starting the season, winning two of their first three games.
“The big speech that I made before the game was to have everyone check their heart,” KISS head coach Bob McMillen said. “We can all go out there at practice 24-7 and execute the way we should. But if you go out there with no heart you have no business of being a part of this league.”
It took the KISS four drives before J.J. Raterink got one in the end zone to Samie Parker. By then, the score was already in favor of Spokane 28-7, who took control thanks to atrocious turnovers, erratic passes to the KISS receivers, and sloppy play by its defense, which had nearly no answer throughout the game from whatever the Shock presented.
“It took us a while to get going,” Raterink said. “We had a lot of miscommunications and a lot of mishaps going on with our offense. We felt like we needed to rush some things and that led to a lot of missed assignments. This game it wasn't just one person or one position. It was all of us.”
Raterink was nowhere short of being abysmal, going 9-for-30 before being pulled near the end of the game. Nearly all of his passes were off target, and all three of his interceptions were well behind his receivers.
Even when the KISS felt as if they had taken some control after AJ Cruz's kickoff return for a touchdown midway through the second quarter to cut the lead in half, Rashaad Carter, who replaced Erik Meyer after injuring his shoulder on a sack, dropped a dime to Brandon Thompkins, beating the secondary on the ensuing play.
“I always go out there on the field to set a goal,” Cruz said. “I always want to go out there to put my team in the best position possible. The touchdown that I scored was a big spark and we would hope that the momentum would carry over. After that though, the ball just didn't bounce our way.”
Things had gotten worse after the injury to Meyer when Carter took over. Carter, who is listed as a wide receiver, had proven to have a nice combination using his quick feet with his strong arm. He managed to go 4-for-6 with six combined touchdowns, four on the ground, and wreaked havoc to a KISS defense that didn't know what to expect with the change.
“I was a little nervous when [Andy Olson] told me to take over for Meyer,” Shock receiver Carter said. “I hadn't played quarterback for a while. I felt like if I brought in the total package, mixing my legs with the arm, I just had to do what coach told me to do and it worked.”
With every failed possession, the frustration had spread throughout the arena. Boo birds surrounded the Honda Center with every bad pass, unlucky bounces off the nets, and costly plays that have plagued the team during their four-game losing streak. The team had mentioned that its offense had been coming together even with the loss to San Jose last week, but the showing against Spokane did not seem to prove their word.
One can make an excuse that the KISS are playing through a rough part of the schedule. They have not played a team with a losing record in the last four games, and that trend could continue the next four weeks. A 2-5 record is not terrible in the conference they are in, but now, the timetable for getting better is now being cut thin.
The Cleveland Gladiators are up next again on the schedule, this time on the road. The idea of having this as a revenge game is now out the window, as they have now become desperate for wins. Does this mean a quarterback change and giving Tyler Hansen a shot? What about a roster shakeup that McMillen is not afraid to execute? Anything could happen in the next few weeks, but it has to happen fast before they return home against the defending ArenaBowl champion Arizona Rattlers. Even with a team seven games into the season, they already sense they are in panic mode.
“I can easily look at this game and point the finger at one player,” McMillen said. “But I know that come Monday morning, we need to look at the tape and wonder what major changes need to be made, and I can assure everyone, to our fan base and to the city, that it will happen.”
Manny Nunez is a freelance writer who resides in Los Angeles. He has been an arena football fan since 1996 while living in Phoenix, dedicated to the Arizona Rattlers. Although he lives in Southern California, he still reps his Arizona teams. He is also a beat writer for the Phoenix Coyotes for InsideHockey.com.