[revrew]

New coach, new Dragons?
Dick Grayson, sports reporter, Des Moines Register

It's time to retire the "Nathaniel Witt and the No-Names" nickname for the Des Moines Dragons.

It's true that last season's squad seemed to ride the shoulders, or rather the legs, of a scrambling QB who not only led the team in rushing but seemed to lead the team by heart and grit alone. And it's true that few players outside the secondary truly distinguished themselves as playmakers. The only Dragon to finish on the NFL leaderboard in any statistical category, whether rushing, receiving, tackling, sacking, or forcing turnovers, was the punter.

But all of that is so last season.

If Week 1's thrilling, exasperating, shocking, ugly, messy victory over the Green Bay Packers revealed anything, it's that the young Dragons have some emerging stars ready to make a splash in the NFL.

Chief among those young stars may be the 24-year-old MLB Dale Griffin, who showed flashes last year, but in the 19-16 win over the Packers was seemingly omnipresent, racking up 17 tackles as a big part of holding Green Bay to only 6 offensive first downs.

Even the offense showed some star power, as 22-year-old RB Drake Boyette topped 100 yards rushing, including 5 runs of 10 yards or more, and the 27-year-old "graybeard" WR Miley Kinney scorched the Pack for 13 catches and 195 yards. These young guns ain't last years' Dragons!

And how fascinating that that these young stars seemed to emerge even as Nathaniel Witt was forced to retreat. A broken foot suffered in the second quarter will sideline the old guard for most of this season. Meanwhile, though it's far too early to declare that 2nd-year QB Bart Dubord has officially taken the baton from Witt, his performance both in preseason and in relief of Witt has definitely caught the attention of the fans, media, and you have to believe the new coaching staff.

What's more, these young playmakers have come ready to put on a show. If Week 1 is indicative of what's to come, watch out world, the Dragons have some bite. Though special teams was a complete and utter disaster that nearly cost Des Moines the game (3 missed FGs, 3 fumbled punt returns), the rest of the stats are stunning: 545 yards of offense for the Dragons, to a mere 195 for the Packers; 28 first downs to 8; and a time-of-possession advantage of 43 minutes to 29.

In short, the young Dragons completely dominated week 1, and if it weren't for special teams blunders, would have dominated the scoreboard. But most noticeably, they're doing it without Nathaniel Witt. And for the first time, a handful of them are looking like All-Stars while doing it.