New York Guardians

XFL 2020: New York Guardians Season Evaluation

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New York Guardians

The New York Guardians of the remastered XFL debuted on February 9, 2020, vs the Tampa Bay Vipers. They won their inaugural game 23-3. Ever since then they have been a mixed bag.

The next two weeks they lost horribly to the DC Defenders and the St. Louis Battlehawks by blowouts. Many fans started to feel like it was a tradition to lose in New York (New Jersey) football since the New York Giants and New York Jets have not had a winning season in a while.

Anyway, since Luis Perez had taken over for Matt McGloin as the starting quarterback, their record improved to 3-2. That was until the coronavirus outbreak spread and caused multiple sports leagues to suspend their seasons, including the XFL.  Here’s the Guardians’ 2020 season in review:

Offense

The offense at times looked great when it came to scoring points, but stale on the stat sheet. The first week the Guardians won against the Tampa Bay Vipers 23-3. What may have looked like a 20-pt deficit should have been a lot closer. That game Matt McGloin had an average game, only passing for one touchdown and completing just over 50% of his passes.

McGloin’s play dropped against the Defenders in a blowout 27-0 loss. He threw 2 interceptions as the running game did not get much accomplished. The total offense totaled 137 yards. McGloin during the game and after criticized the offensive gameplan.

The offense improved when it came to the yards vs the Battlehawks, but only 9 points showed up on the scoreboard. As Matt McGloin got injured, backups Luis Perez and Marquise Williams saw some playing time.

Perez replaced the injured McGloin the next week and the offense saw an improvement. Darius Victor rushed for a season-high 82 yards, as Perez completed 69% of his passes and threw a touchdown. The Guardians won a nailbiter 17-14.

The offense saw their best game vs the Renegades in Week 5, scoring 23 points (7 on the pick-six by Ryan Mueller) in a 30-12 win. Though intercepted once, Perez still guided the offense to a much-needed win on the road. The Guardians totaled 373 yards that game.

The offense was 7th in total offensive yards, 5th in average rush yards, 6th in average passing yards and last in points for and average points for.

Defense

The defense was best known for its playmaking abilities at certain times this season. The defense also was known for giving up a lot of yards.

Week 1 vs Tampa Bay was a prime example of that. The Guardians only gave up 3 points but gave up 394 yards.  Bryce Jones and Aaron Soh picking off Aaron Murray twice. Aaron Murray and backup Quinton Flowers combined to pass for 244 yards. The rush defense struggled mightly giving up 150 yards.

The defense gave up fewer total yards the following week but gave up more points in a 27-0 loss to the DC Defenders. Cardale Jones had a field day, as he passed for 264 yards. The running game did better and only surrendered 108 yards.

The pass defense limited Jordan Ta’amu to only 117 yards the next week vs the Battlehawks. The run defense took a hit and gave up 156 yards. The final result was a 29-9 loss.

The defense saw little improvement vs Josh Johnson the next week in a nailbiting 17-14 victory. Josh Johnson made the pass defense bleed by passing for 325 yards (the most given up by the Guardians in 2020). The run defense only allowed 108 yards on the ground between Johnson, Elijah Hood, Dujuan Harris, and Larry Rose.

Next week, they had their best game. The run defense allowed a season-low 56 rushing yards and the pass defense held Philip Nelson to 206 passing yards. Not to mention that defensive tackle Toby Johnson and linebacker Ryan Mueller picked him off.

The Guardians’ defense finished the season 6th in yards allowed per game, 2nd in sacks, 4th in takeaways, 2nd in points against and 2nd in average points against. Defensive tackle Cavon Walker led the XFL with 4.5 sacks.

Analysis

Going into next year, the New York Guardians will have to improve on both sides of the field.

The offense will have to work towards thriving more in the passing game and keep their current run production game going. With an offensive genius like Kevin Gilbride as the head coach, the offense definitely underperformed.

