New Orleans VooDoo game notes

Published on February 22, 2005 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New Orleans VooDoo News Release


QUICK FACTS
New Orleans VooDoo (3-1) vs. Tampa Bay Storm (2-1)
Site: New Orleans Arena (16,021)
Television: Cox Sports Television
Todd Kalas, Donte' Stallworth and Tim Fanguy
Radio: WSMB (1350-AM)
Chris Kenyon and Kenny Wilkerson
Coaches: NO: Mike Neu (2nd Season in New Orleans, 3rd season overall, 21-14, regular season; 1-3 playoffs);
PHI.: Tim Marcum (11th season in Tampa Bay, 17th season overall, 144-55, regular season; 25-9 playoffs)
Series Record: Series is tied 1-1

VooDoo TO FACE SOUTHERN DIVISION RIVAL ON FRIDAY NIGHT

Coming off of an exciting 61-47 victory over the Philadelphia Soul on February 20 at the Graveyard, the VooDoo will face another tough task when they host Southern Divisional rival Tampa Bay on Friday, February 25. Friday's game will match the two top rated quarterbacks in the AFL in New Orleans' Andy Kelly and Tampa Bay's Shane Stafford. Friday's game will also be important in the Southern Divisional race, where New Orleans, Georgia and Orlando are tied for first place at 3-1 and Tampa Bay is in fourth at 2-1, having played one less game. A win will give either team a leg up in the Southern Division race.

THE LAST MEETING

May 23, 2004; Tampa Bay 59, New Orleans 51 - Tampa Bay QB Shane Stafford completed 22-of-30 passes for 267 yards and six TDs to lead the Storm to a 59-51 victory over New Orleans in the St. Pete Times Forum. Stafford completed passes to seven different receivers and threw three TD passes to WR/LB David Saunders and a pair to OS Freddie Solomon as he was selected as the Offensive Player of the Game. Saunders, who caught six passes for 83 yards and had two tackles and a forced fumble on defense, was selected as the Ironman of the Game.

NEXT WEEK

The New Orleans VooDoo will travel to face the Dallas Desperados on March 6 at 7 p.m. The game can be seen live regionally on the Fox Sports Net Southwest Network.

2005 SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

NEW ORLEANS VooDoo (3-1)
Date Opponent Time Result
Jan. 30 at Georgia 3 p.m. 44-46
Feb. 4 at Nashville 7:30 p.m. 59-34
Feb. 13 SAN JOSE 2 p.m. 62-61
Feb. 20 PHILADELPHIA 11 a.m. 61-47
Feb. 25 TAMPA BAY 7 p.m.
Mar. 5 at Dallas 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 13 ORLANDO 2 p.m.
Mar. 20 at Chicago 11 a.m.
Mar. 26 GEORGIA 7 p.m.
Apr. 1 at Austin 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 8-10 Bye Weekend
Apr. 16 COLUMBUS 7 p.m.
Apr. 23 at Grand Rapids 6:30 p.m.
Apr. 30 at Tampa Bay 6:30 p.m.
May 8 COLORADO 12 p.m.
May 14 AUSTIN 7 p.m.
May 20 at Orlando 6:30 p.m.

www.GoVooDoo.com

For updated news, press releases, statistics, rosters, players, coach and front office biographies, ticket information, merchandise, photo galleries and New Orleans VooDoo Dolls information, go to the official website of the New Orleans VooDoo, www.GoVooDoo.com. Updated daily, www.GoVooDoo.com has the most extensive information on the VooDoo and the Arena Football League.

THE COACHES

Mike Neu: The first coach of the New Orleans VooDoo, Mike Neu is a six-year Arena Football coaching veteran.

Since being named coach of the VooDoo on June 17, 2003, Neu worked has worked tirelessly to make New Orleans a winning team. In his first season at the helm, he successfully molded a 24-man roster comprised of a mix of AFL veterans and rookies, allowing the VooDoo to get off to a 7-1 start, one of the fastest starts for a first-year AFL entry. Neu led the VooDoo to an 11-5 record, making them the only team in league history to win 11 games in their first season. The VooDoo's Southern Division title marked only the fourth time in AFL history that an expansion franchise has won their division in their first year of play. Following the season, Neu was named the AFL Coach of the Year.

