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Nashville Kats game notes

March 28, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Nashville Kats News Release


THE QUICK FACTS:
Game: Nashville Kats (6-3) at Colorado Crush (6-3)
Date: Saturday, April 1, 2006
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Site: Pepsi Center (18,093)
Officials: R-Terry Brown, U-Rick Lowe, HL-Rod Pearson, LJ-Art Lucky, BJ-Scott Helverson
Television: FSN South (Tape-Delayed, 10 p.m.); FSN Rocky Mtn. (live)
Radio: Kats Radio Network. Flagship - 104.5 The Zone. Mike Keith (Play-by-Play), Larry Stone (Analyst).
Internet: www.arenafootball.com
Series Record: Colorado leads 2-1
Last Meeting: Nashville won 58-36
Series Streaks: Nashville won the last meeting.
Last Week: Nashville 51, San Jose 48
Colorado 65, Columbus 21
Coaches: Pat Sperduto, NAS (5th season; 44-30-1 overall). Mike Dailey, COL (10th season; 94-61 overall)

OVERVIEW: The Kats travel to Colorado for one of the biggest games of the year, with both teams needing a win to secure sole possession of first place in the AFL's Central Division. Nashville, by virtue of its 58-36 win over the Crush last month, currently holds the top playoff seed in the American Conference through week nine. A win this week would not only give the Kats a one-game lead over Colorado in the division and playoff standings, but it would give the Kats the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two squads as well, meaning that Nashville would have to fall lose two games to fall behind the Crush in the standings. The Kats have won their last two games, and hope to reverse what has been a tough season of games on the road so far this year. While 5-0 at home, Nashville is only 1-3 away from the Music City.
THE SCHEDULES:
2006 Nashville Kats (6-3)
Game Opponent Result Time/Score
Jan. 28 @ New York Won 57-28
Feb. 3 COLUMBUS Won 53-27
Feb. 12 @Chicago Lost 56-55 (OT)
Feb. 18 COLORADO Won 58-36
Feb. 25 GRAND RAPIDS Won 47-31
Mar. 4 @ Arizona Lost 52-49
Mar. 10 @ Utah Lost 63-34
Mar. 17 CHICAGO Won 48-47
Mar. 25 SAN JOSE Won 51-48
Apr. 1 @ Colorado 8:00 p.m.
Apr. 8 @ Las Vegas 9:30 p.m.
Apr. 14 PHILADELPHIA 7:00 p.m.
Apr. 21 KANSAS CITY 7:00 p.m.
Apr. 29 @ Grand Rapids 7:00 p.m.
May 6 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.
May 13 TAMPA BAY 7:00 p.m.

2006 Colorado Crush (6-3)
Game Opponent Result Time/Score
Jan. 29 CHICAGO Won 65-56
Feb. 5 @ Georgia Won 61-59
Feb. 12 LAS VEGAS Won 65-55
Feb. 18 @ Nashville Lost 58-36
Feb. 26 @ Philadelphia Won 48-38
Mar. 5 GRAND RAPIDS Won 66-54
Mar. 10 @ Chicago Won 49-42
Mar. 19 @ Los Angeles Lost 60-57
Mar. 25 COLUMBUS Lost 65-21
Apr. 1 NASHVILLE 8:00 p.m.
Apr. 8 @ Grand Rapids 6:30 p.m.
Apr. 16 @ Kansas City 12:00 p.m.
Apr. 21 UTAH 8:00 p.m.
Apr. 28 ORLANDO 8:00 p.m.
May 6 @ San Jose 9:30 p.m.
May 12 ARIZONA 8:00 p.m.