The defense will have to work on allowing fewer yards per game, whether the opposing run game or the passing game gets the bigger chunk of yards. They do create a lot of pressures, which turn into sacks, and force the opponent to turn over the football.

The Guardians’ players will have extra time to prepare for next season, so let’s see if they take advantage of it.

Two New York Guardians Named to All-XFL Team

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New York Guardians

The XFL’s inaugural season will likely end prematurely, but a pair of New York Guardians are walking away with league honors.

The XFL revealed its 2020 midseason all-league squad on Thursday. With the announcement that the league no longer expects to play regular-season games (likely in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic), it likely becomes their year-end squad as well.

Two locals appeared on the de facto all-star team’s lineup, one on each side of the ball. Fordham alum and offensive lineman Anthony Coyle was part of the blockers’ guild, while fellow line staple Cavon Walker represented the defenders.

Coyle, a native of Tottenville, Staten Island, was called upon to take a bigger on the Guardians’ front line when several starters went down with injuries. His prowess was on prominent display during the past two games, both New York wins. Behind strong blocking from Coyle and company, Guardians rushers tallied 266 yards in victories over the Los Angeles Wildcats and Dallas Renegades. Prior to his XFL arrival, Coyle earned a pair of All-Patriot League nominations while representing The Bronx.

On the other side of the ball, Walker led a fearsome Guardians pass rush. New York (3-2) stands second in the XFL in sacks (13) at the time of the pause. Walker leads the way, both locally and nationally, with 4.5 sacks, hitting the quarterback nine other times. He came up particularly big for the Guardians in the aforementioned win over Dallas, earning five tackles, including two sacks in what became a one-sided 30-12 victory.

If these are truly the final XFL stats, the Guardians, locked in a three-way tie for the East division’s lead, are well represented in several categories. Darius Victor ranks fifth in the league in rushing (238 yards) while Jarrell Owens and Wes Sutton joined Walker as a trio of eleven players to register at least two sacks. On special teams, Matthew McCrane converted all eight of his field goal attempts (one of two XFL kickers to be perfect on the year).

The Guardians were set to host the undefeated Houston Roughnecks at MetLife Stadium on Saturday afternoon prior to the regular season’s cancellation. Six Roughnecks made the all-XFL squad, led by quarterback PJ Walker (1,338 yards, 15 touchdown passes) and receiver Cam Phillips (455 yards, nine touchdowns).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

XFL, New York Guardians suspend season in Coronavirus wake

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New York Guardians

The XFL was among the final sports leagues to stop business in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, stalling the season of the New York Guardians.

The XFL announced on Thursday that the league will stop its regular-season schedule. While no specifics were given, the news likely comes as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic that has led to the cancellation or postponement of several other professional leagues’ proceedings, as well as numerous college basketball tournaments.

“Currently, the XFL will not be playing its regular-season games,” the statement reads. “However, all players will be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season. All XFL ticket holders will be issued refunds or credit toward future games. The XFL is committed to playing a full season in 2021 and future years.”

The statement’s specification of regular-season game cancellations hints that they will attempt to stage the playoffs. Four of the league’s eight teams were set to be invited to the postseason, with the top two from each division getting the invitations.

The XFL was a rebooted spring football league, borrowing its name from a failed 2001 version made in conjunction with World Wrestling Entertainment and NBC. WWE chairman Vince McMahon announced the arrival in 2018, with eight new teams taking the field last February. The league deemphasized the gimmicks that defined the 2001 attempt but featured several innovations on the field. Among them were tiered extra points that featured plays worth one, two, or three points respective set up from the two, five, or ten-yard lines.

Thus potentially ends the season of the local New York Guardians. New York was one of two markets retained from the original version, the other being Los Angeles. The Guardians posted a 3-2 record, having won two games in a row after a tough start. That record was good enough to place them in a first-place tie with the DC Defenders and St. Louis BattleHawks. Their last game was a 30-12 victory over the Dallas Renegades last weekend in Arlington.

