Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
YouTube Promo
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
This week on F4Blog...
Got a few days off this week? Kick back and tune into F4Blog.com for some holiday season content.
On the table:
1. Interview with Destroyers superfan Dawgman.
This interview is actually complete and is unlike any I have done before. This time it's a video interview in which you can see both of us talking. Although we did finish it, there is some great in-video restructuring going on which will take place a couple of days after Christmas. The F4Blog program is getting a facelift and you viewers will be the first to see it. The interview will be released on the 26th or 27th.
2. New F4Blog.com promo video.
With exclusive player soundbites, I will be making a promo video for the website. You will see bites from all of the players I did interviews with and more - welcoming you to F4Blog.com. This will also be out the 26th.
3. Possible player interview.
There are multiple options out there as it stands, but a player interview might be taking place over the Christmas weekend or after. There are no guarantees on this, but something is in the works.
4. Interviews with Billy Parker and Weylan Harding compacted.
Although I did these shorter interviews months ago, many have not seen them due to the format in which they were released (embedded in the Dragons Press Conference video). This will come out Christmas night.
5. Launch of Firebirds Companion Site
I'll leave the details out of this one.
6. Comments enabled.
Try to scatter around some of your opinions. This is a blog for the fans and for too long there has been no place to voice yourself here. Underneath every entry there is a place you can click if you want to comment. Conger up some discussions on either new posts or old!!
7. Alternate URL.
Through another purchase I acquired "www.survivethesuspension.com" and now, that URL (as well as F4Blog.com obviously) will take you to this website.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Blog colors changed...
In this season off, the league generally should be concentrated on more than exclusively the Dragons. Although there probably will be more Dragons players than players of other teams, I am attempted to, for this season off, make this a more AFL-centric website than its Dragons past.
It will not lose its identity, it will simply be broadened and offer a much higher diversity of content sources.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Comments about the AFL on PTI and Around the Horn
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
According to Tim Marcum (and now all sources), we are safe!
UPDATE: Many more of the most reputable sources have confirmed this, including my own.
With rumors swirling of the league folding tomorrow, and reports stating the league was taking its last breaths, the owners finally met today to conclude their talks.
UPDATE: In a league statement,
According to Tim Marcum, AFL coaching veteran of 22 years (currently with the Storm) and the most winning coach in AFL history (7 Arena Bowls), the AFL is safe for 2009."NEW YORK – Despite rumors and reports to the contrary, the Arena Football League Board of Directors has not suspended the 2009 season at this time. The Board met via conference call this evening.
The Board will continue to meet regularly to examine any and all long-term structural improvement options for the AFL"
In Adam Adkins' Storm Report and a report from Tampabay.com, he states:
"Marcum said the league’s board of directors voted Wednesday night to move ahead with the season. Marcum said he wasn’t sure how many teams will play this year, but that the Tampa Bay Storm would be one of them and that the arena league will continue.
Marcum said he certainly felt a sense of relief with the news the league would continue, but lashed out at the varios media reports that had circulated in recent days that stated the AFL, which is said to be in serious financial trouble, was likely to cancel the 2009 season and possibly cease operations altogether"
In a quote from Marcum:
"One thing I’m very disappointed in is this predetermination, the false information that was out there, that said the Arena Football League was doomed,” Marcum said. I don’t know why people [media] are doing this. Nothing can happen without a vote of the board of directors, and they voted tonight going forward."
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
A Few Minutes with Terry Moss
I got the chance to briefly chat with Terry Moss today, and we discussed the off-season, upcoming season, and his view on some matters.
Moss has been in Dayton the whole off-season, just working out fairly secluded from team matters. Terry proved to be a formidable threat last year, and with our seasoned veterans gone in Anthony and Swayne, this will be his chance to step up. We got to talking about the upcoming season, and Moss dished out his prediction:
"To the be modest 10-6 at worst...I say this because last year we had so many rookies including me...and even though most of us played at a high level I believe that this year we would come in with a better confidence and understanding. Hopefully we will catch the ground running instead of having to fight like last year."
Terry has a point, in a year when rookies seemed to dominate the team, the young guns now have both regular season experience and significant playoff experience. The learning curve is out of the way, and these players look to truly break out next season.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Dragons Begin quest for Mascot/Cheerleader names...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Other ESPN2 game announced!
Other ESPN2 game announced!
ESPN's Media Zone is reporting that the New York Dragons will play their second ESPN2 game in Philadelphia on the 26th.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Opening game released! Plus a new shirt...
ESPN, as part of their March upcoming schedule is showing that our first game of the season will be on ESPN2 on the 3rd, at 9:30 EST at Arizona. This game is the first Monday Night game of the season.
My take: Great to have the first game on ESPN. With the players mic'd up and so many cameras on the field, we should be able to learn about any new players we may have. Seeing our new jerseys/logos in action is also a positive so that graphics can be prepared for the first home game.
I added a new "joke" shirt - since Dragons fans are always trashing the call on the field when Brackins' knee was down, I made a light hearted representation of it in the f4blog.com store.
Link to the product, proceeds go to advancing the quality of this site.
Thanks, and check out some other improvements in the video post below!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
The "Wildcat" formation and the Dragons...
-When I said Arizona, I meant Arkansas.
-I know how to pronounce Keron's name, I just say it wrong consistently. Forgive me :)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
New Store!
With the Dragons getting their new colors and the blog changing its appearance, I am now selling some things with the blog logo. Scroll down and click on the graphic on the right side of this page to go to it. I'm not doing it for a profit (almost all the money goes to Cafe Press), but just doing it to get the colors and logo out there. Enjoy!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Dallas out!