For his professional career, Neu has posted a 19-14 regular season record and has reached the playoffs every season as both a coach and a player in the Arena Football League. Neu came to New Orleans after serving as head coach of the Carolina Cobras. In 2002, Neu guided the Cobras to a 5-2 record on the road and their second-straight playoff berth. Carolina posted the first playoff victory in club history in 2002 as the club featured the AFL's fourth-ranked defense. As offensive coordinator with the Cobras in 2001, before being promoted to head coach prior to the team's first round playoff game, the Cobras averaged over 56 points a game (fifth in the league) and finished 7-7 (improving from a 3-13 record the year before).

Prior to coming to Carolina, Neu served as head coach and director of football operations for the Augusta Stallions of af2 in 2000. In his only season, Neu led Augusta to a 14-4 record, the American Conference title and was named the league's Coach of the Year. Augusta finished in the top four in every major offensive and defensive category. Neu started his AFL coaching career with Nashville in 1998, when he served as quarterbacks coach for the Kats and handled all play-calling responsibilities for the offense. The next year he was promoted to offensive coordinator and the Kats achieved their third consecutive playoff berth. The team also set franchise highs in six offensive categories, including scoring and total offense. Current New Orleans QB Andy Kelly, one of top quarterbacks in Arena Football League history, enjoyed a career-high passer rating of 116.4 under Neu's tutelage in 1999. Neu began his coaching career in 1994 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Ball State. Neu's professional playing career started with a stint with the CFL's Calgary Stampeders in 1995 before joining the Orlando Predators in 1996 and moving on to the Nashville Kats in 1997. The 1997 Nashville squad which Neu played on won an expansion record 10 games, a record which was broken by this VooDoo just this past season.

Neu played four seasons at Ball State, where he was named the MAC Most Valuable Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year as a senior in 1993. A four-year starter, Neu guided Ball State to the conference championship his final year and holds school career passing records in passing yardage, passing attempts, completions and touchdown passes. He was recently voted to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. Neu and his wife, Charmin, have a daughter, Graycen and a son, Carson.

Tim Marcum: Legendary AFL head coach Tim Marcum coached in his 10th season as head coach of the Storm in 2004 and his 16th overall as an AFL head coach.

Marcum is the winningest head coach in Arena Football history. He enters the 2005 season having won seven ArenaBowl championships and has coached in 10 of the league's 17 ArenaBowls. Marcum is the only coach in Arena Football history to lead three different teams to ArenaBowl titles (Denver, Detroit, and Tampa Bay), and is the AFL career coaching leader in victories (169), winning percentage (.728), games coached (232), and playoff victories (25).

A two-time recipient of the AFL Coach of the Year Award (1987 and 1998), Marcum has overseen the Storm's development into one of the league's flagship franchises. He was the first coach in AFL history to win more than 100 games and has missed out in playing for the league championship only five times in his career. Incredibly, Marcum's AFL clubs have advanced to the playoffs every year he has coached.

After Storm owner Woody Kern purchased the team prior to the 1995 season, he brought four-time Marcum aboard as his head coach. The Storm proceeded to put together a record-breaking two-year stretch, winning back-to-back ArenaBowls in 1995 and 1996. The Storm combined for a 28-4 mark during that stretch, and put together an AFL record 17-game winning streak from July 1, 1995, to June 29, 1996. Marcum, who also won the 2003 ArenaBowl in Tampa and led the Storm to the 1998 championship game, owns a 103-43 overall record in Tampa Bay. His Tampa Bay teams have earned 10 straight playoff berths, winning three championships, and are 89-37 in the regular season with a 14-6 postseason record.

The first coach in pro football history to be elected to any professional Hall of Fame while still an active coach, Marcum began his Arena Football career in 1987 as head coach of the Denver Dynamite during the league's inaugural season. Marcum led the Dynamite to a 5-2 overall record and won the league's first championship.