CURRENT PLAYOFF STANDINGS:
American Conf. National Conf.
x-Nashville 6-3 x-Dallas 7-2
x-Arizona 5-4 x-Austin 6-3
Colorado 6-3 Philadelphia 5-4
Chicago 4-5 Orlando 5-4
Las Vegas 4-5 New York 5-4
Grand Rapids 3-6 Columbus 5-4
Utah 3-6 Georgia 5-4
Los Angeles 3-6 Tampa Bay 5-4
San Jose 3-6 Kansas City 1-8
x-Division Leader

THE SERIES: The Kats (1-2 all-time against the Crush) got their first win against the Colorado franchise this year when they topped the Crush at home 58-36 (2/18/06). The Kats and Crush saw each other twice in the regular season last year with Colorado winning both contests. In the second match (5/13/05), the Kats' six-game unbeaten streak was broken in the waning seconds by Crush kicker Clay Rush who put his team ahead 42-39 on a 31-yard attempt. That loss kept the Kats from a chance to qualify for the 2005 playoffs.

Date Result
3/12/05 Colorado 42, Nashville 35 (@ Nashville)
5/13/05 Colorado 42, Nashville 39 (@ Denver)
2/18/06 Nashville 58, Colorado 36 (@ Nashville)

KATS INJURY REPORT
Player Injury Status
Chris Angel Knee Out
Darryl Hammond Knee Probable
Jermaine Lewis Hamstring Out
Clint Stoerner Leg Doubtful

LAST MEETING:
Nashville 58, Colorado 36 (Feb. 18 @ Nashville)
Nashville scored a season high 58 points while holding the Crush to a season low 36 in its victory over previously unbeaten Colorado. Offensive specialist T.T. Toliver led the Kats with four touchdowns, a recovered fumble on a kickoff and added 50 receiving yards. Kats' QB Clint Stoerner completed 16-for-23 throws for 194 yards. Defensively, the Kats held Crush QB John Dutton to 285 yards with two TD's and two interceptions. Kats' defensive specialist and ADT Defensive Player of the Game Monty Montgomery, had one of those interceptions and added nine tackles. The Kats scored on every offensive possession except one midway through the 3rd Quarter. The win tied the Kats and Crush for the division lead.

LAST WEEK:
Nashville 51, San Jose 48 (Mar. 25 @ Nashville)
The Kats survived a late rally by San Jose to stay a perfect 5-0 at home. The day belonged to WR/DB Cory Fleming who not only had his best output of the year, seven receptions, 85 yards and two TD's, but also made history by becoming just the fourth player in AFL history to log over 10,000 receiving yards. Also valuable to the victory was QB Leon Murray, who started his second consecutive game for the injured Clint Stoerner. Murray completed 16 of 29 passes for 199 yards, along with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The typically stingy Kats defense contained the SaberCats' offense for most of the game. However, quarterback Mark Grieb threw San Jose back into the game, paving the way for 22 fourth quarter points.

Colorado 21, Columbus 65 (Mar. 25 @ Colorado)
A franchise-record seven turnovers doomed the Colorado Crush to a 65-21 defeat at the hands of the Columbus Destroyers. Colorado's turnover tally included three interceptions off John Dutton and four fumbles. The Destroyers outscored the Crush 27-0 in the second quarter to pull away and went on another 17-0 run in the third quarter to quell any potential for a Colorado comeback. The bright spot in an otherwise dismal evening for the Crush came in the form of offensive specialist Damian Harrell, who led all players in the game with 10 receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

SERIES NOTABLES:
QB John Dutton and WR/DB Willis Marshall had their lowest output versus the Kats in the last meeting between the teams, while All-Arena OS Damien Harrell had a solid day. Here's a look at what those players have done versus Nashville the past two years:

Dutton vs. Kats
Date Result Com-Att Yds Td Int
3/12/05 COL 42,NAS 35 23-24 232 6 0
5/13/05 COL 52,NAS 49 31-40 349 5 0
2/18/06 NAS 58,COL 36 31-48 285 2 2
Totals 85-112 866 13 2

Marshall vs. Kats
Date Result Rec Yds Td
3/12/05 COL 42, NAS 35 4 37 1
5/13/05 COL 52, NAS 49 11 109 1
2/18/06 NAS 58, COL 36 6 45 1
Totals 21 191 3

