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Newark Sports Report: Bulldogs underachieving………again!
AP-It's been another year of dissapoinment by the Newark Bulldogs. Condsidered on of the better teams in the league,in terms of talent, the Bulldogs are once again underachieving. Last year's excuse was injuries. This season's excuse is the offense. Twice this season the Bulldogs have been shut out. The offense is really the root cause of the problem. The Bulldog offense is aenemic as it gets. Ranking #31 in the league in rush attempts and 28th in rushing yards, the balance just has not been there this season. Last years 1000yd rusher, Jerry Daugherty, is currently burning up the league with his team high 207yds rushing and 3.5 ypc. Rookie FB Jon Arnold has started the last 2 games at RB for the Bulldogs. During that stretch he's carried the ball 26 times for 104yds, but only averaged 3ypc in the 2nd game. The excuse in New Jersey is that the Bulldogs don't have a feature back that they can ride. Speculation that the Bulldogs were trying to acquire superstar RB James Tart earlier this season makes things in Jersey that much harder to swallow. Tart would have been an excellent fit in the type of offense that Newark wants to run. Unfortunatly things did not turn out as hoped. Team owner, Tony Soprano, seems extemely adjetated when Tart's name is mentioned. It's not known what was offered, but sources close to Bulldog management claim that the offer was substantial.
Life goes on, and because of the lack of a running game the Bulldogs have tried to rely on a pass game. This has not worked out well either. WR Andrew Robey is the only guy on the offense that is a playmaker. Big plays for the Bulldogs have been few and far between. QB Chris Chaplin has a measly 5.41ypc average. That is half a yard shy of his 5.9ypc rushing. Pitiful.
There are, however, some reasons to be optimistic about the 2nd half of the Bulldogs season.
1. The Bulldogs have lost 2 games because their kickers missed chip shot FG.
2. The rushing offense is ranked #11in ypc. This could show that the Bulldogs are atleast capable of running on teams.
3. The team is ranked #1 in fewest TO and #2 in turnover margin.
4. The defense is ranked #2 in PPG allowed.
5. In the 2 games that PIT and ORL had their starters run for 79 carries and 351yds, there was some serious gameplan issues that were not addressed. No excuses by the team, just brain farts. This is a rare occurance as the Bulldog D has only allowed 5 100yd rushers since the IFL started including the 2 games this year.
The Bulldogs hopefully can string together a few games in the 2nd half of the season and make a run for the playoffs. With 2 games vs. Burlington and 1 more remaining with the other division rivals, this allows the bulldogs to potentially gain some ground.
AP-It's been another year of dissapoinment by the Newark Bulldogs. Condsidered on of the better teams in the league,in terms of talent, the Bulldogs are once again underachieving. Last year's excuse was injuries. This season's excuse is the offense. Twice this season the Bulldogs have been shut out. The offense is really the root cause of the problem. The Bulldog offense is aenemic as it gets. Ranking #31 in the league in rush attempts and 28th in rushing yards, the balance just has not been there this season. Last years 1000yd rusher, Jerry Daugherty, is currently burning up the league with his team high 207yds rushing and 3.5 ypc. Rookie FB Jon Arnold has started the last 2 games at RB for the Bulldogs. During that stretch he's carried the ball 26 times for 104yds, but only averaged 3ypc in the 2nd game. The excuse in New Jersey is that the Bulldogs don't have a feature back that they can ride. Speculation that the Bulldogs were trying to acquire superstar RB James Tart earlier this season makes things in Jersey that much harder to swallow. Tart would have been an excellent fit in the type of offense that Newark wants to run. Unfortunatly things did not turn out as hoped. Team owner, Tony Soprano, seems extemely adjetated when Tart's name is mentioned. It's not known what was offered, but sources close to Bulldog management claim that the offer was substantial.
Life goes on, and because of the lack of a running game the Bulldogs have tried to rely on a pass game. This has not worked out well either. WR Andrew Robey is the only guy on the offense that is a playmaker. Big plays for the Bulldogs have been few and far between. QB Chris Chaplin has a measly 5.41ypc average. That is half a yard shy of his 5.9ypc rushing. Pitiful.
There are, however, some reasons to be optimistic about the 2nd half of the Bulldogs season.
1. The Bulldogs have lost 2 games because their kickers missed chip shot FG.
2. The rushing offense is ranked #11in ypc. This could show that the Bulldogs are atleast capable of running on teams.
3. The team is ranked #1 in fewest TO and #2 in turnover margin.
4. The defense is ranked #2 in PPG allowed.
5. In the 2 games that PIT and ORL had their starters run for 79 carries and 351yds, there was some serious gameplan issues that were not addressed. No excuses by the team, just brain farts. This is a rare occurance as the Bulldog D has only allowed 5 100yd rushers since the IFL started including the 2 games this year.
The Bulldogs hopefully can string together a few games in the 2nd half of the season and make a run for the playoffs. With 2 games vs. Burlington and 1 more remaining with the other division rivals, this allows the bulldogs to potentially gain some ground.
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