NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Colorado Crush game notes

February 21, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Colorado Crush News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Colorado Crush (3-1) at Philadelphia Soul (3-1)

Date: February 26, 2006
Kickoff: 11:00 a.m. MT
Site: Wachovia Center (17,597)
Television: NBC (Allen Bestwick: play-by-play, Pat Haden: analyst, Marty Snider: sideline)
Radio: KHOW 630 AM (Marc Stout: play-by-play, Andy Lindahl: analyst)
Coaches: Mike Dailey, Colorado (91-59, 10th Year)
Brett Munsey, Phila. (3-1, 1st Year)
Officials: Referee: Perry Havener
Umpire: Tom Laverty
Head Linesman: Rusty Baynes
Line Judge: David Meslow
Back Judge: Barry Anderson
Series Record: Colorado leads the all-time series 3-0
Colorado 40, @ Phila. 33 (3/21/04)
@ Colorado 58, Phila 40 (5/1/04)
@ Colorado 77, Phila. 56 (4/10/05)

THE OPPONENT:

The Philadelphia Soul are off to their best start in team history sitting tied atop the Eastern Division with a 3-1 record. The Soul are coming off an impressive 75-59 win over the New York Dragons that pushed their record at home in the Wachovia Center to a perfect 3-0 on the year. The 75 point output by Philadelphia
set a new club record for most points in a game, as QB Tony Graziani returned to action after missing one week with a dislocated finger. Rookie WR/LB J.J. McKelvey leads the team with five receiving touchdowns, including three last week against the Dragons.

THE GAME:

The 2005 ArenaBowl Champion Colorado Crush head out for their second straight road contest when they travel to Philadelphia to face the Soul in the Wachovia Center on Sunday, February 26th at 11:00 a.m. MT.

Colorado has swept all three games in the "Rock vs. Jock" battle of Jon Bon Jovi vs. John Elway. The Crush have won the last two games over the Soul by 18 and 21 points respectively, but only captured a 7 point victory in their first meeting and only trip to the city of Brotherly Love in 2004.

The Crush suffered their first loss of the season last week at Nashville. During head coach Mike Dailey's three-year tenure with Colorado, the team has only lost back-to-back games twice and that was all during a three game skid in 2005.

For the fourth straight week, the Crush remain the league's highest scoring team averaging 56.8 points per game. Colorado also ranks first in the AFL in scoring efficiency coming away with points 77.2 % of the time they have the ball. In contrast, the Crush defense is last in the league in scoring efficiency allowing opponents to score 80.4% of the time. The Crush will once again be facing a stingy defense on the road as Philadelphia holds the league's fourth ranked scoring defense allowing just 43.3 points per contest. Last week, Nashville held the AFL's top scoring defense and only allowed 36 points to the Crush.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Wed, Feb. 22- Practice at Mile High Greyhound Park
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Thurs, Feb. 23- Practice at Mile High Greyhound Park
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Fri, Feb. 24- Practice at Mile High Greyhound Park
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Sat, Feb 25- Travel to Philadelphia

Sun, Feb 26- Crush vs. Philadelphia, 11:00 a.m. MT
Mon, Feb 27- Travel home to Denver


THE SCHEDULE:

COLORADO CRUSH (3-1)

Date OPPONENT RESULT SCORE
Jan. 29 CHICAGO W 65-56
Feb. 5 at Georgia W 61-59
Feb. 12 LAS VEGAS W 65-55
Feb. 18 at Nashville L 36-58
Feb. 26 at Philadelphia
March 5 GRAND RAPIDS
March 10 at Chicago
March 19 at Los Angeles
March 25 COLUMBUS
April 1 NASHVILLE
April 8 at Grand Rapids
April 16 at Kansas City
April 21 UTAH
April 28 ORLANDO
May 6 at San Jose
May 12 ARIZONA

CONNECTIONS:

Soul OL/DL Cyron Brown and OL/DL Dwayne Missouri played with the Crush in 2003...Philadelphia FB/LB Chad Dukes and OL/DL Donny Klein spent two seasons with Colorado (2004-2005).