The league announced today that the Dallas Desperados are leaving our Eastern division to go to the south. It is a surprising move being that the league so heavily publicized the Dallas/Philly rivalry, but geographically it makes the most sense. This change comes after the VooDoo folded leaving a void in the south. The Dragons schedule just got a tad easier!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
New Column
For this off-season, there will be an "Off-season Tracker" on the right side of the page. When the season begins again, the transactions column will return. Keep coming back for new transactions and Dragons events!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Offseason Begins...
Well people - the offseason has begun after a Philly Soul ArenaBowl victory, and a new season is in the works.
With a new comish, new owners, and a new Dragons outlook, this offseason should be an active one. Stay tuned on the AFL Message Boards for possible offseason video posts and written updates as I attempt to give you inside information about the Dragons offseason. I can't guarantee a certain amount of videos in the upcoming 6 months, but if I do make one - I will make a post on the Arena Football message boards about it (www.boards.arenafootball.com).
So, have a good one - and stay posted.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
About Me
Contact Info
E-Mail: Ben@F4Blog.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/furry4
AIM: Romnation
You've seen the show, read the posts, heard what I have to say, but who am I? Good question.
Well first of all, this isn't my first website. For about two years starting in 2005, I had a website called arenapulse.com. This site was a "For the fans, by the fans" type of deal, with all content submitted by staff writers, fan submissions, and myself. The site became hard to maintain, and eventually I ran out of steam and ended the whole thing. Throughout that entire time, I wished it was just a New York Dragons site - but fearing competition from other leading Dragons fan news sites, I never pulled the trigger and converted.
The off-season of 2007 was mind-numbingly boring and to keep myself entertained I decided to start my own Dragons "audio show". Unlike a radio show, it was not live - but it was simply youtube entries of audio. Meanwhile, I had also st
arted a Dragons blog (furrey4blog.blogspot), but it was exclusively writing and I never thought to combine the two media types. Eventually the radio show evolved into the video New York Dragons Review and Preview Show, and after multiple weeks of debating with myself, the show finally moved exclusively on this site now named f4blog.com. After a few weeks of having the show exclusively on this website, I could not maintain both writing and video making, so the site became a vlog (video blog). That is pretty much how things still stand now.
Now as far as I go - here is a little Dragons bio.
In 2002 at my grandmothers house I sat bored infront of a TV. Flipping channels, I landed on NBC where an odd football game was being played. Hmm, they look like the Cowboys, but its not the same players and the field is way smaller. After an obscurly long time in the broadcast, the announcers finally said "the Desperados". I hopped on google and did some research, and that is when my passion for the AFL was born.
Due to geography and TV programing, I began to follow the Dragons' 2002 season. Although the season was abysmal, I developed likings to Mike Furrey and Rodney Filer
. Not long after that, I went to my first game on April 27th for my birthday. That ended up being Mike Furrey's last game (and a record-tying one), but I did secure his autograph as well as Filers. As many AFL fans are, I became obsessed and tried to go to as many games as I could every year. I finally started to go to every game in 2006 and the rest is history. My support for Mike Furrey never wavered, as I have a substantial collection now (game issued Rams jersey, authentic Lions jersey, Ohio State jersey, Replica Lions jersey, and endless numbers of cards). I also finally got my hands on Rodney Filer jersey when I won a game used away one on ebay after the '07 season. "F4" in F4Blog, stems from Furrey and his number on the Dragons, 4.
For three years now I have been making signs and cards for the players and for my own collection. In 2007 in the last game of the season, Bruce Blue took Jeff (the friend I go to games with) and I into the locker room to get autographs and show everyone what I had. That game was a loss to the Destroyers, and if we had won by 9 or more we would have made the playoffs - that didn't exactly work out but I had made a sign that said "Win by 9 or Die" (that I also got signed by everyone in the locker room) which is now one of the centerpieces of my collection.
2008 was a more personal year - I was finally developing relationships with the players and became more engaged in the team itself. With my cards and graphics now highly improved, I was giving my creat
ions to the families of the players and began talking to multiple families every game. In particular, I built relationships with Elliot Seifert and his family, John Walker and his wife (eventually his whole family), Levy Brown, Terry Moss, and Dartangon Shack who I still talk with weekly. That year for my birthday, Moss gave me one of his touchdown balls signed by most of the team and late in the season John Walker gave me his jersey. Walker and I have an especially great relationship and we are still talking during this off-season.
Fastforwarding to now, after being recommended to by the coaches/players because of my show - I have a relationship with the new ownership as well. Tim Kelly, COO, is giving me the type of notice I couldn't have dreamed of and is making my relationship with the team (and this blog) fairly official.
Unfortunately as you all know the 2009 season was canceled, but it led to yet another transformation of the blog. For this year off I have changed the blog to become AFL oriented rather than just Dragons. If the league does return in 2010, this site will most likely return to the Dragons layout and orientation. I hope that this site becomes a haven for lost fans and those who want to see how their favorite players are outlasting the suspension.
Hope the league returns in 2010, but until then - keep checking back for more content.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Update...
Don't forget, your next Review and Preview Show will be online no later than 2 hours after Saturday night's game against Philadelphia, GO DRAGONS!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
New York Dragons Review and Preview Show - CRIBS and PLAYOFFS (Week 1) EDITION
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
New York Dragons Review and Preview Show - Week 17
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
NEW WEBSITE URL!
