Carolina Cobras Game Notes

Published on May 14, 2003 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Carolina Cobras News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Carolina Cobras (0-15) vs. New York Dragons (7-8)
Date: Friday, May 16, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Site: Charlotte Coliseum (12,229)
Officials: Tom McCabe (Referee), Thomas Laverty (Umpire), Dale Newhouse (Head Linesman), Bob McElwee (Line Judge), James Anderson (Back Judge)
Series Record: All-time series tied 1-1
Coaches: Carolina: Eddie Khayat (4th Season, 23-17) New York: Todd Shell (5th Season, 36-29)

THE SERIES: All-time series tied 1-1
@Carolina 56, New York 49 – May 18, 2001
@New York 99, Carolina 68 – July 7, 2001

COBRAS LAST WEEK: On the night that OS Alvin Ashley became only the sixth player in AFL history to record 15,000 career all-purpose yards, the Cobras suffered their AFL-record 15th consecutive loss with a 41-24 defeat at the hands of the Orlando Predators. The 15 losses by Carolina are the most ever by an AFL team and leave the Cobras just one loss away from becoming the sixth team in league history to finish the regular season winless. Playing without injured starters Bernard Holmes and Stewart Patridge, the Cobras were led by 234 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns from Ashley. He finished with eight receptions for 93 yards, four kickoff returns for 122 yards and two MFG returns for 19 yards. Ashley topped the 15,000-yard mark on his 56-yard kickoff return for touchdown in the second quarter. Robert Hall completed 23-of-36 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns in place of Patridge.

DRAGONS LAST WEEK: The Dragons improved to 5-0 on the road under Todd Shell as his team eliminated Buffalo from playoff contention with a 49-30 victory. With a win this week, the Dragons will be in the playoffs and could win their division. QB Aaron Garcia returned to the lineup against the Destroyers and had a solid day, completing 16-of-28 passes for 157 yards and six touchdowns. Rookie WR/LB Chris Anthony showed his prowess on both sides of the ball with seven catches for 50 yards and three scores on offense and 2.0 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery on defense.

HEAD COACHES: Eddie Khayat was named Carolina's interim head coach on April 28. He joined the Cobras organization as senior advisor of football operations in February. Khayat spent five years with the Nashville Kats, where he served as head coach in 1997 and 1998 and as general manager from 1999-2001. Khayat was honored as the AFL's Coach of the Year in 1997 after guiding the expansion Kats to a division championship. In his two years as head coach, the Kats had a 19-11 record and made the playoffs both years. In his three seasons as general manager, the Kats made the playoffs each year and played in the ArenaBowl in 2000 and 2001. Khayat also served as head coach of the New Orleans Night in 1991. Khayat played in the NFL for nine seasons with the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles before ending his playing career with the AFL's Boston Patriots. He began his coaching days as defensive line coach with the New Orleans Saints, where he served for four seasons before taking over as head coach of the Eagles in 1971. After two years in Philadelphia, he was a defensive line coach with Detroit, Atlanta, Baltimore, New England and Tampa Bay.

The Dragons named former San Jose Head Coach Todd Shell as the second head coach in franchise history on February 25. Serving as the first head coach in Sabercats history, Shell led his 1995 squad to a record of 8-4 and a Western Division Championship. His team became the first expansion franchise in AFL history to win a division title. After four seasons at the helm in San Jose, Shell compiled a record of 29-25 earning a playoff berth in three of four seasons. He was the San Francisco 49ers' 1984 first-round draft pick out of BYU where he proceeded to win two Super Bowl rings (1984 and 1988). Shell played five seasons in San Francisco before retiring due to injuries. He most recently worked as the color commentator for the Arizona Rattlers, where he served as defensive coordinator from 1992-1994.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS: The Cobras and Dragons have not met since the 2001 season when they split a pair of games with each team winning on their home turf. Carolina won the first-ever meeting, 56-49, on May 18 in Raleigh behind the arm of Fred McNair. He completed 23-of-34 passes for 258 yards and seven touchdowns. New York bounced back on July 7 to score an AFL-record 99 points en route to a 99-68 win over the Cobras. Dragons QB Aaron Garcia had a career night, passing for an AFL record 11 touchdowns and rushing for another score. In two meetings with the Cobras, Garcia has completed 50-of-72 passes for 706 yards and 18 scores.