STATISTICS:

A look at how Colorado and Philadelphia match-up on both sides of the ball based on 2006 regular season statistics:

Statistical COLORADO PHILADELPHIA
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 1st 56.8 10th 51.8
Scoring Defense 16th 57.0 4th 43.3
Total Offense (yds/g) 5th 297.0 10th 288.5
Total Defense (yds/g) 8th 273.8 12th 296.5
Pass Offense 5th 286.8 13th 251.5
Pass Defense 6th 246.8 12th 274.8
Rushing Offense 14th 10.3 1st 37.0
Rushing Defense 16th 27.0 13th 21.8
Kickoff Returns 16th 15.0 11th 16.0
Turnover Margin T-13th -4 3rd +4
Field Goals 1st 2-2 T-9th 4-8
First Downs T-2nd 86 T-8th 82
Opp. First Downs 9th 75 3rd 68

THE CRUSH THIS SEASON ARE:

O H R
Overall Record 3-1 2-0 1-1
Overtime Games 0-0 0-0 0-0
Score first 1-0 0-0 1-0
Opponent scores first 2-1 2-0 0-1
Score 40+ points 3-0 2-0 1-0
Score less than 40 points 0-1 0-0 0-1
Games decided by 10+ pts 1-1 1-0 0-1
Games decided by 7 pts or less 2-0 1-0 1-0
Games decided by 3 pts or less 2-0 1-0 1-0
Lead at halftime 1-0 0-0 1-0
Trail at halftime 1-1 1-0 0-1
Are tied at halftime 1-0 1-0 0-0
Lead after 3rd quarter 2-0 2-0 0-0
Trail after 3rd quarter 0-1 0-0 0-1
Are tied after 3rd quarter 1-0 0-0 1-0
Lead time of possession 2-1 1-0 1-1
Trail time of possession 1-0 1-0 0-0
Positive turnover margin 1-0 1-0 0-0
Negative turnover margin 1-1 0-0 1-1
Even turnover margin 1-0 1-0 0-0
More total yards offense 1-1 0-0 1-1
Less total yards offense 2-0 2-0 0-0
On Fridays 0-0 0-0 0-0
On Saturdays 0-1 0-0 0-1
On Sundays 3-0 2-0 1-0
vs. American Conference 2-1 2-0 0-1
vs. Central Division 1-1 1-0 0-1
vs. Western Division 1-0 1-0 0-0
vs. National Conference 1-0 0-0 1-0
vs. Eastern Division 0-0 0-0 0-0
vs. Southern Division 1-0 0-0 1-0

CRUSH NEXT WEEK:

The Crush return to Denver following two straight road contests to host the Grand Rapids Rampage on Sunday, March 5 at 1:00 p.m. in the Pepsi Center. The Crush hold a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Rampage after each team captured home victories last season. Grand Rapids is 2-2 on the season as the game could go a long way in helping to determine the final Central Division standings.

HEAD COACHES:

MIKE DAILIEY, Colorado (91-59, 10th Year): Dailey enters his third season in Colorado and tenth as head coach in the AFL, after becoming the Crush's second head coach on June 26, 2003. Dailey joined the Crush following 13 seasons in the Albany/Indiana Firebirds organization, including the final seven as head coach.

One of the most successful and well-respected coaches in AFL history, his teams have made seven postseason appearances and he has won four division titles and two championships.

Last season under Dailey's guidance, the Crush captured their first Central Division title en route to claiming a 51-48 victory in ArenaBowl XIX giving Colorado their first AFL championship in only their third year of existence. With the team's win over Chicago in the American Conference championship game on June 5th, Dailey became the fourth winningest coach in AFL history surpassing Perry Moss.

In his first season in Colorado, Dailey helped guide the Crush to the largest turnaround in AFL history, inheriting a 2-14 team and leading them to an 11-5 record in 2004, tied for the best in the league. He also led the Crush to their first playoff appearance and first win, advancing to the AFL Semifinals.

