Post by Banana Cat on Mar 26, 2012 21:34:17 GMT -5
www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/03/mistakes_hamper_hammers_on_the.html
Mistakes hamper Hammers on the field, but front office seeing improvement off the field
March 25, 2012
Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The essentials of indoor football are to have a quarterback who can throw the ball through a car wash without it getting wet and wide receivers who don't grow hamster arms when a pass and a defender arrive simultaneously.
You want defensive backs who cover opposing receivers closely enough to know what they had for lunch.
Multi-tasking helps, too. For instance, the two Alabama Hammers quarterbacks also serve as long-snappers on kicks.
Trouble was, on the occasion of their home season opener, a 56-43 loss to Columbus, the QBs couldn't have made a pass at a Hammer cheerleader without it getting intercepted. Some defenders treated Columbus receivers as if they were contagious.
There was at least one notable, successful multi-tasker was Anquez Jackson, an offensive lineman who ended his Alabama A&M career in 2010 and went to camp with the Tennessee Titans last summer. He is one of the one-ton Hammers' offensive line -- pretty stout considering there are only three O-linemen -- but also lines up at fullback and tight end.
He caught his first career touchdown pass briefly giving the Hammers a lead before a 28-10 Columbus run.
"You've got to be athletic at times," he shrugged. "I don't think. I just react. We run it pretty frequently in practice. It's automatic when they call it. Just focus on the ball, catch it with your eyes and hands, pull it in and run."
The Von Braun Center was the place to be on Saturday night. You could have scalped a convenient parking spot for $20.
Along with the Hammers-Lions, there were two wedding receptions, a Theater Huntsville production, a dance recital, the Heads N Tails crawfish festival and Sportfight X mixed martial arts.
The Hammers drew 2,251. Perhaps it's tough timing, too early for what was customarily a summer sport, and it coincided with spring break. Team owner Jeff Knight said "I told myself if we had over 2,000 I'd be happy."
Perhaps as big a problem as picked-off passes, Knight and his organization have dealt with the consequences of revolving nicknames, a challenge in establishing this new identity.
Huntsville enjoyed a good early reputation as an arena-style city. Then came membership in different leagues, like constant switching around in search of the best cellular service. Then this new evolution, in the Professional Indoor Football League, as the Alabama Hammers.
The cushy, field-side seats were filled, all the better to catch stray footballs and stray R-rated conversation.
The Hammers go a long way in creating a fun atmosphere (a warning: the games are played with the relentless soundtrack of plastic horns.) There are cold beverages and that delicious bad-for-you concession stand food and Maxim-model cheerleaders who fling T-shirts into the stands. Peewee indoor-style teams play at halftime.
If this isn't contradictory, there's a lot of enthusiasm for the Hammers, just not enough of it.
"I liked it," Knight said of the opener. "I liked it. Our ticket sales are up. Our corporate sales are up. The long and short of it, we're starting to build. We're starting to recover."
Now, the Hammers need to figure a way to keep crawfish and MMA and other distractions from intercepting fans on the way to the games.
March 25, 2012
Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The essentials of indoor football are to have a quarterback who can throw the ball through a car wash without it getting wet and wide receivers who don't grow hamster arms when a pass and a defender arrive simultaneously.
You want defensive backs who cover opposing receivers closely enough to know what they had for lunch.
Multi-tasking helps, too. For instance, the two Alabama Hammers quarterbacks also serve as long-snappers on kicks.
Trouble was, on the occasion of their home season opener, a 56-43 loss to Columbus, the QBs couldn't have made a pass at a Hammer cheerleader without it getting intercepted. Some defenders treated Columbus receivers as if they were contagious.
There was at least one notable, successful multi-tasker was Anquez Jackson, an offensive lineman who ended his Alabama A&M career in 2010 and went to camp with the Tennessee Titans last summer. He is one of the one-ton Hammers' offensive line -- pretty stout considering there are only three O-linemen -- but also lines up at fullback and tight end.
He caught his first career touchdown pass briefly giving the Hammers a lead before a 28-10 Columbus run.
"You've got to be athletic at times," he shrugged. "I don't think. I just react. We run it pretty frequently in practice. It's automatic when they call it. Just focus on the ball, catch it with your eyes and hands, pull it in and run."
The Von Braun Center was the place to be on Saturday night. You could have scalped a convenient parking spot for $20.
Along with the Hammers-Lions, there were two wedding receptions, a Theater Huntsville production, a dance recital, the Heads N Tails crawfish festival and Sportfight X mixed martial arts.
The Hammers drew 2,251. Perhaps it's tough timing, too early for what was customarily a summer sport, and it coincided with spring break. Team owner Jeff Knight said "I told myself if we had over 2,000 I'd be happy."
Perhaps as big a problem as picked-off passes, Knight and his organization have dealt with the consequences of revolving nicknames, a challenge in establishing this new identity.
Huntsville enjoyed a good early reputation as an arena-style city. Then came membership in different leagues, like constant switching around in search of the best cellular service. Then this new evolution, in the Professional Indoor Football League, as the Alabama Hammers.
The cushy, field-side seats were filled, all the better to catch stray footballs and stray R-rated conversation.
The Hammers go a long way in creating a fun atmosphere (a warning: the games are played with the relentless soundtrack of plastic horns.) There are cold beverages and that delicious bad-for-you concession stand food and Maxim-model cheerleaders who fling T-shirts into the stands. Peewee indoor-style teams play at halftime.
If this isn't contradictory, there's a lot of enthusiasm for the Hammers, just not enough of it.
"I liked it," Knight said of the opener. "I liked it. Our ticket sales are up. Our corporate sales are up. The long and short of it, we're starting to build. We're starting to recover."
Now, the Hammers need to figure a way to keep crawfish and MMA and other distractions from intercepting fans on the way to the games.