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Colorado Crush game notes

February 4, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Colorado Crush News Release


QUICK FACTS

Colorado Crush (0-0)
vs. Las Vegas Gladiators (0-0)
Date: February 6, 2004
Kickoff: 7:00 pm
Site: Pepsi Center (14,826)
Officials: Steve Pamon – Referee, Jeff Carr – Umpire, Paul Engelberts – Head Linesman, Tom Symonette – Line Judge, Tony Lombardo – Back Judge
Television: Comcast Ch. 5 - (Mitch Hyder and Damon Bowers)
Radio: KKZN 760 AM The Zone (Marc Stout and David Diaz-Infante)
Series Record: Las Vegas Leads 1-0
(First Meeting in Denver)
Last Meeting: April 5, 2003 (@ Gladiators 68, Crush 34)
Coaches: Mike Dailey (0-0 2004, 63-46 Overall)
Frank Haege (0-0 2004, 17-13 Overall)

THE STAKES: The Crush enter week one of their second season looking to rebound from a 2-14 finish in their inaugural season a year ago. They are also still seeking


Colorado Crush
Date Opponent Time Record
Fri, 2/6 LAS VEGAS 7 p.m.
Sat, 2/14 @ Grand Rapids 10 a.m.
Sun, 2/22 @ Chicago 1 p.m.
Fri, 2/27 AUSTIN 7 p.m.
Thu, 3/4 DETROIT 7 p.m.
Sun, 3/14 @ San Jose 6 p.m.
Sun, 3/21 @ Philadelphia 10 a.m.
Sat, 3/27 ARIZONA 7 p.m.
Sat, 4/3 INDIANA 1 p.m.
Sat, 4/10 @ Los Angeles 8:30 p.m.
Sun, 4/18 @ New York 1 p.m.
Fri, 4/23 GRAND RAPIDS 7 p.m.
Sun, 5/2 PHILADELPHIA 1 p.m.
Sun, 5/16 @ Indiana 1 p.m.
Sun, 5/23 @ Detroit 1 p.m.
Sun, 5/30 CHICAGO 2 p.m.

American Central Division
Team W L T PF PA vs. Conf Home Away Streak
Chicago 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 --
Colorado 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 --
Detroit 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 --
Gr. Rapids 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 --
Indiana 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 --

Their first home win after finishing 0-8 at the Pepsi Center last season. The Crush lost their season opener last season, 44-40 to the Georgia Force on 2/2/03 at Pepsi Center.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Gladiators won the only previous meeting, 68-34, in Las Vegas on 4/5/03 in Week 10 of last season. Vegas QB Jay McDonough was the game's MVP and Sedrick Robinson was named Ironman as the Gladiators shut out the Crush in the fourth quarter en route to the blowout win.

RADIO/TV COVERAGE: This week's game will be televised on Comcast Ch. 5 with veteran broadcaster Mitch Hyder calling the play-by-play and former Crush player and "Bachelorette" contestant Damon Bowers providing analysis. The game will also be broadcast on KKZN (AM 760 The Zone), with "voice of the Crush" Marc Stout handling the play-by-play duties and former Denver Bronco OL David Diaz-Infante serving as color commentator.


Practice Schedule
Tuesday, Feb. 3
9:30-11:30 a.m. Practice @ Family Sports Dome
12:15 p.m. Weight Lifting
1:00 p.m. Meetings

Wednesday, Feb. 4
9:30-11:30 a.m. Practice @ Family Sports Dome
12:15 p.m. Weight Lifting
1:00 p.m. Meetings

Thursday, Feb. 5
10:00 a.m. Walk Through @ Crush Facility

Friday, Feb. 6
Game day




Mike Dailey:
Dailey became the Crush's second head coach on June 26, 2003. Dailey joined the Crush after seven seasons as head coach of the Indiana Firebirds, where his teams compiled a 63-46 record, a winning percentage of .578. In 1999 Dailey led the Firebirds to their only ArenaBowl championship and a combined regular season/playoff record of 14-3, best in Firebirds history. He was named AFL Coach of the Year following that standout campaign. He joined the Firebirds prior to the 1992 season, spending five seasons as an assistant coach before being named head coach in 1997. Dailey began his Arena Football coaching career with the Washington Commandos where he served as offensive and defensive line coach. Prior to the AFL, Dailey worked as an Assistant Coach at Towson State University and was the Offensive Coordinator at Montgomery College-Rockville (MD).

Frank Haege: Haege enters his third season as head coach of the Gladiators, and also serves as the team's offensive coordinator, quarterbacks and wide receivers coach. He has led the Gladiators to playoff berths each of the last two seasons, finishing 8-8 in 2003 and 9-5 in 2002. Prior to joining the Gladiators Haege spent two years as the head coach and director of football operations with the Quad City Steamwheelers (af2), posting a 37-1 record including an undefeated 2000 season. Haege has also served as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Red Dogs (1997-99), Minnesota Fighting Pike (1996) and Milwaukee Mustangs (1994).