Several members of the Guardians took to social media to express their shock about the developments.

“This all happened too fast,” defensive lineman Joey Mbu said. “And the league didn’t even fold.”

Others, like long snapper Scott Daly, expressed their gratitude for their time in black.

“Thank you…for the opportunity to play the game that I love! Grateful for the new friendships, memories and chance to keep the dream alive! The journey continues!”

New York was set to welcome in the undefeated Houston Roughnecks to MetLife Stadium on Saturday afternoon. As mentioned in the statement, refunds will be available to ticket holders.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Guardians add five players as XFL rosters expand

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New York Guardians

The New York Guardians added five players to their roster, as XFL ledgers now expand from 52 to 57 players after the midway mark.

The New York Guardians added five players on Tuesday, as XFL rosters expanded from 52 to 57 players. Each of the additions came from “Team 9”, the XFL’s leaguewide farm team.

QB Garrett Fugate
Fugate was chosen by the Guardians during the open portion of the XFL Draft last fall. He would go on to spend the preseason with the team after a brief tenure in the CFL in 2018.

LB Darnell Leslie
A Monmouth product, Leslie was likewise taken in the draft’s open portion. In only three seasons, Leslie finished seventh in Hawks history in sacks.

CB DeJuan Neal
Another open draft returnee, Neal starred at Division II Shepherd. He did partake in a single preseason game with the NFL’s Washington Redskins last summer.

WR Dalton Ponchillia 
Ponchillia spent his college career at three different schools, earning the most success at East Tennessee State, where he led the team in receiving in 2015.

G Maea Teuhema
Originally ranked as a four-star prospect by ESPN, Teuhema began his college career at LSU. His freshman season of 2014 saw him help pave the way for Leonard Fournette to run for nearly 2,000 yards. 2017 saw him transfer to Southeastern Louisiana. He was invited to the New Orleans Saints’ rookie camp before joining the ill-fated AAF squad in San Antonio. Teuhema was originally chosen in the open draft by the Dallas Renegades but was later waived and spent the rest of the camp period in New York before realigning with Team 9.

The Guardians (3-2) currently entangled in a three-way tie in the XFL’s East division. They return to action on Saturday afternoon at MetLife Stadium against the undefeated Houston Roughnecks (2:00 p.m. ET, ABC).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

Tensions rise as Luis Perez and the Guardians win 2nd game in a row

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New York Guardians

If this Luis Perez start did not convince you that he is the right New York Guardians quarterback, I don’t know what will.

Luis Perez is now 2-0 in the XFL, as he led the New York Guardians to their second win in a row. Their record is now 3-2 and they could go into 1st place with a Battlehawks loss vs the DC Defenders.  The Guardians got their first road win, something they struggled to get in weeks 2 (Defenders) and 3 (Battlehawks).

Offense

Perez had a good start going 16 of 30 for 229 yards with one interception and one touchdown. His completion percentage dipped to 53. But other than that, he could very well lock up the starting job.

Here’s what Guardians head coach Kevin Gilbride had to say about the 25-year-old quarterback: “I think Luis is a guy that the rest of the team both offensively and defensively actually look to him as kind of a calming force,…[They see him] as a guy who is dependable, and if things aren’t going as we hoped, that he’s not going to get rattled or frustrated … and that he will give our team a chance to win.”

That is a convincing statement from Gilbride that Perez will start from now on.

Colby Pearson was Perez’s lead target as he collected 5 receptions for 95 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown. Joe Horn had a disappointing day, not having a single catch in three targets. McKale McKay had three receptions for 67 yards.

Defense

The Guardians defense played their best game played on Saturday as they held Renegades quarterback Philip Nelson to 210 yards. Defensive tackle Toby Johnson and defensive end Ryan Mueller had an interception each off deflections. Mueller took his back to the house for a touchdown. The run defense improved and only allowed 66 rushing yards. They also limited the deep pass, only allowing only 32 yards on the longest pass.