Now, instead of typing out that stupid blogspot URL, you can just go to www.F4blog.com to access this site! It is a really simple URL that I think it much easier to tell everyone about, thanks for everyone who has visited so far and I hope to have even more success in the future!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
New York Dragons Review and Preview Show - Week 15
*Note at various parts of the show I accidentally called the Crush the Avengers, this is because both games were on TV and were on pretty late - so I had a brain lapse. Lol, sorry about that.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Review and Preview Show Tomorrow!
Got lots to talk about, come check out the show tomorrow (6/10) night right here on the furry4blog!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
No video this week...
Due to lack of material and the fact that we just had a bye week - no show this week. Next week will be a jam packed show, though - come back next Thursday for the week 11 program!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Off-Season Tracker.
DECEMBER 3rd: The Dispersal Draft has been moved up to the 9th and the Free Agency Period moved up to the 11th.
DECEMBER 2nd: ESPN Media announces April 26th we will play the Soul at the Wachovia Center on ESPN2.
DECEMBER 2nd: Dispersal Draft delayed (date unknown).
NOVEMBER 24th - The dates for the Dispersal Draft and the beginning of the free-agent signing period have been set for Tuesday, December 2 and Thursday, December 4, respectively.
NOVEMBER 23rd - Opening game announced by ESPN. The Dragons will play in Arizona to kick off ESPN2's Monday Night Football season on March 2nd.
OCTOBER 27th - Dallas no longer in the East, the Dragons division is now Philly, Cleveland, and Columbus.
OCTOBER 22nd - Free agent signing period/dispersal draft delayed. New dates unknown.
OCTOBER 17th - VooDoo dispersal draft set for Oct. 21st. The Dragons have the 8th, 24th, and 40th picks.
OCTOBER 3rd - Free agent signing period moved from October 15th to October 22nd.
OCTOBER 1st - Teams can now contact free agents.
SEPTEMBER 23rd - Press conference is held where logo and colors are released.
SEPTEMBER 11th - Chris Onorato released.
AUGUST 27th - League announces that free agency signing period will begin October 15th.
AUGUST 11th - Aaron Garcia, Keron Henry, and Henry Taylor are re-signed.
AUGUST 10th - Free Agent Deadline, unsigned players now become free-agents.
AUGUST 7th - Angel Estrada re-signed.
AUGUST 4th - Steve Azar re-signed.
JULY 25th - Sale of Dragons approved.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Transaction Column Added to Blog!
Now, for the LATEST updates in transactions, you can now check back here. Instead of scrambling around arenafootball.com and not getting all the info at once, the most recent three day period of transactions can be found on this blog in the top right column. Obviously some days there are no transactions, which is why there will sometimes be gaps or no real recent transactions every time you check. That being said, I GUARANTEE you that the transactions will be up to date by the minute - ALWAYS.
Thanks!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
New York Dragons Review and Preview Show - Week 7
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Week 6 - Grand Rapids
This game was the most dominant overall performance I have seen from this Dragons team in a LONG TIME. Talk about giving another team a taste of their own medicine! Grand Rapids' record scoring run stopped here.
Honestly, how much is there is to say? The offense and the defense was about as good as it could have possibly been (in the first half at least). The Dragons took their shutout (and 49 point lead) into the third quarter when they gave up their first TD, and the team got a bit lazy from there. New York scored 35 points in the first half, and allowed that much in the second. It ended up not mattering, though, as the Dragons capitalized on the defensive dominance - scoring 63 points in the entire game.
Defense was once again extremely impressive. The d-player of the game was John Walker with his three interceptions and a touchdown. Parker played well with his three pass breakups, Brown with his interception, and Estrada did not make much noise through out this one (but apparently did alright). The defensive line also was extremely impressive once again. Farouk Adelekan, Henry Taylor, and Jason Hardee all put LOADS of pressure on James MACpherson - forcing fumbles - rushed passes - and all of the stuff we love to see out of a d-line. The common saying every year is that if your team sucks, but may squeak into the playoffs luckily - fans will state, "You don't want to take this team in the playoffs." This saying may apply to this season as the Dragons attempt to slither into the playoffs - but I disagree with the cliche here. I would LOVE to take this team into the playoffs - even if we are this inconsistent. Why? On any given day this defense could COMPLETELY shut down the opposition. With a healthy Garcia the O is not too bad either.
On another note - last night was suppose to be Latin Night. I do not know the relevance of this day or who put it together, but you would not know it was Latin Night by anything through out the entire game. Weylan Harding promised that if they won, he would do a salsa dance after the game on the field - did not happen. The program said that the halftime band would play latin music - they played American Punk such as "All the Small Things" by Blink 182. They said that the cheerleaders would be dancing to latin music - they danced to Soulja Boy. So....that failed.
Back to the game, the offense: Kevin Swayne was OUT today - and a we won! Are you seeing a pattern? Hm, he was out in week 2 as well, huh, we won that game too. Maybe, just maybe - throwing it out there - when Swayne plays Garcia (and Davey at the time) looked to him as the #1 receiver. While trying to force the ball to him, they missed our wide open receivers. With him out - virtually all receivers on the field are equal and the field becomes easier to read in a less forced nature. Think about it. Anyways, Terry Moss took Swaynes spot - this was Moss' first game after being on the practice squad since the initial signings: He was pretty good. He only got 2 passes, but they were pretty big catches and he got his first touchdown in the AFL. Chris Anthony proved to be the best of the group with 4 touchdowns. Basically he seems to be the go to receiver on the goal line - with less yards than Willis, but four times the amount of touchdowns.
