Turnovers doom Blizzard in opener

Originally published on ArenaFan.com

Sloppy, thunder, patches of sun and periods of heavy downfall are words you can use to describe the weather forecast in Green Bay over the next couple of days. They can also be used to describe how the Green Bay Blizzard played in a 64-48 season-opening loss to the Spokane Shock at the Resch Center.

“We turned the ball over six times,” said Blizzard head coach Bob Landsee. “I thought it looked like third grade football.”

It wasn’t third grade football, but the third quarter is when things started to get really sloppy for the Blizzard.

After Blizzard defensive back Nate Green scored on an interception return for a touchdown to make the score 29-37 in favor of Spokane, it seemed that the momentum was on Green Bay’s side.

Then on Spokane’s next series Blizzard defensive back Rusty Midlam picked off a Jason Murrietta pass, and the Blizzard were poised to close the gap even more on the scoreboard, but that’s when the heavy downfall of turnovers began for Green Bay.

Two plays later Blizzard quarterback Matt Bohnet stared down wide receiver Steve Gonzalez in the end zone and Shock defensive back Sergio Gilliam stepped in front to get his first of three interceptions.

Bohnet was benched after throwing his second interception to Gilliam, which Spokane quickly converted into a 50-29 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Shane Adler came in for Bohnet and scored on a two-yard touchdown run, and the Blizzard defense stopped the Shock by blocking a 55-yard field goal attempt by Brian Jackson.

Adler would take advantage of the good field position and throw a touchdown to tight end Stephen Santos to cut the Shock lead to 42-50, and it appeared the comeback was on.

After a Spokane touchdown on the next series, the comeback came to a thunderous halt when Gilliam crushed Gonzalez to break up a pass, and on the next play crushed the Blizzard’s hopes of a comeback with his third interception.

The loss snapped the Blizzard’s 11-game home winning streak, which dates back to the 2006 season.

“We made a lot of mistakes, veterans and rookies,” Green said. “There was a lot of screw-ups out there and we just got to get them fixed.”

One of the veterans who made a lot of those mistakes was Gonzalez. The former All-af2 receiver had one catch for four yards, a dropped pass, a fumble and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Gonzalez did do a nice job in the return game, though, by returning six kicks for 162 yards, which forced the Shock to squib kick the ball away from him in the second half.

Another bright spot was the play of veteran defensive backs Nate Green and Rusty Midlam, both of whom played for the Louisville Fire last year. The duo had three interceptions and played well against an experienced group of receivers for the Shock.

“The defense did a great job,” Landsee said. “When you stop an offense five times you should win football games...if you don’t win games then it’s on the offense.”

This game is on the offense then, which generated only 190 yards and struggled to get into any rhythm.

The offensive line played well, but did make one costly mistake in the second quarter, which led to a score by Spokane. The Blizzard line slid its protection to the left and the Shock’s Jason Jack came around Bohnet’s blind side untouched to strip the ball, which was picked up by Shock defensive back Roshawn Marshall for a touchdown.

“We have a lot of talent, but a lot of talent doesn’t win games a team coming together wins games,” said Blizzard wide receiver Scott Burnoski.

The future forecast for the Blizzard is unknown at the moment. Coach Landsee will have to decide on a starting quarterback and the offense will have to improve by leaps and bounds if it wants to contend for a playoff spot in a tough Midwest division.

If those things happen you can expect to see the Blizzard playing in August, but that’s a long way off and the Blizzard is focused on an away game with Tennessee Valley this Saturday.

Game Notes

All-af2 defensive lineman Eddy Yauch did not play because of an injury. He is listed as the Blizzard’s long snapper as well. Filling in at long snapper was center Raymond McNeil, who struggled getting the snap back to holder Nate Green.

This game was a rematch of the 2006 ArenaCup, which Spokane won. Most of the players on the 2008 Shock and Blizzard squads didn’t play in that game, but it was hard to tell as their was numerous times during the game where a referee had to step in between players after a play was over. The most noticeable came at the end of the game when the Shock’s Jason Jack and the Blizzard’s Stephen Santos got in a scrum and had to be separated.

Blizzard looking to grind it out in '08

Originally published on ArenaFan.com

The Green Bay Blizzard is the closest thing in arenafootball2 to a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust-type team.

Head coach Bob Landsee, who is returning to the team after taking the 2007 season off because of a life-threatening condition, built the Blizzard into an af2 power around the old cliché of if you play good defense, don’t turn the ball over and convert in short-yardage situations you’ll win.

Landsee was an all-American offensive lineman at the University of Wisconsin, which explains why the Blizzard run the ball more than most af2 teams and try to slow down the pace of the game.

The Blizzard will look to play this same style of football in 2008, but the key to how far the team goes depends on the most recognizable position on the field, the quarterback.

In six seasons, Green Bay has never had the luxury of having a returning starting quarterback, like Quad City and Tulsa have this season with J.J. Raterink and Justin Allgood. The closest it came to that happening was Zeke Dixon in the 2006-2007 seasons, but he saw action in only one game in 2006.

Instead, each year the team has to look for a new signal caller, but this is common in the af2 because the league is designed to help players get to the next level. The Blizzard has done this with three of its previous quarterbacks Chris Greisen (AFL), James MacPherson (AFL) and Gino Guidugli (CFL).

So, the problem isn’t finding talent each year at the quarterback position, but deciding on a starter, which for the Blizzard is a decision that hasn’t been made till halfway through the season the past few years.

In 2006 the team switched between MacPherson and Ronnie Gordon. MacPherson finally won the job and gained confidence down the stretch of the 2006 season to lead the team to the ArenaCup.

Last year, the team started the season with Ryan Hawk, which lasted only one game, and then switched between Dixon and Guidugli. Dixon ultimately won the job because Guidugli signed with a Canadian Football League team during the season.

Why is it important for a team to find a starting quarterback? Because ultimately the quarterback is the leader of a team and it’s hard to lead if you don’t know where you stand with the team.

In 2008 the two quarterbacks fighting for the job are Matt Bohnet and Shane Adler. Bohnet played at Eastern Michigan in college and played in the now defunct-NFL Europa. Adler is from UW-Lacrosse and was a backup for the Louisville Fire last season.

This season the Blizzard’s championship aspirations depend on either Bohnet or Adler stepping up and winning the job, and never losing it.

Catching the ball from Bohnet or Adler will be Scott Burnoski, who is one of the few players returning from last year’s squad. In 11 games he had 58 catches for 775 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Joining him at receiver will be newcomers Steve Gonzalez and Quorey Payne. Gonzalez played last in the af2 with the Manchester Wolves and has spent time with the AFL’s Philadelphia Soul. Payne had 73 catches for 837 yard and 13 touchdowns for division-rival Louisville last year.

The Blizzard defense also features three players who played with Louisville last year. They are All-af2 defensive lineman Eddie Yauch and defensive backs Rusty Midlam and Nate Green.

Defensive lineman Kory Lothe is the only returning player on defense, but defensive coordinator Doug Lytle is back. Lytle took over as head coach last year because of Landsee’s medical condition and is a big reason for the defense’s success.

It sounds cliché, but if Green Bay continues to play good defense, doesn’t turn the ball over and converts in short-yardage situations then you can expect the team to make the playoffs again.

If you add to that cliché find a leader at quarterback, then you can also add another title to Titletown U.S.A.