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Nashville Kats game notes

April 11, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Nashville Kats News Release


THE QUICK FACTS:
Game: Nashville Kats (7-4) vs. Philadelphia Soul (5-5)
Date: Friday, April 14, 2006
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Site: Gaylord Entertainment Center (15,711)
Officials: R- Tom McCabe, U- Paul Frerking, HL- Brent Durbin, LJ- Bob McElwee, BJ- Keith Washington
Television: CSS (Tape Delay - Sat., 6 p.m.); INHD-Live
Radio: Kats Radio Network (LIVE). Flagship - 104.5 The Zone. Mike Keith (Play-by-Play), Larry Stone (Analyst).
Internet: www.arenafootball.com
Series Record: Philadelphia leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Philadelphia won 59-48
Series Streaks: Philadelphia won the last meeting.
Last Week: Nashville 58, Las Vegas 44
Philadelphia 56, Chicago 55 (OT)
Coaches: Pat Sperduto, NAS (5th season; 45-31-1 overall). Bret Munsey, PHI (1st season; 6-5 overall)

OVERVIEW: The Kats are closing in on a playoff berth, and could potentially clinch a spot this week with a win over Philadelphia and some help from a few other teams. Nashville put together one of its best games last week, downing Las Vegas 58-44, and ending a four-game road losing streak. They return home this week, where they boast the AFL's best home record at 5-0. The Kats will be facing a Philadelphia team that has been hot and cold, but is fresh off an overtime win against Chicago last week. The Soul may or may not have starting QB Tony Graziani when they come to the Music City, after the franchise player injured his hamstring late in last week's win. This matchup will mark the first time these two teams have met since engaging in a messy altercation after last year's 59-48 Soul victory in Philadelphia. The two teams also engaged in some heated words in the media after last year's game.

THE SCHEDULES:

2006 Nashville Kats (6-4)
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 Lost 77-47
Apr. 8 @ Las Vegas Won 58-44
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 Philadelphia (6-5)
Game Opponent Result Time/Score
Jan. 29 TAMPA BAY Won 52-34
Feb. 5 LOS ANGELES Won 47-33
Feb. 11 @ Orlando Lost 33-47
Feb. 19 NEW YORK Won 75-59
Feb. 26 COLORADO Lost 38-48
March 5 @ Las Vegas Lost 49-67
Mar. 13 @ Kansas City Won 54-24
Mar. 18 @ Columbus Lost 20-53
Mar. 25 @ Dallas Won 55-51
Mar. 31 AUSTIN Lost 38-43
Apr. 9 CHICAGO Won 56-55 (OT)
Apr. 14 @ Nashville 7:00 p.m.
Apr. 21 COLUMBUS 6:00 p.m.
Apr. 29 @ New York 6:00 p.m.
May 6 DALLAS 3:00 p.m.
May 13 @ Georgia 6:00 p.m.

CURRENT PLAYOFF STANDINGS:
American Conf. National Conf.
x-Colorado 8-3 x-Dallas 9-2
x-Arizona 6-5 x-Georgia 7-4
Nashville 7-4 Orlando 7-4
Las Vegas 5-6 Austin 7-4
San Jose 5-6 Philadelphia 6-5
Chicago 4-7 Tampa Bay 6-5
Grand Rapids 3-8 New York 6-5
Utah 3-8 Columbus 5-6
Las Vegas 3-8 Kansas City 2-9
x-Division Leader

THE SERIES: The Soul bested the Kats 59-48 at Philadelphia last year in the first ever meeting between the two franchises. In what was the Soul's home opener, Philadelphia QB Tony Grazianai completed 18-of-27 passes for 270 yards and six TD's. The game ended with an ugly altercation at midfield and with harsh words exchanged in the press.

Date Result
2/13/05 Philadelphia 59, Nashville 48 (@ Phil.)

