Avengers Keeping the Faith Despite Flop in Opening Act

As they get ready for their Arena Football League home opener tonight at Staples Center against the Houston ThunderBears, the Avengers hope they are not back on a path they went down last season.

The Avengers enter the game after a season-opening loss at San Jose--just like last season when they lost at Grand Rapids in their first Arena game.

Last year, they played host to the Carolina Cobras, who, like the Avengers, were an expansion team. The Avengers lost that game as well, then continued spiraling downward into a seven-game losing streak. They finished 3-11.

Once again, the Avengers have a chance to right themselves against a comparable opponent.

The ThunderBears, who also finished 3-11 last season, should be called the Gypsies. The franchise was in financial trouble until the Arena league assumed ownership in February. Starting with last week’s 38-28 loss at Oklahoma, Houston will have to play all its games on the road or at neutral sites.

If Staples Center is going to become the home-field advantage that it wasn’t last season--the home team won only once in seven games there--the Avengers will have to play more than the one half of football they played last Saturday against the SaberCats.

San Jose scored 31 consecutive first-half points before Los Angeles could score--and that was with a field goal on the final play of the half. The Avengers did score 27 second-half points but lost, 52-30.

“Lack of intensity was the biggest problem in the first half,” Avenger Coach Stan Brock said. “Now you have to figure out why. Was it lack of confidence, were the players worried about their assignments or about making mistakes? It seemed we were always uptight and pressing.

“The best thing about that game is everything we saw out there was correctable.”

One week, and a short one at that, may not be enough time to solve all the problems. But wide receiver Travis Hannah, who caught six passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns against San Jose, said he is confident the Avengers would turn things around more quickly this season.

“I know we have a much better team than we had last year,” Hannah said. “We have a lot of young guys and new guys. But trust me, we’re going to be good this year.”

Lineman Chris Butterfield, one of those “new guys” on the Avengers but a four-year Arena veteran, said last week’s game was more of an education than a wake-up call for the eight rookies on the team.

“You could take nothing from that game, or you could take a lot from that game--and we chose to take a lot from it,” Butterfield said. “It showed we were still young.

“This is a tough league to come right in and play. The good players have been around awhile. It’s a school of hard knocks until you get used to what they’re doing. It was a tough opener against a team like San Jose. But in the few days since that game, we’ve made great strides.”

Pass blocking and pass defense are areas of concern.

San Jose’s defensive line and linebackers created havoc for Avenger quarterback Todd Marinovich, sacking him three times and knocking him down on several occasions. Marinovich, who threw a career-high 49 passes in the loss (completing 23 for 244 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions), said he planned to play tonight, but he has practiced little this week because of a sprained left ankle.

After giving up 174 yards and four touchdowns to San Jose’s efficient John Dutton (10 of 20), the Avenger secondary faces another top quarterback in Todd Hammel. The Houston quarterback, a nine-year veteran who began the season as the league’s all-time leader in attempts and completions, threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns against Oklahoma.