Special Teams

Special Teams was a mixed bag for the Guardians on Saturday. For the second time this season the Guardians allowed a kickoff return touchdown, but this time Austin Walter took it 92 yards. Later on, in the 4th quarter, D’Juan Hines recovered a fumble on a Flynn Nagel punt return. Ironically, the fumble was forced by backup quarterback Marquise Williams. Kicker Matthew McCrane made three field goals Saturday and remains perfect this season.

Result

Luis Perez had one miscue when he threw an interception to Josh Hawkins. A brawl ensued after that when some extra pushing and shoving occurred before the interception between two linemen. Both were ejected. Even after that, the Guardians kept on going and won the game 30-12. The Guardians advance to 3-2, while Renegades falls to 2-3.

New York Guardians Head Coach Kevin Gilbride reveals favorite New York-Dallas memory

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New York Guardians, Kevin Gilbride

After countless matchups with the Cowboys, Gilbride now leads the New York Guardians against the Renegades this Saturday.

New York and Dallas will throw the football around this weekend. Playoff positioning is on the line. The New Yorkers bear initials of “NYG,” while the North Texans are blue with the branding inspired by the Old West.

Did we mention, however, that it’s March and not December?

The New York-Dallas football rivalry opens a new chapter this Saturday. It’s the first XFL-authored entry, as the New York Guardians battle the Dallas Renegades at Globe Life Park in Arlington (5:00 p.m. ET, Fox).

An athletic battle between the Empire and Lone Star states is nothing new. The rare long-distance rivalry is kept alive by the NFL’s Giants and Cowboys meeting twice a year for NFC East divisional proceedings. Dallas leads that ancient set with a mark of 68-47-2.

Kevin Gilbride was on hand for 21 of those matchups. The Guardians’ original head coach served in several offensive positions during Tom Coughlin’s tenure as head coach of the Giants, most notably in the offensive coordinator slot from 2007 through 2013. Contesting the Cowboys was certainly nothing new for Gilbride. A prior coaching stop with the in-state Houston Oilers had him running into the Cowboys at the end of every preseason. His five years in Houston also featured two regular-season matchups against America’s Team.

Gilbride hasn’t been one for nostalgics during his XFL adventure. Still, he made an exception when speaking to ESM on Thursday afternoon after the Guardians’ final practice before departing for Arlington. He had a quick, simple answer for his favorite Texas memory, anecdotally traveling back to the early stages of the 2009 NFL season.

“There are many, but I have to say my favorite one was going down to Dallas when we opened up their stadium, and we beat them,” Gilbride said. “They wouldn’t let us on the star (during the pregame). They had security around it, going through warmups. Then we beat them in a high-scoring game. That was a great one.”

The Giants were the Cowboys’ opponent for their first regular-season game in the palatial Cowboys Stadium (now known as AT&T Stadium) in Arlington, the successor to Texas Stadium in Irving. A back-and-forth Week 2 game went down to the literal final seconds, as Lawrence Tynes converted a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give the Giants a 33-31 victory. Tynes’ memorable make was the final stanza of an 11-play, 56-yard drive to cap things off. Eli Manning shook off an early penalty to account for 62 yards on the trek, part of a 330-yard, two-touchdown output. The Giants’ quarterback commemorated the win by leaving his signature and the final score on the wall of the visitors’ locker room.

Big Blue would go 12-9 under Gilbride’s offensive watch, including an 8-7 tally with him in the coordinator role. That grouping includes the Giants’ 21-17 win the 2008 NFC Divisional Playoff in Arlington, the lone postseason get-together between the rivals.

Gilbride isn’t the only Guardians representative to have a memorable business trip to the metroplex. Quarterback Matt McGloin was previously the starter for the Oakland Raiders when they were the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving opponent in November 2013.