Harrell vs. Kats
Date Result Rec Yds Td
3/12/05 COL 42, NAS 35 4 53 1
5/13/05 COL 53, NAS 49 6 75 2
2/18/06 NAS 58, COL 36 8 94 1
Totals 18 222 4

Kats QB Leon Murray will face the Crush for the first time since last year's last-minute loss at Nashville. Here's his results from that meeting:

Murray vs. Crush
Date Result Com-Att Yds Td Int
5/13/05 COL 52,NAS 49 23-30 259 2 0
Totals 23-30 259 2 0

Kats receivers have had mixed results against the Crush in past match-ups. Here's a look at their production in recent years games:

Fleming Vs. Crush
Date Result Rec Yds Td
5/4/03 ORL 48, COL 42 9 132 3
2/18/06 NAS 58, COL 36 5 60 1
Totals 14 192 4

Hammond Vs. Crush
Date Result Rec Yds Td
2/2/03 GEO 44, COL 40 6 83 1
2/27/04 COL 37, AUS 35 6 52 1
3/12/05 COL 42, NAS 35 7 48 0
5/13/05 COL 53, NAS 49 12 118 0
2/18/06 NAS 58, COL 36 0 0 0
Totals 31 301 2

Toliver vs. Crush
Date Result Rec Yds TD
5/13/05 COL 52, NAS 49 6 78 1
2/18/06 NAS 58, COL 36 4 50 2
Totals 10 128 3

Bonner vs. Crush
Date Result Rec Yds TD
4/13/03 CHI 76, COL 58 2 51 1
2/6/04 COL 43, LVG 42 5 36 1
2/18/06 NAS 58, COL 36 3 49 1
Totals 10 136 3

Hillery vs. Crush
Date Result Rec Yds TD
2/2/03 GEO 44, COL 40 1 0 0
5/13/05 COL 52, NAS 49 2 44 1
Totals 3 44 1

THE COACHES:
Nashville - Pat Sperduto, 5th season
44-30-1 (.590) overall
Pat Sperduto is in his fifth season as head coach of the Nashville Kats. After struggling to a 1-7 start in 2005, the Kats first year back in Nashville after moving to Atlanta in 2001, Sperduto pushed the Kats to win five of their last eight games to finish 6-9-1. He was at the helm of the original Kats team from 1999-2001. Prior to last year, he spent the last four seasons as an assistant on the staff of the Tennessee Titans. He joined the NFL club after spending five seasons with the old Nashville Kats. He compiled a 32-18 record as head coach the last three seasons and led his team to back-to-back appearances in the ArenaBowl in 2000 and 2001. Sperduto replaced Eddie Khayat as head coach in 1999 and posted the best record of seven AFL coaches who took over new teams in 2000. Sperduto spent his first two years as defensive coordinator for the Kats and was elevated to assistant head coach in 1998. He is a three-time ArenaBowl World Champion, winning twice as a player for the Tampa Bay Storm (1991 and '93) and once as an assistant coach with the Storm (1994). Sperduto began his professional career as a player with the Canadian Football League's British Columbia Lions before joining the Tampa Bay Storm in the AFL from 1991-93.

Colorado - Mike Dailey, 9th Season
94-61 (.569) overall
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. 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.
2006 TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Category Kats Crush
Scoring Offense 50.2 (11th) 52.0 (7th)
Scoring Defense 43.0 (2nd) 54.1 (13th)
Total Offense 255.4 (16th) 289.6 (7th)
Total Defense 252.7 (2nd) 265.7 (5th)
Pass Offense 225.9 (16th) 277.9 (5th)
Pass Defense 235.7 (3rd) 241.8 (5th)
Rushing Offense 29.6 (3rd) 11.7 (17th)
Rushing Defense 17.0 (5th) 23.9 (15th)
Interceptions 12 (t-4th) 5 (t-9th)
Turnover Margin +5 (t-3rd) -14 (18th)
Kickoff Return Avg. 17.2 (9th) 18.0 (7th)
Sacks By 19 (1st) 12 (4th)
Sacks Against 10 (7th) 4 (3rd)

NOTES:

HIGH STAKES - Saturday's game between Nashville and Colorado is an important one. Both teams are 6-3 and tied for the lead in the Central Division. The winner would not only take over sole possession of first place in the division, but would take over the top seed in the American Conference playoff standings. That would mean they would control their own destiny for home field advantage throughout the American Conference playoffs. A win by Nashville would also ensure the Kats the head-to-head tiebreaker, since the Kats won the first meeting between the two clubs back in February.

