The Barcelona Dragons don't want to bury their heads in the sand. It was tough going for the Catalans' fans in the Spanish capital. The Madrilenians were allowed to score too early. Head coach David Shelton saw the problems above all in the 3rd down defense.  "You win first down, win second down and put them in position for third and long [...] and we didn't stop them on third down. This happened five times, with three of those drives resulting in 21 points. [...] Stopping the run was great, just the pass defense wasn't there yet." Shelton said, in a weekly format, commenting on problems to defend against quarterback Chris Helbig.

Bouncing back from a tough loss

They also struggled offensively. 252 yards, an interception and a touchdown for quarterback Levi Lewis were not enough against the Bravos, who got off to a strong start to the season. Imoni Donadelle, the Dragons' actual No. 1 receiver, was the most successful receiver with 74 yards and a touchdown, but ran into double coverage many times. Head coach Shelton expects more but is confident in his offensive coordinator Shawn Cooper: "Coach Coop has a plan, and we have to have more than one guy. This week, I am pretty sure they'll fix that."

Chris Helbig has presented the Dragons with many problems. ©Jorge Ropero

Shelton: "He is probably not as mobile"

An interesting task awaits against the Raiders. Quarterback on the other side is Kason Martin and no longer D'Angelo Fulford. According to the Raiders, only for one game. "They'll probably won't move the pocket as much [...] but we see him on film, he is 6'2, a big guy, he can make all the throws. We'll prepare for that, while he is probably not as mobile," Shelton explained the game plan. For Saturday, the head coach expects a good crowd and atmosphere. "The fans killed it in Madrid, but you have to play well at home, as well. All the things are positive, and we are expecting the guys to bounce back."