Chicago Rush game notes

April 4, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release


The Quick Facts

TV: None

Radio: WCKG 105.9 FM...Dan Bernstein, James "Big Cat" Williams

Overall Series Record: Chicago leads 4-1, (3-1 in regular season, 1-0 in postseason)

Series Streaks: Chicago won the last meeting

Last Meeting: May 21, 2006, Rush 55, Nashville 47 (American Conference Wild Card Playoff)

Coaches (regular season, postseason records):

Mike Hohensee (99-86, 11-9 - 14th season)

Pat Sperduto (43-35-1, 5-4 - 6th season)

Officials: Bill LeMonnier (Referee), Mike Delaney (Umpire), Allen Baynes (Head Linesman), Dana McKinzie (Line Judge), Billy Beckett (Back Judge)

Media Contacts

Chicago

Mike Alzamora ... 773-243-3445 (w), 773-456-0030 (c)

malzamora@chicagorush.com

Nashville

Anthony Darby ... 615-565-4203 (w), (615) 975-0492 (c)

adarby@titans.nfl.com

2007 Chicago Rush Schedule

Date Opponent Time/Score TV/Attend

March 4 @ Kansas City* L, 54-41 13,600

March 9 San Jose W, 48-45 16,201

March 18 New York W, 61-40 16,128

March 24 @ Columbus W, 55-47 16,390

April 1 Los Angeles W, 66-31 15,846

April 7 @ Nashville* 7 p.m.

April 15 Bye

April 21 @ Grand Rapids* 6 p.m. CSN

April 30 Philadelphia 7 p.m. ESPN 2

May 7 Colorado* 7 p.m. ESPN 2

May 11 @ Dallas 6:30 p.m.

May 19 Nashville* 7 p.m. CSN

May 26 @ Arizona 9 p.m. CSN

June 2 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.

June 9 Grand Rapids* 7 p.m. CSN

June 18 @ Colorado* 9 p.m. ESPN 2

June 23 Kansas City 7 p.m. CSN

* Central Division game

American Conference - Central Division

W-L-T PF PA Division

RUSH 4-1-0 271 217 0-1

Colorado 3-2-0 244 257 2-1

Kansas City 2-2-0 210 212 1-1

Nashville 2-3-0 273 294 0-1

Grand Rapids 1-3-0 195 273 1-0

MUSIC CITY: The Rush takes its four-game winning streak on the road Saturday, facing the Nashville Kats at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The Rush enters the game on the heels of its best win of the season - a 66-31 home rout of Los Angeles. Nashville, on the other hand, dropped a 55-48 heartbreaker at Colorado Sunday to fall to 2-3 on the year.

This will be the first meeting of the season between the Central Division rivals, who last met in last year's American Conference Wild Card playoff game. After splitting the regular season series, the Rush defeated the Kats 55-47 to advance to the conference semifinals.

GIMME A BREAK: After this week's game in Nashville, the Rush will get to take its breath for a week, as the team enjoys its bye week. Immediately following the bye week, the Rush travels to Grand Rapids to play the Rampage on Saturday, April 21.

RUSH SHUTS DOOR ON LA: Receiver Bobby Sippio caught five touchdown passes and set team records with 14 receptions for 224 yards as the Rush routed Los Angeles 66-31 at Allstate Arena Sunday. QB Matt D'Orazio had his best game of the season, connecting on 23 of 30 passes for 287 yards and six touchdowns without throwing an interception. D'Orazio also rushed for four yards and a TD.

The Rush defense forced five turnovers - including four fumbles and LA QB Sonny Cumbie's first interception of the season - as Chicago built a 42-10 halftime lead and never looked back. One of the key moments of the game came in the middle of the first quarter with the game still scoreless. With Los Angeles poised to score on first-and-goal from the Rush 2-yard line, Chicago proceeded to stop the Avengers on four-consecutive running plays. After the defense shut the door, the offense scored to take a 7-0 lead.

CAN'T GET MUCH CLOSER THAN 1 POINT: The Rush and Nashville Kats played two of the most exciting games of the 2006 regular season - splitting the regular season series with each team winning its home game by one point. The teams met again in the opening round of the playoffs, with Chicago notching a 55-47 win in Nashville. Overall, the teams have met five times, with the Rush winning four of the five games.

