Blaze vs. Rush - Game Preview
June 5, 2013 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Utah Blaze News Release
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Blaze (4-6) complete a three-game road trip with a rematch against the Chicago Rush (6-5) this Saturday, June 8th at the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, Illinois. The two teams previously squared off in Week 5, when Chicago narrowly escaped with a 59-56 win after booting a last-second field goal.
The Blaze will be looking to snap a two-game skid after suffering one point losses in each of their previous two contests, including a 42-41 defeat at the hands of the San Antonio Talons on Monday. The Rush posted a 63-55 victory over the Orlando Predators in Week 11 and have won their last two games.
Chicago quarterback Carson Coffman - a member of the Blaze as a rookie in 2012 - is coming off an eight touchdown performance that saw him earn Offensive Player of the Week accolades. The Rush passing game is predicated around the quick-twitch ability of wide receiver Reggie Gray, who leads the Arena Football League with 2,066 all-purpose yards and is a threat on both offense and special teams. Through 11 games, he has totaled 86 receptions for 1,320 yards and 31 touchdowns while adding 737 yards and another score on 34 kickoff returns.
Utah's vaunted defense racked up six more takeaways last week, including three turnovers on downs. Veteran David Hyland logged a 16-yard interception returned for a touchdown and rookie Tony Tatum posted a pick of his own in his AFL debut. The Blaze have quickly become one of the elite defensive units in Arena Football and have surrendered just 246.6 total yards per game to place second in the League.
Fourth down will be a deciding factor in this week's matchup, where each team has seen its share of success. The Rush offense has converted 58.3 percent of all fourth-down attempts this season, ranking second in the AFL. However, Utah's defense has denied opponents on 75 percent of fourth-down tries, also coming in second.
The Blaze have yet to recapture the magic on offense that produced a record-shattering passing attack just a season ago. Still, the unit continues to rack up yardage and currently ranks second in passing offense (286.5 ypg) and third in total offense (301.1 ypg). Utah must cut down on turnovers and penalties in order to finish drives and find the end zone this week.
Defensively, the Rush are allowing an average of 54.3 points and 273.7 passing yards per game, placing 11th in both categories. The group has surrendered 222 first downs this season, ranking as the second-highest total in the Arena Football League. In their last matchup, Utah Blaze quarterback Tommy Grady threw for 345 yards, his second-best output of the 2013 season.
The Utah Blaze versus Chicago Rush can be heard exclusively on 97.5 FM The Zone with Scott Garrard providing play-by-play coverage! Kickoff from the BMO Harris Bank Center is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. MT this Saturday, June 8th.
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