Where are the Bandits getting bushwhacked?

The 2007 season is being trumpeted by some as the turning of the tide, with the Bandits finally having made a return to the playoffs. But this time the Bandits limped into the postseason, unlike years past when they at least had a solid shot at advancing to the conference finals, if not the league championship game.  This .500 team shouldn't have been allowed to advance into the postseason; local sports books listed Oklahoma at 22-point favorites (they won by 31).  The fact that this weak of a team even made a postseason appearance doesn't say a whole lot about the state of the league for the 2007 season.  But at least it didn't take a division rival to bring the team back down to earth this year.

The only significant achievement by this team that is worthy of mentioning was their league-best 15-1 record in 2003.  But even that is overshadowed by their trouncing in the playoffs by none other than the Bandits' main nemesis, the San Francisco Stallions (same also provided the team's only regular-season loss that year as well).  And here lies the primary trouble for the Bandits in each and every one of their seasons since starting out in Sacramento.  The Bandits are 4-11 all-time against the Stallions, including their days as the Honolulu Volcanoes and in the playoffs.  Contrary to what some say about owner Warren Willis being the start of the downfall of the team, the Bandits struggled against the Volcanoes/Stallions even before he purchased the team in late 2003.  In fact, the 2003 Bandits were not as good as their record suggests, and this truth was made known in their playoff loss to San Francisco.

The single biggest bane to this team is the San Francisco Stallions.  Year after year the Stallions trounce the Bandits, making the Vegas team's playoff appearance hopes evaporate with each beating.  San Diego and Seattle have given the Bandits their share of beatings as well, but nothing like the Stallions have done.  While San Diego has recently jumped ahead in the win-loss ratio, the Bandits have managed to at least split most seasons with the Orcas.  But above all else, the Bandits are simply owned by San Francisco.  The Bandits were even favored to finish in the division race well ahead of the Stallions, but Las Vegas instead managed to have their initial loss to San Francisco become a rallying point for the Stallions' season.

Los Angeles has annually proved to be the one saving grace for the Bandits, who typically sweep the hapless Stars each season.  However, for 2008 the Stars will be moving to Indianapolis and out of the Pacific Division, which puts the onus on the Bandits to not become the new Stars.  If the Bandits don't find a way to beat the Stallions, then Las Vegas will quickly find themselves in the SFL basement.

NO ANSWER FOR THE STALLIONS SCORING MACHINE
While Bandits mistakes and turnovers always seem to manifest themselves most readily against the Stallions, the one thing that consistently kills Las Vegas is the San Francisco passing game.  "We can't cover their receivers and we can't get pressure on their quarterback," laments longtime Bandit LB Ben Leber.  "Even with constant blitzes, we just can't get to (QB J.T. O'Sullivan)."  Each year the Bandits try to find that combination of defensive linemen and linebackers who can break through the Stallions offensive line, but so far nothing has worked.  The team even went so far as to sign former San Francisco defensive end LeManzer Williams in 2005 for a large sum, only to see him underachieve and be released the following year.

2008 looks hopeful at first glance, and a pleasant departure from the usual scrub-signings offered up by team management.  The Dispersal Draft (with the contraction of the Buffalo Griffins & Jacksonville/Carolina Generals) gave the Bandits 2 gems in CB Lamont Reid and DE Monty Beisel.  No doubt the price tags of both players scared away other potential suitors, but the Bandits found a way to fit them under their salary cap.  Reid is a highly-rated shutdown corner, and may prove to be the best Bandits CB since Corey Ivy.  Beisel is the league's sack leader, and an excellent compliment to DE Robert Geathers.  The team also drafted top-ranked defensive tackle DeMarcus "Tank" Tyler to shore up the inside of the line, and signed longtime Amsterdam Admirals (NFL-E) LB Carl Johann-Bjork to shore up the linebacking corps.  Free Agency provided talented S Hamza Abdullah from the Seattle Orcas, adding long-overdue help for the secondary.  Perhaps this improved combination of pass rush and coverage will finally result in the big push so desperately needed by Las Vegas to trump San Francisco.  Current sports books place the odds on Improvement as 3-point favorites over Disappointment.

Fans won't have to wait long to see if the oddsmakers were doing their homework or not; the Bandits have a brutal opening schedule, facing all 3 remaining division rivals in the first 4 weeks.  By Week 5, we should know what kind of a team the 2008 Bandits will be, after facing the perennial playoff contender Dallas Six-Shooters.  If the Bandits players can at least keep each game close by the 4th quarter, they should be able to find a spark to win (or so we can hope).

ODDS AND ENDS
The demise of NFL-Europe took away an important source of recent Bandits players, but the overall impact will most likely be negligible; most of the NFL-E players were not significant contributors, other than QB Gibran Hamdan.  The Bandits would be better off scouting the Canadian Football League more, as this league seems to supply more stars than any other to the SFL....Rumors of a new professional league to compete with the NFL continue hot and heavy, and now it appears that Las Vegas will field one of the flagship team of the new league, due to debut in August 2008.  Just what this means for the Bandits is unclear, but another flow of rumors offers the possibility that the Bandits may be sold or relocated.  The SFL wants a team in Salt Lake City, Utah, which Bandits ownership adamantly opposes; we can only hope that the newly-announced TFLA remains a developmental league, and its SLC team serving as a talent feeder for the Bandits. Speculation abounds about Willis firing his wife from her personnel scouting duties for the team, and possibly causing Willis to sell or move the team.

When confronted with these rumors, Willis hotly denied all of them.  "I think I know where this garbage is coming from, and I can tell you for a fact that I will not be selling or moving this team.  The Bandits belong to Las Vegas, and this is where they will remain.  I have no intentions of selling the team, and the lies about my wife being fired from any team duties are just absurd.  To tell you the truth, I believe that I & my wife are a little too involved in the fine details of the team, and we would probably be better off distancing ourselves from the control aspect.  I am actively interviewing candidates for GM, Personnel Director, and Operations Manager; with all the different duties required for each in order to make the Bandits a world-class championship team, my wife is overwhelmed and working far too many long hours.  Stress is taking too much of a toll on her, and I am doing my best to get her to voluntarily relinquish some of her duties.  So this is where most of these stupid rumors are coming from, and I know the individual most likely responsible for the leaks.  So I hate to be the one to inform you that your source is about to dry up."

"I can assure you that whatever changes the Bandits are about to undergo are for the better.  A suitable comparison could be made with a small business owner who experiences growth beyond his or her capability to cope with; so, the owner hires a staff to manage payroll and personnel, or maybe a marketing staff.  Instead of trying to control every single little detail, the owner establishes a solid mission and purpose, then hires the most qualified folks to make it happen.  That's all we're doing here.  These changes will be for the better, I can guarantee it."