Then an undrafted rookie, McGloin, helped the Raiders build a shocking 21-7 lead before Dallas came back to the tune of 31-24 win. McGloin’s efforts in a moral victory for Oakland (18-of-30, 255 yards, and an interception) were enough to impress ex-Giants quarterback Phil Simms, who called the game for CBS. The Penn State alum was named a finalist for Simms’ All-Iron Award, which he presented annually to the MVP of CBS’ Thanksgiving game. Ironically, current Renegades running back Lance Dunbar shared that season’s edition of the award with Tony Romo and DeMarco Murray.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnS2rZGW2uY

“Talk about being a rookie, an exciting time, awesome atmosphere, fantastic stage to play on, something you dream about,” McGloin recalled. “We came up short, but it was a great game. We had a chance to win it there in the end, just couldn’t pull it through. But what an experience. Moments like that don’t come around that often in football. What a great time that was.”

The Guardians (2-2) certainly hope they’ll be able to make new football memories to bring back home. A win over the Los Angeles Wildcats last Saturday at MetLife Stadium allowed them to return to the XFL playoff picture, but they’ll have to end their woes on the road to truly build momentum. Visits to Washington DC and St. Louis ended with the Guardians on the wrong end of a combined 56-9 scoring margin.

Conversely, Dallas (2-2) is searching for their first win at Globe Life Park, the converted former home of MLB’s Texas Rangers. The Renegades fell 15-9 to the St. Louis BattleHawks on opening weekend and dropped a narrow 27-20 decision to the undefeated Houston Roughnecks last Sunday. Dallas will be without starting quarterback Landry Jones, who departed last week’s in-state showdown with a knee injury. Former AAF starter Philip Nelson will get the nod in Jones’ place, with ex-Syracuse star Eric Dungey working as the backup.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

ESM EXCLUSIVE: New York Guardians top draft pick DeAngelo Yancey eager for return

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New York Guardians, DeAngelo Yancey

ESM spoke to New York Guardians receiver and top pick DeAngelo Yancey about his hopes for the XFL and his potential return.

First-round picks of the New York football variety are often met with their first boos months before they play their first snap. DeAngelo Yancey escaped such a fate, if only because the XFL’s October draft wasn’t televised.

The receiver, however, is more than willing to admit that such a status places additional pressure on him, pressure he’s happy to embrace.

“I feel a little bit (of pressure), just from not being out here,” Yancey told ESM. “I just want to be out here more and more with my guys as the season rolls on.”

“I’m here to play football. I haven’t played in a meaningful game in a while. So going out there with a team to compete, that has a chance to come out first in the division, will be great.”

With the New York Guardians approaching the midway mark of their ten-game inaugural season, Yancey hasn’t graced the MetLife Stadium turf just yet, relegated to injured reserve due to a leg injury.

The practice field of  Torne Valley Athletic Complex is another story. Yancey, the first player the Guardians, chose in the XFL player draft, partook in drills as the Guardians prepare for a Saturday visit to North Texas to battle the Dallas Renegades (5:00 p.m. ET, Fox).

After practice at the Hillburn, NY facility, Yancey also spoke to ESM about his XFL prospects. To say he’s yearning to return to a professional football field would be the understatement of the year.

“I feel good. Relieved! I’m finally back out here with the boys. I was ready to get back out there and play some football,” Yancey said. “I’ve been itching to get back out here. It was good, it was cool. I felt fine. I feel good physically and I’m mentally ready to get back.”

Yancey has certainly had his share of “meaningful” games. A two-sport athlete from Atlanta, the 25-year-old joined the ranks of the Big Ten at Purdue after starring at Benjamin Elijah Mays High School. He continues to rank in the top ten of Boilermakers’ history in receiving and scoring.

A fifth-round selection awaited in the 2017 NFL Draft, but he never played a down for his selectors from Green Bay.  He hovered on the practice squads of the Packers and, ironically, the New York Jets.

Neither he or the team were ready to commit to his status for the weekend visit to Globe Life Park in Arlington. Yancey has yet to put a down on his XFL ledger, but he’s looking forward to making an impact if and when his number is called.

