At the end of Friday's Utah Blaze practice, coach Ron James talked in the huddle about bringing intensity to the team's last home game.

"I want you all to play like you did in the first game of the season," James said. "Or whenever you first played for us."

In fact, almost half the current roster did not play for the Blaze in their season opener. Injuries and attrition to other leagues has made Utah a different team, plugging in holes at key positions at quarterback, receiver, offensive line, defensive tackle and in the secondary.

The challenge of patching up the squad is complicated by the playoff chase. The Blaze must win out and hope for help to make it to the postseason — quite a feat for a team that is still introducing itself to one another.

"The whole thing is like training camp all over again," James says. "It's really the perfect storm with injuries this year. And now we have to win this game, and it doesn't matter who we're missing."

Last week, veteran and late signee Todd Hammel stepped in for injured starting quarterback Tommy Grady, throwing for 258 yards and five touchdowns. But he also threw two costly interceptions that put Utah behind in the eventual 76-49 loss to Spokane.

Hammel spent some extra time this week getting in rhythm with his receivers. The 44-year-old says it's taken him some time to get back in the flow of the game, but he's getting there.

"I'm trying to create problems on the field for the defense," Hammel says. "I've got a lot of experience, and hopefully it will help us win a game for the fans."

The Blaze take on New Orleans (3-13), a team that has struggled most of the season but shown some improvement after a coaching change.

With the banged-up Blaze seemingly on the ropes these past two weeks, the team knows it's a game they can't overlook. A loss to end the season could be damaging in more ways than one.

"It's important for the franchise," defensive lineman Caesar Rayford says. "We were a joke last year, and we don't want our fans to worry the team is falling off again. We have to play our tails off and bring some energy into this thing."

kgoon@sltrib.com —

New Orleans Voodoo at Utah Blaze

P Saturday, 7 p.m.

Radio • 97.5 FM

Records • Utah (7-9), New Orleans (3-13)

Briefly • The Blaze try to stay in the playoff chase and win their final home game against lowly New Orleans.