Tony Robinson gets his first taste of the Emirates American Football League (EAFL) when his Abu Dhabi Wildcats open the new season against last year’s Desert Bowl finalists, Dubai Barracudas.
The teams clash at Dubai Sports City Friday night at 18:00 as new coach Robinson aims to make a good first impression and the Barracudas try to lose the bad taste of falling short of the title last year.
Though the Wildcats have won two of three Desert Bowls since the league began, they had a relatively disappointing 2014-15 campaign, failing to reach the big stage and finishing third overall.
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Robinson has set out to get the capital’s team back atop the league hierarchy, but admits they may not be at top speed from the jump.
“I feel like what we’ve worked on in training camp will be applied right away. However, there’s always a feeling out process especially when you have new people in new places,” Robinson said.
The Barracudas, led by dynamic quarterback Zavier Cobb, will pose an immediate challenge for Robinson’s squad. The Dubai-based team boast an explosive offence, often using their running game to set up play-action and burn the opposition down the field.
Though Robinson has yet to see the Barracudas up close, he expects much of the same in the opener.
“What I’ve seen is that they like to run the power game and run the football right at you,” said the former Georgia high school coach.
“They’re a great team with a great quarterback and that’s going to be one of the things we focus on the most is keeping (Cobb) at bay because he’s very dangerous when he breaks the pocket.
The smell of freshly cut grass and the sound of whistles blowing can only mean one thing: FOOTBALL… https://t.co/QESlaQTtLo
— EAFL (@EAFL_UAE) November 1, 2015
“It’s just about making sure they’re disciplined. We’ve gone about how to pick on our reads a little differently this year as opposed to what I saw on film last year. They already look a lot better as far as reading run or pass.”
While Robinson isn’t too familiar with the opposition, it works both ways as the Barracudas and coach Kyle Jordan have never faced off against the new coach.
But based on Robinson’s reputation and how the Wildcats have played in the past, Jordan has an idea
of what his team could be in for.
“He (Robinson) was a defensive player in college so I’m expecting them to come out and be aggressive and swarming at the ball,” Jordan said.
“Abu Dhabi have always had in their DNA that they’re intense, aggressive and physical. I don’t think any of that is going to change, if anything it might pick up a little bit.
“I think they’re going to come out and do their best to punch us in the mouth metaphorically and see if we go into the corner and cry or swing back.”
Both teams will be without key contributors to start the year, however. Though the Wildcats will once again have playmaker Vivaldi Tulysse in the backfield and Perry Blackburn at quarterback, they’ll miss departed wide receiver and deep threat Corey Williams.
The Barracudas, meanwhile, will miss a number of familiar faces, which Jordan is keeping under wraps heading into the opener as gamesmanship.
“This season we’re going to have a little bit of a different makeup than we did last year,” Jordan said.
“We’re losing two coaches and some of our veterans are not going to be with us to start with. Hopefully they’ll be able to return, but we have a lot of new guys coming in and some have experience, some don’t.
“This first game for us, we’re learning a lot about who we are and who we could potentially be. That’s the focus right now.”
