New York Dragons game notes
February 1, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New York Dragons News Release
ABOUT THE GAME
The Dragons hit the road to Chicago for their first of three consecutive road games, the longest away streak of their 2006 schedule. This is the fifth time the teams have met in the regular season and sixth including the playoffs. Chicago leads the regular season all-time series three games to two. The Dragons beat the Rush in the lone playoff contest between the teams.
THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET
Last season, the Dragons were defeated by the Rush 44-43 at the Nassau Coliseum. It was the team's only home loss in the regular season. QB Aaron Garcia completed 21 of 26 passes for four touchdowns, each to a different receiver.
NEXT WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Dragons continue their three-game road against the expansion Utah Blaze. This will be the first ever meeting between the two clubs. The Blaze play in Salt Lake City at the Delta Center.
IF THE DRAGONS WIN, IT WOULD GIVE...
- The team a 1-1 record for the season and a 1-0 record on the road.
- The Dragons their 94 regular season victory and their 100 of all-time.
- The team their 39 victory since moving to Long Island in 2001.
- QB Aaron Garcia his 61 victorywith the team.
- The team an all-time record (including playoffs) of 3-3 versus the Rush and a regular season record of 3-2.
DEFENDING THE EAST
Last season, the Dragons won the Eastern Division for the third consecutive season (2003-2005). The Dragons swept all of their Eastern foes (Columbus, Dallas and Philadelphia) with a perfect 6-0 record in divisional play. The Dragons don't face an Eastern Division rival until th Week Four on Sunday, February 19 .
HOLDER GRABS 50TH RECEIVING TOUCHDOWN
WR/DB Will Holder caught his 50 touchdown in the Dragons' season th home opener versus Nashville this past Saturday on January 28 . He led the team in receiving with 10 receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown. Holder is in his fourth year with the Dragons in the AFL.
SCIFRES RE-SIGNED
OL/DL Steve Scifres has been re-signed by the Dragons. In related roster moves, WR/LB Derrick Tatum and OL/DL Tyronn Johnson were released. Scifres, who plays primarily as an offensive lineman, was originally signed by the Dragons last season on January 21, 2005. He was released by the team after training camp before re-signing with the team.
DRAGONS ON THE ROAD
The Dragons commence the road portion of the 2006 schedule this week in Chicago. It's also a start of a three-week road swing, which is the longest the Dragons will be away from the Coliseum this season. After playing the Rush in Week Two, the Dragons will travel to Utah in Week Three and Philadelphia in Week Four before returning home to host Orlando in Week Five.
DRAGONS AT THE COLISEUM
The Dragons posted one of their highest attendance figures since coming to Long Island in 2001 as 11,126 fans came through the turnstiles for the home opener this last weekend. The Dragons don't play at home until Sunday, February 26 when they host Orlando. The Dragons currently have a 0-1 record at home this season. In 2005, the Dragons were 7-1 at the Coliseum, which was the third best home record in the league.
GARCIA AN ALL-TIME GREAT
It was already known by most, but QB Aaron Garcia is now enshrined as one of the top-20 all-time great players in AFL history. During training camp, the league came out with their top-20 players from the first 20 th years of the AFL. Garcia ranked 11 , one spot ahead of fellow former Iowa Barnstormer QB Kurt Warner. After Warner left the franchise, Garcia supplanted him as the franchise's star quarterback and the Dragons - or Barnstormers - have never looked back.
IN SEARCH OF No. 800
Entering this week, QB Aaron Garcia has 729 touchdowns. He started the season with 725. If he keeps on his pace of 5.7 touchdowns per game (based on his last two seasons touchdown totals), then Garcia will reach the 800-touchdown plateau in Week 13.
In 2005, Garcia became the first player in professional football history to record 700-or-more career passing touchdowns. The score came on a 37-yard toss to OS Kevin Swayne in week Fourteen at Dallas.
THE SWAYNE ADVANTAGE
Since returning to the Dragons in 2004, the team is 7-2 in games that OS Kevin Swayne has played in. That stat includes a 0-1 record this season and a 6-0 record in 2005. Last week, Swayne caught nine passes for 91 yards and a game-high three touchdowns. Swayne was activated off the Dragons Exempt List on April 7, 2004.
RETURNING DRAGONS
The Dragons have 13 players on their roster from their final 2005 roster. QB Aaron Garcia is the longest returned Dragon at eight seasons. The complete list includes: WR/LB Chris Anthony, FB/LB Michael Blair ('05 practice squad), FB/LB Jamaal Cherry, DS DaShane Dennis, WR/DB Angel Estrada, OL/DL Stacy Evans, WR/LB Mike Horacek, WR/DB Will Holder, OL/DL Tyronn Johnson, OL/DL Joe Laudano, OL/DL Marcus "Snowball" Owen, OL/DL Steve Scifres and OS Kevin Swayne along with Garcia.