KATS INJURY REPORT
Player Injury Status
Chris Angel Knee Questionable
Jermaine Lewis Hamstring Questionable
Jermaine Mays Hamstring Questionable
T.T. Toliver Foot Questionable
Darryl Hammond Knee Out
Tyrone Hopson Knee Out

LAST MEETING:
Philadelphia 59, Nashville 48
(Feb. 13, 2005 @ Philadelphia)
The Nashville Kats were unable to comeback from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to the Philadelphia Soul, falling 59-48. Soul quarterback Tony Graziani threw for six TD's completing 18-of-27 passes. Soul receiver Steve Smith caught two of Graziani's touchdowns and also ran back a kick with only 0:04 seconds remaining in the first half. For the Kats, quarterback Leon Murray also threw six TD's on a 27-for-46 afternoon. Nashville started in a hole early going down 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and then down 35-21 at halftime. With the score 38-34, the Kats recovered an onside kick with two minutes remaining. Five plays later, Alexander mishandled a pitch from Murray and coughed up the football resulting in the failed comeback.

LAST WEEK:
Nashville 58, Las Vegas 44 (Apr. 8 @ Las Vegas)
Kats quarterback Clint Stoerner, who was seeing his first action since suffering a leg injury in week seven, brought the Kats offense out of its recent doldrums and completed 11-of-20 passes for 179 yards, three TD's and no INT's. Five of his completions went to Alonzo Nix, who had 96 yards and a TD and also scored another touchdown on an onside kick recovery which he returned for a score. The Kats got an early lead with TD grabs by Cory Fleming and T.T. Toliver that give them a 13-0 advantage at the end of the first. After the half, the Kats led by as much as 26 after forcing a fumble on a kickoff that led to a touchdown. Nashville's defense, which had recently cooled off from its hot start to the season, was back in top form. The Kats held Gladiator QB Jason Fife at 19-of-38 for 252 yards and six TD's, but the majority of those stats came after the game had been decided.

Las Vegas 63, Los Angeles 49 (Mar. 25 @ Colorado)
Philadelphia Soul DS Eddie Moten intercepted QB Matt D'Orazio in the front of the endzone as the Chicago Rush attempted a two-point conversion in overtime to seal a 56-55 victory. The Soul tied the score with 27 seconds remaining in the game when backup quarterback Matt Sauk found WR/DB Rob Milanese for a Philadelphia touchdown, deadlocking the two teams at 49-49. Sauk replaced starting QB Tony Graziani after he pulled a hamstring early in the fourth quarter. Graziani finish the day completing 17-of-30 passes for 249 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Graziani's status for this week's game will be re-evaluated early this week. Leading the way for the Soul receiving core was Offensive Player of the Game Sean Scott who grabbed eight receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown; he also rushed for another score.

SERIES NOTABLES:
Leading the Soul offense is the duo of QB Tony Graziani and OS Steve Smith. The tandem was instrumental in Philadelphia's victory over the Kats last year. Graziani left last week's game versus Chicago with a pulled hamstring and is questionable this week. Here are their numbers against the Kats:

Graziani vs. Kats
Date Result Com-Att Yds Td Int
2/13/05 PHI 59, NAS 48 27-18 270 6 1
Totals 27-18 270 6 1

Smith vs. Kats
Date Result Rec Yds Td
2/13/05 PHI 59, NAS 48 8 131 2
Totals 8 131 2

Kats QB Clint Stoerner had an explosive outing last year in his only game versus the Soul, earning him Offensive Player of the Game honors. Here are his numbers:

Stoerner vs. Soul
Date Result Com-Att Yds Td Int
2/28/05 DAL 72, PHI 43 15-23 242 8 0
Totals 15-23 242 8 0

Nashville's receivers have had little experience facing the Philadelphia franchise. Here are their results against the Soul:

Fleming vs. Soul
Date Result Rec Yds Td
4/30/05 PHI 64, ORL 60 7 47 1
Totals 7 47 1

Hillery vs. Soul
Date Result Rec Yds TD
5/8/04 CAR 46, PHI 43 2 38 0
2/13/05 PHI 59, NAS 48 9 76 2
Totals 11 114 2

Toliver vs. Soul
Date Result Rec Yds Td
2/29/04 TBS 40, PHI 37 2 17 0
3/20/05 PHI 69, TBS 63 6 76 1
Totals 8 93 1

THE COACHES:
Nashville - Pat Sperduto, 5th season
45-31-1 (.589) 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.

