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Game 9: April 1, 2001
San Francisco Demons at Las Vegas Outlaws |
>> Game
Stats | Game
Boxscore
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SUMMARY
 This
was it: Do Or Die for both the Las Vegas Outlaws and the San Francisco
Demons to have a shot at a playoff berth; the loser would be eliminated
from the postseason. As much as the Outlaws had struggled over the
previous 2 weeks in tough games, they were expected to triumph over
the Demons and make the playoffs. Instead, lack of discipline, lack
of execution, and stupid decisions doomed the Outlaws hopes for
victory. It seemed as if the Outlaws had already packed it in for
the season well before this game.
The Outlaws' Offensive Line really struggled in this game; missed
blocks and just plain being overpowered by the more motivated Demons
defenders doomed the Las Vegas rushing attack, including a turnover
on downs where a Demons linebacker was allowed to enter the backfield
untouched and body-slam Rod "He Hate Me" Smart on a Fourth-And-Very-Short
play; the Outlaws linemen just stood around and watched the play
happen, and didn't even make much of an attempt to pick up He Hate
Me after he was thrown to the ground.
In the scramble, the Demons finally snapped the Outlaws' perfect
recovery record, and set the tone for the rest of the game. The
lack of blocking by the Las Vegas offense not only doomed the running
game but also could not protect Outlaws QB Ryan Clement, who was
still suffering from numerous bumps & bruises from previous
games. In spite of these difficulties, the Outlaws scored the first
touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run by He Hate Me, but the 1-point
PAT failed. The Outlaws Defense, on the other hand, played very
well overall and was very tough on the Demons Offense. However,
a fumble on a punt return by Jamel Williams was recovered by Demons
DB Leatris Cole and returned for a San Francisco touchdown. The
1-point PAT failed, and both teams were tied at 6 for halftime.
The Outlaws' struggles continued in the 3rd Quarter, with the Demons
scoring the only points of the period when RB Terry Battle caught
a 25-yard pass from QB Mike Pawlawski and was able to out-run the
defense. The 1-point PAT failed, and the Demons now led 12-6. The
Outlaws didn't give up though, and the "Dealers of Doom"
Defense did not allow the Demons Offense to score any more points.
The Outlaws Offense drove down the field and scored 3 points on
a 32-yard Paul McCallum field goal, and then drove down the field
once again when disaster struck: as He Hate Me was running for the
end zone on a sweep running play, he stretched out his ball-holding
arm in an attempt to cross the goal line when a Demons defender
knocked the ball loose, and the ball rolled out of the back of the
endzone. Result: touchback, Demons ball at the Outlaws 20 yard line,
leading 12-9.
One could literally hear the air escape from the Outlaws' balloon
after this, but the Dealers of Doom refused to quit! The Demons
drove the ball down the field after the fumble & touchback to
almost the 1-yard line and appeared poised to put the game away
with only around one minute remaining, but the Demons decided to
go for a touchdown on 4th-And-Goal and were then stuffed by the
Outlaws Defense. The Las Vegas Offense came back on the field with
a very tall order to try to get close enough for a field goal to
tie the game. But, with less than 10 seconds left on the clock,
Las Vegas OT Eric Bateman was flagged for a hold in the endzone,
and as a result of the penalty 10 seconds were run off the game
clock and the Demons were awarded an additional 2 points for the
Safety. The game was over, and the Outlaws were eliminated from
post-season contention.
OUTLAWS GRADES:
OFFENSE: C-
The Outlaws offense performed miserably, in particular the offensive
line. QB Ryan Clement rarely had time to get his feet set to throw
a pass before being hit & knocked down by the relentless Demons
pass rush. RB Rod "He Hate Me" Smart was constantly getting
hit behind the line of scrimmage and seldom had any kind of opening
to run through. If the offense had shown up and played as hard as
they had in the previous 2 games, this game would have been a runaway
victory for the Outlaws. In spite of the lack of production from
the offensive line, He Hate Me gained 116 rushing yards on 28 carries
and a touchdown, but most of this came from his own overachievement
with little help from the rest of the offense.
DEFENSE: A
The defense showed up with a vengeance in this game, and provided
relentless pressure on the Demons offensive players. The Dealers
Of Doom limited the total Demons rushing game to 95 yards, and only
allowed 152 yards through the air, while constantly pressuring &
knocking down Demons QB Mike Pawlawski.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C-
The sole field goal by K Paul McCallum is one of the few saving
graces for the special teams unit. Kickoff & punt coverages
were average, and there was a 30-yard kickoff return by Jamel Williams;
but the fumbled punt return resulted directly in a San Francisco
touchdown, which really hurt the team in this game.
COACHING: B
The coaching wasn’t to blame, as many players (especially on the
offense) appeared to be either confused or outmatched. The adjustments
made at halftime limited the Demons to just one touchdown in the
second half, on a broken-coverage pass play. The coaching staff
did their best to keep the players motivated and playing smart,
but it was all too obvious that many offensive players simply weren't
interested in winning this game.
ANALYSIS
The Outlaws held their destiny in their hands, but once again allowed
it to slip away. Their season is over, fans are shell-shocked, and
there is not much hope for the final game against Memphis.
Interestingly, the league announced the playoff scheme would be
as follows: the #1 East team hosts the #2 West team, and the #1
West team would host the #2 East team. However, this defeats the
purpose of the April 21 Championship game (“The Big Game At The
End”) being the Best of the West vs. the Best of the East. For example,
if that playoff scheme results in the Rage hosting the Demons, if
the Demons happen to win, as well as the Xtreme beating the #2 East
team, then that would mean the Xtreme hosting the Demons for the
Championship! It would seem more likely that the #1 West team hosts
the #2 West team, and the #1 East team hosts the #2 East team for
the first round of the playoffs; this way the spirit & intent
of the Championship game is preserved. I just don't see the point
in NOT having the Championship game feature the Best of the East
vs the Best of the West; this potentially alienates the eastern
& Midwest fans. |
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