ROAD WOES - Nashville has traditionally been a solid road team, but 2006 has seen the Kats struggle away from home. Going into the season, the Kats were 27-15-1, all-time, as the visitors, but are only 1-3 this year. In their five home games, Nashville has outscored its opponents 257-190, while being outscored 198-195 in their four road contests.

HOME SWEET HOME - Although they have struggled on the road, the Kats are a perfect 5-0 at home so far in 2006, making them the only team to have a perfect home record to this point. This also marks the first time that the franchise has ever won its first five home games.

SLOPPY KATS - Nashville has won its last two games, but the Kats continue to be plagued with turnovers, penalties and missed kicks in recent weeks. In the last five games, Nashville has turned the ball over 18 times and has been penalized 43 times for 238 yards. The Kats have also missed eight extra point attempts during that span, and have not made a field goal since week six at Arizona.

FLEMING GOES OVER 10,000 -WR/LB Cory Fleming reached one of the AFL's most coveted milestones - 10,000 career receiving yards - in last week's win over San Jose. Fleming passed the mark with a seven-yard reception in the first half of the San Jose win. He became just the fourth player in league history to have reached that point before (Barry Wagner, Eddie Brown and Gary Compton are the others). One of the AFL's all-time greats, Fleming had his best game of the season last week, catching seven passes for 75 yards and two TD's. He also recovered three onside kicks, and returned one of those 14 yards for a TD. He returns to the Kats in 2006 after spending the last three years with the Orlando Predators. He has posted 39 games with 100 or more receiving yards and 23 games with 10 or more catches in his nine-year career. He now has 831 career receptions, ranking him third all-time in that category, and 10,025 receiving yards, ranking him fourth. Fleming has earned first unit All-AFL honors four times, including 1997, 1998, 2004 and 2005, and he was named AFL Ironman of the Year, signifying the Arena Football League's best two-way player in 2004. He was tabbed AFL Rookie of the Year in 1997. He ranks third on the all-time list for career touchdowns (240), and Fleming has averaged 89 receptions, 1,073 receiving yards and 25 receiving touchdowns in his previous nine seasons in the AFL, despite missing all but five games in 2001 and the final four games of the 2000 season with injuries. Last season, he was named to the first-team All-Arena squad, catching 96 passes for 1,089 yards and 33 touchdowns for the Orlando Predators, and helping to lead the team to the AFL semifinals.

BRINGING THE HEAT - The Kats have arguably the most fierce pass rush in the league, and they lead the AFL with 19 sacks on the season, through week nine. Nashville, which finished tied for the league lead in sacks last season with 24, is on a pace to record 34 sacks by the end of the season. The league record is 38, set by Pittsburgh in 1988. Seven players have had sacks so far this season - Frank Carter (4.5), Joe Minucci (4.5), Anthony Herron (4), James Baron (2), Aaron McConnell (2), Darryl Hammond (1) and Jermaine Lewis (1). Carter's four in a game at New York was the most in team history and ties him for third in AFL history. He, Minucci and Herron make up three of the 10 AFL players who have recorded four or more sacks this year. Those three, plus Baron and McConnell make up five of the 39 AFL players who have posted two or more sacks so far this year. No other team has more than three players on that list. Nashville nearly tied the AFL record for sacks in a game in its week one win at New York. The seven QB takedowns that the Kats registered against the Dragons were the most in team history and just one shy of the league record of eight. Last year, the Kats had six players who had at least three sacks on the year, while no other team had more than three players reach that mark. Of those six players, the Kats return four (James Baron, Rupert Grant, Aaron McConnell, Joe Minucci), plus they have added FB/LB Frank Carter, who tied for second in the league with nine sacks a year ago.

