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Battle for Playoff Position Looms

April 22, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


The Tampa Bay Storm embark on a two-game road trip that will go a long way in determining the team's postseason position. Tampa Bay has already clinched a playoff spot and faces the New York Dragons Sunday afternoon with its sights set on the top playoff seed. The Dragons are also fighting for a playoff spot, and are in contention for one of the final spots with four weeks left in the regular season. Tampa Bay needs a win not only to maintain the league's best record, but to also get back on track after losing last week. The loss to the Colorado Crush snapped an eight-game Storm winning streak and was the first for Tampa Bay since Week 3 of the season. The New York Dragons have also been a hot team as of late, winning five of their last six games after getting off to an 0-6 start. The start cost head coach John Gregory his job and brought in current head coach Todd Shell, who has righted the Dragon ship.

TAMPA BAY VS NEW YORK: THE FACTS

Date/Time: Sunday, April 27, 3:00 pm (ET)
Location: Nassau Coliseum (11,216), Uniondale, NY
Television: NBC Sports (Mike Breen, Ray Bentley, and Dave Burns)
Radio: 620-AM WDAE (Jack Harris and Jason Dixon)
The Series: never met
Last Meeting: never met

THE TAMPA BAY - NEW YORK SERIES

The Storm will be facing the New York Dragons for the first time ever, but the Storm do have a history against the Iowa Barnstormers, the name the franchise went by prior to moving to New York. The Storm were 2-2 against the Barnstormers, but 1-0 in the playoffs when it really counted. The Storm defeated the Kurt Warner-led Barnstormers 42- 38 in ArenaBowl X, stopping Iowa on four plays inside the red zone to pick up the win.

THE STAKES

This game looms large for both teams, as the Storm are fighting for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and home-field advantage throughout, while the Dragons are fighting just to get into postseason play. Tampa Bay needs a win to keep pace with Los Angeles and maintain the league's best record. New York currently holds the 12th and final spot, and a win would bolster its playoff outlook.

NUMEROLOGY

3: Number of wins needed by Storm head coach Tim Marcum to reach 100 career wins with Tampa Bay

6: Number of rushing attempts needed for Andre Bowden to become the AFL's all-time leader in that category

9: Number of onsecutive games in which the Storm defense has recorded an interception

13: Number of onsecutive seasons the Storm have been in the AFL playoffs

THE COACHES

In his 15th season as a head coach, Tim Marcum is the winningest head coach in AFL history. The AFL Hall of Fame member holds AFL career coaching records in ArenaBowl championships, wins, winning percentage, games coached, and post-season victories. He enters his 9th season with Tampa Bay, owning a 152-54 overall record. He is 97-42 overall as head coach of the Storm.

The New York Dragons hired Todd Shell on February 25, 2003, after New York got off to an 0-4 start. The Dragons are currently 5-3 under Shell's reign, including winning five of their last six games. Shell previously served as the first head coach of the San Jose Sabercats. He was also a defensive coordinator for the Arizona Rattlers and won two Super Bowl rings as a player with the San Francisco 49ers.

THE STORM LAST WEEK

The Colorado Crush outscored the Tampa Bay Storm 39- 10 in the second half, including a 26-3 fourth quarter advantage, as the Crush snapped the Storm's eight-game winning streak with a 49-45 victory Sunday afternoon. The win was just the second of the season for Colorado and dropped the Storm to 9-3 overall. Colorado quarterback John Dutton threw for 340 yards and six touchdowns in the game in earning Game MVP honors. Charlie Davidson was named Ironman of the Game after catching 11 passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for another score. Damian Harrell added three more receiving touchdowns, catching 10 passes for 142 yards. John Kaleo notched his fourth 300+ passing yards game of the season, throwing for 308 yards and three touchdowns. Freddie Solomon caught two of those touchdown passes and finished with seven catches fro 83 yards. Lawrence Samuels had six catches for 80 yards, while David Saunders caught four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.

THE STORM NEXT WEEK

The Storm remain on the road next week when they travel to Dallas for a contest against the Desperados. Dallas and the Storm have met only once before, with Dallas taking an overtime thriller in Dallas last season.

THE DRAGONS LAST WEEK

The New York Dragons completed the season sweep of the Detroit Fury, defeating their division rivals, 69-40.