The following season Marcum took his act to Detroit, but the results remained the same. He won back-to-back titles with the Drive in 1988 and 1989.

After a one-year absence from the AFL, Marcum returned to Detroit in 1991 and returned the club to the league's elite by winning ArenaBowl VI in 1992. Marcum's five-year tenure in Detroit resulted in three ArenaBowl championships and a 50-10 overall record.

2004 AWARD WINNERS

Rita Benson LeBlanc.....Executive of the Year
Mike Neu...........Coach of the Year
B.J. Cohen........All-Bentley Team (NBC)
Dan Curran.......All-Arena (first team)
All-Ironman team
U.S. Army Ironman of the Month (February)
All-Bentley Team (NBC)
John Fitzgerald AFLWA Player of the Week (4/25)
Monty Montgomery Defensive Player of the Week (4/18)
Defensive Player of the Month (April)
Lamont Moore...Defensive Player of the Week (March 7)

THE VooDoo's RECORD WHEN?

2-0 at home
1-1 on the road
Scoring Allowing
0-9 points 0-0 0-0
10-19 points 0-0 0-0
20-29 points 0-0 0-0
30-39 points 0-0 1-0
40-49 points 0-1 1-1
50-59 points 1-0 0-0
60-69 points 2-0 1-0
70-79 points 0-0 0-0
80+ points 0-0 0-0
1-0 vs. Central Division
1-0 vs. Eastern Division
0-1 vs. Southern Division
1-0 vs. Western Division
0-0 on Thursdays
1-0 on Fridays
0-0 on Saturdays
2-1 on Sundays
0-1 in January
3-0 in February
0-0 in March
0-0 in April
0-0 in May
2-0 in games televised on NBC
1-1 in games televised on Cox Sports Television
0-0 in games not televised
2-1 when leading after the first quarter
1-0 when tied after the first quarter
0-0 when trailing after the first quarter
2-0 when leading at the half
1-0 when tied at the half
0-1 when trailing at the half
2-0 when leading after three quarters
1-0 when tied after three quarters
0-1 when trailing after three quarters
0-1 outcome 7 points or less
1-1 outcome 3 points or less
0-0 overtime games
2-1 when the VooDoo scores first
1-0 when the opponent scores first
2-1 when the VooDoo has more total offense
1-0 when the VooDoo's opponent has more total offense
2-1 when the VooDoo has more yards passing than opp.
1-0 when the VooDoo has less yards passing than opp.
0-0 when the VooDoo has same passing yards as opp.
0-0 when the VooDoo has more yards rushing than opp.
3-1 when the opp. has more yards rushing than VooDoo

2005 WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

A listing of the weekly game award winners for 2005 VooDoo games

Offensive Player of the Game
Week 1: (at GEO): Troy Bergeron (GEO)
Week 2: (at NASH): Andy Kelly (NO)
Week 3: (SJS): Andy Kelly (NO)
Week 4: (PHI): Andy Kelly (NO)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game
Week 1: (at GEO): Dialleo Burks (GEO)
Week 2: (at NASH): B.J. Cohen (NO)
Week 3: (SJS): B.J. Cohen (NO)
Week 4: (PHI): Monty Montgomery (NO)

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game
Week 1: (at GEO): Robert Thomas (GEO)
Week 2: (at NASH): Thabiti Davis (NO)
Week 3: (SJS): Thabiti Davis (NO)
Week 4: (PHI): Lamont Moore (NO)

TOPS AT HOME

Another contributing factor for the VooDoo's 11-5 2004 record was their 7-1 home mark at the New Orleans Arena, tied for the top home record in the AFL. The VooDoo has kept pace this season winning their first two home contests.

WHAT A CROWD

Through their 8 regular season home games in 2004, the VooDoo attracted an average of 15,240 fans per game to the New Orleans Arena. New Orleans' average crowd ranked third in the Arena Football League, led attendance figures for teams in the Southern division and was above the league's average of 12,019. This season, the VooDoo's attendance level has once again remained amongst lead leaders, above the league average of 12,638 and possessed the highest figures in the Southern Division. Below are the league's top average attendance figures.