The offensive line.........was awesome. Garcia only got sacked once and it was because of a bad decision of his part (surprised?) and he had loads of time back their in the pocket. Tuck, Laud, and Big Randall played their best games of the season by far - it showed on the scoreboard. Garcia was much better than last week, doing exactly what I said he should have done. On the goal line we saw him run it in! Bravo! Also some nice passes from him - a definite improvement. With the rout locked up at the end of the game, Juston Wood came in and was pretty good himself. In my opinion we should really have Vena as the backup, why you ask...well, imagine it this way: Vena is a bit stocky with good running ability. Garcia is slim with next to no running ability. On fourth and short or goal line situations we could have a pounder out there at QB in Vena. He could do sneaks or roll out screens - it could work.
So don't forget - my youtube show is now on Wednesdays. My youtube profile is at: http://youtube.com/user/SchwartzVideo. Check there every Wednesday night for a new program! See you next week at Nassau!
One last thing, a friend of mine: Madhatterl7. made this graphic that you guys should check out - very cool.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Week 5 - Dallas
In a sport oriented around the excitement of offense, this game "should" have been boring, right? No no no, defense can be even more exciting than offense - we learned that today.
First I will admit that I was half wrong in my prediction that the Dragons would be crushed in a loss. While they did lose, they most certainly were not crushed at all. For almost the entire game the Dragons led one of, if not the best teams in the Arena Football League. Just as I saw in the home opener, the excitement from the individual defenders lit a fire under the defense as a whole - and it was quite a sight to see. Henry Taylor was an absolute monster with two and a half sacks and a fumble recovery. His sacks accounted for negative 17 yards total for Dallas, and he played like I had never seen before. If only he had played like this the whole season - THIS is the real guy we got for Horacek - not the weak d-linemen we saw in the first four games. The D-Line had four sacks total and is really looking better after multiple weeks of mediocrity. It wasn't a solo effort from Taylor - as Jason Hardee played a solid game as well. The others were not so great - but I will take that overall performance every game if we can get it.
Also on defense - the secondary played very well too. I stood up and danced as I sang "Welcome back, welcome back, weeelllcome backkk" when Angel Estrada returned his interception for a touchdown. A great return to New York for him. John Walker AGAIN recovered a fumble, something he does EVERY week. Seriously, this guy has a specialty. Otherwise, Levy didn't pick one for the first time this season, but he played an overall ok game - he did get beat a few times. Billy Parker got beat as well, but he got lucky as much of the time the passes were either errant or there was a penalty somewhere on the field. On the topic of penalties - there were MANY from Dallas. I did not expect that from this team, but the Dragons got a couple of big breaks during this game via the yellow flag.
I guess it is time to talk about the offense. All ignorant Garcia lovers can stop reading after this beep - "beep" - ok, now I can justifiably rip into this guy! WOW, what a terrible game from Garcia. His one interception isn't that bad, but the three touchdowns and many missed plays ARE. I am convinced that not only is Garcia's body no longer in the game, but his head isn't either. He made an extraordinary amount of errors - most likely mental and not physical this time around. In the early quarters with the o-line looking surprisingly able (more on that later), Garcia threw errant pass after errant pass - continually missing players and reading plays poorly. From overthrows to underthrows to missing wide open men - Garcia hit the trio of mediocrity in this one. He is showing signs of an early Rohan Davey - and I know how much you guys dislike THAT type of a quarterback. If anyone tries to defend Garcia at all, I will laugh hysterically. Sure, the coverage was pretty good, but the amount of errors were no result of the coverage. One play had me sitting on the edge of my seat as Garcia shed a would-be sacker and dropped even further back. We were all yelling throw it away, but no, an overcompensating Garcia decided to hold onto the damn thing and take the huge loss. On another play on 3rd and goal, Garcia dropped back and the coverage was tight. He stepped up and there was an enormous running hole. On a play where the o-line could not have opened up a bigger opportunity for Garcia to make a game changing run - he decided to throw into coverage and had the ball batted away. If we had a competent QB running our offense today - we would have won. End of story.
(click image to enlarge)They say there is no such thing as a good loss - but this game revealed a lot about this team, good and bad. While the D played their best, Glassia played his worst. Very interesting, and the Dragons only lost by a safety from a blocked kick.
On some other notes, the Dragons traded Damien Groce this week for o-lineman Steven Franklin of the Georgia Force. O-Line help? I'll take it. With the surplus of good receivers that the Dragons have, Groce wasn't much of a loss. This lineman can play guard and center as well. Have the Dragons realized that Laudano is terrible? Mayyybe.
Don't forget to check out my youtube show this Wednesday as I talk about this past week vs. Dallas, next week vs. Grand Rapids, and many other Dragons tidbits. My youtube profile can be seen here: http://youtube.com/user/SchwartzVideo
Feel free to look at past editions as well.
Well that wraps up another week, thanks for reading and I'll see you vs. GR!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Week 4 - Arizona
Honestly, I cannot sit here and dish out an accurate game review. Like the Cleveland game, this was on the radio and I couldn't even hear most of the actions. I do, however, have some thoughts.
First of all, if you haven't already, check out my radio show on youtube, my profile can be found at this link. If you read this and listen to the radio show it may sound a bit repetitive, but I will try to diversify both.