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

May 21, 2006 - The Rush defense pressured Nashville QB Clint Stoerner all afternoon, sacking him four times, intercepting him twice and forcing the Kats to settle for four first-half field goals as the Rush defeated Nashville 55-47 in an AFL Wild Card playoff game in Nashville. Rush QB Matt D'Orazio finished his first career playoff start by completing 21 of 28 passes for 276 yards and five touchdowns, without throwing an interception, while also rushing for 30 yards and a TD. D'Orazio was 10 for 10 in the second half, before throwing the final pass of the game out of bounds to run out the clock. The Rush trailed only once in the game - down 12-10 in the second quarter - before going on a 17-6 run to take a 27-18 halftime lead.

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)

Rush 55, Nashville 47 (May 21, 2006 @ Nashville)*

*AFL Playoffs

FAMILIAR FACES: The Nashville Kats have two players on their roster who are very familiar to Chicago Rush fans. Lineman James Baron (2002-2004) and wide receiver Cornelius Bonner (2001-2003) both 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.

TENNESSEE HOMECOMING: Four Rush players - D.J. Bleisath, Curtis Eason, Andy McCullough and Demetrios Walker - played their college football in the state of Tennessee. Bleisath played at Tennessee Tech; Eason played East Tennessee State; McCullough played at the University of Tennessee; and Walker played at Middle Tennessee State.

FAST START: This is the second time in Chicago's history that the team has gotten off to a 4-1 start after five games. The team's other 4-1 start came in 2004, when the Rush won its first four games of the year before losing Week 5 in Philadelphia. That season, the Rush finished the year 11-5 and advanced to the AFL semifinals.

OFFENSE ROLLING: After scoring just 41 points in its Week 1 loss at Kansas City, the Rush offense is averaging 57.5 points per game during its four-game winning streak.

TAKE THAT BALL: Chicago forced five turnovers in its win over LA last week and is tied with Philadelphia for the AFL lead in takeaways, forcing 16 turnovers in five games. The Rush also is tied with the Soul for the league lead in turnover margin at +9.

After turning the ball over four times in its opener in Kansas City, the Rush is protecting it much better of late, only committing three turnovers during its current four-game winning streak.

CENTRAL THEME: Three of Chicago's next four games are against its Central Division rivals. After playing Nashville this week, the Rush plays at Grand Rapids April 21 and hosts Colorado on May 7. The only non-division game in the stretch is against Philadelphia on March 30.

OWNING THE DIVISION: In its history, the Rush has a 24-17 regular season record against the Central Division and has won two Central Division titles - 2002 and 2004. The Rush also is 2-1 in the postseason against its Central Division opponents.

HOME COOKIN': The Rush owns a 35-16 all-time record at Allstate Arena (including postseason). The team is 3-0 at home this year and was 5-3 at home last season.

QUITE A HOME STREAK: With its win Sunday over Los Angeles, the Rush has won six games in a row at Allstate Arena. The franchise record for consecutive home wins is eight, set during the final two home games of the 2001 season and the first six home games in 2002.

TWICE AS NICE?: Chicago's goal for the 2007 season is simple: become the first AFL team in more than a decade to repeat as champions. In fact, only two teams in the 20-year history of the Arena Football League - the Detroit Drive (1988-90) and the Tampa Bay Storm (1995-96) - have been able to accomplish the feat of repeating. Interestingly, both Detroit and Tampa Bay were coached by Tim Marcum.

PLAYOFF CONSISTENCY: Chicago has never missed the playoffs, qualifying for the postseason in each of its six seasons. Orlando and San Jose are the only two AFL teams which also have made the playoffs in each of the last six seasons.

SIPPIO NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Rush wide receiver Bobby Sippio was named this week's AFL Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in Sunday's 66-31 win over Los Angeles. Sippio caught five touchdowns and set team records with 14 receptions and 224 yards. For the season, Sippio has 45 catches for 638 yards. He currently leads the AFL in scoring with 21 touchdowns and 126 points and ranks second in receptions and receiving yards.

