Coach Mike Dailey is calling on a solid nucleus of players from the Colorado Crush’s ArenaBowl championship team of 2005 to lead this year’s team out of an early-season slump in the Arena Football League.
After two straight road losses, the Crush returns to the Pepsi Center today for a 2 p.m. encounter with the New Orleans VooDoo, hoping to even its record at 2-2.
Dailey pointed out after Friday’s practice that the time has come to stop talking about righting the ship and get it back on course.
“We’re in this thing together,” Dailey said, including the coaching staff in the call. “We’re a good football team and I don’t feel like we’re in a panic mode or anything like that. We talk about it all we want and feel like we can, but it has to carry over onto the field.”
In the VooDoo, the Crush faces its third straight opponent atop division standings. New Orleans (3-1) is in first place in the Southern Division of the National Conference. The Chicago Rush, last week’s opponent, is on top of the Central Division of the American Conference, and Dallas, a 51-40 victor over Colorado two weeks ago, is tied for the lead with Philadelphia in the Eastern Division of the National Conference at 4-0.
Dailey is looking for leadership from linemen Kyle Moore-Brown, Dustin Barno and Chris Watton, quarterback John Dutton and defensive backs Delvin Hughley and Rashad Floyd.
“They all know it’s not acceptable the way we’ve played so far,” Dailey said. “You call on those players, but you don’t have to prompt them. Their actions and work ethic speak volumes.”
Dailey noted in the losses to Dallas and Chicago that the Crush fell apart in the second half.
“In the second half, Dallas cranked up the intensity and we didn’t match it,” Dailey said. “We just got beat by Chicago (70-35). But our goals haven’t changed. In the short term, we want to win the next game. In the long term, we want to win the world championship.”
Today’s game
What: Arena Football League
Who: New Orleans VooDoo (3-1) vs. Colorado Crush (1-2)
When: 2 p.m.
Where: Pepsi Center
TV/radio: FSN Rocky Mountain/
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