Second, the QB situation. Rohan Davey was terrible in the Arizona game, and we can't afford to have that kind of breakdown against the worst team in the AFL. We also literally can't afford to pay Garcia a bunch of money every year so that he can get injured and sit on the bench while the Dragons squander on the field because they have to force a new quarterback in to replace him! At 37 it is apparent that Aaron can't withstand the rough and tough nature of the Arena Football League. Wang and our coaching staff would never release him, though - they are clearly waiting for Garcia to retire. While we wait, we lose - it is as simple as that. Through my calculations the Dragons would have to finish at, at least 8-8 to make the playoffs. While I do think we have 8-8 level players, I do not think we have an 8-8 coaching staff. As well as getting Garcia out, we need to get the coaches out! We have thrown many talented players onto the field and without proper coaching and preparation it isn't worth jack. Even Harding in a Dragons interview blamed it on himself, saying that they "weren't prepared early and as a head coach that falls squarely on my shoulders." He is right, it is his fault. It isn't just preparation either, his play calling is a joke.
(Click image to enlarge)Now onto next week in Dallas. With Garcia (probably) back under center, I don't see us scoring 7 or 13 points like we did in 2007, but I don't see a win coming out of this game either. The fact is, Dallas is a powerhouse with a great d-fense, a killer o-line, and an NFL level receiving core (literally). Even with their backup quarterback in they haven't missed a step and I see them outplaying us Sunday. A few teams in the AFL are on a different level than the rest, and lucky for us two of them are in our division (Philly and Dallas). Many have Dallas going undefeated, I would love for us to pull off a miracle this Sunday!
I will be at this game, come find me! I am always happy to talk Dragons and such, I have already met some of you at the first home opener. Come and stop by, I am in section 117, Row E, seats 11-12. I will be wearing a custom Chris Anthony jersey! See ya there, and don't forget to listen to my radio show which came out yesterday on youtube!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Week 3 - Soul
This game can be described in one word - heated. For two and a half hours I watched men going at each others legs, pushing, shoving, tripping, and brawling. It was quite a game indeed, one of much controversy as well.
The contest was far closer than it may appear if you had just looked at the score. The 21 point victory by the Soul makes it seem like an easy blowout - quite the contrary. From play one both teams were trading touchdowns in an offensive frenzy that became very nerve racking - for a Dragons fan at least. During the game I continually repeated "I know the Dragons cannot sustain this type of offense. The D is what is going to win this game." I was pretty much right. Though the Dragons got the first turnover - another Levy Brown interception - they failed to capitalize. In subsequent turnovers by the Soul, the Dragons would fail to capitalize as well. This was the main factor in the loss.
The game was far more competitive than I initially anticipated. For the majority of the game, I believed the Dragons had a serious shot at winning (though my faith in them actually doing so was thin). Unlike almost every prediction, New York fought and fought hard in a legitimate attempt at the win. I imagined a game like the one in Dallas last year (the 13 point one), but the Dragons impressed me with their resiliency. I was disappointed that Garcia got the start, and I left the game disappointed as well. I am not saying Davey would have done better, but Garcia's failure when it counted confirmed my belief in his decreasing skill. If we had the Garcia of five years ago, we would have won this game no question (no one would really doubt this, though).
Now to what everyone REALLY cares about - John Nix. This Dragons D-Lineman got A BIT carried away in this game. And when I say a bit, I really mean he was off his rocker - near insanity some would say. Though pretty much every Dragon and Soul player was physical, Nix especially found it necessary to fight. On many near sacks or just plain blocks, Nix would get dumb penalties for fighting and such, so much so that they pulled him out of the game. They put him back in however later on....big mistake. As most of you already know, on a player where Tony Graziani threw a touchdown pass, Nix came in from underneath and totally chopped Graz head first at his left knee. The hit was way late, and was a hit that could have easily ended Graziani's career. This took Graz out and Matt D'Orazio, the best backup by far in the AFL - came to the rescue and did great for the remainder of the game. With all that went on to that point you would think that this hit would have gotten Nix finally ejected right? NO, not right. The Dragons did their thing and when the Soul came back on the field for offense Nix shoved a player as they were walking side by side, and while the player did quite an acting job, flopping around as if he had been punched in the face, Nix finally got ejected. Why they waited so long? We'll never know. As Nix was escorted out, he raised his hands in the air and smiled - what a jackass. He WAS NOT cut or suspended today.
Well, as a way to get back at the Dragons, a Soul lineman completely speared Garcia in a huge hit on the following drive. This left Garcia on the ground writhing in pain, obviously. You could flick an eraser at the back of Garcia's head and he would probably collapse in pain, but this hit was legitimate. On the topic of sacks, our offensive line sucked again. As I watch the Desperados play the Crush on ESPN, it amazes me how much the Dragons suck in this perspective. Neither team I am watching has this problem - yet the Dragons have it year in and year out. I found the culprit! Our center, Joe Laudano. After intensely studying our line, I discovered that he has been the true weak link in our O-Line. This guy literally just falls backward once ever three plays. The other two on the line, Shack and Randall (or the others), are forced to compensate for Laudano's failure, but cannot handle the pressure. I do not know why we have stuck with him over the past 2+ years, but he is absolutely terrible, one of the worst centers in the AFL. Get him out of there and get Owen back or something.
Well, that is all I have to say about this game. It was very disappointing losing like we did, but I am happy with the fight we put up and the defensive efforts we made.
-Ben
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Week Two - Brigade
Wow, what a game. It had defense, offense, big hits, fights, blocked kicks, drilled kicks, onside kicks, deep passes, short passes, booing, cheering, oh yeah, and a great final minute.
