UNIONDALE, NY— Mike Horacek and Rohan Davey stood on the sideline during a special teams drill. Horacek, the Dragons leading receiver, walked over to the starting quarterback, offering advice two days before Sunday’s game with the Colorado Crush at Nassau Coliseum.

Inside the team’s practice facility at Mitchell Field, the two key cogs of the Dragons offense were discussing strategy in the hopes of stopping a three-game losing streak. Five games into the Arena League season, the statistics suggest coach Weylan Harding’s team is improving on a weekly basis. But at 1-4, they currently reside in the Eastern Division’s last place, trailing 6-0 Dallas and 4-1 Philadelphia.

In his first season in the Arena Football League, Harding said Davey is constantly improving. The former LSU star and New England Patriots backup is coming of his best performance since taking over the starting job in Week 2. Davey threw seven touchdowns—five to Horacek—and no interceptions during last week’s 66-53 loss to Grand Rapids.

After losing by 53 points to Dallas in the opening game, the Dragons played competitively in losing on the road to the defending Arena Bowl champion Chicago Rush and the then-undefeated Soul. Their lone victory came in Tampa against the hapless Storm, but Harding said his quarterback’s maturation to the indoor game will mean better results in the future.

“With Rohan, he’s starting to see the whole game,” Harding said. “He’s checking it down. He’s getting the timing aspect. I’m more impressed with how he’s gone about learning this arena game. He’s humbled himself to realize ‘I don’t know everything about this game.’

“I would dare you to gauge his progress against the first years of any quarterback in this league,” he added. “He’s on an accelerated pace. Just his leadership skills—he’s smart. He has an aura about him. He wants to lead. I can’t seem to say much more about him without sounding sweet on him.”

Colorado won the league’s championship in 2005 and their division last year. They are 3-3 to start the current campaign, including an ugly 72-44 loss to San Jose last weekend. The Crush features the fourth-worst pass defense, as the secondary allowed 33 touchdowns compared to just four interceptions.

Former Dragon Chris Angel leads the Crush with two interceptions, while defensive back Rashad Floyd, the league’s defensive player of the month last April, also recorded one pick though six games. Aaron Garcia continues to remain on injured reserve with his return unlikely, leaving Davey to exploit that struggling secondary.

So far, the – year-old is 110-173 for 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Horacek has been a beneficiary of those numbers, as the veteran receiver’s 654 yards is fourth among AFL receivers. His 14 touchdowns also rank in the top 10.

Will Holder and Chris Anthony are the complementary receivers. Both could see their roles expanded after the Dragons put Kevin Swayne on injured reserve after the former Jet strained his hamstring against Grand Rapids. He will be out a minimum of four weeks, meaning teams can shift even more attention on Horacek.

“We have a more-than-adequate receiving corps out there,” Harding said. “Horacek’s been kind of [Davey’s] security blanket out there at times. Teams are going to try and not let Horacek get off. So sometimes you can’t force it to him. “

Chris Bauer, the team’s player personnel director, helped bolster the defense by re-acquiring defensive back DaShane Dennis in a trade with Kansas City. Dennis did not record an interception for the Brigade, but led the team with 34.5 tackles. In rejoining the Dragons, he will join Billy Parker and Holder in the secondary.

In his return on the Coliseum, Dennis will be facing Crush quarterback John Dutton, who carries a 97.1 rating and a 29-8 touchdown-to-interception rate. Harding will call on his three main defensive backs to combat Colorado’s three-man receiving corps that features Damian Harrell, Brad Pyatt and Willie Quinnie.

“Colorado is always a solid group,” Harding said. “They are well-coached group. They are a unit that’s been together for some years, so they are experience. It will be a good test.”

Notes: The day after watching his Islanders lose 4-1 to Buffalo in their playoff opener, owner Charles Wang kept tabs on the other team he owns by attending the Dragons practice…. Swayne watched his teammates work out from the sideline. The earliest he can rejoin the team May 14 against the Soul at the earliest…The Dragons traded defensive lineman Vontrell Jamison to Kansas City for Dennis.

Jamison was previously on the injured reserve list.