Philadelphia - Bret Munsey, 1st Season
6-5 (.545) overall
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 will be 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. In 2005 the Predators finished with a 10-6 regular season record and lost in the conference finals to the Georgia Force. 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). Following that outstanding season, Munsey was named "af2 Coach of the Year" in a vote by his peers.

2006 TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Category Kats Soul
Points Per Game 50.6 (8th) 47.0 (14th)
Points Allowed 46.2 (4th) 46.7 (t-5th)
Total Offense 255.1 (15th) 296.9 (5th)
Total Defense 257.5 (1st) 283.5 (8th)
Pass Offense 226.5 (16th) 268.0 (7th)
Pass Defense 240.1 (3rd) 263.5 (9th)
Rushing Offense 28.9 (t-4th) 28.9 (t-4th)
Rushing Defense 17.5 (5th) 20.0 (11th)
Interceptions 12 (t-5th) 17 (t-2nd)
Turnover Margin +2 (t-5th) +3 (t-4th)
Kickoff Return Avg. 17.2 (8th) 15.8 (16th)
Sacks By 20 (1st) 14 (t-4th)
Sacks Against 12 (t-6th) 4 (2nd)

NOTES:

PLAYOFF PROSPECTS - The Kats took a huge step toward clinching a playoff berth with their win at Las Vegas last week, and could very well sew up a spot in the postseason with a win against Philly on Friday night and a little bit of help. Here are the three scenarios that would clinch a playoff berth for Nashville this week:

1. NAS win + CHI loss + GR loss + LV loss
2. NAS win + CHI loss + GR loss + SJ loss + LA loss
3. NAS win + GR loss + LV loss + LA loss

Last week's win kept the Kats within a game of Central Division-leading Colorado, and it gave Nashville at least a two-game edge over anyone else in the race for the American Conference's top wild card spot. The Kats, at 7-4, have a two-game lead on the two teams closest to them in that hunt (Las Vegas and San Jose, both at 5-6), and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against both of those clubs. That means Nashville essentially has a three-game lead for the top wild card spot in the American Conference with five games to go.

HOME SWEET HOME - 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.

STOERNER RETURNS - Kats QB Clint Stoerner returned to the field last week for the first time since injuring his leg three weeks earlier. The second-year player helped jump-start an offense that had looked sluggish in recent weeks, completing 11-of-20 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns. He threw no interceptions, marking the first time since week four that the Kats were not intercepted in a game. Stoerner led the Kats to scores on 10 of their 11 offensive possessions in the win at Vegas. For the year, he has completed 59.1 percent of his throws for 1,727 yards, 31 TD's and eight interceptions. During his three-week stint on IR, Stoerner was replaced by Leon Murray, who completed 57.5 percent of his passes for 824 yards, 15 TD's and 10 INT's.

BREAKING THE LAW - Nashville has been riddled with penalties in recent weeks, and the Kats have been penalized the third-most of any team in the AFL. Nashville is averaging 8.4 flags per game and 92 penalty yards per contest on the year. In the last seven games, the Kats have been penalized 69 times for 369 yards.

BRINGING THE HEAT - The Kats have arguably the most fierce pass rush in the league, and they lead the AFL with 20 sacks on the season, through week 11. Nashville, which finished tied for the league lead in sacks last season with 24, is on a pace to record 29 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 (3), 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 12 AFL players who have recorded four or more sacks this year. No other team has more than one player among that list. Those three, plus Baron and McConnell make up five of the 48 AFL players who have posted two or more sacks so far this year. 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.

