Last night was quite possibly one of the worst demonstrations of professional football I have ever seen. The Renegades stunk the joint out against the Tiger Pussies. Kerry Joseph showed more than a little rust, the team as a whole took an unbelievable number of penalties, and coach Pao Pao’s play-calling was uninspired, to say the least. Dear Pao Pao – when a play doesn’t work five times in a row, move on to something else.
I think there was one series of downs where there were 5 penalties in a row called. It was ugly, it was brutal, and it sure as hell wasn’t worth the price of admission. The worst part about the game (from my point of view) is that you never see the players or the coaching staff get fired up for any reason. When your centre takes his fifth stupid penalty of the game, I expect to see the coaches giving him instruction at the very least, but would preferably like to see him getting chewed out for his transgressions. When the team is down and playing stupidly, I expect veterans to start calling their teammates on it. I saw neither last night, and it was pretty disheartening.
I haven’t seen a lot of the games live this year, and if the quality of play continues at this level, I won’t be seeing any live next year. I’ve been a loyal season ticket holder for each of the Renegade’s seasons, and the last 8 Rough Rider’s seasons. It’s the same thing every year – a promising start which quickly devolves into mediocre play, a losing season, and missed playoffs (or a first round exit). It was easier to take when tickets were $25. Now that they’re $55, I expect a little more, but I’m certainly not getting it.
Dear Mr. Tillman, how about kicking your coaching staff in the ass and getting them to light a fire under their players? Dear Renegades, try showing up with your heads out of your asses.