AFL Week 1 Preview and Predictions (Pt. 2)
by S.W. Cooley
Published on February 28, 2008 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
A quick note before we get into the preview and predictions. Mentioned in the part 1 column was the release of former Orlando Predator WR Javarus Dudley. This came as a surprise to most but to the New Orleans VooDoo, it came as a gift wrapped in gold. The team from the Big Easy snatched up the wideout on Thursday and could look to use his services as early as this weekend.
ARIZONA RATTLERS (4-12) at UTAH BLAZE (8-8)
Saturday, March 1 - 9:00 (ET)
The Rattlers - Arizona completely rehauled the entire roster during the offseason. The face of the franchise for 15 years, QB Sherdrick Bonner (now with Chicago), was shown the door after a new coaching staff showed up in the desert. Head coach Kevin Guy was brought over from Western Division rival San Jose SaberCats where he constructed one of the best defenses in the league last year. The Rats put a lot of eggs in one basket after coming to terms with free agent Siaha Burley, who was the 2007 Offensive Player of the Year. The $130K player was the first professional football receiver to ever eclipse the 2,000-yard barrier after putting up sick numbers in '07 with 166 receptions, 2129 receiving yards and 49 TDs. He will be the go-to guy for the recently named starting QB Lang Campbell. It was a battle for the spot between he and former Michigan State Spartan Jeff Smoker so don't be surprised to see Smoker if Campbell doesn't produce early. Campbell had a decent year in his first AFL season with the Austin Wranglers, throwing for 2,249 yards and 41 TDs against 11 INTs. WR Trandon Harvey is going to get a lot of attention this year as well, playing alongside Burley. This up-and-comer led all rookies in '07 with 104 grabs, 1412 yards and 30 TDs. The defense should be solid with Guy calling the shots and second-year player Isiah Trufant, brother of Seahawks DB Marcus, could have a breakout season. The largest amount of pressure that's on the Rats is from their own front office that guaranteed the team would be in the playoffs or every season ticket holder would receive a full refund at year's end.
The Blaze - This team seemed to get better on one side of the ball during the offseason, but worse on the other. The Blaze were one of the highest scoring teams in the league last year but fell short a lot of times because they couldn't contain anyone defensively. Well to shore up that problem head coach Danny White secured two big free agents this offseason bringing in DL E.J. Burt (6.0 sacks) from Chicago and DL Dwayne Missouri (6.0 sacks, 5 FF) from Philadelphia. However, the most important offensive player Utah had was All-Arena WR Siaha Burley but he got paid the big bucks to play in his home state of Arizona. White's team incurred another huge loss when WR/DB Orshawante Bryant was lost for the season after sustaining a knee injury during training camp. So now the Blaze's third option from 2007 has become their #1 receiver. This task falls at the feet of WR Tom Pace who had a decent season with 20 TD catches but the next best guy from the previous year's roster only had 8 touchies. QB Joe Germaine (5005 yds, 107 TDs, 12 INTs) will still be a steady performer but don't expect the same numbers he strung together in '07 because he just doesn't have the personnel to do it.
The Matchup - These two teams could be scraping the bottom of the barrel in the stout Western Division but one of the two will probably end up locking up the last postseason berth. The Rattlers could emerge with a better than average team under new head coach Guy but with so many new players that don't have AFL experience it is hard to tell. Former Dallas Cowboys QB Danny White has a tremendous knack for the arena game but still has to have the talent to execute his schemes. He has a QB in Germaine but the rest of the offense remains in question. The scoring in this affair will most likely come at a premium with no firepower in Utah and a defensive-minded team in Arizona. Burley will emerge with at least a couple of TD catches against his former team and revel in his homecoming at EnergySolutions Arena.
Arizona 45, Utah 38
COLUMBUS DESTROYERS (7-9) at COLORADO CRUSH (8-8)
Sunday, March 2 - 4:00 (ET)
The Destroyers - Columbus is a team that backed into the 2007 playoffs with a 7-9 record and lost five of their last six regular season games. But all it took was a late missed field goal in Tampa Bay, a few lucky bounces off the goalpost iron in Dallas and a few big mistakes from Chris Greisen in Georgia and the Destroyers were in ArenaBowl XXI. Most questions were answered as to whether or not they deserved to be there after the heavily favored SaberCats dismantled the Ohio squad 55-33 in New Orleans. So if this team was only mediocre in 2007, they will be well below average in 2008 because the offseason was not kind. Gone is the Destros top playmaker in WR Damien Groce (New York) as well as former All-Arena DB Jerald Brown. K Peter Martinez, who almost single-handily won the game against Dallas with his iron shot kickoffs, was released and found a new home in K.C. They did however replace him with the 2007 Kicker of the Year Mark Lewis from Austin, but kicking the ball isn't the name of this game. The one key addition that might keep Columbus afloat in '08 is WR Derek Lee. Lee (83, 886 yds, 20 TDs) is a physical presence at 6-5, 215 pounds, but will be asked to be the #1 guy for QB Matt Nagy. Despite being heralded as a top QB down the stretch last year, Nagy is just a middle of the pack player throwing for 3,557 yards, 75 TDs and 15 INTs in '07. Will he and head coach Doug Kay be able to put this team on their shoulders and overcome all the roster losses?
