News and Notes from Week 2 of New York Guardians Training Camp

JOINT SCRIMMAGES

The Guardians are completing their second week of training camp in Houston. Last Saturday, saw New York practice with the St. Louis BattleHawks in their first-ever scrimmage against another team. The two sides had a spirited workout. The scrimmage had its fair share of trash talking and fighting. — a common occurrence for stir-crazy teams when they finally get the chance to practice against someone else.

The joint practices continued with the DC Defenders on Wednesday. The Guardians completed the week on Saturday by having a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Vipers. A team that NY will be facing in the season opener on Sunday, February 9th, at MetLife Stadium. Still, before that, the Guardians have a full game scheduled with Tampa on the 21st. It will be the Guardians’ final test before training camp ends.

There were some positives and negatives that came from New York’s workweek against three of their divisional foes. The secondary shined, notably lockdown corner Jamar Summers, who picked off Cardale Jones on the first play from scrimmage and took it to the house. The defensive secondary for the Guardians has received rave reviews all January in camp.

GILBRIDE’S GRUMBLINGS

The one constant thus far for the Guardians in Houston has been the steady and sometimes harsh critique of the team delivered by its head coach Kevin Gilbride. Camp started with Gilbride talking about how he wasn’t pleased with where the team was, and how he is worried about week one. You could chalk this up as normal coachspeak, but the theme continued on this week with Gilbride voicing his displeasure.

With quotes like these:

” It was great that we did the scrimmage. We needed to see it and see the consequences when you don’t do things exactly right.”
    – Guardians’ Head Coach Kevin Gilbride after the Guardians scrimmage with the St. Louis BattleHawks.

“There is a need to tighten things down a bit. We are not as disciplined as we need to be. We are not far from where we have to be, but unless we make the progress that needs to be made in terms of errors, it will be difficult to maintain the type of cohesion that you need to move the ball consistently.”|
    – Guardians head coach Kevin Gilbride after New York’s joint scrimmage with the DC Defenders.

Kevin Gilbride has been a part of winning programs in the past. Gilbride knows how a team and offense should be operating at this stage of the process. He has gone through decades of training camps. It’s part of a coach’s DNA never to be satisfied or content. That’s why he is voicing concerns with certain aspects of his team. The next few weeks will be crucial for Gilbride and the Guardians staff in getting the team in the best possible position when the regular season arrives.

TRANSACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS (VOLUME TWO)

Last week, the Guardians jettisoned three wide receivers from their roster and replaced them with three new ones. Out were Demarcus Ayers, Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi, and Octayvious Miles. In came Bernard Reedy, Darius Prince, and Austin Duke.

This week, the Guardians made two trades on consecutive days. In the first trade ever for the franchise, the New York Guardians shipped wide receiver, Taivon Jacobs, to the Houston Roughnecks for wide receiver Joe Horn Jr.

The Guardians have been playing some musical chairs at the receiver position since camp started. Jacobs signed on before camp started. The 4.3 speedy wideout from Maryland spent a New York minute with the Guardians.

Joe Horn Jr played college football at Division II Missouri Western State. He is the son of Joe Horn, a former 4-time Pro Bowl NFL wide receiver with the New Orleans Saints. Horn Sr. is famous for pulling out a cell phone during a touchdown celebration against the New York Giants in 2003.

Back in August, Joe Horn Jr was a member of the Baltimore Ravens and was trying to make it onto the 53 man roster. Joe Horn Sr. had this to say about his son to USA Today:

“I do know that he can play in that league.” “I taught him. I know he can run routes better than most of the receivers that start in the NFL. You can quote me on that. That’s a fact.”

The team announced the Guardians’ second significant trade on Friday. New York sent CB David Rivers and OT Brian Wallace to St. Louis for Offensive Linemen, Avery Young, and DeJon Allen.

The fact that St. Louis and New York practiced against one another probably helped facilitate this trade. NY has a deep secondary and is dealing from a position of strength.

The one area that has seen the most change with New York since October has been the offensive line. Six Guardians offensive linemen selected in October’s XFL draft are no longer active with the team. (Cyrus Kouandjio, Parker Collins, Zac Kerin, Nate Theaker, Thomas Doles, and Arie Kouandjio).

Avery Young is a well-traveled NFL veteran, who can play tackle or guard. He was a 3-year starter at right tackle for Auburn. Dejon Allen was an All-Mount West player and team MVP at Hawaii as a left tackle. His lack of height at 6’3 has seen him play guard on the pro level. The Guardians are looking to upgrade their offensive line, and these two have a real shot, despite coming on board late in camp.

