AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

Drive to ArenaBowl XVIII Playoffs begin Saturday

Published on June 2, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


NEW YORK – The playoffs are here and are as unpredictable as ever. What is certain is that they feature teams on hot streaks, great individual performers, legendary champions and promising rookies.

The Drive to ArenaBowl XVIII Playoffs begin this weekend with four Quarterfinal games on NBC. The hard-hitting action kicks off Saturday when the No. 2 seeded San Jose SaberCats host the defending ArenaBowl champion and No. 7 seed Tampa Bay Storm at 2:45 p.m. ET. Saturday's game will precede NBC's coverage of the Belmont Stakes and Smarty Jones' bid to become the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed accomplished the feat in 1978.

On Sunday, three games will be broadcast regionally on NBC at 3 p.m. ET: No. 1 Arizona hosts No. 8 Los Angeles; No. 3 Chicago hosts No. 6 Orlando; and No. 4 New Orleans hosts No. 5 Colorado. The NBC studio will be hosted this weekend by BILL WEBER and will feature analysts GLENN PARKER and PAT HADEN.

The two previous ArenaBowl champions kick off the playoffs on Saturday at HP Pavilion in San Jose. The seventh-seeded Storm (ArenaBowl XVII champions), who are led by seven-time ArenaBowl champion head coach TIM MARCUM, have won six straight games, but have to face the second-seeded SaberCats (ArenaBowl XVI champions) at home, where they are 7-1 this season.

The top-seeded Rattlers, who have finished runner-up in each of the previous two ArenaBowls, are the hottest team in the AFL. Winners of eight straight, they host the eighth-seeded Avengers on Sunday at America West Arena – a.k.a. The Snake Pit – where they were defeated by Los Angeles 51-32 in Week 1.

Chicago and Orlando meet at Allstate Arena on Sunday in a top defensive matchup. The Predators led the AFL with 35 sacks this season, 12 more than the 23 registered by the second-place Rush. Orlando's total defense, led by DS KENNY MC ENTYRE, who tied for the AFL lead with nine interceptions, ranked No. 1 in the AFL, while Chicago ranked No. 3.

The expansion VooDoo host the second-year Crush at the New Orleans Arena on Sunday in the inaugural playoff game for both teams. New Orleans brings the League's top rusher to the contest in FB/LB DAN CURRAN (336 yards), who also ranked second in rushing touchdowns (21), while Colorado counters with OS DAMIAN HARRELL, who finished third in the AFL with 43 total touchdowns and 1,715 receiving yards.

NO. 7 TAMPA BAY STORM (9-7) AT NO. 2 SAN JOSE SABERCATS (11-5)
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, AT 2:45 P.M. ET
(TV: NBC – BOB PAPA, RAY BENTLEY and LEWIS JOHNSON)

The Storm have won six straight games to close out the regular season... The SaberCats have lost three of their last four games, but San Jose has won the past four meetings between the two teams... San Jose and Tampa Bay have met twice in the postseason, with each team earning a victory... The Storm's 2004 playoff berth marked the 14th consecutive season that the Tampa Bay Storm advanced to postseason play... Tampa Bay has won three straight road games and four of their last five away from home... Tampa Bay owns a 6-5 playoff record on the road... Storm OS FREDDIE SOLOMON ranked tied for No. 5 in the AFL for scoring (204 points)... Tampa Bay QB SHANE STAFFORD has completed 278-of-441 passes for 3418 yards, 67 TDs and 13 INTs... Last week, in a victory against Dallas, Tampa Bay's LAWRENCE SAMUELS, last year's ArenaBowl MVP, had 1.0 total tackle, one INT and one PBUP... In his last game against San Jose on 4/4/04, Samuels had two TDs to put the Storm up 14-0 in the first quarter... Playing at Tampa on 4/4, San Jose QB MARK GRIEB (335-of-459 for 4111 yards, 75 TDs and 7 INTs) was 27-of-34 for 351 yards and nine TDs (seven TDs went to OS JAMES ROE) in a 62-55 victory over the Storm... Grieb currently has the highest passer rating in the League for a season (133.5)... Grieb also has the AFL's highest completion percentage this season (73.0%)... San Jose's RASHIED DAVIS has 47 KO returns for 1135 yards and four TDs, No. 2 in the League.

NO. 8 LOS ANGELES AVENGERS (9-7) AT NO. 1 ARIZONA RATTLERS (11-5)
SUNDAY, JUNE 6, AT 3 P.M. ET
(TV: NBC – BOB PAPA, RAY BENTLEY and LEWIS JOHNSON)