The Crush - Football teams in any pro league go through the up and downs of the season but Colorado defines the phrase hot and cold. And it all begins and ends with QB John Dutton. If Dutton is on, there isn't a throw he can't make and can beat just about anyone in the league but when he's not, major mistakes lead to his team's demise. He put together another solid year in '07 with 84 TDs, 4312 passing yards and 17 INTs and came just a couple plays away from beating San Jose in the second round of the playoffs. But one major void will need to be filled in Denver with the departure of perhaps the top wide receiver in the league, Damian Harrell. Harrell is a two-time Offensive Player of the Year and put together a TD streak that will probably never be broken after catching at least one endzone pass in 78 consecutive games. WR Ben Nelson (108, 1258 yds, 25 TDs) was brought in and paid handsomely to fill that void. He was the 2006 Rookie of the Year and flourished in the offensive-happy system of San Jose but is he ready to step up and be the #1 guy for Dutton? Receivers Brad Pyatt and Willie Quinnie enjoyed great rookie seasons so expect them to keep improving and have even better second years. DBs Rashad Floyd and Chris Angel combined for 16 picks in '07 and will be the cornerstones of a decent defensive team but the services of DL Ken Jones (L.A., 9.5 sacks) will surely be missed. One player that the coaching staff is high on is former NFL Europa receiver Aaron Hosak so keep an eye on the 6-5, 210-pound receiver this season.
The Matchup - The Crush have a very tough schedule ahead of them following their home opener so head coach Mike Dailey knows the importance of winning this game. As stated above, the Destroyers will probably have a tough time recovering from their offseason losses and will be lucky to put five notches in the win column. Dutton will start the year on fire and all of his receivers will put up nice stats in the box score as Colorado rolls in this lone Sunday AFL affair.
Colorado 58, Columbus 40
NEW YORK DRAGONS (5-11) at CLEVELAND GLADIATORS (2-14)
Monday, March 3 - 7:00 (ET)
The Dragons - If defenses win championships, New York won't be raising the Foster Cup anytime soon. In 2007, the Dragons began the season with a 60-7 beat down by the Dallas Desperados. Had it not been for a 4th quarter broken coverage TD reception, they would have become the second team in the history of the league to be shut out of an Arena Football game (missed the XP). Back to the D though, New York gave up 60 points that game, 61 in their next, held their opponent to 52 in the third, but then resorted back to giving up 65 and 66 in the next two. Even when vying for a playoff spot down the stretch, the defense yielded 82, 75, 67 and 74 in the final four games of the season. Nothing was done to fix this problem during the offseason either so the Dragons may be in for another year where their opposition scores 60.4 ppg or more. Putting up numbers on the offense has never been a problem though. Veteran QB Aaron Garcia was healthy for just a few games in '07 but when he is, can be one of the most dangerous gunslingers in the AFL. The coaching staff brought in WR/KR Damien Groce from Columbus to give Garcia a go-to threat and replace the departed Mike Horacek (K.C.). Groce caught 118 passes for 1,342 yards last year and found the endzone on 26 occasions. Flanking Groce will be Kevin Swayne (92, 1023 yds, 27 TDs) and Jeremiah Pope, who will start the season on IR (4 weeks) but was very proficient in Arizona last year catching 74 passes for 954 yards and 24 scores. A bright spot for the defense could be the 2007 af2 Defensive Player of the Year, Levy Brown, who snagged a record 14 picks for the Florida Firecats.
The Gladiators - Some have called the 2007 Las Vegas Gladiators the worst team to ever grace an arena football field. Well, they have a new city in 2008 so hopefully the team won't suffer the same fate in Cleveland. Former Browns QB Bernie Kosar has been given the operating reigns of the team but how much flexibility ($$$) will the same owner give him? He did open the pocketbook a bit during the offseason with two big free agent signings - QB Raymond Philyaw and DL Silas Demary. Philyaw (4338 yds, 85 TDs, 11 INTs) led the Brigade to the postseason in their second year and isn't a flashy quarterback but makes smart decisions and limits his mistakes. He will be the catalyst if the Glads are going to resurrect themselves from being the laughing stock of the league. Demary came over from L.A. and will enter his 8th season in the league. He is a premier pass rusher that accumulated 8.0 sacks in '07 and held the sack record of 13.5 (2005) until now-Tampa Bay Buccaneer Greg White broke it last season with Orlando. Other than those two signings, Cleveland didn't do much as they were probably just trying to get up and running operations-wise prior to the start of the season. The outlook for the team in the new city could be bleak but with Kosar behind it, expect a better showing than 2007. He actually may have been their biggest offseason acquisition.
The Matchup - This game is a tough one to breakdown, as are most when analyzing two teams that fall well below average on the scale. Garcia is a playmaker and his team use to be a contender year in and year out so if he can get back to form and avoid the injury bug, the Dragons will put some points on the board. There just aren't any "star players" on the Gladiators squad to warrant a glimmer of hope so it will probably be another rebuilding season but at least they've started fresh in Cleveland. Groce is a small, speedy guy who should be able to exploit the Glads below par secondary and will get the New York fans excited by taking back at least one kickoff for a TD. Kosar's introduction to the AFL will not rock as the Dragonians spoil the opener in Cleveland.
