Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | 9:36 a.m.
2003: AFL -- 11,397; Gladiators -- 9,791
2004: AFL -- 12,024; Gladiators -- 9,849
2005: AFL -- 12,872; Gladiators -- 9,476
Peel away the layers of the onion to find out what is different about this 8-8 season for the Gladiators, as opposed to the previous two.
But first, acknowledge that it is an onion: it smells and it makes you cry. For a Gladiators team that lost three of its last four games to miss the playoffs and failed in nearly every pressure situation it faced, the analogy sadly sticks.
To review the 2005 season and look forward to the team's fourth campaign in Las Vegas, here is a three-phase evaluation of the just-completed year:
Personnel
After their first 8-8 season, the Gladiators overhauled the roster. After their second 8-8 season, they left it intact. How owner Jim Ferraro and general manager Dan Dolby respond to a third consecutive mediocre season is the most intriguing plot of the offseason.
"We're not real in-depth at this point," Dolby said Tuesday. "Part of the process of evaluation is to go back and re-grade the whole season."
The most important subplot to the roster shuffle is the future of quarterback Clint Dolezel. Brought to Las Vegas two years ago in a blockbuster trade, Dolezel has performed well statistically but has failed to lead the team to the playoffs. In 12 games this year, Dolezel completed 302 of 465 passes (64.9 percent) for 3,555 yards with 78 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
His contract expired at the end of the season and Dolezel already said he will not sign with the Gladiators during the team's exclusive negotiating period with its own free agents through June 30. Dolby expected as much, but hopes he will get a chance to see how the Gladiators' anticipated offer stacks up against the market.
"With expansion coming this year, I think there's going to be some money out there for people who deserve it," Dolby said. "I would question it if he didn't test the market."
Dolezel, 35, made in the ballpark of $125,000 last season, which would be a large chunk of the salary cap set at $1.82 million for next year. A Texas native with deep roots in the state, Dolezel said he might be interested in setting up his wife and two children closer to home.
"If a door opened for me somewhere around home and it was adequate as far as what I feel like I'm worth, then I would definitely take that step," Dolezel said.
He tempered that statement, saying that "nothing is out of reach" and that he will give Las Vegas a chance to make an offer.
Just eight Gladiators are under contract for next season, including offensive specialist Marcus Nash and fullback/linebacker Frank Carter. After winning 2004 offensive player of the year honors, Nash battled through knee and hamstring injuries to play all 16 games in 2005. He posted 1,769 receiving yards to lead the league and finished second in receptions (131) and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (41).
Nash would not speculate on what next year's team might look like.
"Not right now," Nash said. "We're just trying to get healthy and just kind of recuperate a little bit."
A second receiver to take some pressure off Nash would be welcomed. While Joe Douglass and Coco Blalock combined for 147 catches and 33 touchdowns, Dolby said he will be scouring free agency, af2, NFL Europe and NFL training camps for physically imposing receivers.
"We'll be looking for some more speed and size at the receiver position," Dolby said. "This is getting to be a big man's game, much like the NFL."
The team's other obvious need area is at kicker for the second year in a row. Mark Lewis is still under contract for 2006 but could be in danger of losing his job after posting the third-worst extra-point conversion percentage (82.1) in the league and connecting on just seven field goals. His struggles at Los Angeles in Week 16 cost the Gladiators two points in a crucial three-point loss.
"We'll bring him back in, but we'll also be looking at other kickers," Dolby said of Lewis.
This group of players has had two runs now and has failed to produce a playoff berth. Still, no one is willing to detonate the dynamite just yet.
"We have to do a full evaluation," Gladiators coach Ron James said. "That's the first thing. When you look at it, we've got a lot of free agents on this club. We'll evaluate whether or not we're getting the most out of those people and what situations we need to improve in."
Coaching
That leads right into the other major question of the offseason: who will coach the team in 2006?
James completed his first year as a head coach with the same record with which Frank Haege departed last year. He is likely to get a bit of slack because Dolezel missed four weeks with an injury, but there could be some backlash after the team failed to meet high expectations.
Ferraro said Monday that no decision has been made and that discussions are ongoing this week. Dolby said he expects James' future to be resolved by the end of the week.
While the players clearly took to James' coaching style, the on-field results look eerily like those that led to Haege's dismissal. Ferraro complained of sloppy play and a lack of discipline under Haege, citing penalties and turnovers as examples.
Those statistics did not improve for Las Vegas in 2005, as the Gladiators tied for the league lead in turnovers with 36 and tied for second in penalties with 159. In fairness, the Gladiators also tied for third in takeaways with 31, but that still added up to a minus-5 turnover margin.
James' popularity within the locker room and the organization could weigh heavily on the decision, but Dolby also said he must look at the bottom line in evaluating his coach's status.
"I would like to say that we've gotten better," Dolby said. "But when you look at the play on the field, there's no in-between. You're either winning or losing."
Early in the season, the team seemed to respond to the coaching change by keeping composure in late-game situations and pulling out a number of tight victories. Down the stretch, though, the Gladiators failed to convert late against San Jose, Chicago and Los Angeles, giving away crucial tiebreakers that came back to be problems.
James only drew attention once this season. He admittedly flubbed a decision not to go for a late two-point conversion against Austin, a decision that led to a 42-41 loss at the buzzer.
Business
In Las Vegas, the business side is always a factor because of how difficult it is to draw fans away from video poker and Barry Manilow and into the arena. The verdict for 2005 is mixed.
Dolby changed the direction of the franchise by focusing more on corporate sponsorships and partnerships that produce not only advertising, but ticket sales as well. He feels this strategy helped to double the Gladiators' season ticket base to 3,200 for the past season.
While the season tickets increased, the overall attendance did not. The Gladiators averaged 9,476 tickets sold and distributed per game at the Thomas & Mack Center in 2005, a number that includes all sales as well as giveaways. That is down from 2004, when the team listed an average of 9,849 and from 2003, when the figure was 9,791.
Taking into account that reporting practices have differed during the past three years, it can essentially be said that the team held the line on total attendance in 2005. Compared to the rest of the Arena Football League, though, the Gladiators appear to be standing still.
The league average crowd for 2005 was 12,872, more than 3,000 fans more than the Las Vegas average. Dolby said he wants to combat that by trying to double the season ticket base again in 2006, building mostly through business partnerships but still trying to draw individual fans as well.
"Once we get them in the building, we get them back," Dolby said.
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