When I first arrived at Nassau Coliseum with my friend Jeff, our first objective was to rack up pictures - that we did. I took 140 photographs today, chronicalling this great home opener. The team was great to watch live for the first time. I watched the rookies warm up, looked around, met some fans, and took it all in - this is what I had waited eight months for. Once the warm ups were done we took our seats...or did we. Confused by the flawed numbering on the seats, we were moved three times until we finally realized a man with his kids had occupied our real seats all along. Anyways, the turnout was great, and it felt more like a college game than Arena Ball. Why? Well two high school champion teams were in attendance and the full marching band of one of the schools played songs all night. This frustrated the many fans who traditionally liked to dance to "We Like to Party" after touchdowns. Instead, trumpets would sound and drums would be struck. The absence of the "Crazy Pickles", or whatever they are called, changed the atmosphere as well. No more loud drumming, can't complain.
Now to the real stuff! The first half was VERY low scoring, with not much going on in the way of offense. Special teams, however, was very interesting. Peter Martinez, the Brigade kicker and former Columbus boot, was absolutely terrible. He missed something like 3 extra points during this game and a missed field goal or two as well. While the thrashing by the fans was hilarious, we had special teams difficulties of our own. The abysmal offensive line brought itself over to special teams as two kicks were tipped today, one completely blocked. This could have cost us the game very easily, more on that later. Onorato, the Dragons kicker, was for the most part solid. Aside from the blocks (which were not his fault), he kicked some nice balls, but did miss an extra point (maybe two). One was at the very end of the game which could have screwed us out of the win.
Onto that offensive line. Well, failure is never fun, but it can be funny. At times our o-line was so bad that it was hilarious. On one play, for example, after the snap all three defensive linemen, hardly touched, came directly at Davey with absolutely no delay. It was a d-lineman's dream, just a flush charge at the quarterback. Anyone who wants to try and blame Rohan Davey for sacks is out of his or her mind. The failure of the line is in no way result of Rohan holding the ball too long, I can tell you that after seeing this garbage in person. It did calm down though, as the game progressed the line got better, which is actually slightly reassuring. I want to now talk about a very weird play involving this line. On a very random play on about the Brigades 12 yard line, Davey lined up in a SHOTGUN formation. If you don't know, the shotgun is never used in the AFL. In week one it was used by one team occasionally, but that was considered the first time in many years. So, to my surprise Davey lined up a few yards behind center and hiked it. The ball, however, did not get snapped near his area code and was fumbled about 15 yards down field. Davey did fall on it, but this was a very obscure play worth noting, I wonder what the plan was on that one.
On the subject of lines, now the defensive line. The group of Taylor, Nix, Hardee, and Adelekan did seem pretty good, but it was kind of like a cereal box with no prize inside. While the d-line DID pressure Fitzgerald and the Brigade, they never ACTUALLY seemed to sack him. This is not completely negative, because pressure on the QB, regardless of whether the result is a sack, will often create bad passes and poor decisions. Plus, it shows that the line can do the hard part of the "sack", but just needs to finish the job. Often after getting by the o-line, the defenders would kind of try to sack Fitzgerald in a round about way, trip over themselves, run back into o-linemen, and just make overall sloppy attempts at sacks. The great thing about that is those things can be fixed and perfected, while the things they actually do correctly would be harder to teach.
On the topic of defense, the real excitement came from behind the line. I have never in my AFL fanship seen such a meshed, connected, excited, and exuberant bunch of defensive backs/linebackers. John Walker, Billy Parker, Ronnie Amadi, and Levy Brown have extremely good chemistry and they take the best facets of the Arena Football league and run with it. Often times out of no where Levy Brown would circle the field pumping up the crowd, raising his hands in the air to get the crowd louder. Any time one of them succeeded, they would jump at each other, high five, scream in excitement, and point to the fans all around. This seems like a normal thing, but it was definitely a more excited squad than one I had ever seen. It also helped that they were amazing...Levy Brown had 2 interceptions, Billy Parker was alright, Walker did his weekly fumble show, this time scoring his first touchdown in the AFL after picking up his forced fumble and scoring, and Amadi was solid overall. If I wanted anyone to watch an AFL defense for the first time, I would have them watch these guys. On a side note, Levy has quite an arm: after intercepting his first pass, he sprinted forward and heaved the ball into the upper section of the stand. Pretty far.
Now back to the offense with Davey and crew. Jason Willis had a breakout game with four touchdowns, Keron Henry got in there with a long touchdown catch, and Chris Anthony caught one as well. You may be wondering, what about Kevin Swayne? Well, I am wondering the same thing. Swayne did not appear on the field once during this game - and how ironic is that. You take out the two guys the Dragons think are "most marketable" players on the team (Garcia and Swayne), and you get a victory. Go figure. Davey was, for the second consecutive game, great. He threw a pick or two, but he got them out of the way in the first quarter rather than on the last drive like he would of last year. This guy, week by week, can shut up doubters like no other - he just needs the chance. With Garcia supposedly healthy for next week against the Soul, Davey will once again be parked on the bench - forced to watch glass (Aaron Garcia) throw the football. If it ain't broke don't fix it, give Garcia that extra week he really needs to heal, and give Davey a shot to prove that he can win against one of the best teams in the AFL (or maybe lose to them). Watching Davey like this makes me uncontrollably happy, as I was an obsessed fan of his before the season even started LAST year. Yeah, I'm that good.