HIGH FIVE: Rush receiver Bobby Sippio caught five touchdown passes in Sunday's win over Los Angels. It is the third time this season and the fifth time in his Rush regular season career that he scored five or more TDs in a game. (Sippio also added a five-TD performance vs. San Jose in last season's American Conference Final.)

Since the start of the 2006 season only Colorado's Damian Harrell (6) has more five-TD games than Sippio.

SIPPIO LOVES PLAYING AT HOME: Rush wide receiver Bobby Sippio can't explain it, but he loves playing at Allstate Arena. In his five home games as a member of the Rush, Sippio has caught 45 passes for 786 yards and 25 touchdowns, and set Rush single-game records for receiving yards (224) and touchdown receptions (6).

Sippio also played one game at Allstate Arena in 2004 as a member of the Dallas Desperados - catching five passes for 119 yards and two TDs.

THE SIPPIO FACTOR: Since acquiring wide receiver Bobby Sippio late in the 2006 season, the Rush is 11-3, including last season's championship run.

RECORD PACE: Five games into the season Bobby Sippio leads the league in touchdowns (21) and scoring (126) points and is on-pace to break Damian Harrell's league records for both.

The AFL's Single Season Touchdown leaders

Player Season Team TDs

Bobby Sippio 2007 (projected) Chicago 67

Damian Harrell 2006 Colorado 61

Eddie Brown 1996 Albany 51

Barry Wagner 1997 Orlando 51

The AFL's Single Season Scoring Leaders

Player Season Team Points

Bobby Sippio 2007 (projected) Chicago 403

Damian Harrell 2006 Colorado 366

Barry Wagner 1997 Orlando 310

Eddie Brown 1996 Albany 308

D'ORAZIO IN A GROOVE: Matt D'Orazio has played as well as any quarterback in the AFL the past two weeks, leading the Rush to wins over Columbus and Los Angeles. During the two-game span, D'Orazio completed 46 of 66 passes for 502 yards and 10 touchdowns, without throwing and interception. His QB rating over the last two games is 131.4. Dating back to Week 3 vs. New York, D'Orazio now has attempted 76-consecutive passes without throwing an interception.

For the season, D'Orazio has completed 99 of 153 passes for 1,104 yards and 26 touchdowns, while only throwing four interceptions.

Earlier this season, the Rush rewarded D'Orazio with a two-year contract extension through the 2009 season.

D'ORAZIO vs. NASHVILLE: Matt D'Orazio has played three games in his career against Nashville, throwing 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions.

Here are D'Orazio's career numbers against Nashville:

Comp Att Pct. Yds. TD Int Rating

64 90 71.1% 712 11 0 124.9

MICHNA MAKES HIS DEBUT: Rush backup QB Russ Michna made his AFL debut in the fourth quarter of Sunday's win over LA. On his first career pass attempt, Michna hooked up with Bobby Sippio for a 34-yard completion down to the LA 3-yard line. Two plays later, Michna dove into the end zone from the 1-yard line for his first career touchdown.

WORKING ON HIS SECOND 100: Chicago Rush head coach Mike Hohensee is the third-winningest coach in AFL history with 110 career victories. He is one of four coaches in AFL history with 100 or more wins, joining Tampa Bay coach Tim Marcum, Utah coach Danny White and Colorado coach Mike Dailey in the 100-win club.

The only head coach in Rush history, Hohensee has guided Chicago to a 63-47 overall record and playoff appearances in each of the team's six seasons. In addition to winning ArenaBowl XX under Hohensee, the Rush has won two Central Division titles (2002, 2004) and advanced to the AFL semifinals four times (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006), including each of the past three seasons.

One of only four men to be involved in the Arena Football League in each of the league's 21 seasons, Hohensee:

8 has a regular season record of 99-86 (including a

55-42 mark with the Rush).

8 has a career 11-9 mark in the postseason.

8 has led the Rush to six-consecutive playoff berths and two Central Division titles (2002 and 2004).

