Gladiators 2-6 at mid-season - DJ's Blog

DJ's Blog

Gladiators 2-6 at mid-season

Posted on January 15, 2009 at 03:12 PM.

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For the New York Gladiators, it's been a season of ups and downs - with the downs prevailing more than the coach or players would like.

At 2-6, the Gladiators have been hampered by several close losses and a defense that, aside from a solid performance in their last game against the Atlanta M's (a 28-17 win), has consistently given up big plays, and points, to the opposition.

"That win against Atlanta was big," Gladiators quarterback Sammy Baugh said. "We needed to get things going our way a little bit. It wasn't a pretty win, but we'll take it."

The Gladiators raced out to a 14-0 lead thanks to a score on their opening drive and M's return man Cliff Harris fumbling away the ensuing kickoff that led to another score. Harris and the M's defense tightened up the rest of the way, holding the Gladiators to a pair of touchdowns (the final one coming in the last two minutes) the rest of the way.

Carl Banks and Leonard Marshall each had solid games on defense for the Gladiators, who earlier in the week lost 31-28 to the New Orleans Great Whites. Marshall had a pair of sacks and Banks had 10 tackles, with several stops behind the line of scrimmage.

M's tight end Ben Coats was a beast, hauling in 162 yards worth of passes from his quarterback, Jay McDaniel. While the passing game was good for the M's, their running game struggled as Natrone Means was held to 15 yards on 9 carries.

"This was our best defensive effort of the season," Banks said. "We knew Coates was going to get his yards, so we focused on shutting down the other players and we did a good job."

The solid rushing defense was in stark contrast to the game against the Great Whites as tailback Barry Sanders exploded for over 200 yards.

"That was embarrassing," Pepper Johnson said. "We know Barry is dangerous but we gave him too many lanes and once he got in space, it was over."

Baugh piloted the Gladiators to the tune of 409 yards over the two games. He threw six touchdowns to just one interception. With James Lofton struggling a bit of late, Andre Reed has emerged as the new go-to target for Baugh. Reed hauled in 8 catches for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the two games.

"Andre has been a great teammate," Baugh said. "He never complained when the ball was going to James and Don (Maynard) and kept working hard. Now, he's being rewarded for that hard work."

While the Gladiators haven't given up hope of making the playoffs, they realize the odds are against them.

"All we can do is control what happens out on the field," Baugh said. "We can't worry about what other teams are doing. If, at the end of the year, our record is good enough to be in the playoffs, we'll be in the playoffs. If it's not, then we'll be drinking beer at home. I'm OK with either scenario."