A GOOD START - The Kats have found themselves with great field position to start most of their drives this season. Nashville is third in the AFL in starting position following kickoffs, starting at an average of their own 15.7 yard line. This is due, in large part, to the excellent play of WR/DB Jarrick Hillery, who ranks sixth in the league in kickoff returns with an average of 20.8 yards per return. He has returned two kickoffs for scores so far this year.

T.T. MEANS TD - OS T.T. Toliver continues to find the end zone at an amazing clip so far in 2006. Fifteen of his last 28 catches have gone for touchdowns, and he is eighth in the AFL with 24 total touchdowns this season. He has scored on 36.8 percent of his receptions this year, placing him fourth in the league in that category. Toliver has scored 21 TD's on receptions, two on rushes and another on a net recovery. He also threw a TD pass to Cory Fleming in a week nine win over San Jose. His 948 receiving yards ranks him eighth in the league through week 11, and his 16.6 yards-per-catch average is the best of any receiver in the AFL with at least 40 receptions this season. 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 14 of the 18 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 18 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. 50 rec.)
Player Avg.
T.T. Toliver, NAS 16.6
Ben Nelson, SJS 14.6
Tony Locke, LAA 14.6
Siaha Burley, UTA 14.4

Pct. Of Rec. for TD (Min. 50 rec.)
Player Pct.
Randy Gatewood, ARI 38.9
Damian Harrell, COL 37.6
T.T. Toliver, NAS 36.8
Chris Jackson, GEO 35.2

FIFTY IS THE KEY - The Kats are 5-1 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 8-1 when crossing the 50-point plateau. The Kats are also a perfect 7-0 this season when holding their opponent under 50, and are 0-4 when allowing them to score more than that number.

GETTING DEFENSIVE - The Kats' defense has been one of the league's best through the first 11 games of the season. Nashville leads the AFL in total defense (257.5), sacks (20), yards per play defense (5.1) and passing yards per play defense (5.8). They are second in the league in defensive scoring efficiency, holding opponents scoreless on 58.46 percent on their offensive possessions. The Kats' scoring defense is fourth in the league currently (46.2 points per game).

FULL MONTY - DS Monty Montgomery has established himself as one of the leading candidates for AFL Defensive Player of the Year. He has been named ADT Defensive Player of the Game in five of the nine contests he has played in this season. The third-year player, who signed with Nashville as a free agent in the offseason, has been a force in the secondary all year, totaling seven interceptions (4th in the AFL) and 62.5 tackles (t-8th in the AFL). He has also batted away 12 passes (t-8th in the AFL). Montgomery, who has posted those numbers despite missing two games with a finger injury, has also forced two fumbles and recovered another.

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 ten games of the season. Nashville is averaging only 27:11 of possession time per game so far in 2006. In last week's loss at Colorado, the Kats held the ball for only 24:15, compared to the Crush's 35:45.

RUNNING TO GLORY - The Kats have been quite effective running the ball in 2006, averaging the second-most yards per carry (3.2) of any team in the AFL. Overall, Nashville ranks fourth in the league in rushing, averaging 28.9 yards per game. They have also run for 23 touchdowns on the season. FB/LB Dan Alexander leads the team and is 10th in the AFL in rushing, despite playing in only five of the team's 11 games this season. Alexander has run for 88 yards on 26 carries so far this season. In fact, the Kats average 40.2 rushing yards per game in contests in which Alexander plays, while they average 19.5 yards on the ground in games when he has not been on the field.

OFFENSIVE RESURGENCE - After sputtering for much of the previous four weeks, the Kats' offense exploded on Sunday at Las Vegas for 58 points, tying a season high. Nashville scored on 10 of its 11 offensive drives in the game, for a scoring efficiency of 90.9 percent. That compares to just a 53.1 scoring efficiency in the previous four games, when they put points on the board in just 26 of 49 drives (not counting possessions in which they were trying to run out the clock).

SECOND-AND-LONG - The Kats have been the best defensive team in the AFL to this point on first down, holding opponents to 4.77 yards per play on first down. The league average is 6.38 yards.

