New Orleans VooDoo News and Notes
March 16, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New Orleans VooDoo News Release
* WHAT A START: Sparked by a 5-1 start, the VooDoo has enjoyed one of the most impressive starts by an AFL expansion team through the first six games of the season. Only the St. Louis Stampede and the New Jersey Red Dogs began their first season as quickly as the VooDoo. The Stampede matched the VooDoo's 5-1 start in 1995, while the Red Dogs compiled an 8-1 start in 1997.
* VooDoo FRIDAY CROWD SETS NEW ORLEANS AFL RECORD: The VooDoo's attendance of 15, 303 at the New Orleans Arena for last Friday's contest against the Detroit Fury marked the largest Crescent City crowd to watch an AFL game. Sunday's crowd exceeded the count of 14, 837 to watch the VooDoo defeat Tampa Bay on March 7, which exceeded the prior record crowd of 14,392 on July 11, 1992 when the New Orleans Night played the Orlando Predators at the Louisiana Superdome.
* WHAT A RUSH: For the sixth consecutive game, FB/LB Dan Curran rushed for a touchdown. One of the VooDoo's first acquisitions in the offseason, Curran was signed by the VooDoo from the Georgia Force, where he established himself the past two seasons as one of the AFL's top fullbacks. Curran is currently the leading rusher in the Arena Football League with 32 carries for 131 yards and a league-high 10 rushing TDs, pacing the VooDoo rushing offense, which is ranked fourth in the league. Through six games, he has already set career-highs in every offensive category. In Friday's game against Detroit, Curran earned U.S. Army Ironman of the Game honors, as he rushed six times for 29 yards with one TD, caught a career-high two passes for 37 yards, including a career-long 21-yard reception and posted four tackles, one tackle for a loss and a sack. The University of New Hampshire product is also tied for 15th in the AFL in scoring among non-kickers with 60 points. The AFL record for rushing TDs is held by Bernard Hall of the St. Louis Stampede, who scored 26 in 1996. In addition to Curran, the VooDoo has benefited from a strong rushing offense from his backup, Jason Bratton. Picked up by the VooDoo prior to game three, Bratton has appeared in four games and rushed 10 times for 33 yards with two TDs, while also recording the only TD reception of his career.
* DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: A major reason for the VooDoo's 5-1 start is the team's number one ranking in the AFL in scoring defense. Through six games, New Orleans has surrendered an average of only 41.7 points per game. Defensive stops were prevalent in Friday's win over Detroit, when the VooDoo stopped the Fury on downs twice in the first half, while the VooDoo offense scored on their first four possessions, allowing them to jump out to a 28-10 first half lead. In the five games the week before playing New Orleans (not counting the opener at Philadelphia), VooDoo opponents had averaged 54.0 points on offense and were held to an average of 43.2 points by the VooDoo defense, a difference of -10.8 points.
* IMPACT PLAYER: OS Aaron Bailey has made an immediate impact on the VooDoo offense. Bailey, a four-year AFL veteran who came to the VooDoo from the San Jose SaberCats after spending his first two seasons playing under VooDoo coach Mike Neu in Carolina, is among the AFL's leading receivers. Through six games Bailey has 34 receptions for 490 yards with 12 TDs. Bailey is currently tied for 10th in the AFL in scoring among nonkickers (72), ranked 13th in receptions, ranked ninth in receiving yards and tied for fifth in first downs (30) and second in third down receptions. Bailey is on pace to surpass his finest AFL season, when he caught 89 balls for 1,102 yards and 18 touchdowns under Neu with the Carolina Cobras in 2002. A five-year NFL veteran, Bailey played for the Indianapolis from 1994-98 and is the Colts' career leader with 3,501 kickoff return yards and is tied for the team's all-time lead with two touchdown returns.
* COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH: QB John Fitzgerald has been a steadying presence to the VooDoo offense, completing 99-of-190 passes for 1247 yards, with 21 touchdown passes and four interceptions. The fourth-year veteran has played his best when it matters most, as he has posted a third down passer rating of 126.0, which ranks second in the Arena Football League. On third-down plays, Fitzgerald has completed 22-of-36 passes for 289 yards and eight TD passes.
* AWARD WINNERS: A listing of the weekly game award winners for the VooDoo in 2004.
Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game
Week 1 (at PHI): Aaron Bailey (NOV)
Week 2 (IND): John Fitzgerald (NOV)
Week 3 (at GEO): Aaron Bailey (NOV)
Week 4 (at LVG): Clint Dolezel (LVG)
Week 5 (TBS): Aaron Bailey (NOV)
Week 6: (DET): Aaron Bailey (NOV)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game
Week 1 (at PHI): Monty Montgomery (NOV)
Week 2 (IND): Chris Pointer (NOV)
Week 3 (at GEO): Kevin Gaines (GEO)
Week 4 (at LVG): Marvin Taylor (LVG)
Week 5 (TBS): Lamont Moore (NOV)
Week 6: (DET): Monty Montgomery (NOV)
U.S. Army Ironman of the Game
Week 1 (at PHI): Keita Crespina (PHI)
Week 2 (IND): B.J. Cohen (NOV)
Week 3 (at GEO): B.J. Cohen (NOV)
Week 4 (at LVG): Cornelius Bonner (LVG)
Week 5 (TBS): Lamont Moore (NOV)
Week 6: (DET): Dan Curran (NOV)
* PHOTOS AVAILABLE TO MEDIA: Action photos of the Orleans VooDoo are available for use by local, opponent and national media by contacting Justin Macione of VooDoo Media Relations at (504) 731-1848 or at macionej@saints.nfl.com.
* VooDoo ON THE AIRWAVES: VooDoo and AFL fans will enjoy plenty of chances to watch the newest team in New Orleans both live and on various on radio and television programs throughout the 2004 season.
Every VooDoo game will be broadcast on WWL 870-AM or WSMB 1350-AM. The Voice of the VooDoo, Chris Kenyon, will handle the play-by-play. Various local celebrities and selected Saints coaches, players and front office personnel will serve as color analysts. Thursday's game will be broadcast on WSMB and Saints cornerback Ashley Ambrose will serve as color analyst. WWL will broadcast The Mike Neu Show with VooDoo Head Coach Mike Neu each Tuesday from 9-10 pm as Kenyon and WWL's Kenny Wilkerson co-host. Fans can call into the show or submit questions for Coach Neu through the club's official web site, GoVooDoo.com.
Ten of the VooDoo's 16 regular season games are scheduled to be telecast by NBC (WDSU-TV 6 in New Orleans). Cox Sports Television will telecast the remaining six VooDoo games on regional cable, including this Thursday's contest at Arizona (8 pm CT) with each telecast starting with a 30-minute pre-game show. Todd Kalas will handle the play by play and Harry McCulla will handle sideline reporting duties. Various local celebrities and selected Saints coaches, players and front office personnel will serve as color analysts. Saints wide receiver Michael Lewis will serve as color analyst for the upcoming game. Cox will air Inside VooDoo with Mike Neu, a 30-minute show, each week. Inside VooDoo with Mike Neu will air this week on Thursday, March 18 from 7:00-7:30 pm followed by the pregame show prior to the broadcast.
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