Gladiators owner furious; promises change - DJ's Blog

DJ's Blog

Gladiators owner furious; promises change

Posted on January 30, 2009 at 03:34 PM.

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With an embarassing 24-7 loss to the Atlanta M's, the New York Gladiators saw their record drop to 2-11 in the Armchair QB's North Division.

What began as a season full of promise and expectations has unraveled into utter chaos. Gladitators owner/coach, Dan Johnson, has seen enough and promises sweeping changes across the board.

"Guys quit out there in the last game. I saw it with my own eyes," Johnson said. "It's one thing to play hard and lose, it's another to just refuse to put any effort in. Each and every one of the guys in that locker room should be ashamed to collect a game check."

Standing idly by on the sidelines, Johnson watched in horror as his once-feared offense recessed even further into anonimity. Sammy Baugh missed open receivers, including both James Lofton and Don Maynard on wide-open deep balls. When Baugh did get the ball to his receivers, such as Pete Metzelaars, they couldn't hold on to the ball. The offensive line couldn't open any lanes for Chrisitan Okoye.

And then, there's the defense.

Coach Johnson could do nothing but sit back and laugh as time and time again he put his players in a position to make plays, only for them to misplay the ball. M's tight end Ben Coates had a big day, made even bigger by the Gladiators' lapses in concentration. On one pass, Coates was covered by a linebacker with help over the top from a free safety (who shall remain nameless). As the play unfolded, the ball came Coates' way and the defense called by the Gladiators looked right to snuff out the play. Only problem was that the free safety ran right past the ball without making a play on it, allowing Coates to snag the ball for a big gain.

On another play, the M's were in 3rd-and-long. With three defenders surrounding Coates, the ball still managed to find the tight end's mitts for a touchdown as the defenders stood around, apparently more interested in watching the M's ships than playing football.

"As a coach, what am I supposed to do?," Johnson asked. "You call what you think are the right packages and then your guys seemingly refuse to make plays. Well, if they don't want to try, than neither do I."

The one bright spot in all this is that the Gladiators only have three games remaining on schedule.

"I get a chance to wipe the slate clean in Season 3," Johnson said. "I've already been out scouting players for next season. I can tell you this; we won't be keeping a single player from this team. Aside from Chrisitan, who I apologize to for putting him on this horrible team, none of these guys has what it takes to win in this league.

"Next season, there's not going to be any run-and-gun, spread offense," Johnson said. "I'll be addressing the defensive side of the ball first. I want playmakers, guys that I know will have an impact on the game. I want leaders, guys that can carry the slack when other guys aren't having a good game.

"On offense, it's back to basics," Johnson said. "Give me hard-nosed guys that want to grind out yards, not turn the ball over and capitalize on field position. This season has been tough, but I still love to coach. Give me the right mix of players and I guarantee you I'll put a competitive team out on the field. I tried something new and it didn't work out. No harm in that, I just apologize to the fans for not being more competitive."