Most Sacks In A Season By One Team
Date Team Sacks
1988 Pittsburgh Gladiators 38
1987 Pittsburgh Gladiators 35
2004 Orlando Predators 35
2006 Nashville Kats* 34
2000 San Jose SaberCats 33
* Projected Number

MURRAY FILLING IN - Quarterback Leon Murray is expected to get his third consecutive start this week at Colorado. He is filling in for the injured Clint Stoerner, who is eligible to return from IR. Murray completed 16-of-29 for 199 yards and three TD's against San Jose last week, and he was intercepted twice. For the year, he has connected on 50-of-87 throws for 538 yards, 10 TD's and six INT's. Murray, who saw action in 13 games last year, finished 2005 averaging 222.6 passing yards per game, and a 60.4 completion percentage. He also had 141 TD passes with 26 INT's. Murray finished 2005 on a tear and was a big contributor to the team's turnaround in which they posted a six-game unbeaten streak. He threw 25 TD's with no INT's in the final six games of the season. Prior to joining the Kats as a free agent before the 2005 campaign, he spent two years with the Georgia Force, where he was named to the AFL's All-Rookie team and voted the Force's Co-Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in 2003.

T.T. MEANS TD - OS T.T. Toliver continues to find the end zone at an amazing clip so far in 2006. Twelve of his last 24 catches have gone for touchdowns, and he is tied for sixth in the AFL with 21 total touchdowns this season. He has scored on 35.3 percent of his receptions this year, placing him behind only Colorado's Damian Harrell (36.5 percent) in that category. Toliver has scored 18 TD's on receptions, two on rushes and another on a net recovery. He also threw a TD pass to Cory Fleming in last week's win over San Jose. His 778 receiving yards ranks him ninth in the league through week nine, and his 15.3 yards-per-catch average is the best of any receiver in the AFL's Top 30 Receiving Leaders. He continues to show the "true meaning" of his initials by scoring two or more touchdowns in nearly every game he plays with the Kats. He has at least two TD's in 13 of the 16 contests he has played in with the Kats since being acquired in a midseason trade with Tampa Bay last season, and he has found the end zone in all 16 of those games. Toliver, who was named to the league's All-Ironman squad as a WR/DB in 2004, had 55 receptions for 768 yards and 17 TD's with Tampa Bay and Nashville last season. He also had 14 rushes for 57 yards and three TD's, and he ran in a pair of key two-point conversions as well. The Bethune-Cookman product was a member of Tampa Bay's 2003 ArenaBowl championship squad, and he has spent time on NFL practice squads with the San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams. Toliver has moved to offensive specialist this season after being a two-way player for his first four seasons.

Average Yards Per Catch (Min. 35 rec.)
Player Avg.
T.T. Toliver, NAS 15.3
Damian Groce, ARI 14.6
Siaha Burley, UTA 14.0
Will Pettis, DAL 14.0

Pct. Of Rec. for TD (Min. 35 rec.)
Player Pct.
Damian Harrell, COL 36.5
T.T. Toliver, NAS 35.3
Siaha Burley, UTA 33.3
Marcus Nash, LVG 30.2

RUNNING TO DAYLIGHT - The Kats currently rank third in the AFL in rushing with 29.6 rushing yards per game. Nashville has averaged 35 yards per game on the ground through the last five weeks, and they have scored 10 TD's by running the ball in that span. For the year, the Kats have run the ball 82 times for 269 yards and 18 TD's. Nashville ran the ball a season-high 14 times for 73 yards in a win over Chicago two weeks ago. It marked the second highest rushing total in one game in team history (next to the 82 yards gained in last year's win over Columbus). Dan Alexander, who has only played in four of the first nine games, leads the team with 76 yards (averaging 3.6 yards per carry).