Team Average Attendance
1. Columbus Destroyers 17,171
2. Philadelphia Soul 16,632
3. Nashville Kats 16,517
4. San Jose SaberCats 16,221
5. Chicago Rush 16,036
6. Colorado Crush 16,011
7. New Orleans VooDoo 13,697
8. Orlando Predators 13,424
9. New York Dragons 12,851
10. Los Angeles Avengers 12,788

GETTING DEFENSIVE

An important reason for the VooDoo's 11-5 inaugural season was the team's ability to keep the opposition out of the end zone on the defensive end. Through 16 games, New Orleans surrendered an average of only 45.1 points per game, putting them in second place in the Arena Football League in scoring defense. In the 14 games the week prior to playing the VooDoo (not counting the inaugural season opener at the Philadelphia Soul), VooDoo opponents had averaged 55.0 points on offense and were held to an average of 45.8 points by the VooDoo defense, a difference of - 9.2 points per game. On Sunday vs. Philadelphia, a dominating second half performance where the VooDoo surrendered only 13 points, served as a catalyst for New Orleans 61-47 victory over the Soul.

RECEIVING OPTION

New Orleans WR/LB Thabiti Davis was signed from the Detroit Fury to fill the void of a tall wide receiver in the VooDoo offense and help improve the team's red zone production. After enjoying career-highs in 2004 and finishing among league leaders with 127 receptions for 1557 yards and 26 touchdowns, Davis been a big help to the VooDoo red zone offense, recording 31 receptions for 250 yards and seven touchdowns. Currently, Davis is tied for 12th in the AFL in scoring among nonkickers (42), fourth in receptions, 14th in first downs (17) and fifth in third down receptions (5). Davis has also been a steady defender at the "Jill" linebacker position, recording five solo tackles.

IMPACT PLAYER

New Orleans VooDoo OS Aaron Bailey has been an important part of the VooDoo passing offense and one of the Arena Football League's leading receivers since signing with the team prior to their inaugural season. In 2004, Bailey recorded 91 receptions for 1364 yards with 32 touchdown catches and finished among league leaders in all major receiving categories, while setting career-highs. This season, Bailey is once again ranked among Arena Football League leaders with 36 receptions for a 506 yards and eight touchdown catches, while returning 11 kickoffs for 148 yards. Bailey is currently tied for eighth in the Arena Football League in scoring among nonkickers (54), seventh in touchdown receptions, ranked first in receptions, receiving yardage and total yards from scrimmage (507), first downs (30) and tied for seventh in third down receptions (4).

ANDY KELLY

QB Andy Kelly, one of the AFL's premier quarterbacks and all-time passing leaders, was signed by the VooDoo in the team's objective to improve their passing offense. He currently holds the AFL career passing records for completions (2985), attempts (4845) and passing yards (33, 321) and is second all-time in touchdown passes (647). Kelly helped engineer squads in Nashville, Dallas and Detroit to playoff berths in seven consecutive seasons from 1997-2003 and helped lead the Kats to consecutive ArenaBowl berths from 2000-01. Kelly has started 123 consecutive games, the alltime record for consecutive starts by a QB. Kelly currently trails New York's Aaron Garcia (649) for the league's all-time lead in touchdown passes by two scores, as he is currently the top rated quarterback in the Arena Football League in 2005 (125.4) and at or near the top of the league leaders in most categories, completing 122-of-174 passes for 1288 yards with 27 TD passes and two interception. In addition to passer rating, he also is currently leading the league in attempts, completions and completion percentage (70.1), is tied for first in TD passes and is ranked second in yardage.

B.J. COHEN

OL/DL B.J. Cohen's leadership and performance played a key role both on the field and in the locker room for the VooDoo in 2004. Starting 16 games last season, Cohen recorded 26 tackles, was tied for 10th in the league with four sacks and finished third with a career-high four forced fumbles. In 2005, Cohen is currently among the Arena Football League's defensive leaders with 7.5 tackles, three tackles for a loss, three sacks and one interception.

