With San Jose on the horizon, Gladiators focus on mistakes

Adam Candee

Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 | 9:57 a.m.

6 p.m., HP Pavilion TV: Fox Sports West/Bay Area Radio: ESPN 920-AM

Las Vegas Gladiators coach Ron James and quarterback Clint Dolezel had the same thought after viewing the film of Las Vegas' season-opening win against Los Angeles.

"It should have been a blowout," Dolezel said.

Yet it wasn't, and the Gladiators feel that an effort like the one that produced a 46-37 victory against the Avengers will not suffice in Saturday's visit to San Jose, the defending ArenaBowl champion.

After committing three turnovers, watching three of their 12 penalties bring back touchdowns and going more than 20 minutes without a touchdown, they're probably right.

"We have to become more efficient on offense and a little more ball-security conscious," James said.

They also need to fight off their longtime penalty problem. Las Vegas committed 12 penalties against the Avengers, a year after ranking among the league leaders in that category. James did not let the team forget about it either, chiding them during Wednesday's practice and promising more conditioning work as punishment for continued penalties.

"It is a focus of what we are trying to accomplish this year," James said. "And I'm going to explore every avenue at my disposal."

Fullback/linebacker Frank Carter, who rushed for three touchdowns last week, understands that James must hammer home that point.

"What we (need to) do as a team is to get ourselves where we play more as a team, cut down on mental mistakes and cut down our penalties," Carter said.

Yet James feels he must ride a fine line between cutting down mistakes and cutting off aggression.

"It's a double-edged sword," James said. "You work for them to be aggressive and work for them to be disciplined at the same time."

Like the Gladiators, San Jose did not start well, but the SaberCats' struggles cost them in a 63-33 blowout loss at Tampa Bay. Playing without injured top receiver James Hundon and defensive specialist Clevan Thomas, San Jose fell behind 38-14 and forced quarterback Mark Grieb to throw 49 times. The SaberCats defense, normally the heart of the team, gave up eight touchdown passes to Tampa Bay's Shane Stafford.

All of that could make for an ornery opponent Saturday.

"They didn't come out of the blocks really good," Dolezel said. "I'm sure they'll be gung-ho."

If Las Vegas wants to be considered among the league's elite teams, though, it is this type of challenging road game that it must win.

The Gladiators have not played well on the road since coming to Las Vegas before the 2003 season. Counting their playoff disaster at Arizona two years ago, the Gladiators are just 5-12 away from the Thomas & Mack Center. The combined record of the teams they defeated on the road in those two years was 19-62 (.235) and none finished with a winning record.

Adding to the challenge is San Jose's sterling home record, which stands at 33-4 (.892) in the past five seasons and at 51-20 (.718) overall.

"There's never a good time to catch San Jose," James said. "San Jose's been the benchmark in this league for years and they continue to be so."

The Gladiators gained confidence against the SaberCats in a late-season win last year, though it did come at the Thomas & Mack. Facing the biggest obstacle in their ill-fated drive to a playoff spot, the Gladiators overcame a 21-point deficit to claim a 44-35 victory against San Jose.