In 1999, Dailey led the Firebirds to their only ArenaBowl championship and was named AFL Coach of the Year. Before being named head coach of the Firebirds in 1997,
Dailey served as an assistant in Albany for five seasons.

Dailey began his AFL coaching career with the Washington Commandos where he served as offensive/defensive line coach in 1990. He joined the Firebirds organization in the same capacity in 1991.

Prior to the AFL, Dailey worked as an assistant coach at Towson State University and was the offensive coordinator at Montgomery College-Rockville (Md.). Dailey got his start in coaching in 1981 as a 22-year-old assistant at Georgetown Prep High School in Rockville, Md. The move to coaching followed a semi-pro football career in the Washington D.C. area.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason

Rank Name-Team Wins
1. Tim Marcum- Tampa Bay 178
2. Danny White- Utah 142
3. Mike Hohensee- Chicago 97
4. Mike Dailey- Colorado 91
5. Perry Moss- not active 86
6. Darren Arbet- San Jose 83
7. Michael Trigg- not active 80
8. John Gregory- not active 73


BRETT MUNSEY, Philadelphia (3-1, 1st Year): Bret Munsey becomes the third head coach for the Philadelphia Soul, as the organization heads into its third season in 2006. With an extensive coaching background, this is Munsey's first head coaching position in the League.

Munsey, 37, joins the Soul after serving on Orlando's staff for three seasons under Jay Gruden. After joining the Predators in 2003 and serving as the team's offensive coordinator and wide receivers/defensive backs coach, he was promoted to assistant head coach in August of 2003. This role also included his director of player personnel and defensive coordinator roles throughout the last two seasons.

In his first season with the Predators, Munsey served as offensive coordinator and coached the wide receivers and defensive backs.

Munsey came to the Predators from the Carolina Cobras, where he served as defensive coordinator. Under his guidance, the Cobras were ranked in the top five in the Arena Football League in many defensive categories and came within one play of earning a spot in the semifinals.

Prior to his stint in Carolina, Munsey served as head coach and director of football operations for the Tennessee Valley Vipers of the af2. During his first season as a head coach, Munsey led his team to a 14-2 regular season record (15-3 overall). His defense ranked in the top five in all major categories and three defensive players were named to the "All-af2" team.

Following that outstanding season, Munsey was named "af2 Coach of the Year" in a vote by his peers.

THINGS TO WATCH:

IT'S NOT OVER TILL IT'S OVER:

Since head coach Mike Dailey has arrived in Colorado in 2004, the Crush have claimed victory in the final minute of the game in six contests. Both of the Crush wins in 2006 have come down to the final 60 seconds of play.

2004
- vs. Las Vegas (2/6)- QB John Dutton tosses two touchdown passes to OS Damian Harrell in the final 12 seconds to give Colorado a stunning 43-42 victory.

- at Detroit (5/23)- QB John Dutton found WR/DB Willis Marshall for a 10-yard touchdown pass with one second on the clock as the Crush won 45-42.

2005
- vs. Nashville (5/13)- K Clay Rush splits the uprights on a 31-yard field goal as time expires to give Colorado a 52-49 win.

- vs. Georgia (6/12)- K Clay Rush connects on a 20-yard field goal as time expires to give the Crush a 56-48 victory in ArenaBowl XIX.

2006
- vs. Chicago (1/29)- QB John Dutton hits OS Damian Harrell for a touchdown with one second remaining as the Crush go on to win 65-56.

- at Georgia (2/5)- QB John Dutton finds OS Damian Harrell for a 13-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left to lift Colorado to a 61-59 victory.

THE STEAK STOPS HERE:

In Week 2, with the Crush's 61-59 victory over Georgia, Colorado snapped the Force's 11-game regular season home winning streak. Georgia's steak was tied for the third longest in AFL history. The Force had also won two playoff games in Philips Arena pushing their mark to 13 straight home games before the lost to Colorado.