FIFTY IS THE KEY - The Kats are 4-1 when scoring more than 50 points in 2006, with the lone loss coming on a 56-55 overtime defeat at Chicago in week three. In the last two years, the Kats are 7-1 when crossing the 50-point plateau. The Kats are also a perfect 6-0 this season when holding their opponent under 50.

GETTING DEFENSIVE - The Kats' defense has been one of the league's best through the first nine games of the season. Nashville ranks second in total defense (252.2), and scoring defense (43), and they lead the AFL in sacks (19), yards per play defense (5.0) and passing yards per play defense (5.7). Their +5 turnover margin ranks them third among AFL teams. In week one, the Kats held the high-flying New York Dragons and legendary quarterback Aaron Garcia to just 28 points and 241 yards of total offense in a 57-28 win. In week two, Nashville continued to turn up the heat, holding a Columbus team that had scored 53 points in a week one win over Grand Rapids to just 27 in a 53-27 blowout. The Kats held the Destroyers to only 175 yards of total offense. In Chicago in week three, the Kats held Chicago to under 200 yards passing. In week four, Nashville held a Crush team that had led the AFL in scoring through the first three weeks to just 36 points and forced five turnovers. In the fifth week, Nashville forced four more turnovers and held a Grand Rapids squad that had scored more than 60 points in its two previous contests to just 31. Two weeks ago, the Kats held Chicago to just 219 total yards.

MONTY IS BACK -DS Monty Montgomery, who had missed the last two weeks with a fractured finger, returned from IR last week and had another big game, intercepting a pass, breaking up two more, and registering six tackles, including one for loss. He has been a force in the secondary in the seven games he has played this season, totaling seven interceptions (3rd in the AFL) and 52 tackles (10th in the AFL). He has also batted away 11 passes (tied for 7th in the AFL). Montgomery, who was a coveted free agent signee from New Orleans in the offseason, also forced and recovered a fumble at Chicago in week three. The Kats led the league with 11 INT's when Montgomery was in the lineup for the first six games of the year. During his absence, Nashville did not pick off a pass.

NO TIME AT ALL - The Kats have controlled the ball less than any team in the league, with the exception of Georgia, through the first nine games of the season. Nashville is averaging only 27:37 of possession time per game so far in 2006.

OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES - After starting the season on a tear, the Kats' offense has struggled of late. Through the first four weeks of the season, Nashville averaged 55.75 points and 278.5 total yards per game. In the last five games, the Kats are averaging just 45.8 points and 236.2 yards of total offense per contest. In addition, after only turning the ball over three times in the first four games, Nashville has turned it over 18 times in the last five weeks. The Kats are also averaging 47.6 penalty yards per game in the last five weeks after only averaging 37.5 yards on penalties in the first four games. Nashville ranks only 16th out of 18 teams in total offense (255.4) and in passing offense (225.9).

SECOND-AND-LONG - The Kats have been the best defensive team in the AFL to this point on first down, holding opponents to 4.56 yards per play on first down. The league average is 6.41 yards.

BEING PICKY - Nashville has had 14 passes intercepted this season, the fourth-most of any team in the AFL to this point. The Kats had only thrown one INT through the first four weeks, but Kats QB's Clint Stoerner and Leon Murray have been picked off 13 times in the last five games.

THE 800 CLUB - In Cory Fleming and Darryl Hammond, Nashville features two of the top receivers in AFL history, and they have given the Kats a historic first. Cory Fleming became just the third player in league history to catch 800 passes in his career at New York in week one, and now sits at 818. With his four receptions last week, Darryl Hammond became the fourth player to reach that milestone with 801. The Kats are the first team ever to have two 800-catch receivers on the same roster.

BONNER IS TRUE IRONMAN - WR/DB Cornelius Bonner has been a true example of an Ironman for the Kats so far this season, even winning AFL Ironman of the Week honors after Nashville's week two win over Columbus. For the year, he has 37 catches for 450 yards and 10 TD's. Plus, he had a team-record 56-yard INT return for a score against Colorado in week four, and has 31 tackles and nine passes defended on the season. Like Frank Carter, Bonner signed with the Kats as a free agent in the offseason after spending the last few years with the Las Vegas Gladiators.

