If you want the definition of incompetence on a football field, take a look at the Tampa Bay Vipers (1-4) after the first quarter in their 41-34 loss to the Los Angeles Wildcats (2-3).
If that sounds harsh, it’s not. The game last night (excluding the first quarter) was enough to make me want to vomit. The Vipers looked decent in the first quarter (although the Wildcats did gift the Vipers two turnovers), but after that, Tampa Bay might as well have been a high school team.
Let’s break down just how awful on all sides of the football they were.
Offensively, quarterback Taylor Cornelius at times looked like he didn’t even know what routes his receivers were running. Or maybe his time as a competent-looking quarterback had run out. The allusions are gone. Cornelius needs to be replaced. His fumble (recovered for a touchdown) maybe wasn't his fault, as the Wildcats had a free shot at the Oklahoma State product due to a lackluster effort by the Viper offensive line, but the two interceptions certainly were. And it really should have been three picks; on one short pass over the middle, Cornelius looked like he thought linebacker Will Smith changed teams mid-play and threw it right into the former Texas Tech Red Raiders bread basket, but Smith failed to come up with the steal.
Cornelius’ inability to throw accurate passes on the shallow crossing routes was really quite remarkable. I mean, it’s easy to sit here in front of a computer and bash people for their mistakes, but the throws were three yards beyond the line of scrimmage, if I’m being generous. The throw was well behind intended receiver Dan Williams, and defensive lineman Reggie Howard took it all the way to the Vipers’ 17. Two plays later? Touchdown Wildcats. Then there was the second interception. Fourth quarter, the Vipers down by seven, ball at the Wildcats’ seven yard-line with 37 seconds left.
If you haven’t watched the Vipers all year you might think this would be a good situation.
Nope.
Cornelius throws to a phantom receiver running a route, and the ball goes right into the hands of cornerback Jack Tocho.
But maybe the problems were just on the offensive side of the ball? Surely the Vipers’ “no. 1 defense in the XFL” (yeah right) put up a good fight? Wrong again.
Sure, you take out the two turnovers and the inexcusable play calling at the end of the first half that gave the Wildcats’ hot offensive the ball back with a little over a minute left and the Vipers only gave up 21 points, but the Wildcats still had 345 yards of total offense. That’s not too good, especially against a team that was 1-3 going into the game. Sure, L.A. quarterback Josh Johnson looked really good, as he finally was able to use his legs after recovering from a thigh injury that kept him sidelined for the Wildcats’ first game, but the Vipers’ secondary looked lost for most of the game.
I get it, defensive coordinator Jerry Granville’s blitz-heavy defense calls for a lot of man coverage, thus leading to a fair amount of blown coverages, but good God. If Josh Johnson hit even a couple more throws on receivers that were wide open down the field, the Wildcats would have set the new mark for most points scored in XFL history (oh wait, they did that anyways.)
Now for the special teams play. The kickoff returns were an adventure, as Quinton Flowers even took a stab at it (he was back, by the way, and made a couple of brief, meaningless cameos in 1-point conversions) but looked like he really didn’t know what to do (it’s almost like he’s a quarterback or something.) The only time the Vipers got the ball following a kickoff past their own 25 was when the Wildcats got called for unnecessary roughness. There was a muffed kick, and another where returner Ryan Davis—who had a rough night—tripped over an imaginary curb.
Now we get to the coaching. Marc Trestman. Brother, what are you doing at the end of halves?
I get that Cornelius has a tendency to turn the ball over and be really bad, but if you have such little faith in your offense that even with 1:50 left in the half you feel like you have to settle for running the clock out, doesn’t that tell you to switch things up? The Vipers’ lack of aggression on offense allowed for Josh Johnson and the Wildcats to drive down the field and get another end-of-the-half touchdown, shifting momentum even further in the Wildcats’ favor.
Then there was the first down play-calling. Run, run, run, run, run. Don’t get me wrong, I am very much aware of my declaration of the Vipers’ need to establish the ground game, but when it’s not working, move on. Adjust. Because clearly the Wildcats did. They were loading the box and stuffing De’Veon Smith, who was limited to 2.4 yards per carry. Jacques Patrick looked like he might have had something going, but he got hurt during that inexplicable series at the end of the first half where the Vipers ran the ball twice then allowed Cornelius to panic and throw another incompletion. Patrick was restricted to the sideline for the rest of the game.
So am I calling for Trestman to lose his job?
Well, yeah. This was an ugly loss. This pretty much sealed the Vipers’ fate for the rest of the season. They seem to be quite comfortable with being the worst team in the XFL, especially if they continue to stay the course with Cornelius and Trestman at the helm, and my guess is they’ll not only miss the playoffs but they’ll also win no more than three games. You heard it here first, folks. The Vipers are in even worse shape than the Bucs.
I wonder if the Lightning will get bounced in the first round again?
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This article appears in Mar 5-12, 2020.