Post by Banana Cat on Mar 6, 2012 3:31:58 GMT -5
www.theindependent.com/sports/danger/talent-on-danger-defense-is-there/article_34dbdb66-6687-11e1-9832-001871e3ce6c.html
Talent on Danger defense is there
By Bob Hamar / theindependent.com
March 4, 2012
It’s year two for the Nebraska Danger.
In ways, the Danger’s opener Sunday night against the Tri-Cities Fever looked like last year. There were mistakes — like three interception coming at critical points when the Danger were in scoring position.
Ouch. That hurts, especially when you’re playing a team that advanced to the Indoor Football League championship game last year before losing to Sioux Falls.
But even with those mistakes, the Danger was able to stay relatively close to one of the top teams in the league before dropping a 38-23 decision.
“The second toughest schedule in the league,” Danger head coach Mike Davis said. “Besides Sioux Falls, we were probably playing the best team. I’m happy with the guys. There are a lot of good things we can take away from it and there are a lot of things we can fix.”
You can really see the talent on the defense. Davis, a former linebacker at Virginia Tech, went out to find a bunch of athletes, and he’s done just that.
When you consider the Fever opened the season by hanging 70 points on the Everett Raptors, then the Dangers’ defensive effort looks pretty good from that standpoint.
“We gave 100 percent effort out there, but there were little mistakes out there that we have to fix,” linebacker Walner Leandre said. “We have a lot of guys who are new to the league and they have to get a feel for it. I think we did pretty well on defense.”
Leandre is one of just four returning defensive players from last year’s team. He joins defensive backs Patrick Wells and Darnell Terrell and defensive lineman Adrian Davis as the hold overs from the Dangers’ 3-11 team in 2011.
“Athletically our guys are pretty good,” Davis said. “Once they understand the game and understand the schemes and the defenses...We had some alignment problems. We’ll get there. We’ll go back to work, break down the film, show these guys their mistakes and regroup.”
The Danger defense came up with two fumble recoveries that stopped Tri-Cities’ drives deep in Danger territory.
A fumble recovery by Kyle Thomas in the fourth quarter looked like it just might turn things around. The Danger drove all the way to the Fever 1-yard line, but Tri-Cities came up with a stop when quarterback Terry Mayo was kept out of the end zone on a fourth-down play.
A touchdown there could have pulled the Danger to within a point, or maybe even tied it if they with a two-point conversion, with 5 minutes, 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Instead, Tri-Cities did what championship-caliber teams do. The Fever marched right down the field to score a TD that gave them a cushion and just about put the game out of reach.
So now the Danger have a week to fix their problems before they host the Omaha Beef on March 12.
Davis will be looking for some of the same good things he saw against the Fever, plus improvements in other areas.
“There were a lot of good defensive stands, but there were a lot of missed tackles and a lot of busted coverages,” Davis said. “To go along with the good there was a lot of bad. Once we get that cleaned up, we’ll be tough to beat coming down the road.”
Leandre, a former University of Arkansas player, said the talent is there to succeed.
“We have a lot of guys,” Leandre said. “We’re stacked with a whole bunch of guys behind us. I think once we progress during the season we’ll get better at it.
“The defense can be really good. I feel we can have one of the top defenses in the league once we get things together. I think we could be pretty special.”
Leandre knows one thing for sure. Besides the NFL, there’s no place else he’d want to be right now.
“I had it in my mind to come here,” Leandre said. “I love it here. I love the Bosselman family, how they treat us and the environment.
“And the fans. We have the No. 1 fans in the league.”
Maybe sometime the fans will have the No. 1 team in the league to watch.
By Bob Hamar / theindependent.com
March 4, 2012
It’s year two for the Nebraska Danger.
In ways, the Danger’s opener Sunday night against the Tri-Cities Fever looked like last year. There were mistakes — like three interception coming at critical points when the Danger were in scoring position.
Ouch. That hurts, especially when you’re playing a team that advanced to the Indoor Football League championship game last year before losing to Sioux Falls.
But even with those mistakes, the Danger was able to stay relatively close to one of the top teams in the league before dropping a 38-23 decision.
“The second toughest schedule in the league,” Danger head coach Mike Davis said. “Besides Sioux Falls, we were probably playing the best team. I’m happy with the guys. There are a lot of good things we can take away from it and there are a lot of things we can fix.”
You can really see the talent on the defense. Davis, a former linebacker at Virginia Tech, went out to find a bunch of athletes, and he’s done just that.
When you consider the Fever opened the season by hanging 70 points on the Everett Raptors, then the Dangers’ defensive effort looks pretty good from that standpoint.
“We gave 100 percent effort out there, but there were little mistakes out there that we have to fix,” linebacker Walner Leandre said. “We have a lot of guys who are new to the league and they have to get a feel for it. I think we did pretty well on defense.”
Leandre is one of just four returning defensive players from last year’s team. He joins defensive backs Patrick Wells and Darnell Terrell and defensive lineman Adrian Davis as the hold overs from the Dangers’ 3-11 team in 2011.
“Athletically our guys are pretty good,” Davis said. “Once they understand the game and understand the schemes and the defenses...We had some alignment problems. We’ll get there. We’ll go back to work, break down the film, show these guys their mistakes and regroup.”
The Danger defense came up with two fumble recoveries that stopped Tri-Cities’ drives deep in Danger territory.
A fumble recovery by Kyle Thomas in the fourth quarter looked like it just might turn things around. The Danger drove all the way to the Fever 1-yard line, but Tri-Cities came up with a stop when quarterback Terry Mayo was kept out of the end zone on a fourth-down play.
A touchdown there could have pulled the Danger to within a point, or maybe even tied it if they with a two-point conversion, with 5 minutes, 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Instead, Tri-Cities did what championship-caliber teams do. The Fever marched right down the field to score a TD that gave them a cushion and just about put the game out of reach.
So now the Danger have a week to fix their problems before they host the Omaha Beef on March 12.
Davis will be looking for some of the same good things he saw against the Fever, plus improvements in other areas.
“There were a lot of good defensive stands, but there were a lot of missed tackles and a lot of busted coverages,” Davis said. “To go along with the good there was a lot of bad. Once we get that cleaned up, we’ll be tough to beat coming down the road.”
Leandre, a former University of Arkansas player, said the talent is there to succeed.
“We have a lot of guys,” Leandre said. “We’re stacked with a whole bunch of guys behind us. I think once we progress during the season we’ll get better at it.
“The defense can be really good. I feel we can have one of the top defenses in the league once we get things together. I think we could be pretty special.”
Leandre knows one thing for sure. Besides the NFL, there’s no place else he’d want to be right now.
“I had it in my mind to come here,” Leandre said. “I love it here. I love the Bosselman family, how they treat us and the environment.
“And the fans. We have the No. 1 fans in the league.”
Maybe sometime the fans will have the No. 1 team in the league to watch.