After starting 3-5, the Rattlers have won eight games in a row to claim the top seed in the playoffs... Arizona earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs for only the second time in team history... The only other time they finished the season on top of the standings was in 1997, the last time they won the ArenaBowl... This is the 12th straight year the Rattlers have made the playoffs... The Rattlers and Avengers have split their regular season meetings this year, with both teams winning on the road... Last year in the second round of the playoffs, the Rattlers knocked off the Avengers at STAPLES Center, 70-63... This season, Arizona QB SHERDRICK BONNER set a new team record with 3, 833 passing yards... Bonner broke the record he set last year when he passed for 3, 692 yards... His 77 TD passes are the second highest total in team history, short of the 88 scores he tossed last season... Last week, the Rattlers trailed 34-17 at halftime, but out-scored San Joe 33-9 in the second half to earn the victory... DS WENDALL GAINES blocked the potential game-winning FG attempt, recovering it in the end zone for a TD... All-Arena OL/DL BRYAN HENDERSON helped lead the Arizona Rattlers over the SaberCats on Sunday, earning Defensive Player of the Week honors when he recorded 3.0 total tackles, 1.0 sack, and blocked a FG... Avenger OL/DL ARNOLD MILLER made the AFL All-Rookie team this season with 12.5 tackles, including two for losses and one QB sack in 15 games this season... He also batted down two passes and forced a fumble... All-Arena QB TONY GRAZIANI (334-of-510 for 4254, 99 TDs, 5 INTs) is the No. 2 ranked QB in the League this season... Graziani's 99 TDs were the most TDs thrown this season... Graziani fell one TD short of becoming only the second QB in AFL history to pass for 100 TDs in a single season... L.A. OS CHRIS JACKSON finished No. 2 in the League for scoring this year (272 points)... Jackson was No. 4 in receptions (125) and No. 1 in receiving yards (1803).

NO. 6 ORLANDO PREDATORS (10-6) AT NO. 3 CHICAGO RUSH (11-5)
SUNDAY, JUNE 6, AT 3 P.M. ET
(TV: NBC – ALLEN BESTWICK, CHARLES DAVIS and MARTY SNIDER)

Orlando has won seven of their last eight games... In the 2001 AFL Wildcard playoff round, Chicago beat the Predators at home, 41-26... Earlier this year, Chicago held Orlando to their lowest offensive output of the season, defeating the Predators, 58-15... Orlando leads the League in total defense with 3742 yards allowed (253 rushing, 3489 passing), while Chicago is No. 3 in the League, allowing 4034 yards (412 rushing, 3622 passing)... Orlando had five All-Arena selections, including: WR/LB CORY FLEMING, DS KENNY MC ENTYRE and K JAY TAYLOR on first team... Fleming is No. 4 in the AFL for scoring (210 points) and receiving yards (1620) and No. 2 in receptions (131)... McEntyre leads the League in INTs, with 9 INTs for 123 yards and one TD... Taylor has made 79-of-85 PATs and 18-of-25 FGs for 133 points, No. 3 in the League... Chicago All-Rookie WR/LB ETU MOLDEN ranked No. 8 in the AFL in receptions (101), receiving yards (1280) and yards from scrimmage (1302)... Chicago is 6-2 at home... Teams hosting the playoffs have a home record of 25-7... Chicago is tied for No. 1 in the League for take-away, give-away differential (+15)... QB RAYMOND PHILYAW (247-of-389 for 3053 yards and 52 TDs) has had the least amount of INTs (4) of any QB in the League for 2004... FB/LB BOB MCMILLEN is No. 22 in the League in rushing, with 85 rushing attempts of 285 yards and 22 TDs (the most rushing TDs in the League this season)... Chicago's OL/DL JOHN MOYER leads the League in sacks this season (10.0)... OL/DL JAMES BARON is tied for No. 3 in the League in forced fumbles (4)... Chicago also has the No. 1 offense inside the 10 yard line... Of 83 possessions, Chicago has scored 72 TDs and 4 FGs, an 86.7 TD percentage.

NO. 5 COLORADO CRUSH (11-5) AT NO. 4 NEW ORLEANS VOODOO (11-5)
SUNDAY, JUNE 6, AT 3 P.M. ET
(TV: NBC – ELI GOLD, MIKE PAWLAWSKI)

This is the first playoff game for both the Crush and VooDoo, whose teams have never played each other in the regular season... New Orleans is tied for the best home record in the League, going 7-1 at the New Orleans Arena... VooDoo OS AARON BAILEY is tied for No. 5 in the League in scoring (204 points) and No. 6 in receiving yards (1364)... Bailey is also No. 3 in the AFL in all-purpose yards (2340)... All-Arena Team FB/LB DAN CURRAN leads the League in rushing this season, with 85 rushing attempts for 336 yards and 21 TDs... Earning All-Rookie honors, New Orleans VooDoo DS DELMONICO MONTGOMERY was tied for No. 3 in the League in solo tackles (80) and passes defended (21) and is tied for No. 5 in the League in INTs (5)... The Crush rank No. 5 overall in the League in total offense (4407 total yards, a 275.4 average)... On the season, former ArenaBowl MVP JOHN DUTTON is 342-of-536 for 4195 yards, 76 TDs and eight INTs and is the No. 6 ranked QB in the League... Crush OS DAMIAN HARRELL ranks No. 3 in the AFL for scoring (258 points) and receiving yards (1715)... WR/DB WILLIS MARSHALL led the Colorado Crush during their 56-47 victory over the Chicago Rush on Sunday to win Ironman of the Week honors... Marshall had nine receptions for 98 yards and three TDs, while adding a rushing TD on offense... He had three KO returns for 71 yards on special teams... On defense, Marshall tallied 4.0 total tackles and forced a fumble... Colorado DS RASHAD FLOYD is No. 1 for combined tackles with 123.0 (107 solo, 32 assists) and No. 2 in passes defensed (24).

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 2, 2004


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