OLD SCHOOL - This Kats team has a familiar look to it, as five players on this year's roster were also with the team in its previous version (1997-2001). OL/DL James Baron, WR/LB Cory Fleming, FB/LB Rupert Grant, WR/LB Darryl Hammond and WR/DB Jarrick Hillery all played with the old Kats, and all were on Nashville's back-to-back ArenaBowl squads in 2000 and 2001.

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? - Nashville began the 2006 season with a much different look than when it began the 2005 season. The biggest change is reflected in the years of AFL experience this year's roster has compared to last year's. When the Kats played their season opener at Columbus on Jan. 28, 2005, the active roster featured 24 players with a combined 46 years of AFL experience. When Nashville opened the year at New York exactly one year later, they featured 23 players with a combined 80 years of experience. That is an improvement of 34 combined years, and that does not include the nine years of AFL experience between injured reserve players Rupert Grant and Chris Angel. The 2005 opening week roster had 11 rookies, where this year's opening roster had only one - lineman Tyrone Hopson.

NEW BLOOD - The Kats played the first seven games of the 2006 season without a rookie on the active roster. Nashville finally bucked that trend when it activated rookie Tyrone Hopson for the win over Chicago two weeks ago. The Kats then suited up two rookies (Hopson and WR/LB Alonzo Nix) in last week's win over San Jose.

SUPER SOPHS - The Kats feature four of last year's AFL All-Rookie selections, easily the most of any other team. Nashville FB/LB Dan Alexander and linemen Aaron McConnell and Joe Minucci were honored for their outstanding rookie seasons in 2005, and the Kats got the All-Rookie quarterback (Clint Stoerner) in a trade with Dallas in the offseason.

SECOND(ARY) TO NONE - The Kats have put together one of the most formidable secondaries in the league, having picked off 12 passes (tied for 5th in the AFL) and given up a league-low 5.7 yards per pass play through nine weeks.

NEW FACES - Nashville made some significant roster additions over the offseason, resulting in several new faces on this year's squad. One of the most notable is WR/LB Cory Fleming, who rejoins the Kats after a year in Carolina and three seasons with Orlando. He was the AFL Ironman of the Year in 2004. Nashville also signed first-team All-Arena FB/LB Frank Carter, as well as veteran WR/DB Cornelius Bonner, both of whom played for Las Vegas last season. The Kats also traded for QB Clint Stoerner, who started all 16 games for Dallas in 2005, and they signed defensive specialist Monty Montgomery, who was an AFL All-Rookie choice in 2004. A list of the new faces to the 2006 Kats:

Player Pos. Exp. Spent 2005...
Chris Angel DS 2 New York
Cornelius Bonner WR/DB 6 Las Vegas
Frank Carter FB/LB 4 Las Vegas
Cory Fleming WR/LB 9 Orlando
Anthony Herron OL/DL 1 NFL-Atlanta
Tyrone Hopson OL/DL R ----
Ronald Jones OL/DL R ----
Monty Montgomery DS 2 New Orleans
Alonzo Nix WR/LB R ----
Clint Stoerner QB 1 Dallas

TITANS CONNECTIONS - Six of the 22 players on Nashville's active roster have spent time with the Tennessee Titans organization. FB/LB Dan Alexander and saw extensive playing time with the NFL club, while DS Rober' Freeman, WR/LB Jermaine Lewis, OL/DL Aaron McConnell, OL/DL Joe Minucci and K Jason Witczak were all in camp with the Titans at some point. Head coach Pat Sperduto also served on the Titans' staff the four seasons between his stints with the Kats.

AMONG THE GREATEST - The Kats had two players on the recently-announced AFL's 20 Greatest Players of All-Time list. Lineman James Baron, who is widely considered the most dominant lineman to ever play the game, was ranked sixth. That is higher than any other non-quarterback or receiver. WR/LB Cory Fleming was tied for 14th on the list. Darryl Hammond, who was on the voting committee, also received votes. Nashville and Arizona were the only two teams to have two active players on the list.

