By Stephen Cooney

Executions have altered the course of history. Many of them have ended rebellions while others have lit a fire that has brought about more change than anyone could ever imagine. Systematically and completely ending the life of an individual has had more historical impact than almost any other chain of events one can think imagine.

Letting someone slip away and avoid their execution is just as terrible. It can topple a power and it can give hope to the weak.

It should be of no surprise that lack of execution in football can either lop off the head and remove the heart of an opponent or it can leave a defeated team with hope and a staggering building sense of momentum and power.

The Pride’s recent struggles in executing their plays and game plans has forced the team to lose a game and also sneak out of one game with a victory that should have been wrapped tightly in their hand on several occasions.

Everyone who knows anything about the state of the season knows that the Pride’s struggles in the special teams units are prevalent and glaring, but probably has missed the drive-killing mistakes on offense and some struggling pestering problems on defense.

The Pride have managed to put together long drives and have been able to put some points on the board, but when you look closer you forget to notice the lack of touchdowns. Cory Christopher is racking up the yards, and the tailbacks are carrying the ball with ease between the 20s but begin to freeze inside the redzone.

This is a major problem because not everyone is going to bounce game winning extra points off of the post. Maybe you think this is karma, and what goes around comes around.

Maybe it is, but more realistically, if the Pride would have converted from the 1-yard line, the game winning drive would never have had to happen and the extra point wouldn’t have mattered. More importantly, if the Pride had executed on all of their offensive chances they would have been able to harness the Rams earlier in the game.

Yes, hindsight in a football game is perfect and second guessing the actions of a team are frivolous efforts by journalists to stir the pot and fill column space, but the lack of execution is killing the Pride. It is the single reason the Pride are 1-2 and not 2-1, it has kept these games close instead of running or passing the opposition off of the field. The effort and talent are present, but the execution is not. It needs to be.

It would also be simple to blame all the problems on the offense, or better yet the special teams, but lets not forget that execution is a team effort. The defense has had their problems. Luckily, they have been able to bail themselves out of jams with big plays or scrappy turnovers. Missed tackles are devastating and blown assignments are even worse. These problems are not running rampant on the team, but they exist.

In short the team has proven their will and desire in the last three games. They have battled all the adversity that anyone can imagine. From injuries to devastating losses the team has fought its way through it all.

They have continued to keep games close when they struggle – even though they should be controlling the tempo with their skill.

No one can question the effort or the desire (not many teams can drive down the field late in games to put themselves in a position to win), but they have to execute or their good fortune may run out. The team cannot rely on its skill and scrappy attitude to win games.

Their will is a bonus but it could be a knockout punch if they execute the way they should, and maybe next week you wont have to hold your breath for the kicker or wait for the final seconds of the game to see its outcome. If the Pride executes its game plan and avoids mistakes and finishes plays they have all the tools to run teams out of the stadium.

(Stephen Cooney)

(Stephen Cooney)