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Game 5: March 4, 2001
Las Vegas Outlaws at Chicago Enforcers |
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Game
Stats | Game
Boxscore
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SUMMARY
 The
Outlaws missed a golden opportunity today to become the sole leader
in the Western Division with their 15-13 loss to the Chicago Enforcers.
Next week the Outlaws face an undefeated Orlando Rage team that
came off a huge win against Memphis while without their star quarterback,
so the Outlaws will face a huge uphill battle this week trying to
prepare for the upcoming game. The Outlaws offense started
out well in the first half, but were virtual no-shows in the second
half, and the defense gave up two touchdowns to a team that hadn't
scored a single TD in the past two games.
The game started off well enough, with Jamel Williams (#28) recovering
his fifth-straight game scramble. The Outlaws elected to start
their defense, as the wind from Lake Michigan was blowing against
them. The Outlaws defense immediately introduced themselves
to Enforcers RB John Avery, containing him effectively throughout
the first half; the entire Enforcers offense was largely ineffective
throughout this time as well. Once the Outlaws offense had
the ball, they were able to move the ball down to the Enforcers'
9-yard line, but a holding penalty appeared to push the Outlaws
out of TD range. QB Mark Grieb (#14) tossed a short pass to
newly-acquired WR Yo Murphy (#88), who then juked it 19 yards into
the endzone. On the PAT, Grieb tossed a short pass to TE Rickey
Brady (#86) to make the score 7-0.
In the second half, the Outlaws managed to drive the ball to within
scoring position, and Grieb tossed an 8-yard short pass to Murphy
for another Outlaws touchdown. On the PAT, the center, Lamont
Burns (#64) stepped on Grieb's foot after the ball was snapped,
causing Grieb to fall and the PAT to fail. The half ended
with the score in favor of the Outlaws, 13-0.
The second half saw an entirely different Outlaws and Enforcers
matchup, with each team's role reversed from the first half.
The Outlaws offense was virtually nonexistent, as they consistently
failed to convert critical third-down plays. The only bright
spot was the improved blocking by the offensive line, which allowed
RBs Rod Smart (#30, aka "He Hate Me") and Chris Chukwuma
(#22, aka "Chuckwagon") to do well. Smart even had
a 50-yard gain off of a short pass in the flats from Grieb, but
this was negated by a holding call. In fact, the Outlaws offense
collected far more yardage in penalties in the second half than
offensive yardage. Smart did manage to collect his first 100-yard+
rushing game in XFL history today.
The Enforcers made some impressive adjustments during halftime,
and came out swinging. Their newly-activated starting QB,
Kevin McDougal, managed to find weakness after weakness in the Outlaws
defense, and exploited every one to the Enforcers' advantage.
In the third quarter, the Enforcers drove down to the Outlaws' 1-yard
line (helped by more Outlaws penalties), and a RB Charles Wiley
run into the endzone became the first touchdown scored for the Enforcers
in three games. The PAT failed, and the score was 13-6 Outlaws.
Late in the third quarter, the Enforcers picked off a deflected
pass from Grieb in Outlaws territory, and the Enforcers used this
advantage to score a field goal; the score was now 13-9, with the
momentum clearly swinging in the Enforcers' favor.
In the fourth quarter, the Enforcers and the Outlaws traded missed
field goals, and with the clock running low, the Enforcers were
able to stop the Outlaws on a critical third-down conversion to
get the ball back. The Enforcers started in their territory,
but with the aid of a huge (and questionable) pass-interference
penalty they found themselves comfortably within Outlaws territory.
The Enforcers were able to force the ball down to the 1-yard line
and RB Leshon Johnson took the ball in for a second Enforcers touchdown;
the Enforcers were also highly successful in their clock management,
as far less than one minute was left on the game clock. The
PAT failed, and the score was now 15-13 in favor of the Enforcers,
with less than thirty seconds left to play. The Outlaws were
miserable in their attempts to move within field goal range, as
one pass went far short and the second Grieb pass went into the
arms of an Enforcers' defender, ending the game.
OUTLAWS GRADES:
OFFENSE: C
The Outlaws appeared to have their offense on track, and newly-acquired
WR Yo Murphy looked to be a tremendous weapon as he juked and streaked
for two touchdowns. But, penalties in the second half negated
virtually every advantage the Outlaws tried to gain, eliminating
critical third-down conversions. Grieb also threw 2 interceptions
in the second half, one of which led to an Enforcers field goal.
The only saving grace was the excellent performance in the first
half, but the second half fiasco needs to rectified immediately
before next week's game in Orlando against the undefeated Rage.
13 points will not be enough to win against Orlando, and the Rage's
opportunistic defense will swoop down on the Outlaws' offensive
carcasses in a heartbeat if their offense continues to misfire.
DEFENSE: C
In the first half, the defense was classic Outlaws, as they held
Enforcers RB John Avery to very few yards and hounded Enforcers
QB Kevin McDougal. However, in the second half, they were
atypical of the vaunted reputation they had worked so hard at the
previous four weeks. The defense allowed two touchdowns in
the second half, the most TD's any team has scored against the Outlaws
in a single game, and both came by rushing. The Outlaws pass
rush looked anemic as well, giving McDougal more than enough protection
and time to make good throws for positive Enforcers yardage; newly-activated
DE Ty Parten (#97) had only a minimal impact. Several face-mask/personal-foul
penalties and the huge pass-interference penalty as time was running
out did nothing to help the Outlaws. The defense also fell
into the negative takeaway ratio category for the first time today,
going -1, and no fumbles forced/recovered. The Outlaws defensive
mistakes and lapses made the Enforcers offense look outstanding
throughout the second half. If this lack of performance continues,
it will definitely be taken advantage of by the high-scoring and
consistent Orlando offense next week.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
C-
Consistently poor coverage on kicks and blocking on receptions again
hampered the Outlaws, although on one Enforcers kickoff the Outlaws
came up with field position on their own 46-yard line when the ball
bounced off the facemask of an Outlaws forward blocker. The
Outlaws still appear to be struggling to set up a blocking wedge
for the receivers, and Yo Murphy never had a chance to break loose.
Paul McCallum missed a critical field goal in the second half as
well, although his punts were excellent. Jamel Williams remains
5-0 in regular season scramble recoveries. A large saving
grace was that the Enforcers' returns were limited to their own
territory and no runbacks for scores were allowed.
COACHING:
B+
In the first half, everything seemed to be going according to plan,
but in the second half, everything fell apart for the Outlaws.
The majority of problems for the Outlaws in the second half were
players' mistakes and penalties. The Outlaws tried to keep
up the offensive pressure on the Enforcers, but were unable to convert
the critical third downs. The Outlaws' play-calling remained
fairly aggressive, as they were able to successfully mix up the
plays and make consistent gains until third down stared them in
the face; on these, the players failed to make the necessary mental
commitment to gain the first down, and were unable to swing the
momentum back into their favor.
OUTLAWS
STAR OF THE GAME:
WR Yo Murphy
Murphy had an immediate impact on the game, with two touchdown receptions
and a lot of promise for a struggling Outlaws offense. Murphy
also had a decent runback on a kickoff reception late in the game,
but was hampered by ineffective blocking. |
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