New York 52, Cleveland 40
SAN JOSE SABERCATS (13-3) at CHICAGO RUSH (12-4)
Monday, March 3 - 9:00 (ET)
The SaberCats - If the odds to win ArenaBowl XXII were available, the San Jose SaberCats would no doubt be at the top of the list. As they should be after reeling off 13 straight wins to claim their third league title in the last six years. Whisperings of an AFL dynasty can be heard in the Bay Area. The 2008 SaberCats look much like they did last year, with 20 of their 24 active roster players seeing action on the field in 2007. This is a veteran-laden team that knows exactly what it takes and wants to become the first back-to-back champions since the '95-'96 Tampa Bay Storm. The franchise possesses the top QB in the league in Mark Grieb who has started 91 consecutive games for the team dating back to the start of 2003. Grieb is a smart player on the field (off too, degree from Stanford) and accurate passer who tossed 100 TDs with 4,608 passing yards and only 13 INTs. He returns the majority of his receiving group but will miss the services of Ben Nelson (Colorado) who was his #2 guy in '07. The wily veteran James Roe will lace it up for another season after establishing team records last year with 127 receptions, 1560 yards and 40 TDs. Defensively, the SaberCats will be sound but lost coordinator Kevin Guy who has taken the top job in Arizona. All three DBs return, led by First-Team All-Arena player Clevan Thomas who led the group with 9 INTs and 21 PBUs. The trio of Thomas, Smith and Floyd combined for 20 INTs and help opposing QBs to the lowest completion percentage in the AFL (57.2). San Jose finished second in the league in scoring offense (63.2) and scoring defense (47.6) which are the two marks of a title team. The SaberCats will again be right in the thick of things when it comes time to crown a champion in July.
The Rush - If defense wins championships, then Chicago could poised for another in 2008. When looking up and down the Rush's defensive roster, it is packed with playmakers at all three levels and it was no surprise they led the league in defense last year after giving up a mere 44.9 ppg. Unertl (6 INTs), Robinson (7 INTs) and Ordway (3 INTs) all return for the imposing secondary while LB DeJuan Alfonzo may be one of the best athletes in the league at his position. In 2007, Alfonzo posted 93.0 tackles, 6 INTs, 6 FR and 4 FF, ridiculous numbers from the linebacker spot. DL Khreem Smith is supposed to make his return to the AFL also after spending the '07 season with the Minnesota Vikings. The former OSU Sooner shocked the arena league in his rookie season (2006) after registering 8.0 sacks and 6 FF so the Rush hope he can return to that caliber of play. So what happened to Mike Dikta's organization in 2008? Well, for one they ran into the buzzsaw that is the San Jose SaberCats and two, their QB Matt D'Orazio was suffering from a back injury during the playoff run that he couldn't overcome. Not even arena great Bobby Sippio (now with K.C. Chiefs) could save the Rush last season so what did the franchise do during the offseason? They went and got a veteran QB and the most dynamic playmaker in the game - Damian Harrell. The 2007 First-Team All-AFL player hauled in 132 passes for 1,547 yards and 47 TDs last year. The veteran QB referred to above is no other than Sherdrick Bonner, the longtime Rattlers signal caller who wants a chance to get another ring before retiring. He will enter his 16th AFL season and still knows how to get it done after throwing for 83 TDs and 4,036 yards against 13 INTs in 2007. But he hasn't played a complete season since 2004 and turned 40 in October so his age is definitely a factor. A player the Rush seemed to steal away from under everyone's noses was WR Travis LaTendresse. He was remarkable down the stretch in '07 (54, 802 yds, 14 TDs last six games) and for some reason the hapless Gladiators decided to let him go.
The Matchup - This should already be tabbed as the game of the year and will live up to all of the expectations surrounding the Monday night game on ESPN2. The two met in during Week 2 of last season in Chicago and the Rush emerged as 48-45 victors. But San Jose did get the last laugh, defeating Chi-town, 61-49, in the American Conference Championship on their way to the ArenaBowl. Allstate Arena is an old crappy facility but the perfect venue for an Arena Football game. This contest was sold out nearly a week ago and the fans know how to get loud and into the heads of the opposing team, and that is a huge advantage the Rush will have. The SaberCats are also notorious for starting the season out slow and peaking at the right time to finish strong. This game will come down to San Jose's offense versus Chicago's defense and with the game on the line, the D will force a turnover to seal the deal. But revenge is a dish better served cold so don't be surprised if the Cats lap up the Rush blood come playoff time.
Chicago 48, San Jose 45
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 28, 2008
- AFL Week 1 Preview and Predictions (Pt. 2) - OSC Original by S.W. Cooley
- Force Kicker Carlos Martinez Will Be Kicking For The Cure In 2008 - Georgia Force
- Quick Hitters: Week One - AFL I
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
