On defense, free-agent linebacker Richard Johnson has been awaiting an indictment by the grand jury for charges stemming from an incident at the Innsmouth practice facility. Defensive backs have been leading tacklers, as opposing quarterbacks find open receivers much too often. And the vaunted pass rush of defensive end Renaldo Johnson and Richard Johnson hasn't been as effective as expected.

"We've identified the problem areas," said head coach Neal F. Guye. "We are working on all of them. Once again, we are overhauling the defense to try and put players in the best spots to make plays. We've moved Zip Robertson to free safety. He and Elliot Ross will now have responsibility for the first two wideouts on defense. We hope their sprinting speed and reading ability will help close the sidelines."

"We've also moved Wyatt Cushman [rookie strong safety] into the middle of our defense on running downs. His strength and reaction time are important in stopping inside runs. Most teams wouldn't start a sixth-round pick, but we feel it's our best defense against inside runs. That leaves the corners in coverage on the tight end and halfback. Keith Sims matches up well against most of the halfbacks in the league, and Sammy McDaniel can cover any tight end in the APFL. We won't play a lot of man coverage, but even in our zone packages, we'll ask the secondary to cover the areas of the field where they can make the most plays."

"Linebacking has been problematic, too. We are very deep at linebacker, but we lack strength. We've been concentrating on speed, with Richard Johnson on one side and Rupert Tingle on the other. We're trying to get the defensive line to make space for those two, so they can make plays. It's not easy against some of the bigger lines in the league this year. We bring Wig [linebacker Thomas Wiggins] in on passing downs, and our 3-4 package. He's a dynamic player. If we could get a better push from our defensive line, we'd use him on every play."

"We've been terrible on third-and-long. It's frustrating to get a team in a third-and-ten situation and give up a first down. We do it much too often. We're putting in some special defenses to call in those specific situations."

"Offense has been inconsistent. We'll score 49 points one game and 10 the next. We have several problem areas we are working on. The first is Hair's interceptions [quarterback Harold Carter]. We're reining in the deep passes and asking him to make shorter throws, with less reads. The second is Newt's running. We've been sending Newt into the middle without any play-action to help hold the defense. That has to change. Even with his awesome body, he's still not as fast as the average APFL halfback. That means he needs an extra step to gain yards. At times he looks fantastic, but against the quicker and stronger defenses, his moves and strength aren't enough."

"The third problem has been getting enough touches for Jamal Smith. We're putting in some passing plays that will get him open, and also more runs near the tackles. His strength is a big issue, if we can get him in the weight room we'll have a very dangerous weapon. "

"There's a ton of work to be done before we see Duluth on Week One. We can be a force in the league this year, our offense has shown that. We just need to spend a lot of time working out the bugs."