8 is 4-2 all-time vs. Nashville.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches

Including Postseason

Coach Team Wins This Week

Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 180 vs. New Orleans

Danny White Utah 152 @ Austin

Mike Hohensee Rush 110 @ Nashville

Mike Dailey Colorado 102 @ San Jose

Darren Arbet San Jose 95 vs. Colorado

CHASING 1,500: Rush FB Bob McMillen had his most productive game of the season in Sunday's win over Los Angeles. McMillen carried the ball four times for 17 yards and his first rushing touchdown of the season.

McMillen, who announced he is retiring at the end of the 2007 season, is the AFL's second all-time leading rusher with 1,443 career yards. He needs just 57 yards to become only the second player in AFL history to rush for 1,500 career yards.

Last year, 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. Now in his 13th season, he ranks second on the AFL's all-time rushing list, second all-time in rushing attempts and fourth in rushing touchdowns. He is one of only two players (Darrin Kenny) who has won ArenaBowl championships with three different teams (1997 with Arizona, 2002 with San Jose and 2006 with Chicago).

The AFL's All-Time Rushing Yards list

Player Seasons Team Yards

Bo Kelly 1996-present Arizona 1,496

Bob McMillen 1995-present Chicago 1,443

Les Barley 1992-2001 - 1,382

Andre Bowden 1991-2004 - 1,241

The AFL's All-Time Rushing Attempts list

Player Seasons Team Attempts

Bo Kelly 1996-present Arizona 507

Bob McMillen 1995-present Chicago 461

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 1992-2006 - 126

Andre Bowden 1991-2004 - 93

Bo Kelly 1996-present Arizona 86

Bob McMillen 1995-present Chicago 81

Les Barley 1992-2001 - 71

ALFONZO ALWAYS AROUND THE BALL: Rush linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo, who always seems to be around the ball, was at it again Sunday against LA, leading the Rush with 9.0 tackles and a pass broken up.

Through five games, Alfonzo leads the Rush with 37.5 tackles. He also has two interceptions and has recovered three fumbles.

Alfonzo currently leads the AFL in fumbles recovered and ranks third in tackles.

BURT DOES IT AGAIN: Rush lineman E.J. Burt continues to make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks. March 24 in Columbus, Burt recorded two sacks and two forced fumbles - the second-consecutive week he achieved the feat. And, for the second-consecutive week, Rush linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo recovered one of the fumbles for a Rush touchdown. Burt now has four sacks and four forced fumbles on the season. He is third in the league in sacks and leads the AFL in fumbles forced.

Just four games into his five season, Burt already has recorded 32 career sacks, and has moved past Hugh Hunter into 11th place in AFL history. He also has forced 20 fumbles in his career.

McCULLOUGH ADJUSTING: When an ankle injury suffered Week 1 in Kansas City landed Buchie Ibeh on Injured Reserve, the Rush needed to add a receiver. Prior to the team's game against San Jose in Week 2, the Rush signed free agent Andy McCullough to fill the opening.

A member of the league's All-Rookie team in 2002 with Dallas, McCullough spent the past two seasons playing for John Elway's Colorado Crush, catching 163 passes for 1,833 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was released by Colorado for salary cap reasons at the end of camp.

McCullough might best be remembered by Rush fans as the Crush player who caught the game-winning touchdown in overtime of the "Confetti Bowl" - the 2005 American Conference Championship game between Chicago and Colorado.

In his first five seasons, McCullough played in 74 games, catching 381 passes for 4,336 yards and 82 touchdowns.

In four games in a Rush uniform, McCullough has caught 26 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

BLEISATH BACK IN LINEUP: After missing two games with an ankle injury sustained Week 1 in Kansas City, D.J. Bleisath has returned to the lineup with a vengeance. In his first game back March 24 in Columbus, Bleisath flew downfield to cover a kickoff, hit Destroyers return man Josh Bush and forced a fumble that the Rush recovered on the 4-yard line. Two plays later, the Rush scored to go up 14-7. Last week against Los Angeles, Bleisath hit FB Lonnie Ford and, again, forced a fumble. Bleisath recovered the ball on the Rush 19-yard line and eight plays later, the Rush turned the fumble into three points with a Dan Frantz field goal.