Aaron Garcia threw for 260 yards and eight touchdowns as he, along with the entire defensive unit, led the Dragons to their fifth win of the season. Rodney Filer (26- yards) and Kerry Taylor (11-yards) each had rushing touchdowns. The Dragons came out strong in the first half. Both the offensive and defensive units were clicking as New York dictated the pace of the game early on. The score was 13-0 before Detroit's offense found the endzone and the Dragons led 20-6 at the end of the first quarter. Two third quarter interceptions kept the Fury at bay as the Dragons shut Detroit out in the third quarter. Corey Johnson and William Holder each brought down an INT in the Fury's endzone as New York opened up a twenty- eight point lead, 48-20. The Dragons were in cruise control throughout the fourth quarter. Kerry Taylor rushed for a late touchdown to seal the victory.

COLOSSAL COLLAPSE

The Tampa Bay Storm seemed to have last Sunday afternoon's game against the Colorado Crush in hand after building up a 35-10 halftime advantage and leading 42- 23 in the fourth quarter. But a funny thing happened on the way to the winner's stand, and before Tampa Bay knew it, its league-high eight-game winning streak was snapped.

The 25-point halftime lead was the largest ever given up by the Storm in the regular season. Tampa Bay was outscored 39-10 in the second half, and 26-3 in the fourth quarter.

The Colorado defense, which came into the game allowing 63.3 points per game, stopped the Storm on three of five second-half possessions, giving up one touchdown and a field goal. The Storm were also 0-3 on third down conversions in the second half and 0-2 on fourth down conversions. Conversely, Colorado scored six touchdowns on six second half possessions. On the lone occasion that the Storm stopped the Crush on third down in the second half, Colorado managed to score an 11-yard touchdown on the next play.

The second half of the contest was eerily similar to the final minutes of Tampa Bay's game against Las Vegas earlier in the season, when the Storm blew a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter. In that game turnovers were the major turning point, just as they were against Colorado. With the Storm leading 42-30 and threatening to add to their lead, Freddie Solomon was stripped of the ball at the Colorado five-yard line. The Crush recovered and marched down the field for a touchdown, pulling to within 42-36. From there the Storm could not move the ball offensively, just as Tampa Bay could not move the ball in the waning minutes against Las Vegas, and the Crush eventually pulled out a come-from-behind victory.

STREAKS SNAPPED

Sunday's loss against Colorado snapped a number of impressive streaks that the Storm had put together in the previous weeks. Tampa Bay entered the contest with an eight-game winning streak, the longest this season in the AFL and the longest by a Tampa Bay team since the 1998 season, when the Storm won nine consecutive games. Sunday's loss by the Storm also snapped Tampa Bay's seven game home winning streak, which dated back to last season's regular season finale against Georgia. The Storm were the last remaining undefeated team at home this season.

Additionally, the 49 points scored by Colorado snapped the Storm's streak of six consecutive games of holding a team to under 40 points. Not since the Detroit Fury in Week 4 had a team scored 40 or more points against the Storm.

IN THE PLAYOFFS

Despite the loss, the Storm still managed to clinch a playoff spot on Sunday afternoon, becoming one of only two teams in the league who know for sure that they will be teeing it up in the post-season. Along with the Storm, the Los Angeles Avengers know they'll be playing in the post-season, thanks to losses over the weekend by Buffalo, Chicago, and Indiana. With the Storm and Avengers both clinching, the 0-12 Carolina Cobras have also been mathematically eliminated from the post-season. The playoff berth by the Storm extends the team's league-record for consecutive playoff appearances to 13 straight years. Tampa Bay has been in the playoffs in every season since 1991, its first season of play in Tampa Bay.

POWER OUTAGE?

Though the Tampa Bay offense has been able to rack up the yards in the past two weeks - 322 yards against both Carolina and Colorado - the Storm's scoring prowess has been slowed. The Storm have ranked as high as second in the league in scoring offense this season and were ranked third in the league in that category just two weeks ago following their 58-39 victory over the Georgia Force. However, after back-to-back 45-point efforts against Carolina and Colorado, the Storm have dropped to seventh in the league in scoring offense, averaging 53.9 points per game. Tampa Bay's 41-point offensive performance against Indiana was the only game this season in which the Storm scored less than the 45 points scored the last two weeks.

DUTTON DOES IT AGAIN

Colorado Crush quarterback John Dutton may have been the least surprised participant during Sunday's comeback win over the Storm. That's because he's done it before. Last season in the quarterfinals of the playoffs Dutton quarterbacked the San Jose Sabercats to a come-frombehind victory over the Storm.