BARON OF DEFENSE - OL/DL James Baron is widely known as one of the AFL's all-time greatest linemen. He has 41.5 career sacks, placing him third on the AFL's all-time list. He will move into second with two more full sacks. So far this season, he has two sacks and a tackle for loss, as well as two fumble recoveries, including one in last week's win over San Jose. Last year, Baron sat out the first two games of the season with an ankle injury, ending his streak of 131 consecutive games played. He returned, registering 11 tackles, four stops for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a safety in his 14 games. Baron was recently named no. 6 on the list of the league's 20 greatest players, and he has been named the league's defensive player of the year once and lineman of the year twice. The former Virginia Tech standout earned all-Arena honors six times (1997-2002), including the first-team five times. He is a two-time member of the all-Ironman team (1999, 2001). His 26.5 career tackles for loss is the second-highest total in AFL history, and he was named to the AFL's 15th Anniversary all-time team at the 2001 ArenaBowl. Baron, who played three seasons with Chicago between stints in Nashville, was one of only two players to play in all 80 games with the previous Kats franchise, including 10 postseason contests (joining quarterback Andy Kelly). He is Nashville's franchise leader in sacks (28.5), and he also holds team records for sacks in one season (7.0).

SWEET 16 - Kats WR/LB Darryl Hammond is in the midst of his 16th year in the AFL (the longest tenure in Arena Football League history). Although currently on IR, he became the fourth player in league history to catch at least 800 passes at Utah in week seven. Hammond had a 44-yard fumble return in the win over Colorado in week four, continuing his string of game-changing defensive performances so far this season. His nine tackles at Chicago in week three led the team, and he also registered his first sack since 2002 in the game. He had a 49-yard interception return for a TD against Columbus three weeks ago, marking the seventh pick in which he has run back for a TD in his career. Hammond continued to defy Father Time in 2005, earning a selection to the league's All-Ironman team. He had 66 receptions for 632 yards, eight TD's and 42.5 tackles in 14 games played last season. In 2005, he became just the second player in league history to have 8,000 receiving yards and 30 interceptions in a career. San Jose WR/LB Barry Wagner is the only other player to have accomplished the feat. Hammond now has 8,563 receiving yards and 30 INT's. He is one of only three players in AFL history to surpass 600 stops (Wagner and Grand Rapids' Damon Mason are the other two). He is fourth in AFL history with 801 career receptions and ranks eighth on the league's all-time receiving-yards gained in a career with 8,563 yards. Hammond has returned seven interceptions for touchdowns in his career, tied for third-most in the AFL, and he ranks third in the league for career tackles with 650.5.

SCOUTING COLORADO
Although Colorado has struggled in recent weeks the Kats will have their hands full when it comes to the Crush offense. Nashville's stubborn defense, which is second in total defensive yards (averaging 257.2 per game), and second in points allowed per game (43.0) will have to keep Dutton from breaking out of his recent rut. In the past two games he has combined for five interceptions with a season high of three last week versus Columbus. However, Dutton is still managing a 62.6 completion percentage. His favorite target, as usual, is all-world offensive specialist Damian Harrell, who already has 30 TD grabs on 82 receptions for 1,088 yards.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
OS DAMIAN HARRELL - Leads the AFL in receiving with 82 catches for 1,088 yards and 30 TD's. He was last year's Offensive Player of the Year, and he is widely regarded as the top receiver in arena football.

WR/DB WILLIS MARSHALL - A six-year veteran in his third with the Crush following three seasons at Grand Rapids. Marshall is among Rampage's all-time leaders in receptions, kickoff returns and return yardage.

QB JOHN DUTTON - One of the best drop-back passers in the league, and has started 54 of 57 regular season games in Crush history. Dutton owns all single-game, season and career franchise passing records for the Crush.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 28, 2006


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