New York’s offense has struggled in the early going sans Yancey. The Guardians were the victims of the first shutout in XFL history their second outing in Washington DC, part of a streak where they failed to reach the end zone on 26 consecutive drives. Starting quarterback Matt McGloin missed their most recent contest last Saturday at home, but substitute thrower Luis Perez mustered enough traction to earn a 17-14 victory over the Los Angeles Wildcats.

The win pushed the Guardians (2-2) back into the XFL playoff picture. They’re currently tied with the DC Defenders for the Eastern Division’s de facto wild card spot, trailing the 3-1 St. Louis BattleHawks with six weeks to go in the season.

Yancey was eligible to come off of the injured reserve list against the Wildcats but was nonetheless held out. New York could certainly use his assistance against the Renegades, who currently top the Western Division in defense (308 yards per game). Yancey said he was “hoping” to partake, willing to be “squeezed in any way” he can.

In statements to ESM, both Yancey and New York offensive coordinator G.A. Mangus are confident about the direction the offense is headed as they enter this crucial interconference showdown.

“We got into a rhythm on Saturday,” Yancey said. “That’s the main thing, just getting in a rhythm. When you get off schedule, that’s when things go erratic. Staying in rhythm is the best thing for any football team.”

“We are getting better up front (on offense) and we’re matching on offense,” Mangus said. “We had a great improvement on third down (against Los Angeles) and can still get better. That gave us more plays, more reps, let us win the time of possession battle. The defensive guys love when we can keep the ball for 33-34 minutes.”

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

Should the Guardians keep Luis Perez as the starting quarterback?

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New York Guardians

Last Saturday, the New York Guardians started former AAF quarterback Luis Perez for the injured veteran Matt McGloin. Before his injury, McGloin struggled with completion percentage and turnovers. Though we have not seen Marquise Williams much, other than the game vs the Battlehawks, it seems like a switch could be probable, if McGloin keeps struggling.

Before Sunday’s match vs the Wildcats, Perez came in for a coffee vs the Battlehawks the week before. He completed four out of five passes for 39 yards and a touchdown. Then after starting vs the Wildcats, he passed for 150 yards and a touchdown with a 69% completion percentage. Here are the two quarterbacks stats this season:

Stats Comparison:

Matt McGloin (3 games)

31/59

310 yards

Completed 52.5% of his passes

1 Touchdown

3 Interceptions

52.22 Passer Rating

Luis Perez (2 games)

22/31

189 yards

Completed 70.9% of his passes

2 Touchdowns

0 Interceptions

108.13 Passer Rating

What is my verdict?

The stats do look better for Luis Perez from a microscope. However, an argument can be made that Perez played fewer games. Here’s my verdict: Luis Perez should finish the season as the Guardians starting quarterback.

Why should the Guardians stick to Perez?

Perez has a better completion percentage and fewer turnovers. He is also younger and more mobile. But, remember this is not the NFL where age is a factor in the amount of playing time.

There needs to be an adjustment made to the offensive gameplan or McGloin’s play. Just remember when McGloin criticized the gameplan vs the DC Defenders two and a half weeks ago. He has played under average in the XFL so far.

I am not saying it would be horrible to give McGloin another shot, but if the struggling trend continues, the Guardians will have to consider a change.

The Guardians can take one of two roads, depending on the situation. Chances are that the New York Guardians could ride into a playoff berth with McGloin as their starter. However, if their plans go south they can either ride with McGloin to the remainder of the season or switch to Marquise Williams or Perez to evaluate who could become the quarterback for next season.

New York Guardians WR Mekale McKay rises to leadership challenge

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New York Guardians, Mekale McKay

The New York Guardians’ top receiver responded to a challenge from Kevin Gilbride and came up big on Saturday at MetLife. 

New York Guardians receiver Mekale McKay knows a thing…or three…about scoring big touchdowns in New Jersey.