CUT DOWN DAY

The XFL season is fast approaching, but before teams can get there. They will have to pare down their rosters from 70 to 52 at the end of training camp on Wednesday, January 22nd.

The New York Guardians’ front office and coaching staff will have some difficult decisions to make before they head back home to prepare for the regular season. The Guardians will be returning to the Superdome Sports Complex in Waldwick, N.J., as the Superdome will be their practice facility during the regular season.

The rosters are fluid, and a lot can change between the end of camp and February 9th. One thing to keep in mind is waivers and potential late roster additions through trade or free agency.

Here are the numbers by position currently on the Guardians roster:

Quarterback (4)- Matt McGloin, Marquise Williams, Garret Fugate, Charles Kanoff

– It’s hard to envision New York carrying more than three quarterbacks. There may be a scenario where the Guardians decide to keep only two.

Running Back– (4)- Tim Cook, Justin Stockton, Darius Victor, Matthew Colburn

– The fact that the Guardians didn’t add to this position at any point in the last two months is a testament towards the teams’ faith in the players they already have.

Wide Receiver– (12)- DeAngelo Yancey, Mekale McKay, Colby Pearson, Tanner Gentry, Bernard Reedy, Teo Redding, Joe Horn Jr, Darius Prince, Andrew Verboys, Austin Duke, Justice Liggins, Dalton Ponchilla

– To stick on this roster, Special teams value on game day will be significant. The team could keep as many as 7 or 8 receivers.

Tight End– (5)- EJ Bibbs, Jake Sutherland, Garret Hudson, Jake Powell, Keenen Brown

– Playing into this group’s favor is the teams’ lack of a traditional fullback. The Guardians are receiver heavy. So the more they keep at that position could be a factor in whether or not. New York retains four TEs on their roster.

Offensive Line– (12)- Jarron Jones, John Kling, Avery Young, Dejon Allen, Bunchy Stallings, Garrett Brumfield, Ian Silberman, Brant Weiss, Maea Teuhema, Brian Fineanganofo, Anthony Coyle, Jordan Agavisa

– Most pro teams keep no more than nine offensive linemen on their roster. If a swing reserve lineman can play multiple positions, it eliminates the need for having that many players as backups.

Defensive Linemen– (11)- Ryan Mueller, Charles Wright, Bunmi Rotimi, Jarrell Owens, Rykeem Yates, TJ Barnes, Joey Mbu, Cavon Walker, Toby Johnson, Andrew Stelter, Victor Ochi

– If the Guardians plan on starting four down lineman. Then the likelihood is that the team carries no more than eight players in this group.

Linebackers– (7)- D’Juan Hines, Frank Ginda, Jawuan Johnson, Nick DeLuca, Darnell Leslie, Ben Heeney, Garret Dooley

– Barring some late acquisitions. The Guardians linebacking unit seems set for Sunday, February 9th.

Defensive Backs– (12)- Jamar Summers, Terrence Alexander, Dravon Askew-Henry, DeJuan Neal, Wes Sutton, Bryce Jones, Andrew Soroh, AJ Hendy, Tre Mathis, Demetrious Cox, Aaron Taylor, Ranthony Texada

– The Guardians are so loaded at this position that you can make the argument to keep all 12 defensive backs. DB Coach Chris Dishman has been cross-training players at corner and safety in camp. Most pro teams carry at least 10 DB’s on their active rosters.

Kicker– (1)- Matthew McCrane
Punter– (1)- Justin Vogel
Long Snapper– (1) Scott Daly

Pairing this group down from 70 to 52 will not be easy. It’s the dreaded numbers game. The coaching staff will have to decide which positions they need to stock up.

There’s excitement for fans in the season approaching, and rightfully so. There is also excitement for the teams and players themselves. The unfortunate part is that there will be players that do not make the league despite all their hard work and commitment.

There is a positive side to all of this. There will be players who cycle back into the league. Some players will end up on Team Nine. The XFL’s 40 to 45 player reserve roster. Some players may end up back on their original teams or on other franchises as the season progresses.

The Guardians and other XFL teams have shown in recent weeks, that the teams are continually looking to retool and upgrade their rosters. The process of doing that doesn’t stop at the end of training camp, cut down day, or even after week one has completed.