Under center for the No. 1 seed and eventual ArenaBowl champs, Dutton found his team on the ropes and trailing Tampa Bay 45-27 midway through the third quarter. He went on to toss four touchdown passes in the final quarter and a half, leading the Sabercats to a 55-48 win over the No. 12-seeded Storm. San Jose would eventually defeat the Orlando Predators in the semifinals and destroy the Arizona Rattlers in the ArenaBown en route to the franchise's first world championship. Dutton was named ArenaBowl MVP, and eventually signed a free agent contract with the expansion Crush.

FOURTH QUARTER BLUES

As mentioned, the Storm's fourth quarter collapse against Colorado was the second time this season that Tampa Bay has given up a 20+ point second half lead. But what has become a concerning trend is the fact that teams have outscored the Storm 169-130 in the crucial fourth quarter.

That marks the only quarter in which the Storm have been outscored this season. Tampa Bay's best quarter offensively has been the second quarter, when the Storm own a 194-119 edge against their opponents. The Storm's best defensive quarter has been the third quarter, when teams have scored just 91 points this season compared to 161 points scored by the Storm. Tampa Bay has also outscored its opponents 154-110 in the first quarter and 647-495 overall this season.

THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN

Colorado's win last Sunday made the Crush just the sixth team to ever beat the Storm in its first ever game against Tampa Bay. Entering the contest Tampa Bay was 34-5 all-time against teams it was playing for the first time.

The Crush join the likes of the Orlando Predators, New Jersey Red Dogs, Las Vegas Sting, Los Angeles Avengers, and Dallas Desperados as the only teams to defeat the Storm in their first meeting with Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay is just 2-3 over the last two seasons against teams it played for the first time, but has a chance to even that record this week against the New York Dragons. The Storm will be meeting the Dragons for the first time since the team moved to Long Island from Iowa in 2001.

PICK POCKET

Omarr Smith's first quarter interception of Colorado quarterback John Dutton was the Storm's 19th interception of the season and marked the ninth straight game that the Storm has recorded an interception. The Storm had just six interceptions all of last season.

Smith's pick was his seventh of the season, which places him third on the Storm's all-time single season list. The Storm single season record is 12 by Tracey Perkins in 1997. A year later Johnnie Harris recorded 11 interceptions in 1998. Smith's seven interceptions also rank third in the league behind Clavan Thomas (9) and Kenny McEntyre (8).

Smith returned Sunday's interception for a 38-yard touchdown, his first interception return for touchdown of the season. It was also the fifth time this season that a Storm player returned an interception for a touchdown.

BJ Cohen has two interceptions returned for touchdowns, while Keita Crespina and Corey Sawyer have each added one.

Speaking of Sawyer, his five interceptions this season put him in a sixth place tie for the most interceptions ever recorded by a Storm player in a single season. Perkins recorded five interceptions in 1993, 1995, and 1996, and Reggie Berry recorded five in 1992.

NOT JUST A THIEF

Omarr Smith has become one of the top defenders in the AFL in just his first season at defensive specialist. He previously played WR/DB for San Jose from 2000-2002. Smith leads the Storm with 73.5 tackles, a total which is tops in the league. Smith also leads the league in fumble recoveries with five, which ties him for the secondmost fumble recoveries in a season in AFL history. The team and league record is six, recorded by Antoine Worthman in 2000. Smith is fourth in the league this season in passes defensed (pass breakups + interceptions) with 20, including 13 pass breakups and seven interceptions.

FLAG DAY

One of the Storm's pitfalls against Colorado came by way of penalties. Tampa Bay recorded a season-high 10 penalties for 79 yards. More importantly, the Storm gave the Crush four first downs on penalties that allowed Colorado to extend drives. The Storm have been one of the least penalized teams in the league this season, averaging 41.3 yards per game in penalties, which is fifth in the league this year.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Storm are still in very good shape as far as hosting a playoff game and getting one of the top four seeds and the first-round bye that goes along with seeds one through four, but for Tampa Bay to be where it wants to be at the end of the regular season it will have to play tough on the road. Tampa Bay finishes out its regular season schedule with three of four games away from home. The only home game left for Tampa Bay this season is a May 11 contest against the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose Sabercats. Tampa Bay is 3-2 on the road this season but has won its last three games away from home - a 58-56 win at Grand Rapids, a 41-20 win at Indiana, and a 45-38 overtime victory at Carolina.