GETTING THE STOP - Despite routinely holding opposing offenses on early downs, the Kats' defense has struggled with third- and fourth-down situations recently. But that was not the case against Las Vegas when they allowed the Gladiators to convert just three-of-nine third downs and only one-of-five fourth downs. For the year, Nashville ranks 16th out of 18 teams in third-down efficiency, allowing opponents to convert 53.3 percent of their third downs.

SGT. CARTER - FB/LB Frank Carter, who was a first-team All-Arena selection in 2005 with the Las Vegas Gladiators, has been a huge addition for the Kats this season. Carter is tied for fourth in the AFL with 4.5 sacks and he is third in the league with 6 tackles for loss. The fourth-year player set a team record with sacks in a game with four in the week one win at New York.

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 at Utah in week seven, 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.

NIX-ING THE ROOKIE JITTERS - Rookie WR/LB Alonzo Nix looks to be a rising star in the Kats' receiving corps. Suiting up for the first time two weeks ago against San Jose, Nix caught two passes for 22 yards. Two weeks ago at Colorado, the UT Chattanooga alum came on strong, catching five passes for 94 yards and two TD's. He showed his tremendous speed on a 46-yard TD in which he outran the entire Colorado defense on the way to the end zone. Last week at Las Vegas, he led Kats receivers with five receptions for 96 yards and a TD, then scored again after taking an onside kick recovery into the end zone. For the year, he has caught 12 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. Nix is in his first year in the AFL after an outstanding college career and a stint in training camp with the Tennessee Titans.

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.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE - OL/DL Joe Minucci is proving his outstanding rookie season was no fluke. The second-year player from Delaware was named to the AFL's All-Rookie squad in 2005 after leading the Kats with five sacks. So far this season, he is tied with teammate Frank Carter for the team lead in sacks with 4.5, and he is tied for fourth among league leaders in that category. His four forced fumbles ties him for second in the AFL. He was recently named to the Arena Football Writers Association mid-season All-AFL team.

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 in week eight. The Kats then suited up two rookies (Hopson and WR/LB Alonzo Nix) the week nine victory over San Jose. At Colorado in week 10, Nashville's roster (with the addition of K Jason Ball) swelled to three rookies.

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.

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 WR/LB Alonzo Nix 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.

MR. 10,000 -WR/LB Cory Fleming reached one of the AFL's most coveted milestones - 10,000 career receiving yards - in the week nine 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 caught three passes for 17 yards and a TD at Las Vegas last week. 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 834 career receptions, ranking him third all-time in that category, and 10,042 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 (241), 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.

BARON OF DEFENSE - OL/DL James Baron is widely known as one of the AFL's all-time greatest linemen. He has 42.5 career sacks, placing him third on the AFL's all-time list. He had a sack in last week's win at Las Vegas, and he will move into second with one more full sack. So far this season, he has three sacks and a tackle for loss, as well as three fumble recoveries. 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, and has now played in 156 of the 158 weeks he has been in arena football. 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 (29.5), 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). 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 653.

SCOUTING PHILADELPHIA
The Soul is easily one of the most explosive teams in all of Arena Football, as they feature the one of the league's marquee players in quarterback Tony Graziani. The veteran QB injured his hamstring in last week's win over Chicago, however, and is questionable for this week's game against the Kats. If he cannot go, backup Matt Sauk, who came in and led Philly to an overtime win last week, will get the start.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
WR/LB MIKE BROWN - Outstanding two-way player joins the Soul after playing two seasons for the Orlando Predators. Brown is tied for the team lead in touchdowns, catching eight and rushing for three. Also has four interceptions on the season.

OS STEVE SMITH - Rejoins the Soul after spending the beginning of the 2006 season with the Kansas City Brigade. Smith was the favorite target of QB Matt Graziani in 2005. In last years meeting with the Kats, Smith logged eight receptions for 131 yards and two TD's. In three games for the Soul this year, he has 22 catches for 235 yards and three TD's.

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