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Lackadaisical effort piques Marcum

By JOHN COTEY

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 7, 2001

But was it?

Not only did the Storm suffer the worst loss in team history, it did so in an almost nonchalant way down the stretch. The Storm drew a delay of game penalty early in the fourth quarter while trailing by 30, enough to send a large portion of the crowd home early.

Instead of responding to Indiana's second-half blitz, the Storm (10-5) managed a fumble, three interceptions and a lost kick off the net that no one seemed interested in trying to recover. The once proud franchise suffered another in a series of blights. "Some of the people we're disappointed in," Marcum said. "Some of them didn't step up and play very well.

"Once it got to a certain point, we had some people that just didn't give a valiant effort. I don't want to say "quit,' but they just didn't play very hard. They didn't fight to the end, that's for sure."

Since its most recent title in 1996 and a semifinal loss in overtime the next year, the Storm has ended its season with 31-, 22-, 10- and 37-point losses. It has been outscored by an average of 51-21 in the past four playoff losses, a mark of futility unmatched in Arena Football annals.

After a 7-0 start this season, including wins over Nos. 1 and 2 playoff seeds Grand Rapids and Nashville, respectively, the Storm stumbled home 3-5. Its three wins came against non-playoff teams Florida, Houston and New Jersey. The losses were to playoff teams Orlando (twice), Arizona, Nashville and Indiana.

The fact is: The rest of the league has caught up to the Storm. Though still one of the league's top franchises, it is no longer the premier franchise. Former Marcum players Jay Gruden (Orlando), Pat Sperduto (Nashville) and Michael Trigg (Grand Rapids) are successful coaches; there are more teams (19); and there is free agency. Winning championships is not as easy as it used to be.

For the Storm to reclaim its place among the elite, changes have to be made.

Offensively, the Storm appeared staid down the stretch. Offensive specialist James Bowden said Marcum's play-calling was partly to blame Sunday, and Sir Mawn Wilson admitted that Indiana seemed to know what was coming. They aren't the first to make such comments this season.

The quarterback situation will be interesting to follow. Though John Kaleo signed a three-year deal last year, his arm looked lacking against the better teams, and he never seemed the same after a midseason DUI arrest. He threw 15 interceptions the final eight games and lost four of his last five starts. Rookie Shane Stafford was impressive when Kaleo was hurt (13 touchdowns, two interceptions in three games), has a much stronger arm and showed great poise with his winning touchdown pass against New Jersey after he fell. Though Marcum has been steadfast in his support of Kaleo, he may have stayed with him too long against Indiana. Asked if he would stay with him again next season, the coach hedged. "That would be something that would be in our (off-season) evaluation on who played what part of the thing, you know," he said. "We'll take a look at all facets."

Marcum also will scour the landscape for defensive backs. It's unlikely Tommy Henry will be brought back, based on his end-of-season benching, and the Storm sorely needs a playmaker in the Johnnie Harris mold back there. That could be rookie Clinton Hart.

The Storm also needs to get younger. Marcum is known for molding his teams around veterans, but something has to explain the playoff flameouts and maybe the team's gas tank is it.

Marcum said he will be back. His relationship with owner Woody Kern is a strong one, and Kern has faith that the coach who won two titles with the Storm can restore the team to glory.

To reward that faith, Marcum promised the team would be active in the free-agent market.

"Certainly there's going to be some changes," he said. "There has to be some changes."

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