2002 SaberCats named AFL's best ever
May 17, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. (May 16, 2006) - The team had it all - talent and depth at every position - with a hunger for success. The 2002 San Jose SaberCats set an Arena Football League record for wins in a season going 16-1 winning the franchise's first ArenaBowl title and today was recognized by the AFL's Historical Committee as the best team ever.
Led by quarterback Mark Grieb, who was named the Offensive Player of the Year, and defensive specialist Clevan Thomas, who won both the Defensive Player and Rookie of the Year honors, the 2002 SaberCats won their first 12 games of the 14-game regular season and were within James Hundon's fingertips of going undefeated.
"We won a few close games early in the year," head coach Darren Arbet recalled. "Then we just steamrolled everyone until that Arizona game when Grieb got hurt."
Facing the Rattlers in the next to last regular season game of the year and an undefeated season on the line, the SaberCats built a 17-point lead in the second quarter but saw it slip away.
Arizona went on a 21-3 scoring run and grabbed a 45-44 lead late in the third quarter. On a San Jose's possession near the end of the stanza, Grieb was thrown to the turf by Stacy Evans and sustained a broken collarbone.
"He (Grieb) was having such a great season and to see him go down on a play like that really hurt," Arbet said.
Backup John Dutton stepped in and, with San Jose trailing by seven points late in the game, drove the team to the Rattlers 11-yard line. His fourth down pass glanced off the fingertips of an outstretched Hundon in the Arizona endzone and San Jose suffered its only loss of the season.
San Jose would extract some revenge in ArenaBowl XVII by posting the largest victory in title game history, 52-14, before a sellout crowd in HP Pavilion. Dutton earned MVP honors by throwing five scoring passes and the SaberCats held the Rattlers scoreless for nearly three-and-a-half quarters.
The SaberCats, however, almost didn't make it to the title game. They trailed the Tampa Bay Storm by 18 points in the third quarter of their first playoff game before rallying for a 55-48 win.
"We had a scare in our first playoff game," Arbet noted. "But when we came back and won that one I think everyone knew it was going to be our time."
San Jose would set AFL records for regular season wins (13), overall wins (16), consecutive games won (12) and consecutive games won to start a season (12). The team posted the second-highest per game scoring average in league history (62.7 ppg) and became the first team to score 50 or more points in every game.
In 2004 the SaberCats tied for the best record in the league at 11-5 and would once again win an ArenaBowl title, defeating the Rattlers in Phoenix, 69-62, in the highest scoring championship game in league history. That team ranked ninth on the 20 Greatest Team's list.
Below is the complete list of Top 20 Teams:
RK YEAR TEAM, POINTS
1. 2002 San Jose SaberCats 114 (2)
2t. 1996 Tampa Bay Storm 97 (1)
2t. 1997 Arizona Rattlers 97
4. 1993 Tampa Bay Storm 83 (1)
5. 1999 Albany Firebirds 75
6. 1992 Detroit Drive 72
7. 1995 Tampa Bay Storm 63 (1)
8. 2003 Tampa Bay Storm 59
9. 2004 San Jose SaberCats 56
10t. 1992 Orlando Predators 54 (1)
10t. 2000 Orlando Predators 54
12. 2001 Grand Rapids Rampage 52
13t. 1988 Detroit Drive 41
13t. 1994 Arizona Rattlers 41
15t. 1994 Orlando Predators 40
15t. 1994 Albany Firebirds 40
15t. 2005 Colorado Crush 40
18. 1996 Iowa Barnstormers 38
19. 1989 Detroit Drive 37 (1)
20. 1991 Tampa Bay Storm 34
(Seven of the eight Historical Committee members voted; first-place votes in parenthesis; a team received 20 points for one first-place vote, 19 points for one second-place vote, etc.)
The SaberCats begin their drive to ArenaBowl XX Las Vegas when they host an American Conference semifinal playoff game at 12:30 p.m. (PT) on either Saturday, May 27 or Sunday, May 28. The exact day will be determined later this week.
Tickets for the first playoff game, which will be priced the same as a regular season game, are available and can be purchased through any Northern California Ticketmaster outlet, online at ticketmaster.com or at the HP Pavilion box office. More information is also available at http://www.sanjosesabercats.com.
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