New Orleans VooDoo weekly notes

March 24, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New Orleans VooDoo News Release


* WHAT A START: Sparked by a 6-1 start, the VooDoo has enjoyed one of the most impressive starts by an AFL expansion team through the first seven games of the season. Only the New Jersey Red Dogs began their first season as quickly as the VooDoo. The Red Dogs compiled an 8-1 start in 1997, but fell to 9-5 by the end of the season, missing the playoffs.

* VooDoo MOVE UP IN AFLWA POLL: The VooDoo's 6-1 start and 49-45 victory over the reigning ArenaBowl finalist Arizona Rattlers impressed the Arena Football League Writers Association enough to catapult them to #2 in the weekly writers poll. The VooDoo moved up in the poll this week from their #3 ranking last week. The weekly poll, which is based on a vote of AFLWA members, ranks the top eight teams in the Arena Football League. Founded at the start of the 2004 season, the AFLWA is a national organization made up of media members who cover the AFL. New Orleans received 147 votes with five first place votes. The San Jose SaberCats held onto first place in the poll with 167 votes and 15 first place votes.

* WHAT A RUSH: For the seventh 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 36 carries for 155 yards and a league-high 12 rushing TDs, pacing the VooDoo rushing offense, which is ranked fourth in the league. Through seven games, he has already set career-highs in every offensive category. In Thursday's win at Arizona, Curran earned U.S. Army Ironman of the Game honors for the second consecutive week, as he rushed four times for 24 yards with two TDs and added three solo tackles. The University of New Hampshire product is also tied for 15th in the AFL in scoring among non-kickers with 72 points. The AFL record for rushing TDs is held by Bernard Hall of the St. Louis Stampede, who scored 26 in 1996, a mark which Curran is on pace to break. 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 five games and rushed 10 times for 33 yards with two TDs, while also recording the only TD reception of his career. He is currently tied for first in the AFL in third and one rushing, successfully converting all three attempts.

* DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: A major reason for the VooDoo's 6-1 start is the team's ability to keep the opposition out of the end zone. Through seven games, New Orleans has surrendered an average of only 42.1 points per game, tying them for second in the AFL in scoring defense. In the six games the week before playing New Orleans (not counting the opener at Philadelphia), VooDoo opponents had averaged 52.3 points on offense and were held to an average of 43.5 points by the VooDoo defense, a difference of -8.8 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 seven games Bailey has 43 receptions for 593 yards with 16 TDs. Bailey is currently ranked fifth in the AFL in scoring among nonkickers (102), tenth in receptions, eighth in receiving yards, fifth in first downs (37) and tied for third in third down receptions (10). Bailey enjoyed his finest game as a VooDoo uniform in Thursday's win at Arizona, as he caught nine receptions for 103 yards with a career-tying four touchdowns and also returned six kickoffs for 139 yards, including a career-long 55-yard touchdown return. This is the second time in his career that he has scored five touchdowns in a game. 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 115-of-212 passes for 1418 yards, with 25 touchdown passes and five interceptions. The fourth-year veteran has played his best when it matters most, as he has posted a third down passer rating of 114.1, which ranks second in the Arena Football League. On third-down plays, Fitzgerald has completed 23-of-38 passes for 301 yards and eight TD passes. Overall, the VooDoo has been impressive on third down, successfully converting 56.3% (27-of-48) of their attempts, the second-highest percentage in the AFL.

* 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. Saturday's game will be broadcast on WSMB and Saints tight ends coach Bob Palcic 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. Due to a scheduling conflict, next week's show will be broadcast on Monday from 9-10 p.m.

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 Pro Bowl Guard LeCharles Bentley 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 24 from 5:00-5:30 pm and will be re-broadcast on Saturday March 27 from 6-6:30 p.m., followed by the pregame show prior to the broadcast.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 24, 2004


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