WEST VALLEY CITY — By all account the 2010 season of the Utah Blaze has been a failure.
The Blaze sport a 1-11 record heading into tonight's home-finale against the Jacksonville Sharks and the prospect of getting more wins isn't very good.
"It's been the most frustrating season I've ever had," veteran Utah receiver Aaron Boone said. "It's been real tough."
The wins — er, win — and losses are the most visible indication of how challenging the season has been. And considering the Blaze play in a league that is well known for seeing teams shut down, relocate or struggle in numerous ways, it's not surprising to hear people ask if there will even be a team in town next season — or, for that matter, if the Arena Football League will be around.
"The ownership group is committed to fielding the team again," Blaze general manager Steve Videtich said. "That's an easy one to answer: We'll be back next year."
The tougher questions are the ones Videtich asks himself often.
Questions like "What could we have done differently?" and "How are we going to sell tickets after a one-win season?"
The answers to those questions, he admits, are complex.
For starters, the Utah Blaze had barely enough time to put a team together after the AFL was reborn.
The Ken Garff family is no longer involved with the team and the new AFL bought all names, logos and historical information associated with the old AFL — which suspended operations and folded nearly two seasons ago.
So, while the Blaze have the same name, colors, uniforms and statistics from the days of Joe Germaine and Danny White, the league is a much different organization.
After collapsing under a business plan that couldn't keep up with expenses, the AFL now has a much lower salary scale, and operating expenses have been redrawn at a significant decrease.
The biggest issue, all asked said, was the timing.
"We only had about 2 1/2 months to put together a team, a front office and everything else," Videtich said. "The league announced they were going to start up again and after the ownership group got together we didn't have much time to get up and running."
The inexperience in the ownership, the front office and the coaching staff — combined with a roster that had very little AFL experience — resulted in trouble almost from the opening kickoff.
"It was obvious to me," Blaze coach Ron James said, "that in the beginning a lot of the guys on the team really didn't know this game."
The short time to sign players — some AFL teams played in af2 last year and simply carried most staff and players over into the AFL — left Utah at a clear disadvantage.
"The biggest problem was finding enough talent," Vide?tich said. "We weren't able to sign the experienced players that it takes to compete at this level."
James was just a casual observer for the first several games and sat in the stands as a fan. But when the season began to spiral downward, the initial coaching staff of Ernesto Purnsley and crew was fired and James hired.
The Blaze have yet to win with James on the sidelines, but there has been a lot of growth.
"Ron has brought more organization and more discipline," Videtich said. "He's changed the way things are being done. That didn't sit too well with some of the guys and that's had some more problems come. But right now, I can tell the team is trying harder and is more professional ... that wasn't the case all the time at first."
Boone, on track to have his best statistical season ever in the AFL, is hopeful the team will use the upcoming offseason to get things right.
"Granted, we aren't winning games, but the actual product is very close and comparable to the old product," Boone said. "It's going to take some stability. Get a couple of guys that want to be here and want to win. It doesn't have to be just local guys, but it needs to be guys who want to win. With more time to get those people here, I think the Utah Blaze can thrive. The AFL is thriving in other cities and I think it can here again."
White, currently the GM and offensive coordinator for the Arizona Rattlers, said Utah's struggles will be easily overcome with the proper game plan.
One of the biggest names in the AFL, White has seen the business at its peak and its lowest point.
"The old business model couldn't sustain itself," he said when playing against the Blaze a few weeks ago. "We had to go dark. Now, with the new business model, we're more realistic with salaries and expenses. The game is still the same and the fans still love it. But we've got things more realistic off the field now."
Videtich said the coming fall and winter will be the most important months for the franchise's future.
"We'll have a chance to look at what we've done right and what we've done wrong," he said. "With that short window we had, we had to just throw things together. This time, we'll be able to do it right."
If not, the Blaze might, again, be extinguished.
Blaze on the air
Utah Blaze (1-11) vs. Jacksonville Sharks (8-4)
Today, 7 p.m.
TV: none
Radio: 1280 AMUtah Blaze —
A season gone wrong
Record: 1-11
Points per game: 45.9 (15th)
Yards per game: 221.5 (15th)
Passing per game: 224.3 (15th)
Completion percentage: .570 (15th)
Touchdown passes: 56 (14th)
Points allowed: 68.0 (15th)
Yards allowed: 334.5 (15th)
Passing yards allowed: 313.6 (14th)
Turnovers: 35
Turnovers forced: 16
e-mail: jeborn@desnews.com