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       Snake Bit Rattlers Skinned by LA!

If tradition holds true then this 51-32 loss ain't so bad. Except it was. Yes, the team has done well in years they lost the home opener. But let's be honest, some of the past losses were exciting games that the Rattlers could have won. Not this one. They were out of it almost from the start.

Yes, former LA Avenger and Ricky Parker hater, Siaha Burley grabbed a couple of early TD passes to keep it close in the beginning. But that was it for the Rattlers offense. The promise that was perceived when the team re-signed Vegas bound Bonner and Cooper evaporated in a cloud of mystery and what ifs, as Hunkie sat the bench on offense as the Avengers had their way early.

It matters because against LA, Mr. Cooper has some of his biggest days on both sides of the ball. Today tho, he got to watch the ball and the game slip thru the fingers of players other than he. So the Cooper to Bonner promise that was a few months ago, may have been wishful thinking for the Rattler faithful and good marketing for the Rattler ticket office. Time will tell.

In the pre-game story I said 2004 would be the Rattlers year. I still believe that, but Bonner to Cooper is why. Hunkie still has the Magic, but he needs the touches to get it done. Sed's former Atlanta Falcon team mate, LA QB Tony Graziani won the day with his passes to the record setting receivers, Jackson and Hopkins and some extra help from vet, Kevin Ingram. The Avengers picked up another win at AWA and now the series is 7-3 in favor of the Snakes.

Even if the Arizona squad did not see the disaster for what it could become, the LA team certainly took this game as the first step to their best season ever. Read some quotes from the Avenger site.  "The 2004 season started out just the way that the Avengers had hoped, with a 51-32 win on Sunday over the Arizona Rattlers in Phoenix. It wasn’t so much the fact that the Avengers won the game that was so promising, but rather how they won it -- in dominating fashion.

The result was Sunday’s dismantling of one of the AFL’s best offenses (Arizona was ranked No. 1 in several offensive categories in 2003). And Rattler quarterback Sherdrick Bonner had arguably the worst game of his 12-year AFL career as he was picked off four times. Never before in his career had Bonner thrown more than three interceptions in a game.

What may well be the final piece to the puzzle took place in the locker room after the game. The prevailing attitude of the Avengers was that they weren’t satisfied with their overall performance. They felt that they should have played better and that the game should have been even more one-sided."

Ouch...........  I for one feel that this game got away from the offense early. But I also know they can fix it. The defense came alive in the second half, but with no scoring help from the offense, it was not enough. The play of the game on defense was delivered by Mark Tucker when shoved the Avenger line back into Graziani and spiked the pass back into the QB's face. Tucker put on a clinic this day.

One big win for Arizona was that the game on NBC had a bigger viewing audience than the NHL All-Star game. A big accomplishment for the AFL, still a teenager in the world of big time sports, yet they managed to skate their way into more homes than the veteran league. The small irony is that the Rattlers are still playing on the former Coyote ice, which is under the turf. Put a W in the Arena Wars column for AWA.......

One person that was torn between what he had to do and what he wanted to do was new Rattler coach and veteran Rattler Radio voice Ron Wolfley. He could be seen with his headsets on at his post next to Kent Derdivanis.  Usually Ron is fairly calm, tho animated when he is on the air, on this day he was pretty much running in place the entire time he was up there. He was able to get down and talk to the fellas some during the game, but after the game he looked as if he had just run a marathon.

If they can mic a player, they should just tape one on Ron and put him down there on the field and let him use his headset so he can  hear Kent. Now that would be in your face, er, ear football at it's best...

On this day the Rattlers running game was a non factor with a net of 12 yards and that took 5 player to accomplish. Passing thoughts: well, let's just say it was the first preseason game for the offense, call it a bad practice and forget about it. After all the 4 TD's were zeroed out by the 4 INT's. 
 

On Kick Returns, Clarence Lawson looked pretty good and pick up 89 yards. All purpose yards tho, are a huge disappointment. The 343 total is far from Rattler worthy, shoot, Chris Horn used to get 250 per game all by himself. The irony is that the top two pass catchers in the game were at one time both Avengers. LA's Chris Jackson had 96 yards and 2 TD catches and 1 TD pass, while former LA dude Siaha Burley had 91 yards and 2 TD catches.

Defense: HooRah............... We had a good practice here. Big Bryan Henderson had 2 sacks for 12 yards in losses while Wendall Gaines got the other sack. What is not on the books are the times that Mr. Gaines just slapped the tar out of anyone in his way and forced the LA offense to focus on him. Leading all tacklers was Hamin Milligan with 5.5. A bunch of other Copper Tops had three tackles each, they were, Rookie-Antionne Scott, Big Bryan Henderson, Randy Superstar Gatewood and Dr. Destructo Wendall Gaines.

Play of the Day: That would be the Incredible, Unstoppable, Human Wrecking Ball, the Gladiator himself Mark Tucker. Dude, when this man wants to get somewhere, there ain't enough people in the 8 man game to stop him. We can't give him a game ball, first because the balls are ugly and who would want one, second because we don't have one. So let's just call this our weekly PAADOW AWARD!

Ok, practice is over, officially the team is a very ugly 0-1. But when Detroit comes to AWA this Friday for a 7PM game expect the Rattlers to hit them with a FURY!   I predict many PAADOW AWARDS will be given out on this night.........

Don't forget, the AFL is on NBC every Sunday.

The Rattlers quest for a third straight Arena Bowl begins February 8, when they take on the Los Angeles Avengers at America West Arena. For season ticket information, call 602-514-TDTD or visit  azrattlers.com

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