Value On Vegas
Here’s what I wrote about Las Vegas in my pre-season preview, ranking the Gladiators 19th out of 19 teams in the AFL coming into the season:
“The Gladiators entered training camp with only two players that were on the roster at the end of last year, the least experienced team in the AFL. Throw in a new head coach (Danton Barto), a new GM and an entirely new staff and inexperience runs rampant for what appears to be the weakest team in the league. Last year was a disaster for Vegas, as they finished with a dreadful -21 turnover ratio. The Gladiators managed to win the turnover battle only once in their 16 games! Can NFL retread Shaun King be a difference maker at quarterback? I wouldn’t bet on it.”
The results through the first six games lived up to those expectations. The Gladiators managed only one victory, rallying from two scores down in the fourth quarter at lowly Grand Rapids. All five of their losses came by double digit margins, failing to cover the opening pointspread in all five defeats. Shaun King was a disaster, ripping his teammates both publicly and privately, as the Gladiators were basically non-competitive.
Last week was a different story entirely, as the Gladiators showed signs of life for the first time in more than a month, taking Georgia to the wire as three touchdown underdogs against the Force. In the week leading up to the game, head coach Danton Barto sent a message to his team that their lackluster play would not be tolerated. After four consecutive ugly losses by an average of more than 24 points per game, the Gladiators decided to clean house. Barto waived ineffective starting quarterback, Shaun King, along with defensive backs Dahnel Singfield and Vontez Duff. Defensive line coach Brian Kelly was let go as well.
The cuts had an immediate impact on the Gladiators level of play. The offense, which had averaged just 37 points per game in their previous four ballgames, scored 68 against the Force. New starting quarterback Brian Jones completed 27-37 passes for 366 yards and eight touchdowns without an interception. Receiver Thabiti Davis grabbed 14 passes for 162 yards and three TD’s, while Etu Molden snared eight receptions for 143 yards and four TD’s. Jones was Barto’s quarterback in AF2 two years ago, leading Memphis to the AF2 championship – this is a coach/quarterback combination with a strong track record of success, and a receiving corps that is certainly capable of making some noise.
Barto, from the Las Vegas Review Journal earlier this week: “We got a good nucleus here to build off of and we’re going to keep fighting each week. I think we showed, probably against one of the top teams in the league, we could go toe to toe with them. I think we’ll be a pain in somebody’s side the rest of the year.” Following their truly dismal start, there should be considerable value on Vegas in the coming weeks as long as last week’s game was not an aberration.
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