ARENA ROOKIES
The Dragons will have nine rookies on their roster to start the 2006 season. The list includes: OL/DL Bruce Blue, K Jesse Obert, DS Dahnel Singfield, FB/LB Jeremiah Pharms, WR/DB Derrick Tatum, WR/DB Mathew Thomas, OL/DL Andrew Tippin, OL/DL Paul White and QB Juston Woods.
DRAGONS WITH af2 EXPERIENCE
The Dragons have 11 players on their roster who have played in af2 at one point in their career. The list includes: WR/LB Chris Anthony, WR/LB Maurice Brown, OL/DL Jamaal Cherry, WR/DB DaShane Dennis, OL/DL Jon Hall, OL/DL Joe Laudano, FB/LB Richard McCleskey, K Jesse Obert, DS Dahnel Singfield, OL/DL Andrew Tippins, OL/DL Paul White, WR/LB George Williams and QB Juston Wood.
SWITCHING POSITIONS
DaShane Dennis and Jamaal Cherry have switched positions from last season and will now line up at defensive specialist and offensive/ defensive linemen, respectively. Bruce Blue began training camp as a lineman and has since converted to fullback/linebacker. Although Cherry was listed at FB/LB last season, he played primarily as a defensive lineman in his rookie season.
ARENA-BRED COACHES
The Dragons are the only team in the league to have their entire coaching staff comprised of former AFL players. In total, the Dragons' coaching staff has a combined 22 years of AFL playing experience and another combined 18-plus years as coaches.
ORIGINAL DRAGONS
QB Aaron Garcia is a New York Dragon through thick and thin. He is the only player to be a part of the team for each of its first five seasons on Long Island. Garcia made the move when the Iowa Barnstormers relocated to New York prior to the 2001 season. Garcia was traded to Iowa from New Jersey on June 2, 1998 for WR/DB Chris Spencer and OL/DL John Dixon. This is Garcia's 12 AFL season and ninth with the franchise.
OS Kevin Swayne has been the property of the Dragons for all six seasons, however he spent two seasons on the exempt list from 2002- 2004. After a successful 2001 campaign, he was signed by the NFL's New York Jets and stayed there for three seasons. He returned to the Dragons mid-way through the 2004 season. Swayne also suited up for the Barnstormers from 1998-1999.
WR/LB Mike Horacek is the only other player to have played for both the Barnstormers and the Dragons. From 1997 to 2000, Horacek split time as a WR/DB and an OS with Iowa. He was the AFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2000, his last with the team until he was selected in 2004 Dispersal Draft. The 2006 season is his second with the Dragons, but sixth with the franchise.
INSIDE THE HEADSET:
Every week, Dragons head coach Weylan Harding lets the fans get inside his headset in an open question and answer forum. Here's this week's journal.
Can you give your assessment of the team after Week One? WH: Our effort and execution was below average. We didn't represent ourselves or the fans that support us, very well. That will definitely be corrected!
How can the offensive line improve this week against Chicago? WH: Block! That's the plan. We will pad up and work even harder all week until we get to where we need to be. Our quarterback can never take a beating like that ever again.
Coach, is there any advantage to going on the road after a loss? WH: There's no advantage. There's only the opportunity to go out and get rid of that sickening feeling we experienced after that loss. What were you most impressed with about the team this week? WH: They can be a very solid and focused team.
2006 TRANSACTIONS
01/30/06 @ Signed: OL/DL Steve Scifres... Released: WR/LB Derrick Tatum and OL/DL Tyronn Johnson.
01/26/06 @ Signed to Practice Squad: WR/LB Latrez Harrison.
01/25/06 @ Signed: WR/LB Maurice Brown... Placed on Injured Reserve: WR/LB Chris Anthony.
01/23/06 @ Signed to Practice Squad: WR/DB Tom Anthony, DS Atcheson Conway, OL/DL Ralph Horton... Placed on Other League Exempt: DS Billy Parker.
1/22/06 @ Placed on Injured Reserve: DS Derrick Tatum, WR/DB Matthew Thomas.
1/21/06 @ Waived Injured: OL/DL Damien Bauman... Waived: WR/DB Tom Anthony, QB Ian Butler, WR/DB Atcheson Conway, WR/DB Golden Goodwin, WR/LB Latrez Harrison, OL/DL Ralph Horton, OL/DL David Hurst, FB/LB Joe Massey, WR/DB Taqiy Muhammad... Released: OL/DL Steve Scifres.
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