Rob Keefe’s last name has been turned into the catchy and monochromatic Keef-ense, getting blared over the loud speakers at Amway Center when the team is in need of a defensive stop. Keefe is the defensive coordinator and he spent a good chunk of his offseason lamenting the team’s poor defensive performance.
There were not enough interceptions. Not enough stops. Not enough big plays to help the Orlando Predators build on their division championship. Not when things really mattered.
In arena football, team often win in spite of their defense.
To become a truly great team, the Predators would have to improve their defense. They would have to get those big stops when the time called for it. They would have to find a way to support the offense when it did not have itself clicking in that dramatic way that offenses in the Arena Football League can go.
That was the focus for Rob Keefe as he got to recruiting. And in their battle with a previously undefeated Arizona Rattlers team on Saturday at the Amway Center, the defense would be the ones to change the momentum and make the plays, helping propel the Predators to a dominant 77-59 victory.
“There is an old saying that goes, offense wins games and defense wins championships,” quarterback Randy Hippeard said. “I hate to say it being a quarterback and being an offensive player, but that’s how it goes. You win a championship by playing great defense. I think we have a championship defense.”
The turning point came in the first half. The Predators turned it over on downs early in the first quarter to cede their possession advantage from the opening kickoff. And the defense would have to make up the possession as the Predators would try to manage the clock late in the first half.
Paul Stephens made the first big play, intercepting a pass in the end zone to give the Predators back that possession advantage. In fact, he ripped the ball right out of Anthony Amos’ hands to secure possession. Right on cue, Randy Hippeard lofted a pass to Greg Carr to give the Predators back the lead and control of the see-saw.
At the end of the second quarter, as the Predators tried desperately to manage the clock and have the last possession before kicking off to open the second half, Varmah Sonie broke up two passes in the end zone on third and fourth down for that extra possession. Hippeard found Kendall Thompkins along the sideline wall to get down to the four with four seconds left. The Predators scored and took a two-possession lead into the locker room.
There was no looking back. The offense was rolling and the defense was giving it every chance to put all the pressure on the Rattlers.
“That interception was huge,” coach Rob Keefe said. “Those fourth down stops were huge. I’m proud of the guys because they really answered the bell. That is a really good team in Arizona.”
All the rules in Arena Football are geared toward the offense. No one is hiding from that. Not even the defensive-minded and focused Keefe. It is something that has to be repeated.
Defense becomes something more like it is in basketball rather than regular football. Good offense can beat good defense. But when those opportunities to get stops come up, the team has to make those stops and make scoring as difficult as possible.
The game becomes about who can do the most with the possessions they are given. And then about making the clock — the running clock in Arena Football — an opponents’ enemy.
Arizona was playing behind the clock the entire second half because of that.
Keefe has said his team contests touchdowns well. That might be a foreign concept for those thinking more about traditional football. And the Rattlers ran out of time.
There is no denying just how good Orlando’s defense can be. The Predators are not ranked No. 1 in many in defensive statistics, in fact the team is in the bottom half in total defense and third in scoring defense, yet the Predators have come to rely on their defense for big plays again and again.
The team has delivered those big interceptions when called upon. And when the offense needs that boost it has delivered.
The Predators have an extremely efficient offense. On Saturday, it needed the defense to give it that boost.
“We go as the offense goes,” Keefe said. “No matter how great your defense is doing, you have to put up points. If you’re not making your shots in basketball, you can have all the stops if you want, but if you are not making your layups and 3-pointers, you are going to get run out of the gym.”
The offense certainly still matters, but they had more leeway — making that one mistake early in the game and having it made up again and again to dominate the Rattlers.
Eventually the defense did take over. Scoring a few sacks and giving the offense more time to flourish. That is all the Predators can ask of a defense. And that is exactly what they got to get to 6-0 and vice-like grip over the Arena Football League.
