Monday, Feb. 21, 2005 | 8:58 a.m.
Gladiators lineman Wilky Bazile unloaded on Georgia's Jim Kubiak as the quarterback threw the ball away, then straddled him and glared down for a spell to celebrate the momentous occasion.
That's pretty heady stuff for a guy on a team losing by 25 points in the final quarter of one of the worst showings in the nine-year history of the team.
The taunt typified the day for the Gladiators, as Bazile earned one of their team-record 20 penalties as part of a total meltdown that included five turnovers by backup quarterback Rod Robinson and no scoring after the 6:30 mark of the second quarter.
The ultimate result was a momentum-killing 38-13 loss to the Force in which Las Vegas set a franchise low for points scored, sheepishly entering Arena Football League annals with one of the 10 worst offensive performances of the past decade.
"Our offensive production was abysmal," Gladiators coach Ron James said.
"I'm not sure I could get an af2 team to get in here that couldn't score more than 13 points," he added, referring to arenafootball2, the football organization affiliated with the Arena Football League and considered a step down in terms of quality of play.
The Las Vegas defense actually turned in a respectable effort, but nothing else looked positive for the Gladiators on Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
"It was kind of like anything that could go wrong today went wrong," Gladiators fullback/linebacker Frank Carter said. "Any way we could turn the ball over, we did. And any way we could get a penalty, we did."
A week after overcoming three interceptions to win his first AFL start, Robinson struggled from the outset. He fumbled near the goal line on Las Vegas' first drive and threw a pair of interceptions in the final minute of the first half, killing whatever chance the Gladiators had to come back after pulling within 14-13 in the second quarter following a horrid start.
Kubiak, who finished with 209 yards and five scoring throws, tossed touchdown passes to Derek Lee on Georgia's drives into and out of halftime to build a 35-13 edge. The Gladiators (2-2) unraveled after that, with Robinson throwing another interception and fumbling a snap at the Force 2-yard line before giving way to third-stringer Craig Whelihan in the closing minutes.
Robinson, making his second start in place of the injured Clint Dolezel, accepted blame for the defeat. He finished 15-of-23 for 159 yards with a pair of touchdowns, but many more mistakes.
"One man has five turnovers - that's what you call a bad day," Robinson said.
James declined to name Robinson the starter for this week's game at Nashville, partially because he is waiting for an update on Dolezel's broken right middle finger. Although Robinson has committed nine turnovers in the past three weeks, James remains confident in him.
"His inexperience showed in certain situations," James said. "Rod's the type of athlete who can bounce back from those situations."
The whole team will need to quickly bounce back to take advantage of a three-game stretch against some of the league's worst teams in Nashville, Austin and Columbus. Sunday's 13-point output is the sixth-worst by an AFL home team in the past 10 years, and the 20 penalties - not including a handful of flags declined by Georgia (3-1) - are a stain even for a Las Vegas squad that struggles in that area.
"I think we lost our composure quite a bit," James said.
James said he doesn't believe in sending messages, but he laid plain his desire for more attention to detail and discipline from his players.
"The message is clear: it's perform or leave," James said. "So if we're going to look to improve by changing our personnel, the changes will be easy. Just go to McCarran (Airport), and you'll find the changes by looking in the terminal."
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