Well, now some extra stuff. Seeing Horacek and Holder on another team was sad at first, but after a while I started to dislike them both. First, Holder makes an interception. Then, on the NEXT play, a touchdown pass to Horacek. What a nice homecoming for them. Surprisingly, Horacek was booed in his introduction to start the game. I would have bet that we all would have cheered. Only a few did.
Oh yeah, and Dartangon Shack is awesome.
See ya next week,
Ben.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Week One - Gladiators
First, how I saw the game: ESPN 1050 radio had just joined forces with the Dragons to "broadcast" all 16 games in the season. This, however, hardly was the case in this game. This was for sure the worst broadcast of any sporting event I have ever seen. It was bad enough that I couldn't see the game on TV, but ESPN felt the need to cut off the best parts of the game with COMMERCIALS. That is all this game was, a load of commercials and only some game. Almost every single touchdown call was cut off by an advertisement for Mike & Mike, and at some points commercials would be running for five minutes, cutting off the play by play entirely. And no, that was not all. At multiple points during the game ESPN would play footage from earlier in the game by accident which tricked many who were listening (I was in a chatroom). At one point, everyone was getting their updates from ONE GUY, unable to get any game stats or play by play for themselves. It was a complete joke and a corporation such as ESPN should be ashamed to be putting such crap on their radio. A high school run radio program would have done a better job at playing the game than this, this was hardly a radio program at all.
As if that was not bad enough the game was worse (ok maybe not that bad). I am starting to get seriously pissed off at Aaron Garcia. This guy is NOT A DRAGON, he is hardly even a fan. This chump is never playing and always injured, it is the same old story every game - every season. In the first quarter, Garcia threw a pick, and then he was "rattled" so he couldn't continue for the rest of the game. I do not want him on this team anymore, lets get D'Orazio from the Soul or someone else from anywhere - EVEN STICK WITH DAVEY. By the way, Garcia's new nickname is "Glassia". I could withstand hits without pads better than he can with them, this guy is seriously a girl.
Now onto Davey, he....was......AWESOME! The announcers said that he looked totally different from last year, and he stepped up big time. He threw 5 touchdowns, and one interception. He should have had more TDs, but Swayne and crew could not catch the damn ball. Supposedly he was also many pounds lighter and more in shape. This is a good sign for the rest of the season if Glassia breaks a finger nail again. Davey was money too, completing almost every pass that wasn't simply dropped (AKA no completely bad throws like last year). Davey partially credited this change to Garcia being in the camp this season. Well, Rohan, if you follow that guy, you will be out of the next game with "a severely bruised eyelash".The amount of drops in this game was incredible, totally unacceptable coming from this touted crew of receivers. They were simply misused, with Groce and Keron Henry hardly playing. Much of this game can be blamed on Weylan Harding. With a penalty almost every play, the Dragons were NOT PREPARED to play. From the oldest vets to the youngest rooks, penalty flags were flying everywhere. From roughing the kicker on Idris Price, to tripping on Dartangon Shack, the mistakes made were a clear lack of preparation and this is on the shoulders of Weylan. In the post game report, Harding said that "these mistakes are fixable", and while that is all good and true, Weylan himself has to step up and actually fix the issue. The problem is, from past history, he hardly ever does.
Another huge issue was defense. Davey being amazing can't win us the game if the Gladiators are scoring on every drive. When Davey would throw a touchdown, the D would go right out and allow one themselves. Levy Brown was ok, with an interception to his name, but there was one serious issue. Thats right, the other overrated veteran....BILLY PARKER! Wow this guy must have third degree burns from the amount of times receivers run by him. It isn't just this first game either, it was also EVERY game last year. Maybe this guy was good once, but he certainly isn't good anymore. And again, penalties were also a huge issue on defense.
Special teams: Well, it sucked. Seemingly every drive was started from the 5 yard line or less, which was terrible field position for Davey. So kickoffs receiving sucked, and so did out kickoffs themselves. Onorato lacks the Warley golden leg, which just reminded me of how awesome our kicker was last year. I hope the only reason Warley isn't on the team now is because he is going to the NFL, because any other reason is a load of crap. That guy had the best right foot in the AFL, mark my words. He was tough too, never afraid of a long kick or a tackle of a returner. He would sprint down the field to tackle a man and get there before the rest of the guys on the special teams unit, always. Also, when he goes to bed at night and he turns of the lights, he is in his bed before it gets dark.
So, now the outlook. This was suppose to be the easiest game of the year, so that kind of puts into perspective how things might go for the rest of 2008. I can only hope the Dragons fix their issues this week, and I hope the home opener is a good time, I'll be there. Section 102, Row F, Rodney Filer authentic away jersey - find me.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Big day - signings and more!
Well I assumed I would only be posting again once the season started, but how could I not talk about the events that have transpired today! First, I would like to report that I was correct four days ago when I said a source told me Byron Douzart would be signed, the Dragons locked him up today! Hopefully if anything he can play some good special teams. I feel as if we are already stacked with linebackers and other defenders so he should be able to find a role somewhere else on the field. In addition to that, we also signed WR Chris Samp. Samp bounced around many NFL teams, playing with the practice squads wherever he went. He then was assigned to the now defunct NFL Europe where he played for the Rhein Fire. He is ok, I honestly don't see him making the team. It would suck to be one of these random receivers coming to camp, because with this WR core there is almost no chance that the player could make it with the Dragons. We'll see though, hopefully I won't be eating my own words in a month.