COBRAS INJURY UPDATE: Carolina has lost a total of 102 player games due to injury this season...15 different players have spent time on injured reserve...Both starting OS Bernard Holmes (knee) and QB Stewart Patridge (back) will not play in this week's game...QB Robert Hall (ankle) is listed as probable...FB/LB Tim McGill is questionable with a knee injury suffered last week at Orlando. COBRAS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
OL/DL Ethan Banning Elbow IR
WR/DB Buddy Crutchfield Quad IR
QB Robert Hall Ankle Probable
OS Bernard Holmes Knee Out
QB Ron Lopez Back IR
FB/LB Tim McGill Knee Questionable
QB Stewart Patridge Back Out
DS Robert Williams Shoulder IR

SNAKE BITES:

Skid Reaches Record Level: Carolina's 15-game losing streak has set new AFL records for losses in a single season and consecutive losses in a single season. The record for most consecutive losses over two seasons is 17 by Memphis in 1995 and 1996. The Cobras have lost seven straight at home and eight straight on the road – both franchise records. Listed below are the only five teams in league history that have failed to win a regular season game. In af2, two teams have finished with a 0-16 record – the Columbus Wardogs in 2001 and the Mobile Wizards in 2002.

Year Team Record
1989 Maryland Commandos 0-4
1991 Columbus Thunderbolts 0-10
1992 New Orleans Night 0-10
1994 Milwaukee Mustangs 0-12
1996 Memphis Pharaohs 0-14

Knee Injury Slows All-Arena Bid: OS Bernard Holmes' season-ending knee injury has slowed his run for a spot on the 2003 All-Arena Team. Before suffering the injury on April 26 at Arizona, he had recorded 200 or more all-purpose yards in 10 consecutive games played. Holmes put together six of the top eight single-game all-purpose yard games in franchise history this season, including the third-best overall performance in AFL history with 413 all-purpose yards against Georgia on April 18. He set new franchise season records for touchdowns (20), 100-yard receiving games (6), kickoff returns (74), kickoff return yards (1,546), combined return yards (1,644) and all-purpose yards (2,641). His 180 receiving yards on March 9 against Las Vegas and 13 receptions on April 4 at Los Angeles were career highs.

Among The All-Time Best: Despite appearing in just 11 games this season, Holmes finishes the year as one of only three players in AFL history to have 10 or more games of 200 or more all-purpose yards in a season.

Player Season Team Games
Lamont Cooper 2001 Oklahoma 12
Steve Papin 1998 San Jose 10
Bernard Holmes 2003 Carolina 10

One For The Record Book: Holmes had the best game of his career and the third-best overall performance in Arena Football history on April 18 when he recorded a franchise-record 413 all-purpose yards in the Cobras loss to Georgia. Holmes had nine receptions for 125 yards, returned nine kickoffs for 216 yards and had two missed field goal returns for 72 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown. Below are the top three all-purpose yardage games in Arena Football history:

Player Date Team Yards
Barry Wagner 6/21/96 Orl. vs. Iowa 434
Lamont Cooper 5/4/02 Buf. at Det. 415
Bernard Holmes 4/18/03 Car. vs. Geo. 413

Ashley Makes Immediate Impact: WR/DB Alvin Ashley has had an immediate impact since signing with the Cobras as a free agent two weeks ago. The 10-year AFL veteran has recorded 426 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in his two appearances. He is averaging 88.5 receiving yards and 124.5 return yards per game with Carolina.

Among The Elite: Alvin Ashley became one of only six players in AFL history to record 15,000 or more career all-purpose yards with his 234-yard effort last week at Orlando. He topped the 15,000 mark on his 56-yard kickoff return for touchdown in the second quarter against the Predators. Ashley is also one of only three players in league history to record over 7,000 receiving yards and 7,000 combined kick return yards.

Third Quarter Woes: The Cobras have scored just 89 points in the third quarter this season, an average of only 5.9 points per game. Carolina has been outscored 219-89 in the period.

The AFL's Version Of Slash: Robert Hall has started games at both QB and OS for the Cobras this season and played both positions at Arizona on April 26. He has thrown 26 touchdowns this year, rushed for six more and has five receptions for 80 yards. He is the only player in league history to have over 3,000 passing and 3,000 receiving yards in his career.

Taking Care Of The Ball: Carolina's offense has turned the ball over 17 times in the last four games, while the defense hasn't created a turnover. The Cobras rank 15th in the league with a –24 turnover margin.