FAMILIAR FACES

When the Storm arrive at Nassau Coliseum there will be some familiar faces across the field. Former Storm coach Lary Kuharich is the Dragons' assistant head coach. He was with the Storm as an offensive assistant last season, and previously served as head coach of the Storm from 1992-94, winning an ArenaBowl championship in 1993.

Also on the Dragons' roster is Ian Howfield, who kicked for Tampa Bay for seven games this season. Howfield is still the team's third-leading scorer this season, scoring 59 points, including the game-winning field goal in his first game against Grand Rapids. Additionally, the Dragons have Pete Elezovic on their injured list. Elezovic also kicked with the Storm this season, scoring 14 points in the first three games of the year. He also kicked for Tampa Bay during the team's two playoff games a season ago.

IT'S A CHAMPIONSHIP TRADITION

Though it looks bad on paper, losing to the previously 1- 10 Colorado Crush may be a sign that things are heading in the right direction for Tampa Bay. That's because in every season in which the Storm have won an ArenaBowl championship, they received a late-season wake-up call from an opponent that they should have easily dismissed en route to the championship.

In 1991 the Storm dropped a 51-34 decision to the Denver Dynamite with just three weeks left in the season. The Dynamite were 4-3 at the time, but the Storm had just handed them a 30-13 defeat one week earlier. In 1993 Tampa Bay lost 40-38 to an inferior Charlotte Rage team with four weeks left in the season. The Storm's final loss in 1995 came in Week 6 against a 1-5 Las Vegas Sting team. Following that loss, the Storm went on to win nine straight games to claim the championship and began what would be a league-best 17-game winning streak. The following season Tampa Bay saw the streak snapped against Charlotte, which entered the game with a 3-6 overall record.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY...

If the playoffs were to begin today, the Storm would be the second seed and receive a bye in the first round of the postseason. Los Angeles, who like the Storm also has a 9-3 overall record, would earn the No. 1 seed because of tie-breakers with Tampa Bay.

Following the Los Angeles and Tampa Bay, if the playoffs were to begin today, would be San Jose and Orlando, both of which would also get first round byes. Grand Rapids would have the fifth seed, followed by Georgia, Dallas, Las Vegas, Arizona, Detroit, Indiana, and New York.

STORM AND AFL SALUTE THE MILITARY

The Tampa Bay Storm and the Arena Football League are offering free and discounted tickets to all military personnel and their families for the remainder of the 2003 AFL season. All military personnel and their families may receive up to four free terrace level tickets for each game with a proper military ID. Additionally, $10 reserved seats may be purchased with proper military ID. These tickets are available only at the St. Pete Times Forum Box Office. To order tickets over the phone or for more information on this special promotion, call (813) 301-6600.

MILESTONES

John Kaleo, who in Week 1 became the ninth player in league history to eclipse the 18,000 career passing yards mark, became the ninth player in league history to throw for 18,000 yards and 300 touchdowns in a career with a five-touchdown performance in Week 6 against the Buffalo Destroyers. With 50 touchdown passes this season, he now has 320 career touchdown passes, which places him ninth all-time in that category. Additionally, with 276 yards in Week 9 against Arizona, Kaleo became just the seventh player to eclipse 20,000 career passing yards.

Gary Compton, who in Week 1 became the third player in AFL history to surpass 10,000 receiving yards, recently became only the fifth player to score over 1,200 career points. Compton currently sits in fifth place on the league's all-time scoring list, one spot behind teammate Mike Black. Black currently sits in fourth place with 1,221 career points. Should he pass Black, Compton's next target would be former Storm receiver George LaFrance, who retired following the 2000 season with 1,292 career points.

Storm WR/DB Alvin Ashley is himself moving close to a couple of AFL milestones as the 2003 season plows ahead. Ashley needs just three touchdowns to reach 150 career touchdowns and 12 receiving touchdowns to become the seventh player to reach 150 career receiving touchdowns. Ashley also has 14,638 career all-purpose yards, just 362 all-purpose yards shy of becoming the fifth player to reach 15,000 career all-purpose yards. In fact, when Ashley reaches 15,000 all-purpose yards and 150 receiving touchdowns, he will become just the fourth AFL player to do that.

After signing with the Storm on March 26, FB/LB Andre Bowden became just the second player in AFL history to go over 1,200 rushing yards for his career in his first game back with the Storm, rushing for seven yards and a touchdown against the Arizona Rattlers. Bowden, who is second in the league in career rushing yards and is the Storm all-time leader in that category, needs just six carries to surpass league all-time leader Les Barley in career rushing attempts.

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