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AFL I Arizona Rattlers

Arizona Rattlers game notes

May 17, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Arizona Rattlers News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Game: Arizona Rattlers @ Tampa Bay Storm

Date: Saturday, May 18, 2007

Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. (AZ Time)

Site: Tampa, Fla.

Arena: St. Pete Times Forum (19,500)

Television: None

Radio: ESPN Radio 860-AM KMVP (Kent Derdivanis, Dale Hellestrae); SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Ch. 119

Internet: www.azrattlers.com

Series Record: Tampa Bay leads 8-4 (all-time)

Last Meeting: Tampa Bay 59, Arizona 56, Mar. 13, 2006 @ Tampa Bay

Officials: Perry Havener (R), Tom Laverty (U), Bill Ward

(HL), David Meslow (LJ), Billy Beckett (BJ)

Head Coaches: Arizona - Gene Nudo (2nd season; 11-16 regular season, 1-1 postseason); Tampa Bay - Tim Marcum (12th season with Tampa Bay, 18th overall; 156-66 regular season, 25-10 postseason)

THE SERIES: Friday marks the 13th all-time meeting between Arizona and Tampa Bay, with the Storm holding an 8-4 advantage. The Storm has won the last three meetings, including a 43-29 victory in ArenaBowl XVII (2003 season). The last five match-ups have been held in Tampa, with the last game in Phoenix way back on Aug. 16, 1997 (Arizona 49, Tampa Bay 46, OT). The two Arena Football League powerhouses have a combined seven ArenaBowl championships (Tampa Bay 5, Arizona 2). The Storm started this season slowly with a 0-5 opening record, but is on a three-game winning streak, taking four of their last five contests. Sparking the Storm has been the addition of rookie quarterback BRETT DIETZ, who came off the bench in Week 9 to replace an injured JOHN KALEO. Tampa Bay Head Coach TIM MARCUM holds a 9-3 record against the Rattlers franchise.

RATTLERS IN REVIEW: The Rattlers regained their swagger last week in a 53-41 victory against Austin. SHERDRICK BONNER, who surpassed 40,000 career passing yards during the game, becoming just the second quarterback in Arena Football League history to do so. The team has added a number of new players to their roster in recent weeks, including two of their three starting defensive backs - ART SMITH and WILLIAM FIELDS - starting nose guard - CHAD PEGUES - and kicker - CLAY RUSH.

ARIZONA RATTLERS (3-8)

Date Opponent Win/Loss Record

Mar. 3 Georgia L (69-65) 0-1

Mar. 10 Utah L (75-71) 0-2

Mar. 16 @ Colorado L (56-54) 0-3

Mar. 23 Las Vegas W (68-41) 1-3

Mar. 30 @ Kansas City L (62-61 OT) 1-4

Apr. 6 @ Los Angeles L (64-45) 1-5

Apr. 14 Nashville L (62-36) 1-6

Apr. 20 @ Utah W (83-69) 2-6

Apr. 28 @ New York L (67-45) 2-7

May 5 San Jose L (56-49) 2-8

May 12 Austin W (53-41) 3-8

Date Opponent Time (AZ) TV

May 18 @ Tampa Bay 4:30 None

May 26 Chicago 7:00 FSAZ

June 3 @ Las Vegas 3:00 None

June 11 Los Angeles 7:00 ESPN2

June 16 @ San Jose 7:30 FSAZ

June 18-24 BYE WEEK

Tampa Bay Storm (4-6)

Date Opponent Win/Loss Record

Mar. 2 Orlando L (52-27) 0-1

Mar. 10 @ Dallas L (59-40) 0-2

Mar. 17 Georgia L (61-47) 0-3

Mar. 23 New York L (59-52) 0-4

Mar. 31 @ San Jose L (69-49) 0-5

Apr. 7 New Orleans W (66-43) 1-5

Apr. 14 @ Orlando L (61-37) 1-6

BYE WEEK

Apr. 29 Columbus W (34-32) 2-6

May 6 @ Austin W (66-45) 3-6

May 12 @ Los Angeles W (40-37) 4-6

May 18 Arizona

May 26 @ Georgia

June 2 @ New Orleans

June 9 Philadelphia

June 16 @ Grand Rapids

June 23 Austin

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

Rattlers Head Coach Gene Nudo on the Storm: "They're digging their way out of a hole they created. In my eyes, they look like a typical Tampa team. They've got receivers that get into their routes very quickly, they protect their quarterback and they get after the quarterback. Their defensive backs are quick to the ball. I think they're playing very good football right now. We have got to try to be more physical than them. That'll be our task, because Tampa tries to impose their will upon people in every game."

Nudo on Tampa Bay's QB Brett Dietz: "He's a tough kid. He's patient. Obviously he's been thrown into a situation where he's had to perform and he's done it."

Nudo on playing in Tampa: "Their building has always been a tough place to play and that'll add to their confidence level I'm sure. Tampa's always been a great place for this league. When you think of Arena Football, you think of Tampa and you think of Orlando and Arizona and the Detroit Drive throughout the years; places like that."