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's match-up who ranked among the AFL's statistical leaders in 2003.
Colorado Crush
Player Rank Category Stat
Hugh Hunter (IND) 3rd Tackles for Loss 4.5
Damian Harrell 4th Scoring 234
Damian Harrell 4th TD receptions 38
Damian Harrell T-4th Yds per catch 14.7
Hugh Hunter (IND) T-5th Sacks 5.5
John Dutton 6th Passing Yards 3,994
John Dutton 6th Pass Yds/Game 266.3
John Dutton 7th Offensive TD's 79
John Dutton 7th TD's Passing 77
John Dutton 8th QB Rating 110.5
Damian Harrell 8th Receiving Yds 1,426
Damian Harrell 9th Receptions 97
Ahmad Hawkins T-9th Interceptions 5

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Crush and the Gladiators stack up (final 2003 rankings):
Statistical COLORADO LAS VEGAS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 13th 46.8 12th 47.2
Scoring Defense 16th 59.9 9th 51.3
Total Offense 6th 283.5 12th 251.2
Total Defense 13th 285.1 5th 260.4
Pass Offense 4th 274.6 12th 229.6
Pass Defense 13th 259.4 6th 246.1
Rushing Offense 15th 8.9 4th 21.6
Rushing Defense 16th 25.8 6th 14.3
Scoring (Kicking) 15th 5.2 5th 8.4
Pass Rating 9th 104.0 14th 91.0
Pass Def. Rating 15th 121.3 10th 110.0
Kickoff Returns 11th 18.2 5th 20.8
MFG Returns 9th 17.8 2nd 20.0
Turnover Margin 10th -2 12th -4
Field Goals 12th 6-17 T-6th 14-28
PAT Kicking 16th 66-93 1st 92-99
Sacks By T-14th 12 T-7th 16
Sacks Against 6th 13 13th 20
First Downs 6th 317 11th 292
Opp. First Downs 10th 307 11th 314
Penalties 5th 125-693 15th 159-947
Opp. Penalties 2nd 128-850 16th 108-622

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:
Head Coach Mike Dailey on playing Las Vegas: "I think Las Vegas has a very good team. They are well coached and made some nice offseason moves with additions of Clint Dolezel and Terrill Shaw. We will have to play well and execute if we want to win. I expect it to be a real battle."

Head Coach Mike Dailey on training camp: "I was very pleased with how training camp went. Everything was very organized and efficient and the players handled themselves like true professionals. I am very happy with the effort they put out and I am looking forward to seeing that effort carry over to the regular season."










COLORADO CRUSH NEXT WEEK
The Crush will travel to Grand Rapids to face the Rampage in their first road game of the 2004 season. The Crush will be making their first-ever trip to Grand Rapids. The Rampage won the only meeting last season, 57-55 in Denver on 2/7/03

2003 REVIEW
The expansion Crush set AFL records for attendance and merchandise sales, but experienced growing pains on the field as they finished just 2-14 in their inaugural season including 0-8 at home. The team was competitive enough to stay in most games to the end, but could not overcome late game mistakes and a tough schedule. In the last five weeks of the season the Crush faced all four of the league's top seeds, and played against five of the six teams that finished with 10 or more wins.

FAMILIAR FACES:
Gladiators WR/LB Marcus Nash was a 1998 first round (30th overall) pick of the Denver Broncos and won a Super Bowl ring during his rookie season. Nash finished that season with four receptions for 76 yards and was subsequently traded to Miami. Nash was released by the Dolphins, but would win a second Super Bowl ring while a member of the Baltimore Ravens in 2000. Nash is now entering his second AFL season, and first with Las Vegas. He spent the 2003 campaign with the Detroit Fury, playing in 12 games and tallying 69 receptions for 866 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was named game MVP once and Ironman twice.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
The Crush were named recipient of the Arena Football League's 2003 Commissioner's Award. The Award is presented annually to the AFL franchise that has the best business operations in the League.
"This is a tremendous and unique honor for our organization. The collective commitment to excellence displayed by dozens of individuals in our organization allowed us to experience a memorable inaugural season in the AFL," stated Ronald O. Sally, president of the Colorado Crush.

CALL TO THE HALL
Legendary Denver Broncos QB and Crush chief executive officer and co-owner John Elway was among four players named as the NFL Hall of Fame class of 2004. Elway is the winningest quarterback in NFL history (148-82-1) and led the Broncos to five Super Bowls, including championships in his final two seasons. He was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII.


NEW BLOOD
In addition to a new coaching staff, the Crush features a revamped roster. Only five players from last year's inaugural season made the 2004 opening day roster.
Returning 2003 Players
John Dutton
Damian Harrell
Ahmad Hawkins
Saul Patu
Bryant Shaw

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
OS Damian Harrell: Harrell led the Crush in receptions (97), receiving yards (1426) and touchdowns (38) last season despite missing two games with a dislocated wrist. Entering his sixth season, Harrell has amassed 5,214 receiving yards on 373 catches, an average of 13.98 yards/catch, along with 105 career touchdowns (1 on return).

QB John Dutton: Appeared in 15 games in 2003, starting 12, and completed 308-of 495 passes (.625) for 3,994 yards and 77 touchdowns, all career highs. Despite the numbers, Dutton is looking to regain the form he had when leading San Jose to the 2002 Arena Bowl title where he was named MVP of the championship game.

OL/DL Kyle Moore-Brown: A true AFL Ironman, he is entering his 10th season in the league and has never missed a game. The game vs. Las Vegas will mark his 140th consecutive start.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 4, 2004


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