Post To Post: Carolina has allowed a franchise record six kickoff returns for touchdowns this season and one missed field goal return for a touchdown. In the previous three years of the team's history, the Cobras had allowed only six total kickoff returns for touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, Bernard Holmes has returned three kickoffs for scores and one missed FG for a touchdown and Alvin Ashley returned a kickoff for touchdown last week in only his second game with Carolina.

Young Star Shines Bright: With OS Bernard Holmes out with a knee injury against Chicago on May 4, rookie WR/LB Chris Johnson stepped right in and had the best game of his young career. He caught 10 passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns against the Rush. It was Johnson's second 100-yard game of the season -- he had nine receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns at San Jose on March 28.

A Tale Of Two Halves: The Cobras have been outscored by an average of just 5.3 points in the first half of their last eight games, but have been outscored 230-108 in the second half to stretch their losing streak to 15 straight. Below is a chart showing the comparison:

Statistics Cobras Opponents
First Half Points 164 (20.5) 206 (25.8)
Second Half Points 108 (13.5) 230 (28.8)

The Quarterback Carousel: After settling in with Stewart Patridge at quarterback for five consecutive weeks, the Cobras quarterback carousel took another spin last week when Patridge was determined out for the year with a herniated disk in his back. Carolina has used five different quarterbacks this season. Chad DeGrenier started the season opener at Tampa Bay, throwing four interceptions. Patridge got the nod in week two at Buffalo. Robert Hall was the starter in weeks three and four against Detroit and Orlando. Rookie Glen Gauntt got the start in week five at Grand Rapids. Ron Lopez got the starting nod in week six against Las Vegas. Lopez was replaced in the fourth quarter of that game by Hall, who started the next three weeks. Patridge returned to the starting lineup for weeks 10 through 14 before not being able to play at Orlando last week. Hall moved back into the starting lineup against the Predators and will start this week's game.

Trading Places: After appearing as an OL/DL in 10 of the Cobras first 12 games, rookie Tim McGill moved to FB/LB on April 26 against Arizona and responded with the best outing of his AFL career. He recorded a season-high 4.0 tackles and his second sack of the season.

The True Ironmen: WR/DB Nick Ward and K Matt George are the only two players that have appeared in every game for the Cobras this season. Ward had the best outing of his three-year AFL career on April 11 against Tampa Bay. He had seven receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns on offense, all of which are new career-highs. Defensively, Ward had 5.0 tackles, one fumble recovery, one pass breakup and one interception. George's 51-yard field goal on April 11 against Tampa Bay tied the longest in Cobras franchise history. It was the fourth 50-plus yard field goal of his career.

Patridge Makes His Mark: QB Stewart Patridge made his second start of the season on April 4 at Los Angeles and quickly put his mark on the Cobras record book. He posted franchise records of 30 completions and 46 pass attempts, throwing for 287 yards and six touchdowns, both of which are season-highs for a Cobras quarterback. Supporting Our Military: To show their support for the men and women serving in our armed forces at home and overseas, the Carolina Cobras have offered special discounts and, when available, complimentary tickets for all armed forces personnel and their families to any Cobras game during the 2003 season. To take advantage of this offer, armed forces personnel and/or their families will be asked to present a military ID at the Charlotte Coliseum box office to receive the tickets.

COBRAS PLAYERS TO WATCH:

WR/DB Alvin Ashley: Ashley has recorded 426 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in his two games with the Cobras. Last week, he became only the sixth player in AFL history to record over 15,000 career all-purpose yards. Ashley is also one of only three players in league history to record over 7,000 receiving yards and 7,000 combined kick return yards.

QB Robert Hall: Hall moved back into the starting QB slot last week and completed 23-of-36 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, he has completed 152-of-265 passes (.574) for 1,687 yards and 26 scores. Hall is the only player in league history to have over 3,000 passing and 3,000 receiving yards in his career.

DS Derek Stingley: Stingley ranks among the league's leaders with 15 passes defended and 49.0 tackles this season. He has recorded at least one pass breakup in 11 of his 13 games played and notched the 100th pass breakup of his career on May 4 against Chicago. Stingley has posted eight or more tackles three times this season – February 14 vs. Detroit (8.5), March 21 vs. Dallas (8.0) and April 11 vs. Tampa Bay (8.0).

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 14, 2003


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