ORLANDO – (24 January 2001) – Coach Gerry DiNardo was pleased with the effort, if not totally pleased by the results as the Birmingham Thunderbolts closed training camp by scrimmaging the Chicago Enforcers Wednesday at Showalter Field.
The joint session with Chicago was the last practice for the Bolts before returning to Birmingham for a Monday workout. DiNardo and his staff will meet with the team Tuesday morning before officially breaking camp.
“Today was good in that we played hard. I didn’t think we did that last time out,” DiNardo said. “Obviously, you would like to win, but I was happy with the effort.”
XFL League Office policy prohibits individual teams from making public scores or stats from any preseason scrimmage, so DiNardo and his staff used the game-type setup to take one final look at some players who may be on the bubble to make the final squad. The roster has to be cut to 38 active and seven practice squad players by Sunday.
“The tough part is coming up. We have to get down to our numbers now,” DiNardo said. “From what I’ve seen, and I’ve only seen the four teams here in person and tape from Las Vegas, I would say this is going to be a balanced league. You better come to play every week.”
Quarterback Reps
Casey Weldon and Jay Barker got all the repetitions at quarterback during Wednesday’s scrimmage. Weldon played the entire first half and the first series of the third quarter. Barker finished the game.
Both posted decent numbers, but league policy prohibits those from being published. Weldon connected with Quincy Jackson for a score and both threw an interception.
Game Week
The Thunderbolts begin game week preparations Monday in Birmingham. The team will report to Legion Field for meetings and practice that day. Coach Gerry DiNardo will hold his first in-season press conference as Birmingham’s coach Tuesday. The Bolts host the Memphis Maniax Feb. 4 at Legion Field. Kickoff is 3 p.m. CST.
How to See It
Season tickets and tickets for the season opener against Memphis are on sale by calling Ticketmaster at (205) 715-6000 or 1-800-277-1700. You can also call the Bolts office ticket line at 205-252-4XFL for season tickets or groups of 20 or more for the season opener.