Prior to his November drafting by the metropolitan area’s XFL squad, the Louisville native last played in the Garden State in 2013. Three touchdowns totaling 124 yards helped his Cincinnati Bearcats top Rutgers by a 52-17 final in Piscataway.

That killer instinct hasn’t left McKay over a well-traveled career that has spanned multiple leagues. It’s led him to East Rutherford, where he now serves as the top receiver for the Guardians.

From the moment he made his metropolitan return, McKay promised fans looking for an alternative or new source of professional football that they could expect big things from the Guardians.

“(Fans can expect) a lot of big plays,” he said with a smile, recalling that November afternoon at The Birthplace of College Football. “I think we’re going to come out here and be a physical team and represent the states of New Jersey and New York.”

The early days of the rebooted XFL have seen plenty of offensive heroics, but the Guardians have struggled to get the points flowing in their infancy truly. New York tallied 23 points in an opening weekend over the Tampa Bay Vipers, but a two-game road trip to Washington DC and St. Louis saw them on the wrong end of blowout losses. Struggles under center and on the line caused the offense to sputter to the tune of 26 consecutive possessions without a touchdown.

XFL presentation innovations allow for sideline conversations to be mic’d up and documented. With the Guardians playing out a listless 29-9 decision in the Gateway City, ESPN cameras picked up a solemn but developmental conversation between McKay and head coach Kevin Gilbride.

As McKay stoically watched the clock trickle out, Gilbride would tell McKay he “played (his butt) off”.

“When we gave you the ball, you made some plays,” Gilbride encouraged. He walked back to coaching duties before adding “I may need you to be a leader here, because there’s guys that I thought were going to be better than we are at doing that are just not.”

Leading up to a big showdown at MetLife Stadium, McKay embodied the spirit of a leader as the team practiced at the Torne Valley Athletic Complex in Hillburn, NY. Despite the offensive struggles, McKay spoke highly of his unit and encouraged fans to brave cold temperatures to see the Guardians try to make things right.

“I think we’re looking great. I think we’ve corrected a lot of mistakes,” McKay said. “I think (our problems) were addressed by the team instead of the coaches. So that’s going to put us on the right note.”

“Saturday’s going to be a great day. Bring all the intensity, all the roar you can bring and just expect us to play some great football.”

The payoff came on Saturday afternoon in East Rutherford. New York squared off against the Los Angeles Wildcats in a battle of 1-2 squads eager to reenter the premature XFL playoff picture. Their backs were further against the wall with the injury to starting quarterback Matt McGloin, forcing in third-stringer Luis Perez.

With the efforts of McKay and a healthy crowd of over 12,000 helping, the Guardians’ offense was able to muster enough firepower to conjure up a 17-14 win. The biggest offensive strike was McKay’s three-yeard leaping reception from Perez that put New York up 14-6.

Postgame comments made it clear that the top receiver on the depth chart had fulfilled the request to step up his leadership.

“What I said to Mekale is that he needs to step up and be part of the leadership. I thought that he certainly tries to do that,” Gilbride said. “Throughout the entire week of practice, I thought he did a nice job of trying to elevate the players, as is usually the case when you lose two games in a row.”

“There’s a lot of morale problems…but he did a good job of keeping the buoyancy of the players up so we had spirited practices.”

Perez remarked how McKay’s prescience was particularly soothing in the wake of the former’s first XFL start. The quarterback declared that, even when McKay dropped an open fourth-quarter deep ball that could’ve sealed the game, he knew who to turn to in the late stages of a big win.

“He knows he makes that play 99 out of 100 times,” Perez said of the drop. “I told him, as soon as that happened, I’m coming back to you, I still have faith in you, and I know you’re going to make a play for me.”

On the season, McKay has tallied 117 yards on nine receptions. He’s responsible for the Guardians’ longest play from scrimmage thus far, a 45-yard catch in their opening weekend win over Tampa Bay.

The Guardians (2-2) return to action this Saturday afternoon on the road against the Dallas Renegades (5:00 p.m. ET, Fox).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags