Sports stats

Chicago Rush game notes

May 17, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release


The Quick Facts
TV: NBC...Bob Papa, Ray Bentley, Marty Snider
Radio: WCKG, 105.9 FM...Tom Dore, James "Big Cat" Williams
Overall Series Record: Chicago leads 3-1
Last Meeting: March 17, 2006, Nashville 48, Rush 47
Coaches (regular season, postseason records):
Mike Hohensee (95-85, 7-9 - 13th season)
Pat Sperduto (41-32-1, 5-3 - 5th season)
Officials: Bill Athan (Referee), Doug WIlson (Umpire), Tim Podraza (Head Linesman), Brian Matthew (Line Judge), Rich Wilborn (Back Judge)


2006 Chicago Rush Schedule
January 29 @ Colorado* L, 65-56 14,832
February 3 New York L, 51-47 14,947
February 12 Nashville* W, 56-55 (OT) 12,663
February 18 @ Los Angeles W, 65-46 12,554
February 26 San Jose W, 54-48 (OT) 12,950
March 5 Dallas L, 59-42 13,503
March 10 Colorado* L, 49-42 13,807
March 17 @ Nashville* L, 48-47 8,772
March 26 Grand Rapids* W, 51-44 15,228
April 2 @ Orlando L, 55-27 13,111
April 9 @ Philadelphia L, 56-55 (OT) 14,778
April 15 @ Arizona L, 61-42 11,790
April 23 Las Vegas W, 67-47 16,230
April 29 @ Georgia L, 55-20 13,087
May 6 Utah W, 84-48 16,154
May 13 @ Grand Rapids* W, 70-47 7,280
May 21 y-@ Nashville 2 p.m. NBC
y-AFL Playoffs
* Central Division game

American Conference - Central Division
Final 2006 Standings
W-L-T PF PA Division
Colorado 11-5-0 903 833 5-1
Nashville 8-8-0 818 799 3-3
RUSH 7-9-0 825 834 3-3
Grand Rapids 5-10-0 722 875 1-5

THE ROAD TO ARENABOWL XX: Chicago's voyage to ArenaBowl XX Las Vegas begins on the road this Sunday against the Nashville Kats. The Rush won three of its final four regular season games, including last week's 70-47 win in Grand Rapids, to qualify for the playoffs and earn the No. 5 seed in the American Conference. The Kats defeated Tampa Bay 66-50 last Saturday night to stop a four-game losing streak and hold on to the American Conference's No. 4 seed.

AFL PLAYOFF PICTURE: Colorado, San Jose, Dallas and Orlando enter the playoffs as the AFL's four division winners, thus earning first-round byes. For the second year in a row Colorado enters the playoffs as the top seed in the American Conference, while Dallas finished the season with the AFL's best record and the National Conference's No. 1 seed.

Here is a look at the AFL's playoff pairings:
American Conference National Conference
1. x-Colorado 11-5 1. x-Dallas 13-3
2. x-San Jose 10-6 2. x-Orlando 10-6
3. Arizona 8-8 3. New York 10-6
4. Nashville 8-8 4. Austin 10-6
5. Chicago 7-9 5. Philadelphia 9-7
6. Utah 7-9 6. Georgia 8-8
x-division winner, receives first-round bye

Wild Card Round
Saturday, May 20, 4 p.m. Sunday, May 21, 2 p.m.
Utah @ Arizona Chicago @ Nashville
Georgia @ New York
Philadelphia @ Austin

Conference Semifinals: May 27 and May 28
Conference Finals: June 3 and June 4
ArenaBowl XX: Sunday, June 11

PLAYOFF CONSISTENCY: Only three teams - Chicago, Orlando and San Jose - have qualified for the AFL playoffs in each of the past six seasons. Chicago has advanced to the AFL semifinals three times during that span - 2002, 2004 and 2005.

Here is a look at Chicago's all-time playoff results:
2001: W, 41-26 at Orlando (Wild Card Round)
L, 53-21 at Grand Rapids (Quarterfinal)
2002: W, 60-47 vs. Dallas (Quarterfinal)
L, 46-35 at Arizona (Semifinal)
2003: L, 48-45 at New York (Wild Card Round)
2004: W, 59-49 vs. Orlando (Quarterfinal)
L, 49-35 at San Jose (Semifinal)
2005: W, 52-45 at Los Angeles (Quarterfinal)
L, 49-43 (OT) at Colorado (Semifinal)

PLAYOFF STREAKS: Chicago's six-year playoff streak is the third longest current streak in the AFL behind Orlando (15 straight years) and San Jose (7). In addition, Mike Hohensee's streak of taking his teams to the playoffs for seven straight seasons is tied for the second-longest consecutive streak by any AFL coach. Danny White led the Blaze to the playoffs in his first year on the Utah sidelines after taking his Arizona Rattlers to 12 consecutive playoff appearances. San Jose head coach Darren Arbet has taken his team to the playoffs for seven-consecutive seasons and Orlando head coach Jay Gruden has taken his teams to six-straight playoff appearances.

GRAND RAPIDS WIN SECURES PLAYOFFS: QB Matt D'Orazio completed 18 of 28 passes for 189 yards and six touchdowns and Dennison Robinson intercepted two passes and forced a fumble as the Rush defeated Grand Rapids 70-47 to earn a trip to the AFL playoffs.

Leading 14-7 late in the first quarter, Grand Rapids had the ball first-and-goal on the Rush 3-yard line when Robinson forced Rampage FB Chris Ryan to fumble. The ball bounced into the end zone where Rush LB Charlie Cook recovered it for a touchback. Four plays later D'Orazio hit Bobby Sippio with a 23-yard touchdown pass to put the Rush up 21-7.

Grand Rapids cut the score to 21-17 with 2:41 left in the first half, but the Rush responded with a Charlie Cook two-yard touchdown catch and DeJuan Alfonzo's 24-yard TD reception sandwiched around Robinson's first interception to take a 35-17 halftime lead before cruising to the 23 point win.

CAN'T GET MUCH CLOSER THAN 1 POINT: Chicago and Nashville have played two of the most exciting games of the 2006 season. Both games came down to the final play with each team winning by one point on its home field.

Here is a recap of this season's Rush-Kats games:

March 17, 2006 - Trailing 48-41 with less than one minute remaining, Rush quarterback Matt D'Orazio capped a four-play, 30 yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run to bring Chicago within one. With just 28 seconds left in the game Rush head coach Mike Hohensee went for the win and called for a two-point conversion. However, when receiver C.J. Johnson was tackled on the 1-yard line, and Nashville recovered the ensuing on-side kick, the Kats held on for a 48-47 victory.

The failed two-point conversion erased the momentum of a great 14-point fourth-quarter comeback by the Rush. Behind 41-27 with just 12 minutes remaining D'Orazio engineered two touchdown drives sandwiched around a Dennison Robinson interception. The two Rush TDs evened the score at 41-41 with just 4:34 left in the game.

February 12, 2006 - Nashville battled back from a 42-20 deficit and scored on the final play of regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 48-48. The Kats scored first in overtime to give Nashville a 55-48 lead. Rush QB Matt D'Orazio then led Chicago down the field, but after two incomplete passes and a sack, found himself faced with a fourth-and-15 play from the Kats' 17-yard line. D'Orazio dropped back and found OS C.J. Johnson in the back corner of the end zone to bring the score to 55-54. Rather than kick the PAT and play on, Rush head coach Mike Hohensee elected to go for two and the win. D'Orazio hit Cornelius White with the conversion pass and the Rush notched a 56-55 victory.

Here is a look at the Rush-Kats All-Time Series Results:
2005: Rush 45, Nashville 38 (March 6 @ Chicago)
Rush 45, Nashville 21 (May 22 @ Nashville)
2006: Rush 56, Nashville 55 - OT (February 12 @ Chicago)
Nashville 48, Rush 47 (March 17 @ Nashville)

WHAT, NO LOSING STREAK?: This will be the fifth meeting between the Rush and Kats, but the first in which the Rush will not bring a two-game losing streak with it to the game.

ON A ROLL: The Rush enters the playoffs as winners of three of its last four games. In its three wins against Las Vegas, Utah and Grand Rapids, the Rush outscored its opponents 221-142.

2006 RUSH BY THE NUMBERS: Here is a breakdown of how the Rush fared in certain situations this season:
Site: Home 5-3 Road 2-6
Time: Day 6-4 Night 1-5
Opponents: vs. American Conf. 7-4
vs. Central 3-3 vs. West 4-1
vs. National Conf. 0-5
vs. East 0-3 vs. South 0-2
vs. 2006 playoff teams 3-9

300-YARD PASSERS: Nashville QB Clint Stoerner has recorded the two best passing games ever against the Rush defense. While with Dallas in 2005, Stoerner passed for a record 398 yards, and earlier this season, Stoerner passed for 368 yards. He is one of eight QBs who have passed for 300 or more yards against the Rush defense, joining Donnie Davis, Clint Dolezel, John Dutton, Aaron Garcia, Mark Grieb, Andy Kelly and Chad Salisbury.

Here are Stoerner's career numbers against the Rush:
Comp Att Pct. Yds. TD Int Rating
56 94 59.6% 766 10 0 112.2

Rush opponent's 300-yard passing games:
Player Date Yards
Clint Stoerner 1/30/05 @ Dallas 398
Clint Stoerner 2/13/06 vs. Nashville 368
Mark Grieb 4/10/05 vs. San Jose 368
Clint Dolezel 5/1/05 vs. Las Vegas 355
Clint Dolezel 7/7/01 @ Grand Rapids 342
Aaron Garcia 3/23/03 vs. New York 339
Clint Dolezel 5/4/02 vs. Grand Rapids 321
Andy Kelly 3/20/05 vs. New Orleans 311
Clint Dolezel 3/29/03 @ Grand Rapids 317
Andy Kelly 3/28/04 vs. Detroit 306
Donnie Davis 5/18/02 vs. Georgia 304
Aaron Garcia 6/30/02 vs. New York 303
John Dutton 3/10/06 vs. Colorado 300
Chad Salisbury 5/13/06 @ Grand Rapids 300

HOME COOKIN': The Rush finished the regular season with a 5-3 record at home, averaging 55.4 points per game in its eight games this year. Chicago now has a 32-16 all-time record at Allstate Arena (including postseason).

ROAD WEARY: The Rush finished the season with a 2-6 road record. It's the team's worst road season in its six-year history. Prior to this season, Chicago's worst road record was in its inaugural 2001 season when the team went 2-5 on the road during the regular season and 3-6 on the road including postseason. Overall, the Rush has a 23-30 road record in its six-year history (including postseason).

OWNING THE DIVISION?: After entering the 2006 season with an 11-3 record against Central Division opponents over the past two years, the Rush fell to 3-3 in the Central Division in 2006.

WORKING ON HIS SECOND 100: With Chicago's 67-47 win over Las Vegas April 23, head coach Mike Hohensee finally got the 100th win of his AFL career. Hohensee, who now has 102 career victories, is only the third head coach in AFL history with more than 100 career wins, joining Tampa Bay coach Tim Marcum and Utah coach Danny White.

The only head coach in Rush history, Hohensee has guided Chicago to a 55-46 overall record and playoff appearances in each of the team's six seasons. During his tenure, the Rush has won two Central Division titles (2002, 2004) and advanced to the AFL semifinals three times (2002, 2004, 2005).

One of only four men to be involved in the Arena Football League in each of the league's 20 seasons, Hohensee has taken his teams to the playoffs 10 times and won five division titles in his 13 seasons as a head coach.

Earlier this season, the Rush extended Hohensee's contract through the 2009 season.

Hohensee originally was hired on September 26, 2000. He
8 has a regular season record of 95-85 (including a
51-41 mark with the Rush).
8 has a career 7-9 mark in the postseason.
8 has led the Rush to six-consecutive playoff berths and two Central Division titles (2002 and 2004).
8 is 3-2 all-time vs. Nashville.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason
Coach Team Wins This Week
Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 180
Danny White Utah 148 @ Arizona
Mike Hohensee Rush 102 @ Nashville
Mike Dailey Colorado 99
Darren Arbet San Jose 92

TALK ABOUT A HOT QB: Rush QB Matt D'Orazio closed the season as one of the AFL's hottest quarterbacks. In Chicago's final three wins D'Orazio completed 60 of 86 passes (69.8%) for 806 yards and 21 touchdowns without throwing an interception. His QB rating during the stretch was 137.7.

D'ORAZIO AMONG AFL LEADERS: Rush QB Matt D'Orazio finished the 2006 regular season ranked among the league's top passers. D'Orazio finished the year ranked second in the AFL in completion percentage (68.7%) and third in QB rating (123.4) after setting career highs in all of his passing stats. He completed 305 of 444 passes for 3,546 yards and 63 touchdowns, while only throwing five interceptions, and finished the season by attempting 99 consecutive passes without throwing an interception.

Earlier in the year, D'Orazio set a team record by attempting 231 consecutive passes without throwing an interception. His streak began February 3 vs. New York and was snapped when he was picked off in the second quarter vs. Grand Rapids on March 26.

D'Orazio also finished the season ranked fifth in the AFL in rushing with 56 carries for 162 yards.

D'ORAZIO GREAT IN CLUTCH: Rush QB Matt D'Orazio is at his best when it counts the most. D'Orazio ranks second in the AFL in fourth quarter passing, converting 72 of 99 attempts for 804 yards and 16 TDs in the fourth quarter for a QB rating of 131.9.

D'ORAZIO vs. NASHVILLE: Matt D'Orazio played well against the Kats this season, completing 43 of 62 passes for 436 yards and six touchdowns. He did not throw an interception, but was sacked six times in the two games.

Here are D'Orazio's career numbers against Nashville:
Comp Att Pct. Yds. TD Int Rating
43 62 69.3% 436 6 0 113.3

KHREEM SMITH NAMED TO ALL-ROOKIE TEAM: Rush rookie lineman Khreem Smith was named to the AFL's All-Rookie team this week, becoming the fourth Rush player in six years to be named to the All-Rookie team (Antonio Chatman, Keith Gispert and Etu Molden). Smith finished his rookie season as the AFL leader in forced fumbles (6) and ranked second in the AFL in sacks (8.0). He also recorded 22.5 tackles, two passes broken up and one blocked kick. His sack total is the third-highest single-season total in Rush history, behind John Moyer's 10 sacks in 2004 and nine in 2003.

SIPPIO, UNERTL SIGN EXTENSIONS: The Rush helped solidify its future by signing offensive specialist Bobby Sippio and defensive specialist Jeremy Unertl to contract extensions through the 2007 and 2008 seasons, respectively.

Sippio played in five games for the Rush since being claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay, catching 38 passes for 654 yards and 17 TDs. Sippio played in nine games with the Storm before being waived, catching 55 passes for 666 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Unertl helped solidify the Rush secondary since his trade from Columbus in February. He led all Rush players in tackles, interceptions and passes broken up, recording 74.0 tackles, eight interceptions and 11 PBUs since being inserted into the Rush secondary. He was named ADT Defensive Player of the Game three times - February 12 vs. Nashville, February 18 at Los Angeles and February 26 vs. San Jose - and his eight interceptions were the most by any Rush player in one season since Dameon Porter had 10 interceptions in 2002.

FAMILIAR FACES: The Kats have three players on their roster who are very familiar to Chicago Rush fans. Lineman James Baron (2002-2004), WR/DB Cornelius Bonner (2001-2003) and OS C.J. Johnson (2005-2006) all played important roles while wearing Rush blue. Baron recorded 10 sacks in his time in Chicago and was a part of the 2002 and 2004 Central Division title teams that reached the AFL semifinals, while Bonner still ranks fourth on the Rush career receptions list with 131. Johnson set Rush playoff records with his 19 receptions for 272 yards in the 2005 playoffs and was the team's leading receiver, catching 66 passes for 743 yards and eight touchdowns before being released May 4.

COOKIE MONSTER: Rush FB/LB Charlie Cook is playing his best football as the Rush heads to the playoffs. One week after winning ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors for his performance against Utah, Cook showed his strength on offense. In last week's win at Grand Rapids, Cook had three carries for 29 yards and a touchdown and caught a two-yard TD pass. He also recovered a fumble in the game.

DANTZLER LOOKS SHARP: Rush rookie Woody Dantzler was promoted to the active roster from the team's practice squad April 7, and made his AFL debut April 9 in Philadelphia. Like Bobby Sippio, Dantzler has had an impact on the Rush offense, catching 26 passes for 317 yards and five touchdowns in his six games.

MOLDEN GETTING BACK IN THE GROOVE: WR/LB Etu Molden, the team's leading receiver in 2004 and 2005, missed four of the team's first nine games this season with shoulder and knee injuries. However, Molden finally got healthy and finished the season with a team-leading 67 receptions for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns.

MOLDEN RE-WRITES RUSH RECORDS: This season, Rush WR/LB Etu Molden has moved past former offensive specialist Antonio Chatman for franchise records for career receptions, career receiving yards, career receiving touchdowns and total touchdowns.

Career Numbers Chatman Molden
Games 30 43
Receptions 197 264
Yards 2,676 3,132
Receiving TDs 52 58
Total TDs 62 72

TAYLOR BACK IN BLUE: The Rush signed defensive specialist Marvin Taylor to its roster April 13, just three days after he was released by Grand Rapids. He immediately was inserted into the lineup at defensive specialist - alongside Jeremy Unertl -played in five games since signing with the Rush, recording 25.5 tackles, one interception, one pass broken up and one fumble recovered. Taylor, who played 11 games with the Rampage and recorded 49.5 tackles and three interceptions, is in his second tour of duty with the Rush after playing for Chicago in 2002 and 2003.

FANTASTIC FINISHES: Six of Chicago's 16 games this season were decided on the game's final play.

Dating back to last season's American Conference Semifinal in Colorado, seven of Chicago's last 17 games have been decided on the final play.

Games decided on final play:
June 5, 2005 - Colorado QB John Dutton connects with Andy McCullough on a 22-yard touchdown pass in overtime for the 49-43 win.

January 29, 2006 - Dutton hit Colorado OS Damian Harrell with an 11-yard TD pass with one-second left, breaking a 56-56 tie. After a safety on the ensuing kickoff, the Crush had handed Chicago a 65-56 defeat.

February 3, 2006 - Rush QB Matt D'Orazio's one-yard touchdown scramble as time expired was nullified by a Rush penalty, turning a 53-51 Rush win into a 51-47 loss to New York.

February 12, 2006 - D'Orazio's TD pass to C.J. Johnson and two-point conversion pass to Cornelius White in overtime gave the Rush a 56-55 win over Nashville.

February 26, 2006 - D'Orazio's 12-yard TD pass to Buchie Ibeh with 11 seconds remaining forced overtime vs. San Jose. Then, after a Jeremy Unertl interception on San Jose's first possession of OT, D'Orazio's 27-yard TD pass to Cornelius White gave the Rush a 54-48 win.

March 26, 2006 - D'Orazio's 14-yard TD pass to White with four seconds remaining gave the Rush a 49-44 lead over Grand Rapids. Then, after the ensuing kickoff went for a touchback, Curtis Eason sacked Rampage QB Chad Salisbury for a safety on the game's final play, giving the Rush a 51-44 victory.

April 9, 2006 - D'Orazio's game-winning two-point conversion attempt in overtime was intercepted by Philadelphia Soul DS Eddie Moten, giving the Soul a 56-55 OT win over the Rush.

OVERTIME TURNAROUND: Entering this season, the Rush was 2-4 all time in overtime and had lost its last three overtime games overall. This year the Rush played three overtime games - February 12 vs. Nashville, February 26 vs. San Jose and April 9 at Philadelphia - going 2-1.

ALFONZO SETS TACKLE RECORD: Rush WR/LB DeJuan Alfonzo recorded 6.0 tackles last week at Grand Rapids, giving him 186.5 for his Rush career. This season Alfonzo moved past former Rush DS Cedric Walker (166.5) as the team's career tackles leader.

PROTECT THAT QB: Perhaps the key to Rush victories is protecting its QB. In Chicago's seven wins this season the team gave up a total of seven sacks and none in its last four wins. However, in its nine losses the offensive line allowed 17 sacks. For the season the Rush allowed a franchise record 24 sacks. Coming into this season the Rush offensive line had given up a total of 13 sacks in the last two seasons combined.

UNDER PRESSURE: The Rush defensive line recorded 21 sacks on the season, eight more than the defense registered during the entire 2005 season and two shy of the team-record 23 set in 2004. The Rush finished the season tied for third in the AFL in sacks.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND: One of the best trends of the 2006 season involves Chicago's success on the turnover front. After finishing the 2004 season tied with Los Angeles for the best turnover ratio in the AFL at +15, the Rush dipped to 16th last year with a -6 ratio. This year the Rush rebounded, finishing third in the league with a +10 ratio.

MOYER IS CHICAGO'S ALL-TIME SACK LEADER: In his eighth AFL season, Rush lineman John Moyer has 35.5 career sacks - including 30.5 as a member of the Rush. He is currently in eighth place on the AFL's all-time list for career sacks and needs just one more sack to pass Andre Bowden for seventh place.

Here are Chicago's season and career sack leaders:
Player Season Player Career
John Moyer 10.0 (2004) John Moyer 30.5
John Moyer 9.0 (2003) James Baron 10.0
Khreem Smith 8.0 (2006) Khreem Smith 8.0
John Moyer 6.0 (2005) Anthony Hutch 6.5
Anthony Hutch 5.5 (2001) Riley Kleinhesselink 5.0
John Moyer 4.0 (2002) Jamie McGourty 5.5
James Baron 4.0 (2003) D.J. Bleisath 5.0
Tony Henderson 4.0 (2001) Bob McMillen 4.5
D.J. Bleisath 4.0 (2006) Tony Henderson 4.0

CALL MOYER MR. TOUCHDOWN: Everyone knows that Moyer is one of the game's best pass rushers, but what makes Moyer special is his ability to excel on offense and special teams in addition to defense. Moyer has proven to be a very capable receiver, catching four passes for 47 yards and three touchdowns on the season. Dating back to last season, Moyer has caught 12 passes with eight of them going for touchdowns.

WRIGHT MAN FOR RETURNS: With the trade of Henry Douglas to Columbus on February 7, the Rush coaches turned to Carlos Wright to handle kickoff returns. Wright has proven to be not only a wise choice for the job, but one of the best kick return men in the league. Wright returned 59 kickoffs for 1,325 yards and three touchdowns and finished the season tied for second in the AFL in kickoff returns, averaging 22.5 yards per return.

McMILLEN TOPS 1,400: Rush FB/LB Bob McMillen became the AFL's all-time leading rusher March 17, when he rushed for four yards in the team's game at Nashville. McMillen finished the season with 89 yards rushing, breaking his streak of seven-consecutive 100-yard seasons. He is the first AFL player to eclipse the 1,400 yard mark and now has 1,417 for his career.

Earlier this season, as part of the league's celebration of its 20th season McMillen was named one of the AFL's 20 Greatest Players of all-time. In his 12th season, he ranks first on the AFL's all-time rushing list, second all-time in rushing attempts and third in rushing touchdowns. He has won two ArenaBowl championships (1997 with Arizona and 2002 with San Jose) and is the only player in AFL history to rush for 100 or more yards in seven-consecutive seasons.

The AFL's All-Time Rushing Yards list
Player Seasons Team Yards
Bob McMillen 1995-present Chicago 1,417
Les Barley 1992-2001 - 1,382
Bo Kelly 1996-present Arizona 1,346
Andre Bowden 1991-2004 - 1,241

The AFL's All-Time Rushing Attempts list
Player Seasons Team Attempts
Bo Kelly 1996-present Arizona 458
Bob McMillen 1995-present Chicago 449
Andre Bowden 1991-2004 - 438
Les Barley 1992-2001 - 425

The AFL's All-Time Rushing Touchdowns list
Player Seasons Team Rushing TDs
Barry Wagner 1992-present San Jose 126
Andre Bowden 1991-2004 - 93
Bob McMillen 1995-present Chicago 80
Bo Kelly 1996-present Arizona 77
Les Barley 1992-2001 - 71

D-ROB AS STEADY AS IT GETS: Rush WR/DB Dennison Robinson might be the most unsung player on the Rush roster. Signed as a free agent in the off-season, Robinson is strong in all three facets of the game - offense, defense and special teams. He finished the season as the team's second leading tackler, recording a career-high 71.5 tackles to go along with five interceptions and nine passes broken up. He also tied for third in the AFL in special teams tackles with 15.5 and is the team's fourth-leading receiver, catching 36 passes for 319 yards and five touchdowns.

DAN THE MAN: Rush kicker Dan Frantz has been a steadying influence on the kicking game in is two stints with the Rush this season. Overall, Frantz has converted 51 of 54 PAT attempts, including his last 20 in a row, and nine of 15 field goal attempts.

HIGH SCORING OFFENSE: The Rush offense scored 825 points in 2006 for an average of 51.6 points per game. The offensive output was just 22 points shy of the team record of 847 points (52.9 ppg) set in 2004.

INJURY REPORT: The following players appeared on this week's injury report to the AFL.

Injured Reserve - Levelle Brown (right shoulder), Todd Howard (right hamstring), Buchie Ibeh (hamstring), Brian Sump (left groin)
Probable - Etu Molden (rib contusion), Frank Moore (left knee sprain)

TALE OF THE TAPE
Chicago Category Nashville
16 Games 16
51.6 (7) Scoring Offense 51.1 (8)
52.1 (10) Scoring Defense 49.9 (8)
285.4 (8) Total Offense 272.3 (15)
286.4 (11) Total Defense 263.9 (1)
61-78 78.2% Red Zone Offense 51-64, 79.7%
69-81 85.2% Red Zone Defense 68-86 79.1%
261.3 (11) Pass Offense 240.4 (15)
258.9 (6) Pass Defense 244.1 (2)
24.1 (6) Rushing Offense 31.9 (3)
27.6 (17) Rushing Defense 19.8 (8)
825 (7) Scoring 818 (8)
125 (12) Scoring (Kicking) 128 (11)
99-1,774-6 Kickoff Returns 95-1,525-5
17.9 (6) Kick Return Average 16.1 (16)
9-257-3 Missed Field Goal Returns 7-71-0
28.6 (2) Missed FG Return Avg. 10.1 (17)
+10 (3) Turnover Margin +2 (8T)
15-31, 48.4% Field Goals 14-29, 48.3%
80-91, 87.9% PAT Kicking 86-104, 82.7%
21-129 (3t) Sacks By 23-138 (1)
24-115 (15) Sacks Against 20-114 (13)
56-110,50.9% Third Down Conversion 39-95, 41.1%
11-27, 40.7% Fourth Down Conversion 8-20, 40.0%
128-740 (16) Penalties (#-Yards) 127-737 (15)
91-551 (17) Opp. Penalties (#-Yards) 118-673 (10)

INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE LEADERS: The following Rush players are among the 2006 AFL league leaders:

Matt D'Orazio: QB Rating (3rd - 123.4 rating), completion percentage (2nd- 68.7), 4th quarter passing (2nd - 131.9 rating), rushing yards (5th - 162 yards)

Khreem Smith: sacks (2nd - 8.0), forced fumbles (1st - 6)

Carlos Wright: kickoff returns (3rd - 22.5 avg.)

Jeremy Unertl: interceptions (4th - 9), tackles (15th - 77.0)

Dennison Robinson: special teams tackles (4th - 15.0)

Bobby Sippio: scoring (6th - 222 points), receiving yards (12th - 1,320 yards)

RUSH GAME AWARD WINNERS: The following Rush players won individual game awards for their play this season:

Offensive Player of the Game:
Matt D'Orazio (2/12 vs. Nashville, 2/18 @ Los Angeles, 5/13 @ Grand Rapids)
C.J. Johnson (2/26 vs. San Jose)
Cornelius White (3/26 vs. Grand Rapids)
Bobby Sippio (4/23 vs. Las Vegas, 5/6 vs. Utah)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game:
Khreem Smith (2/3 vs. New York, 3/10 vs. Colorado, 3/26 vs. Grand Rapids)
Jeremy Unertl (2/12 vs. Nashville, 2/18 @ Los Angeles, 2/26 vs. San Jose)
Curtis Eason (4/23 vs. Las Vegas)
Charlie Cook (5/6 vs. Utah)
Dennison Robinson (5/13 @ Grand Rapids)
Ironman of the Game:
Bob McMillen (2/3 vs. New York)
John Moyer (2/12 vs. New York)
Dennison Robinson (2/18 @ Los Angeles)
Carlos Wright (3/26 vs. Grand Rapids)
DeJuan Alfonzo (4/23 vs. Las Vegas, 5/6 vs. Las Vegas, 5/13 @ Grand Rapids)

AFL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS: The following Rush players won AFL weekly awards for their play this season:

Offensive Player of the Week:
Bobby Sippio - Week 15 vs. Utah



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 17, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Chicago Rush Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central