MOYER TO MACK: With linebacker D.J. Bleisath nursing an ankle injury sustained in Week 1 at Kansas City, the Rush turned to veteran lineman John Moyer to play the Mack linebacker position. In his four games at Mack, Moyer has played well, recording 5.5 tackles and a pass broken up, and providing constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

DON'T FORGET MOYER ON OFFENSE: With the changes to the substitution rules this year, lineman John Moyer has found himself playing mostly defense this season. However, Moyer has taken some snaps on offense the past few games and last week caught his first touchdown pass of the year. Dating back to the start of the 2005 season, Moyer has caught 13 passes, 10 of which have gone for touchdowns

PETERS GETS AN OPPORTUNITY: With the move of lineman John Moyer to linebacker, the door was opened for Joe Peters to start on the defensive line. Peters, in his second season with the Rush, has made the most of his opportunity, recording 11.0 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass broken up in four games. He also placed a hit on New York QB Rohan Davey March 18 that led to a Rush interception.

NEW LOOK OFFENSIVE LINE: The Rush offensive line has a very different look to it this year. Center Frank Moore, who had started 72 of 73 games since joining the Rush in 2003, had off-season surgery on his knee and opened the season on Injured Reserve, forcing veteran John Sikora to move to center. Sikora is flanked by two rookies - Jason Thomas at guard and Robert Boss at tight end.

SACK MACHINES: The Rush has two players - John Moyer and E.J. Burt - who rank in the top 11 in AFL history in sacks. Moyer has 34.5 career sacks - including 29.5 as a member of the Rush - and currently is in ninth place on the AFL's all-time list for career sacks. His teammate E.J. Burt is just 2.5 sacks behind, in 11th place with 32. Moyer also is the team's all-time leader with 6.0 playoff sacks.

Here are Chicago's regular season & 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

E.J. Burt 4.0 (2007) E.J. Burt 4.0

LAST LINE OF DEFENSE: The Rush secondary of Jeremy Unertl, Dennison Robinson and Jonathan Ordway might be the strongest in the team's history. In four games, the trio has combined for 80 tackles, four interceptions and 19 passes broken up.

As a unit - working in conjunction with the great pressure the Rush line continues to put on opposing quarterbacks - the secondary looks like it is on its way to being considered one of the AFL's best. Through four games the Rush ranks second in the league in pass defense and second in scoring defense, giving up just 43.4 points per game.

Individually, each of the members on the Rush secondary ranks among the top five in the AFL in at least one key category - Unertl is tied for third in interceptions with two; Robinson ranks fourth in the league with 30 tackles; and Ordway is tied for third in passes broken up with five.

Last season Unertl and Robinson were the team's two top tacklers, combining for 145.5 tackles to go along with 13 interceptions and 21 PBUs.

Ordway, who spent the first four years of his AFL career with the Tampa Bay Storm, had signed in the off-season with the Grand Rapids Rampage, but was released at the end of training camp.

Prior to coming to Chicago, Ordway played in 45 games, recording 226.5 tackles, seven interceptions and 69 passes broken up. He was the Storm's leading tackler in 2006 and finished tied for fourth in the league with 19 passes broken up.

MAKING HALFTIME KICKS A HABIT: Kicker Dan Frantz is making a habit of booting a field goal on the final play of the first half. Frantz did it again March 24 in Columbus, kicking a 40-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Rush a 31-21 halftime lead. Last week against Los Angeles, the Rush opted not to attempt a 55-yard field goal on the final play of the half, and instead scored on a 40-yard TD pass from Matt D'Orazio to Bobby Sippio.

Overall, Frantz has kicked a field goal on the final play of the half twice this year and seven times in the team's last 11 games (including last year's postseason).

For the 2007 season, Frantz has converted 32 of 36 extra points and five of nine field goals - including a team record 56-yarder vs. San Jose. Frantz ranks second in the league in scoring among kickers with 47 points and is tied for second in field goals made with five.

MERRITT WAIVED: The Rush waived Rookie wide receiver Ahmad Merritt on Tuesday. Merritt started all five games for the Rush this season, catching 20 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns.

