Miller Lost for Year, Preds Sign McKenzie
May 7, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Orlando Predators News Release
ORLANDO, Fla. (May 6) -- Orlando Predators team physicians confirmed on Wednesday what Head Coach Fran Papasedero feared and team trainers already knew â Orlando Predators starting lineman Doug Miller sustained a fractured foot on Sunday against Colorado and will be lost for the remainder of the season.
Miller, a tight end / defensive end, was having an outstanding season for the Predators. The second-year pro out of Howard University had 19 tackles with 3 pass defenses and a fumble recovery. His best game of the season came three weeks ago against Las Vegas, when Miller had two solo stops, four assisted tackles, and one pass defense. He played a key role in two goal line stands and played both fullback and tight end on offense in earning "Ironman of the Game" honors.
"Colorado's team physicians had X-ray equipment at the game and we knew it was bad," Head Coach Fran Papasedero said. "Doug was having a terrific season for us and we'll miss his contributions. But injuries are part of the game and we'll just have adjust and move on."
The Predators started the healing process by announcing that they signed AFL free agent Rich McKenzie to take Miller's spot on the roster. McKenzie played with the Predators from 1998-2001, before signing a free agent contract with the Chicago Rush last season.
A gifted defensive end and powerful pass rusher, McKenzie has totaled 39.5 tackles with 6 TFL, 3 QS, 9 pass defenses and 3 fumble recoveries in 37 career games. But it has been in the playoffs where McKenzie has excelled. In 12 post-season games, McKenzie has recorded 20.5 tackles with 5 quarterback sacks, 2 pass defenses, 4 tackles-for-loss, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.
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"At 6-2, 270, Rich is a little undersized, but he's an excellent pass rusher who played a major role in the success of our two championships and three straight ArenaBowl appearances," Predators Head Coach Fran Papasedero says. "When the lights are the brightest, Rich always seems to step up his game. We're hoping that we will get that type of production from him for the remainder of the season and through the playoffs."
McKenzie played at Penn State University, where he recorded 126 tackles and 20 career sacks from 1989-92. He was a fifth round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 1993, spent the entire 1995 season on the Browns active roster and went to training camp with New England in 1996 and Tampa Bay in 1997.
Terms of the contract, which covers the remainder of the 2003 season, were not disclosed.
PREDS NOTES: The team announced that individual playoff tickets for the first two games will go on sale Friday...the tickets will be priced at $5-$40, with a limited number of more expensive club seats and dream seats available...Call 407-44-PREDS for more information...The Predators remind fans that the final regular season home game of the 2003 season has been switched and will be played this Friday night, May 9...Kickoff is 7:30 p.m...Originally, the game was scheduled for 3 p.m. Mother's Day...Friday is Team Poster Night, with the first 5,000 fans through the doors receiving a commemorative team poster â featuring action shots from the 2003 season...Predators OS Travis McGriff needs just 40 all-purpose yards to become just the third player in Predators history to gain more than 2,000 all-purpose yards in a single season...Barry Wagner (3 times) and Siaha Burley are the other two...a victory over 0-14 Carolina on Friday guarantees the Predators a top four finish and a first round playoff bye...Orlando is still in the hunt for a #1 seed, but needs some help from several other teams to reach that goal...The Predators official booster club will present its "Fan Favorite" award on Friday night prior to kickoff...the award is based on voting by fans throughout the season at the TD Waterhouse Centre...the Predators will also receive an award from Sports Fans of America, an organization who recognized the Predators as the "Most Fan Friendly Team" in Arena Football...winner in other sports during the past year include the Buffalo Bills (NFL), Dallas Mavericks (NBA) and Minnesota Wild (NHL)...should Orlando win its final two games of the regular season against Carolina and Detroit (7-7), it would set a new franchise record for regular season wins with 12...Cobras interim Head Coach Eddie Khayat, who took over the team two weeks ago, was the Head Coach of the expansion Nashville Kats in 1997...Predators QB Jay Gruden served as Khayat's offensive coordinator that year, while current Preds Head Coach Fran Papasedero and Orlando WR/LB Cory Fleming played on that team that won an AFL expansion record 10 games that season...Carolina must win one of its two remaining games against either Orlando (10-4) or New York (6-8) to avoid becoming the first team in AFL history to lose 16 games in a regular season and avoid becoming the sixth team in Arena Football League history to go winless in a regular season.
Arena Football League Stories from May 7, 2003
- Horsemen Smash Rays for Fourth in a Row - Kentucky Horsemen
- Miller Lost for Year, Preds Sign McKenzie - Orlando Predators
- Storm Set Sights on Number One Seed - Tampa Bay Storm
- Arizona Rattlers Game Notes - Arizona Rattlers
- Orlando Predators Game Notes - Orlando Predators
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