Possibly the best signing of this off-season came from a Dragon we all knew and loved. Angel Estrada. Estrada was great in '06 with the Dragons, scoring 18 defensive touchdowns. Last year with the Rampage in a game against the Dragons, he posted up nice stats to become defensive player of the week. Ironic. Anywho, he is back and I am really, really pumped about it. It does leave me dumbfounded though. The Dragons next move could either suck or work very well. We have too much talent, while this isn't suppose to be a bad thing we don't want have to cut a possible future star. Players like Levy Brown, J.J. Artis, Ronnie Amadi, and Terry Moss all will be fighting for the 3rd spot to play with Estrada and Parker. This is of course a blog, so this is my opinion: cut Moss - I don't want to, but we have no choice. My question is how could we possibly cut Artis or Amadi? My feeling is that Levy Brown is here to stay, no questions asked. It is possible that the other two could stay, but these are just my hopes. Today, Artis was placed on the "Physically Unable to Perform" list, so hopefully something didn't go wrong. I know him and have sent him an e-mail - yet to get a response.
So maybe this is the last post until the season starts, who knows. Maybe some big moves from now until March 3rd? Maybe some news from training camp? Stick around and check back!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
30 days until opening night, a check in....
Well with about a month left to go in this long offseason, I thought I would stop in and shed some light on the upcoming season and some of my opinions on the way things are going with our beloved Dragons team.First off I would like to talk about our TV schedule so far (or lack of). As of today the Dragons have done absolutely nothing in the TV scheme of things and only have one televised game in their June 2nd match against Colorado on ESPN. There is not much time left, and it would be disastrous not to get a deal with FSN or SNY. What gets me most is knowing I most likely will not be seeing opening night against the Gladiators. Even if we do strike a deal with a TV network I don't see them broadcasting an away game on the Monday night opener, let alone any away games throughout the season. Infuriation is probably the best way to describe my feelings about this TV business. All I wanted for 8 months was Dragons football, and I won't even be able to see the first game. My only hope is that the AFL grows a pair and broadcasts it on AFLNet. I would GLADLY pay to see it!
Anyways, so
me good news - I locked up my tickets to the HOME opener today and have some awesome seats. Section 102, Row F - come find me if you want to say hi. Ticketmaster SUCKS, I tried getting good seats for two other games and they tried to make me buy these horrendous seats in section 305 BOTH times. Seems like bad business to me. So to get around their idiot ways I had to buy marked up tickets at another site, very pricey. Still very happy though! For those who are wondering why I am trying to buy individual tickets when I have said that I have season tickets, it is because a friend is buying half of the games and I am buying half. We are waisting money and not getting the right benefits by doing it this way, but believe it or not for us this is easier.In other news, the Dragons are opening up Training Camp today (2/3) and I am excited to see the new reports. Mini-camp went well in January, so with the linemen joining the team in Training Camp everyone
will be together for the first time this season! If you want to put this upcoming season in perspective with last year, think of it this way: If we get one more win than we did in 2007, we will make it to the playoffs. Of course that is simple logic and you never know how the rest of the league will play out, but the basic idea is that if the Dragons improved at all since their 2007 campaign, then we are playoff bound. The best part is, I think without a doubt the Dragons are WAY better than they were last year. I am talking about a significant change. To throw out an early prediction, I would mark us down for a 10-6 record - seems very reasonable considering how much our offense and defense has improved. We have the talent for sure, the important thing now is for the team to mesh. When Garcia is in, we win. It is very simple, and supposedly - as I hear from reports and the man himself, he is as healthy as he has ever been. Certainly this is great news, but as I said in my last entry, if by some (very possible) chance that Garcia goes down with an injury, we are not as screwed as we use to be. I said it before and I'll say it again, Vena can get it done! Just because he is a backup on this team does not mean he has backup talent, and that is saying a lot considering that the league is so starved for good QB talent. We do have value at the QB position, and our incredible receiving core doesn't hurt either.So, now for some transactions. Really nothing major since the last post, but I do have some input on the few moves we have made since. First we toyed with WR Rich Parson, picking him up and then dropping him without him even hitting the practice field. Then, we did the exact same thing with OL Pete McMahon. Seems like a waste of space on the transaction chart. Now to the better stuff. We re-signed Jason Willis, which is very awesome, we needed to lock this guy up and we finally did it. He didn't play much last year, but when he did he played very well and I'll have it be known that he will be getting many passes thrown to him this year. We signed Tony Kays as well, a rookie strait out of college who was an undrafted free agent signing for the Bengals, but was released soon thereafter. He ran a 4.5 second 40, so he has some speed, but honestly I don't see him sticking around with the talent we already have a t the WR positi
on. We also signed OL Kili Lefotu. I'll tell you this much, the guy is a wacko. He had a violent outbreak at a restaurant last year in his stint with the Redskins and apparently whacked a poor guy in the face. In another incident, he collapsed and fainted in his hotel room during the 'Skins mini-camp. I think I am going to stay far away from this guy after the games. Also, in the final transaction I have to report, the Dragons released FB/LB Ivory McCoy. I liked the guy, he gave it his all, but some weeks I did not even know he was on the team. Honestly he didn't fit with the team anymore and he is gone, but he will get a better change elsewhere. On a side note, an inside source has informed me that there is a good chance that linebacker Bryon Douzart, formerly with the Brigade, could be signing with the Dragons very soon - keep a lookout for him on the waiver wire.So guys, that's about it, I am very excited for the season and I am sure you are too. Hang tight, cross off the days one by one on the calender and hope February goes fast so we can get to March 3rd!