VooDoo ON THE AIRWAVES

VooDoo fans will have plenty of chances to catch them live and on various radio and TV programs throughout 2005.

Every VooDoo game will be heard on WWL-AM 870 or WSMB-AM 1350. Chris Kenyon will handle play-by-play, selected Saints players and coaches will serve as guest color analysts and Kenny Wilkerson will handle sideline duties. This week's game will be broadcast on WSMB. WWL will also broadcast a weekly coaches show with VooDoo coach Mike Neu on Tuesdays from 7 - 8 p.m., with Wilkerson as the show's host. Due to a scheduling conflict, this week's show will be heard on Wednesday from 7-8 p.m.

Four of the VooDoo's regular season games are scheduled to be broadcast by NBC and will be seen locally on WDSU Channel 6. Cox Sports Television is scheduled to broadcast eight games and Fox Sports Net will broadcast two. This week's game will be broadcast live on Cox Sports Television regionally. Todd Kalas will handle play-by-play, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Donte' Stallworth will serve as a guest color analyst and and Tim Fanguy will handle sideline duties. Selected media personalities and New Orleans Saints players and coaches will serve as guest color analysts throughout the season on Cox Sports Television games. Cox Sports Television will air "Inside VooDoo with Mike Neu" on a weekly basis, featuring a review of the last week's game, preview of the upcoming game and player and coach features. The half-hour show can be seen on Friday, February 25 from 6:00-6:30 p.m., prior to the broadcast's pre-game show. Kenyon will serve as the show's host in addition to his radio duties and Fanguy will do weekly player features.

VooDoo-STORM CONNECTIONS

OL/DL B.J. Cohen played for the Storm in 2003. Cohen and Storm OL/DL Ricky Hall were college teammates at Marshall...Storm OL/DL Louis Williams played at LSU from 1997-2000. DS Chris Pointer and Williams went to camp with the Carolina Panthers in 2003...DS Calvin Coleman and Storm WR/DB Kenny Christian were teammates with the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe in 2003. Coleman, WR/LB Thabiti Davis and Storm OL/DL Omar Smith participated in camp together with the New York Giants in 2002...DS Monty Montgomery and Storm QB Stoney Case were in camp with the Indianapolis Colts in 1999...Line coach Junior Ili played for Storm asst. head coach/offensive defensive line coach/dir. of player personnel Dave Ewart with St. Louis from 1995-96...FB/LB Leroy Thompson played for Storm fullback/linebackers coach/special teams coord. Mark Stoute as a member of the Indiana Firebirds in 2004...Tampa Bay WR/DB Anthony Derricks prepped at Forest (Miss.) HS and played at Mississippi State from 1995-98. Storm FB/LB Jarrod Penright, Derricks and Thompson were teammates in Indiana in 2004 and Derricks and OL/DL Aaron Hamilton played together in Colorado in 2003. Thompson and Storm FB/LB Umar Muhummad were teammates with the Firebirds from 2000-02...FB/LB Jason Bratton and Tampa Bay K Matt George and DS Tramain Jones were teammates in Carolina in 2003. Cohen and WR/DB Lamont Moore played with Jones and Tampa Bay WR/DB Clif Dell in Orlando...Storm WR/DB Lynaris Elpheage prepped at Carver HS, starred at Tulane from 2000-02 and went to camp with the Saints in 2003...WR/DB Carl Bond and Tampa Bay QB Shane Stafford were college teammates at Connecticut...Tampa Bay WR/LB Lawrence Samuels prepped at John S. Shaw HS in Mobile, AL.

Coach Neu Says

Excerpts from VooDoo coach Mike Neu's postgame comments about the team's win over the Philadelphia Soul and and the matchup with Friday's upcoming opponent, the Tampa Bay Storm.