BUILDING A WINNING TRADITION:

The Crush are the winningest team in the AFL since head coach Mike Dailey's arrival, having tied for the league's best record in 2004 (11-5) and finishing with the American Conference's top seed in 2005 (10-6).

Team 2004 2005 2006 Total
Colorado 11 10 3 24
Orlando 10 10 3 23
Chicago 11 9 2 22
New York 9 10 2 21
San Jose 11 9 1 21
Tampa Bay 9 10 2 21
Los Angeles 9 10 1 20
New Orleans 11 9 0 20

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH:

After finishing their inaugural season 0-8 at home, the Crush are now 17-3 under Mike Dailey (2-0 in the postseason) at the Pepsi Center. Two of the three losses consist of an overtime field goal by Indiana's kicker Clay Rush (now with Colorado) in 2004, and a 51-48 Chicago win in 2005 on a field goal with 3 seconds remaining.

STEEL CURTAIN:

After allowing 14 sacks in 2003 (12 on Dutton), the Crush pass protection has been stellar under head coach Mike Dailey. The team allowed just four sacks in 2004, and none after Week 6 at San Jose (3/14/04). Colorado did not allow a sack in their final 446 offensive plays of the 2004 regular season (10+ games).

The Crush allowed just six sacks in 2005, which includes an unforced fumble by QB John Dutton that the Crush recovered, on the opening play vs. Los Angele (2/27/05). On the 2005 season, Colorado held 10 opponents sackless.

The Crush have now allowed just seven sacks in their last 28 regular season games (total of 1,345 plays).

TACKLING MACHINE:

After setting an AFL record with 122.0 tackles in 2004, Rashad Floyd smashed his record while recording the second most tackles in the league, 129.5, for the 2005 regular season. Floyd made a league-leading 123 solo tackles. This despite missing almost the entire game vs. Columbus (3/20) and being inactive in the game at Grand Rapids (4/30). Floyd also set an AFL record with 17.5 tackles vs. Los Angeles (2/27), besting the previous record of 17.0 set by L.A.'s Kevin Cobb at Houston (6/23/00). Floyd finished 30.0 tackles ahead of second place in 2004 Indiana's Anthony Derricks (93.0).

AFL Record - Most Tackle in a Season
Player Team Year Total Gms Avg.
Damon Mason Orl/GRR 2005 133.5* 17 7.85
Rashad Floyd Colorado 2005 129.5 15 8.63
Rashad Floyd Colorado 2004 122.0 16 7.63
Cornelius Coe Indiana 2001 121.5 14 8.68
Damon Mason Orlando 2000 108.0 14 7.71
Damon Mason Orlando 1999 103.0 14 7.36
Damon Mason Orlando 2001 101.0 14 7.21
* After being released by Orlando at the midway of the point of the season, Mason joined Grand Rapids for the team's final nine games. Mason missed both teams' bye week, therefore, he played in 17 games. Typically, regular season statistics are based on a 16-game season.

JUST FOR KICKS:

Crush kicker Clay Rush is among the all-time great AFL kickers. A two-time AFL Kicker of the Year, Rush currently ranks fourth on the all-time scoring list by kickers and fifth for field goals made.

AFL All-Time Leading Scorers (Kickers)
Rk Player Years Pres. Tm Points
1. Mike Black 1993-04 n/a 1,240
2. Steve Videtich 1996-pres. Utah 1,290
3. Remy Hamilton 1998-pres. L.A. 1,109
4. Clay Rush 1999-pres. Colorado 951
5. Daron Alcorn 1997-04 n/a 771
6. Kenny Stucker 1994-99, 2003 n/a 754

AFL Most All-Time Field Goals Made
Rk Player Years Pres. Tm FGM
1. Mike Black 1993-04 n/a 175
2. Steve Videtich 1996-pres. Utah 163
3. Remy Hamilton 1998-pres. L.A. 143
4. Kenny Stucker 1994-99, 2003 n/a 118
5. Clay Rush 1999-pres. Colorado 113
6. Daron Alcorn 1997-04 n/a 100

A BROKEN RECORD:

Damian Harrell has caught a touchdown pass in an AFL record 53 straight regular season games, including all 50 games as a member of the Crush. That streak is also the longest active streak of consecutive games scoring a TD. He broke the record for consecutive games with a receiving touchdown on 4/3/05 in the win over Las Vegas. It is also second-longest streak of consecutive games with a TD. Harrell's streak began with the Toronto Phantoms vs. Carolina on 7/4/02.

