Little Rock, AR. The Little Rock Toads are off to their best out of the last three seasons. They sit at 7-2, half a game behind Columbia. QB Ralph Given is a legitimate star in the league, ranked among the top QB's in the league, and has even over 78% of his passes the last two weeks despite having a sprained thumb on his throwing hand. Running back Brian Dixon has already surpassed is personal high of 6 TD's in a season with 7 through 9 games. Linebackers Currin and Cloninger are both having fine seasons. DT Frank Wideman and DE Shawn Hernandez are both on pace for career seasons, as is FS Stanford Zamudio. All is well in the land of warts right? Wrong.
With so much success around him, one man has become the focus of any frustrations fans and local media have. CB Sandy Lindo has been struggling all year long, and no one is sure why. Not even the coaching staff. Head coach Cris Kelly and defensive coordinator Vinny Reynolds have fielded questions every week about Lindo. They have also tried to give him help, on and off the field. Nothing is working.
Sandy Lindo has been the best player in the Toads defensive backfield for the last couple of seasons. This year though, despite having more help around him, he is perhaps the worst. Lindo had 4 INT's and gave up 33 catches in 2003. Last season he brought in 7 INT's and once again gave up only 33 receptions. This season however, he has not a single INT through 9 games, and has already given up 38 receptions. He has a horrible 17.9 PDPct. The low point was in week 10, when he gave up 9 receptions against the Madison Demons.
This season, Lindo counts $4.57 million against the salary, fourth highest on the team. Next season he is slated to make about $5.4 million. Despite his high cost, rumors are leaking from the Toads facilities this week that Lindo may be benched in favor of Rodney Love and Alphonse Goodman. Both Goodman and Love have played well this season, and both are in their final contract year. Extensions are being talked about, but only two of these three CB's will probably be back. The question is, is this just a down year for Lindo? Some people are not sure if Lindo will bounce back in the second half of this season, or even next year. So would Lindo be traded? "Possibly" is all we were able to get from our source in the front office.
With so much success around him, one man has become the focus of any frustrations fans and local media have. CB Sandy Lindo has been struggling all year long, and no one is sure why. Not even the coaching staff. Head coach Cris Kelly and defensive coordinator Vinny Reynolds have fielded questions every week about Lindo. They have also tried to give him help, on and off the field. Nothing is working.
Sandy Lindo has been the best player in the Toads defensive backfield for the last couple of seasons. This year though, despite having more help around him, he is perhaps the worst. Lindo had 4 INT's and gave up 33 catches in 2003. Last season he brought in 7 INT's and once again gave up only 33 receptions. This season however, he has not a single INT through 9 games, and has already given up 38 receptions. He has a horrible 17.9 PDPct. The low point was in week 10, when he gave up 9 receptions against the Madison Demons.
This season, Lindo counts $4.57 million against the salary, fourth highest on the team. Next season he is slated to make about $5.4 million. Despite his high cost, rumors are leaking from the Toads facilities this week that Lindo may be benched in favor of Rodney Love and Alphonse Goodman. Both Goodman and Love have played well this season, and both are in their final contract year. Extensions are being talked about, but only two of these three CB's will probably be back. The question is, is this just a down year for Lindo? Some people are not sure if Lindo will bounce back in the second half of this season, or even next year. So would Lindo be traded? "Possibly" is all we were able to get from our source in the front office.
Comment