New York Guardians Week 3: Can They Rebound?

The New York Guardians week 3 opponent is the St. Louis Battlehawks. The Guardians will travel on the road again for a 3pm kickoff on Sunday. The game will be aired on ESPN and could be a pivotal point in the Guardians season. Quarterback Matt McGloin has been getting ripped for his comments made on last week’s broadcast. Ultimately his poor play and criticism of his coaches could potentially lead to a quarterback change. The defense will need to continue to play top notch if they want to keep it close. The weather should not be much of a factor this week. Let us break down what the Guardians need to do on both sides of the ball in order to get a win.

Guardians Offense verse Battlehawks Defense

There is a reason why the Battlehawks opened up as 9.5 point favorites. The Guardians offense has been atrocious this year. They were shut out last week and have a controversy at quarterback. McGloin is completing less than 50% of his passes and has more interceptions than touchdowns. He has look uncomfortable from opposing pass rushers and the Battlehawks have several guys who can get after the quarterback. 5 players on the Battlehawks have at least a sack and the Guardians offensive line has not shown us they can hold up. McGloin could be in for a long day again if the line continues to struggle. We also must see Mekale McKay and Joe Horn Jr. step up against a tough Battlehawks secondary. The secondary led by Will Hill at safety has been able to slow down opposing receivers to a degree.

The Guardians rushing attack has been non-existent up to this point of the season. We talked a lot about how this team needed to be balanced before the season begun. Tim Cook and Darius Victor have not been effective by any means. Again some of this falls on the offensive line not being able to open up holes. Last week the Battlehawks defense played very well against Houston especially against the run. They let up only 78 yards on the ground and Dexter McCoil has been a tackling machine. If the Guardians are not able to find any running room and have to put the ball in McGloin’s hand it may be another long day for the offense.

Battlehawk Offense verse Guardians Defense

This Guardians defense has played terrific in my eyes. The defensive line will have to continue to get pressure this week against a better than expect Battlehawk offense. Defensive end Bunmi Rotimi has recorded 8 total pressures and Cavon Walker has 6 total pressures on the interior. Battlehawks quarterback Jordan Ta’amu has the highest adjusted completion percentage and a lot has to due to the time he has received. A big blow for the Battlehawks offense is the loss of tackle Jake Campos. Campos had not let up a single pressure for the Battlehawks. With him out it will be key for the Guardians defense to continue to get pressure and disrupt Ta’amu’s rhythm. It will also be key for the secondary to shut down L’Damian Washington and De’Mornay Pierson-El. Both players had big games last week and Jamar Summers and company will have to play physical to stop them.

The Guardians defense as a whole needs to avoid the lapses they had last week. Ta’amu has 109 yards on the ground as well and is not afraid to run if holes emerge. Running back Matt Jones is also a very effective runner for the Battlehawks who could do damage. The Guardians defense are going to have to stay discipline and stay in their gaps in order keep this rushing attack contained. Ben Heeney is going to have to step up at his linebacker position and cover the whole field. If the Guardians are able to contain the rush attack it could put them in position to steal a win.

Final Prediction

Just as with last week I have plenty of concerns about the offense. This time however those concerns are more desperate if McGloin continues to struggle. This offense cannot put out another outing like they did last week or the team could fall apart. McGloin and the coaching staff need to be on the same page or big changes need to come. Yes we are only 3 weeks into the season but with a smaller amount of games every game matters. Falling to third in the division with 4 games against the western division could make this a lost season. Yes I do think the defense will carry their weight and slow down St. Louis to a degree. However being on the road and having these offensive I cannot see a New York Guardians week 3 win.

St. Louis 21 – New York 13