Gladiators get off to slow start - DJ's Blog

DJ's Blog

Gladiators get off to slow start

Posted on January 5, 2009 at 10:10 PM.

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At 1-4, the New York Gladiators certainly aren't happy with how things have transpired in the OS North Division of the Armchair QB's Season 2 League.

"With our offense, I would've thought we'd be no worse than 3-2 at this point," Owner/coach Dan Johnson said. "Honestly, our record is really disappointing and I hope the players take it personally and do something about it."

The Gladiators have been stymied by an inconsistent defense. While the defensive unit has been solid against the run (they held the Trojans to -1 yards in their most-recent game), the pass defense has been abysmal. Opponents are averaging 33.8 points per game, a point that has Johnson infuriated.

"That's just way too many points," Johnson said. "I don't care how good our offense is, if you give up that many points, you're not going to win many games."

Johnson singled out quarterback/safety Sammy Baugh as someone that needs to step up his game.

"First, let me say that I have so much admiration for Sammy," Johnson said. "This guy plays both ways and never complains. Heck, I have to ask him to come out and rest for a play so we can get him so rest. The guy is a warrior.

"That said, he's been giving up some big plays in the secondary. Jerry Rice burned him late in our last game twice on the same play. He's been slow in reacting to wide receiver breaks and he's missed some tackles in the open field; all of which have led to big plays for the opposition. If Sammy still wants to play both ways, he's going to need to show some improvement."

Offensively, Baugh has helped lead the explosive Gladiators offense to a 26.6 points per game average. The Gladiators have been forced to punt just seven times this season thanks to the effectiveness of the offense. Baugh leads the league with 1,378 yards and a 63% completion percentage. He's thrown 8 touchdowns contrasted to 5 interceptions - 3 of which came in a shocking 28-6 loss to the Nightmare.

James Lofton appears well on his way to reaching the 2,000-yard receiving mark he boldy predicted he would hit in the preseason. Lofton leads the league with 36 catches for 575 yards and four touchdowns. Not to be outdone, Don Maynard (20 catches, 348 yards, 2 TDs) and Andre Reed (13, 244, 2) have also been reliable targets.

"I love our passing game," Johnson said. "Sammy does a great job of reading the defense and making the right throws. He also has a hell of an arm and can fit the ball into some tight spots. We haven't even gotten Pete (Metzelaars, the team's tight end) that involved in the offense. I think he could be a big asset for us going forward."

While the passing stats are nice, the Gladiators certainly aren't one-dimensional as they have shown they can run the ball when need be. Chrisitan Okoye, who terrorized opponents in the inaugural Armchair QB's League and ran for over 2,300 yards in just 12 games, has gained 359 yards on 78 carries, good for 4.6 yards per carry average. He's also scored seven touchdowns.

Okoye was with coach Johnson last season on the Nashville Fury team that fell just shy of the playoffs.

"Not to brag, but I was the offense last year in Nashville," Okoye said. "It's nice to not have all that pressure on my back. When we are balanced, like we were against Carolina, we can beat anyone."

In the Gladiators' lone win, Okoye rumbled for 150 yards and three touchdowns, while Baugh threw for 283 yards and a pair of scores. The defense also rose to the ocassion late, as Mel Renfro sealed the win with a nice leaping interception.

Strong safety Shad Malbrough has been a bright spot on defense, leading the team with three interceptions. Outside linebacker Carl Banks leads the team in tackles with 17 and Ernest Slade has 3.5 sacks. Inside linebacker Pepper Johnson has done an admirable job in pass and run coverage.

"We need to get everyone playing at the same level," Johnson said. "We can't have two-to-four guys pick up the slack for everyone. We need more production from Leonard Marshall and Tom Brookshier if we're going to turn this thing around."

While the record isn't where he'd like it, Johnson hasn't pressed the panic button. Yet.

"We were 1-6 last season in Nashville and I nearly had a mental breakdown," Johnson said. "We rallied back from that and wound up finishing 9-7. My hope is that we can learn from our mistakes and get this thing going in the right direction.

"But, I'll tell you this, if I don't see improvements out of the defense, changes will be made in the next couple of weeks."

Comments

# 1 RogueHominid @ Jan 5

Really nice piece, Dan. I'm thinking of ditching the whole Tommy Trojan thing for my real name too--it just gets too complicated, lol.

Your passing game is ridiculous--I think Lofton will have one helluva season. And to think that your third option is Andre Reed--that's pretty darn amazing.

I don't know what you did after halftime, but you turned your offensive game around 100% in the second half; you had me sweating bullets. I really like your run defense. Nathan was averaging just under 100 yards a game before we played, lol. Pepper Johnson really surprised me with his all-around game: 6 total tackles and a sack.

The Baugh thing is weird. He doesn't really need to be a force in the run game with your front seven, especially on the weak side of the formation. But he does need to hold up against the pass. Granted, Rice is Rice and will do that to most guys, but have you thought about playing him manually to make sure he's where you want him to be? Pappy turned me onto the fact that you get lots more pics if you manually go for them. I now have 7 picks in 5 games, whereas last season I barely had more than that (I'm still pissed Cherry couldn't get at least one of those, lol). You might give it a shot.

Good luck in your next games. We all know with you it's just a matter of how long it takes things to gel. Once they do, it's sick!

# 2 CreatineKasey @ Jan 6

Nice writeup DJ! Your team appears to be a tough one to manage with all that talent on offense! The record is eerily similar to last season's beginning. Let's see if you can follow that trend and decimate every opponent in your path for the latter part of the season.

# 3 Pappy Knuckles @ Jan 6

You'll turn around like you did last season. My loss to you pissed me off, I can't wait to play you again. I was in a groove and was locking you down well on defense. When we got the network error and had to start over it really screwed up my momentum. You guys figured some things out and I couldn't stop you on 3rd down. Good win, but damn I want to play you again.

# 4 Pappy Knuckles @ Jan 6

BTW, your boy Baugh really slings the ball quickly. I haven't seen much of him and I was pretty impressed.