Avengers Confident Despite Shaky Debut

The spin the Avengers tossed out this week was a tight spiral.

A season-opening loss to Las Vegas was regrettable, frustrating, painful, but wholly understandable, all agreed. The Avengers, after an off-season spent turning over personnel, were still getting comfortable. There were eight players who made their Arena Football League debut. There were mistakes and glitches that come with first-game jitters.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” quarterback John Kaleo said. “I’ve been on teams where we won our first six or seven games, then fizzled in the second half. Then there is a team like Arizona that seems to start slow every year and then ends up in the ArenaBowl.”

The Avengers have a chance to add bite to those words tonight, when they play the Georgia Force in their home opener at Staples Center, where they were only 3-5 last season.

The Force is coming off a 46-44 overtime victory against New Orleans. The Avengers spent much of their opener handing Las Vegas opportunities, turning the ball over five times.

“We believe the talent to win is here,” Coach Ed Hodgkiss said. “Sometimes it comes down to not having the players. We have the personnel to be successful.”

Kaleo, in his first game with the team, was less than impressive, which ran counter to his play over 11 seasons in the AFL. He completed 19 of 34 passes for 197 yards. He was the only AFL quarterback to throw for fewer than 200 yards last week.

“We’re still getting to know each other,” Kaleo said. “I think everyone was a little rusty.”

Not everyone. Antuan Simmons stepped into his first arena game and intercepted two passes. In fact, it was the defense that most impressed Hodgkiss, even though the Avengers started three rookies.

“The tempo of the game, where it’s up and down, is different [from outdoor football],” said Simmons, who was captain of the 2001 USC team. “So many things can happen so fast. Sometimes you can’t even control what happens to you out there.”

*

TONIGHT

vs. Georgia, 7:30, FSNW

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- XTRA (570).

Records -- Avengers 0-1, Force 1-0.

Record vs. Force (2004) -- 0-1.

Update -- The Avengers’ offensive inconsistency in a 46-37 loss to Las Vegas last week was partly the result of losing center Sean McNamara to a knee injury. Tony Wragge, McNamara’s replacement, and quarterback John Kaleo had difficulty on snaps.. McNamara will sit out at least this game, and the Avengers might activate Bernard Riley to fill his roster spot. Force quarterback Jim Kubiak, an All-Arena League selection in 2003, sat out last season after having surgery on a herniated disk. He had a successful return, throwing for 248 yards and five touchdowns in a 46-44 overtime victory against New Orleans on Sunday. Jermaine Smith, the Force’s top defensive lineman, suffered a back bruise against New Orleans and is listed as probable.