Case Cookus #10 of the Memphis Showboats looks to throw the ball during the fourth quarter against the Houston Roughnecks at Rice Stadium on March 31, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Maria Lysaker/UFL/Getty Images)
Reflecting on their loss to the Birmingham Stallions is important for the Memphis Showboats, especially considering the 2024 UFL season is just getting underway. Truthfully, they had a dismal outing against the Stallions, but they will meet the Birmingham boys again later this season, and they will have the opportunity to make things right.
During his opening series against the Stallions, quarterback Case Cookus suffered two sacks. In fact, Memphis quarterbacks were put on the turf eight times by the sack-happy Stallions.
According to Memphis offensive coordinator Doug Martin, Case Cookus is a tough customer, taking all the punishment the Stallions defense gave.
“Case is tough,” Martin said. “Obviously, you saw that from the game. He is a physically and mentally tough player.”
Martin went on to explain how the Showboats were looking into making adjustments to help Cookus with the passing game.
“I think the big thing for Case is the timing of the passing game,” Martin explained. “There’s a couple of times where he took hits or may have been sacked, but it’s really him holding on to the ball a little too long. So, it’s not just on the offensive line. It’s the timing and the rhythm of the passing game.”
Martin also explained how the Showboats are taking the time to work on different situations where the quarterback needs to come out with a one-step drop or a three-step drop and to work on the timing of the offense. Against the Stallions, they were just too predictable, and the Birmingham defense took full advantage.
The fact that Birmingham was so fired up and got to the quarterback twice in the opening series may have rattled Cookus. Martin draws from his past experience as a college quarterback at Kentucky to explain how Cookus may have felt.
“When you get hit that much early as a quarterback, it starts to disrupt your timing,” Martin said. “You start to want to rush things, or you start seeing the rush too much, and you’re late to get the ball out, and I think that’s a little bit what happened to Case.”
Despite Case Cookus’s challenges, the Birmingham Stallions devised a strategy to neutralize the Showboat’s ground game and turn them into a one-dimensional offense. This is what occurred on Saturday.
“They did a great job of stopping the run, and that’s offensive football. If you become one dimensional, I don’t care who you are, it’s going to be tough to play at this level,” Martin said. “Credit to them. We were not able to run the ball well, and with Darius Victor being banged up a little didn’t help things. Hopefully, we’ll have him a little more healthy this week and moving forward. But we have to get more production on the running game for sure.”
The Memphis Showboats are now looking forward to their upcoming game in St. Louis, and hope to enter “The Dome” with renewed vigor and a winning attitude. In particular, Martin and the other Memphis coaches are asking the squad to stay confident and continue to get better at what they’re trying to get done.
“One of the biggest things is for our guys to remain confident in what they’re doing and just stay the course,” Coach Martin said. “There’s a lot of football to play, and there’s nothing that a win can’t cure. We do have to tweak some things to help, in particular the offensive line and the running game. But certainly, there’s a lot to play for, and we’ve seen enough good signs. We think we can be much improved as we move forward.”
This week, the Memphis Showboats visit the St. Louis Battlehawks on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at 12:30 PM Eastern. The game will air on ABC, and tickets are available at Ticketmaster and Stubhub.