NEXT GAME: The Rattlers return home to face the defending Arena Football League champion Chicago Rush on Saturday, May 26. The Rush rallied from a 7-9 regular-season record in 2006, running through the playoffs en route to the franchise's first title. Though Chicago comes to Arizona with hardware in hand, the Rattlers have dominated the all-time series, winning all five match-ups, including a 61-42 victory last season in Arizona.

THE "IF" SECTION

If the Rattlers defeat the Storm it would:

- be their first win against Tampa Bay since June 16, 2001 (55-49, OT, in Tampa)

- end a three-game losing streak against Tampa Bay

- give the Rattlers their first winning streak this season

- be their second consecutive win against a National Conference-Southern Division team (Arizona 53, Austin 41, May 12, 2007 in Phoenix)

Rattlers Coaching History

Season - Head Coach Record

1992-2004 Danny White 141-57 (playoffs 20-10)

2005 Todd Shell 7-9

2006- Gene Nudo

Bonner Makes More History

Sherdrick Bonner passed yet another milestone in his illustrious 15-year Arena Football career, continuing to cement his lasting legacy as one of the game's all-time great quarterbacks. Bonner became just the second quarterback in AFL history to throw for at least 40,000 career yards as he passed the milestone during last week's win vs. Austin. Bonner joins fellow standout Andy Kelly (New Orleans) in this rare group with Dallas' Clint Dolezel also in the hunt with 39,883 yards.

It's been a milestone-setting season for Bonner, who earlier in the year became the first quarterback in AFL history to record 12 seasons with at least 2,000 passing yards and the third quarterback all-time to throw more than 800 TDs.

Two of the AFL's most influential figures will grace the sidelines of the St. Pete Times Forum on Friday when Arizona's Gene Nudo squares off against Tampa Bay's Tim Marcum. Both head coaches have been with the league since its earliest days and have helped grow the AFL into the premier indoor football league it is today. Nudo is the league's only three-time Executive of the Year, while Marcum is a charter member of the Arena Football League Hall-of-Fame. The pair has been a part of nine ArenaBowl championships, including Marcum and the Denver Dynamite winning the AFL's first title game in 1987.

"Obviously they've got the greatest coach in the history of the Arena Football League coaching them in Tim Marcum," Nudo said. "I've known Tim for 22 years, competing against him, playing in the ArenaBowl against him. His philosophy is pretty simple - protect your quarterback, and get after their quarterback. It's proven to work for him throughout his tenure in the league, so I have a lot of respect for him. He's a good football coach."

The Rattlers rank among the league's best when it comes to rushing - both with the ball and against the rush. Arizona ranks as the American Conference's second most proficient running team this season (6th overall) with a 23.1 yards-per-game average. The team's 254 rushing yards is the fourth highest among all AFL teams this season (Austin, 363). The Rattlers also remain strong when facing the rush as Arizona's defense tops the 2007 charts as the most stingiest, yielding league lows in total yards allowed (95) and yards-per-game (8.6), despite having played the league maximum 11 games.

The Rattlers added one of the Arena Football's all-time kickers with the signing of Clay Rush earlier in the week. Rush, who was with the Kansas City Brigade earlier this season, is a two-time All-Arena First-Team selection (2003, 2000) and a two-time All-Arena Second-Team selection (2006, 2005). Rush has been one of the league's most prolific and accurate kickers throughout his nine-year AFL career, including stops in Kansas City, Colorado, Indiana, New York and Iowa. Rush connected on 101-of-108 PAT attempts last season in Colorado, including a streak of 46 straight, which was the league's longest since 2004. The previous season he hit 105 of his 118 PATs as the 2005 Crush went on to win ArenaBowl XIX. In the championship game vs. Georgia, Rush made 3-of-4 FGs, including a 20-yard game-winner as time expired - and all six PATs.

While Sherdrick Bonner continues to receive accolades for the all-time milestones he's passed this season - and deservedly so - Bonner is quick to credit his offensive line. The Rattlers men up front have also been merit worthy this season, providing Bonner with time in the pocket that makes other quarterbacks envious. The Rattlers have allowed three sacks this season, which places the team third overall (2; Dallas, Georgia). Arizona's 0.74 sacks allowed per 100 passing plays also ranks third in the league. On the flip side, this week's opponent Tampa Bay has allowed 12 sacks for a 3.19 sacks-per-100 passing plays average.

While Arizona's offensive line continues to build a wall around Sherdrick Bonner, the group gets the job done without any dirty tricks. The Rattlers rank tops with a league-low 61 penalties for a league-low 5.5 penalties per game. Not surprisingly, Arizona is also among the AFL's best when it comes to penalty yards per game. The Rattlers offense has been penalized for a league-low 334 yards, which places the team in the top spot with a league-best 30.4 penalty yards per game. In Tampa, however, it's a different story as the Storm's offense has been flagged for a league-high 105 times for a league-leading 63.2 penalty yards-per-game average.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 17, 2007


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