(on his overall impressions of the game) "That first half was one of those seesaw battles. At halftime, I told our guys we didn't play our best in the first half. We got that kick off the net. The defense got our second stop again right away on four and out, and we didn't capitalize enough there. We needed to create a cushion, a 14-0 cushion really was what we were after right there and we didn't get it done. The rest of the half was seesaw, seesaw, seesaw, back and forth. I told the guys at halftime, I said we got to come out, we got to make a play from 10 down in the second half and I guarantee our defense would come through and get a stop. It was awesome to see those guys finish it off defensively. It was great for Monty (Montgomery) to get that great interception. Those guys were getting after the quarterback a little bit there. Chris (Pointer) almost had an interception down there, but it was still four and out, so really I'm proud for our defense to get that kind of confidence and swagger back again, because that was the most consistent part of our club a year ago and it's good to see those guys get the swagger back."

(on if New Orleans' long drives in the second half played a difference in the game) "I think it was important, that first drive coming out when we chewed out about five and a half minutes. About five and a half minutes on that drive then a touchdown, which made it 44-34. It kind of slowed those guys down. When they came out of the locker room, they were probably excited about the way they finished the half and at least kept those guys cooled down if you will. You're never going to slow (Tony) Graziani down. He's a great quarterback. It was at least able to keep those guys on the sideline and keep them watching."

(on the importance of having Monty Montgomery back) "It's huge. He's our emotional leader on the defensive side of the ball and he's got the swagger that you need to play in the defensive secondary in this league, because you're going to get beat and it's how you respond from that. Monty's one of those guys that the rest of the DB's, they get their cue from Monty. They see him not getting down when there's an offensive score and having that kind of a swagger and belief that we're going to come back and stop them, that's huge. That's not something that you teach. He's such an emotional player. He's such an energetic player."

(on if Montgomery has played himself back into shape) "He'll probably tell you that he doesn't feel like he's quite back yet. You see the signs of the old 25 back there to make that kind of a play. I thought in the first half, he made a heck of a knockdown off of a corner route. You saw him close pretty quick and knock it down. That's good a feeling with 25 back out there again."

(on if he will hold onto Montgomery next year) "We hope so. As long as we get him, we'll keep using him. It's great for him to get his first game back under his belt. He'll continue to feed off of that. He forces the other guys around here to bring up their level of play and that's great."

(on if Andy Kelly does the same thing to the offense) "He does. You talk about that kind of leader on the defensive side of the ball in Monty and Andy brings that to the table on offense and like I said, I think it was fitting. He didn't get down when he threw the interception. He came back and played some awful good football and made some good throws after that."

(on if it is completely usual to go over 60 points in a game two straight times) "It's not and for us we were not exactly lighting up the board last year, so for us, it's good for us to get some confidence on the offensive side of the ball because our defense was always so strong and carried us last year. It's great to be able to get that kind of a balance, because that's what you need. You need good football on both sides. If we can put 61 points up, I feel pretty good. I know our defense is going to be able to slow some teams down to where they'll keep them under that."

(on if the team has developed some swagger) "I think so. Anytime you have some key leaders at positions like we do and you got guys that can rush the passer, you got guys that are playmakers on the offensive side. As long as we keep everybody healthy, that's the key. We feel pretty strongly about about stacking up against anybody as long as we minimize the turnovers and mistakes.

(on if the rushing offense is still a work in progress) " he It's hard not to be, when you had one rush a week ago. If we had had two, we could have had more than last week, but we're still working on it. It's good to have L.T. (Leroy Thompson back. He got through this first game healthy and it's really the first game under his belt this year, so it's good to have him back in there. You saw him fight for some good, tough yards."

(on Jacques Rumph's work around the boards) "He likes the boards. It's funny. You talk about that in a game, but if you ever go to practice, he does the same things in practice. He runs into the board and he's got total disregard for his body, but he's as tough as they come and he's got the heart of a champion."

(on Aaron Bailey putting up big numbers again) "He did. That's a warrior right there, because he missed a lot of practice this week. He had fluid on his knee where he missed practice. He had the flu. He was down pretty good the first part of the week and he came back and practiced the last day of the week and minimally he was still sick and they gave him an IV at halftime in the locker room today, so that's a true competitor right there when you're bouncing back from those conditions."

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 22, 2005


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.

OurSports Central