AFL Consecutive Games with a TD Reception
Year (Week)
Player (team) Stk began Stk ended # Games
Damian Harrell (Tor/Col) 2002 (Wk 12) --- 53
Eddie Brown (Albany) 1997 (Wk 3) 2000 (Wk 1) 41
Eddie Brown (Albany) 1994 (Wk 1) 1996 (Wk 14) 33
Chris Jackson (LA) 2000 (Wk 1) 2002 (Wk 7) 28

AFL Consecutive Games Scoring a Touchdown
Year (Week)
Player (team) Stk began Stk ended # Games
Eddie Brown (Alb/Ind) 1997 (Wk 3) 2002 (Wk 3) 65
Damian Harrell (Tor/Col)2002 (Wk 12) --- 53
Chris Jackson (LA) 2000 (Wk 1) 2003 (Wk 14) 47
Barry Wagner (Orlando) 1992 (Wk 10) 1996 (Wk 11) 43
Eddie Brown (Albany) 1994 (Wk 1) 1996 (Wk 14) 33

MAN OF STEEL:

A true AFL Ironman, Kyle Moore-Brown is in his 12th season in the league and has never missed a game. ArenaBowl XIX marked his AFL record 176th consecutive start. The first 139 all came with the Firebirds organization before he signed with the Crush prior to the 2004 season.

With Grand Rapids OL/DL Otis Moore missing two games in 2005, Moore-Brown now stands alone in the record books with 159 straight regular season games. Each had appeared in every game since 1995, with Moore-Brown having the overall edge with more playoff appearances.

AFL Record for Consecutive Games
Player (current team) Reg. Season Playoffs Total
Kyle Moore-Brown (Colo.)* 162 18 180
Otis Moore (Gra.) 153 1 155
*streak current

CRADLE OF COACHES:

Strangely enough, little Montgomery Junior College in Rockville, Md., is the cradle of AFL coaches. Crush head coach Mike Dailey (offensive coordinator) and Chicago head coach Mike Hohensee (quarterbacks coach) were assistants on the same staff there. Los Angeles head coach Ed Hodgkiss also coached there. Seven future NFL players played at Montgomery as well as Columbus quarterback John Kaleo, who finished his collegiate career at Maryland after leading Montgomery to the national championship game. Sadly, despite all of these successes and an all-time record of 315-154-13, Montgomery JC discontinued the football program in 2002.

Former Montgomery Junior College Coaches
Mike Dailey (current Colorado head coach) Ernesto Purnsley (1997-98, 2000-03)
Mike Hohensee (current Chicago head coach)
Ed Hodgkiss (current Los Angeles head coach)
Brent Winter (current Los Angeles assistant head coach)
Earl Hoffman (former Albany Firebirds quarterback coach)

AND THE AWARD GOES TO:

The Crush have been recognized for some of their achievements this season, both as a team and as players by being honored with the following awards:

AFLWA Schutt Top 12 Team Poll
#1 ranking- Week 1
#1 ranking- Week 2
#1 ranking- Week 3
#1 ranking- Week 4

AFL Offensive Player of the Week
John Dutton- Week 1

Beckett.com Player of the Week
John Dutton- Week 1

AFLWA Player of the Week
Damian Harrell- Week 1

ArenaFan Offensive Player of the Week
Damian Harrell- Week 1

ArenaFan Defensive Player of the Week
Rashad Floyd- Week 3

AFLWA pre-season Offensive Player of the Year
Damian Harrell

AFLWA pre-season Defensive Player of the Year
Rashad Floyd

• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League (1987-2008) message board...

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 21, 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 Colorado Crush Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central