2007 RUSH BY THE NUMBERS: Here is a breakdown of the 2007 Rush:

Site: Home 3-0 Road 1-1

Time: Day 2-1 Night 2-0

Opponents: vs. American Conf. 2-1

vs. Central 0-1

vs. West 2-0

vs. National Conf. 2-0

vs. East 2-0

vs. South 0-0

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

Injured Reserve - Frank Moore (knee), Demetrios Walker (hamstring), Kevin Beard (Knee), Russell Shaw (ankle), Buchie Ibeh (right ankle)

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

Offensive Player of the Game:

Bobby Sippio - 3/9 vs. San Jose, 3/18 vs. New York, 4/1 vs. Los Angeles

Matt D'Orazio - 3/24 @ Columbus

ADT Defensive Player of the Game:

Jeremy Unertl - 3/9 vs. San Jose

EJ Burt - 3/18 vs. New York

DeJuan Alfonzo - 3/24 @ Columbus

Curtis Eason - 4/1 vs. Los Angeles

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 5 (4/1 vs. Los Angeles)

ADT Defensive Player of the Week:

DeJuan Alfonzo - Week 3 (3/18 vs. New York)

AFL MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS: The following Rush players won AFL monthly awards for their play this season:

ADT Defensive Player of the Month:

E.J. Burt - March

TALE OF THE TAPE - Regular Season Numbers

Chicago Category Nashville

5 Games 5

54.2 (8) Scoring Offense 54.6 (7)

43.4 (2) Scoring Defense 58.8 (14)

241.6 (18) Total Offense 298.4 (8)

277.2 (5) Total Defense 285.0 (6)

19-23 82.6% Red Zone Offense 22-26, 84.6%

21-26 80.8% Red Zone Defense 22-23, 95.7%

222.0 (18) Pass Offense 278.2 (9)

237.6 (2) Pass Defense 265.6 (6)

19.6 (10) Rushing Offense 20.2 (8)

39.6 (19) Rushing Defense 19.4 (9)

271 Scoring 273

47 (2) Scoring (Kicking) 37 (12)

26-440-2 Kickoff Returns 34-554-0

16.9 (9) Kick Return Average 16.3 (14)

4-61-0 Missed Field Goal Returns 1-0-0

15.2 (11) Missed FG Return Avg. 0.0 (18)

+9 (1t) Turnover Margin +1 (8)

5-9, 55.6 Field Goals 2-6, 33.3%

32-36, 88.9% PAT Kicking 31-37, 83.8%

5-30 (6t) Sacks By 4-20 (11t)

7-30 (13t) Sacks Against 5-37 (11)

13-32, 40.6% Third Down Conversion 14-32, 43.8%

5-7, 71.4% Fourth Down Conversion 7-10, 70%

34-192 (6) Penalties (#-Yards) 47-266 (18)

40-239 (5) Opp. Penalties (#-Yards) 45-251 (4)

INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE LEADERS: The following Rush players rank among the 2007 AFL league leaders:

Matt D'Orazio: quarterback rating (8th - 114.8), rushing yards (T-10th - 46 yards)

DeJuan Alfonzo: interceptions (T-11th - 2), tackles (3rd - 37.5), special teams tackles (t-5th - 6.0), fumble recoveries (T-1st - 3)

Dennison Robinson: tackles (T-6th - 36.0), passes defensed (T-8th - 6)

Bobby Sippio: scoring (1st - 126 points), touchdowns (1st - 21), receptions (2nd - 45), receiving yards (2nd - 638), third-down receiving (T-1st - 8 receptions for 114 yards and 6 TDs), first downs (T-1st - 35)

Dan Frantz: touchbacks on kickoffs (T-5th - 12), scoring (3rd - 47 points)

Jonathan Ordway: kickoff return TDs (T-1st - 2), passes defensed (T-8th - 6)

Jeremy Unertl: interceptions (T-11th - 2), passes defensed (T-4th - 7)

EJ Burt: sacks (T-3rd - 4), tackles for loss (T-3rd - 4.0), forced fumbles (1st - 4)

D.J. Bleisath: forced fumbles (T-3rd - 2)



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 4, 2007


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.

OurSports Central