Orlando Predators game notes

Published on February 2, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Orlando Predators News Release


Orlando Predators (0-0-0) at
Tampa Bay Storm (0-0-0)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 8, 2004
Toe-to-Leather Time: 3 p.m. (EDT)
Site: St. Pete Times Forum (19,758)
Officials: Referee: Bill McCabe; Umpire: Doug Wilson; Head Linesman: Royce Cooley; Line Judge: Kent Payne; Back
Judge: Jim Anderson; Supervisor: Jim Lapetina
Radio: WQTM 740 The Team (Marc Daniels and Dan Pearson)
TV: NBC (David Hammond, Pat Sperduto and J.P. Peterson)
Streaks: Season opener for both teams
Series Record: Orlando leads all-time series 17-16-0
Coaches: Orlando: Jay Gruden (5th season, 43-23, .651) Tampa Bay: Tim Marcum (16th Season, 157-55-0, .741).

THE STAKES: The Orlando Predators will open the 2004 season in the same place where they finished the 2003 campaign – in the St. Petersburg Times Forum against arch-rival Tampa Bay. The game will mark the 34th meeting in this storied rivalry between the Predators and Storm. In addition to the historical significance of this match-up, Sunday's game will have enormous impact on the Southern Division race, with the winner getting a huge jump-start on the 2004 campaign. "Obviously, we're not at the ‘must win' stage in Week 1," Predators Head Coach Jay Gruden said. "But make no mistake this is an important game. First, it is a division game. Second, it is against a team that knocked us out of the playoffs last season. Third, it's against our biggest rivals. Fourth, the winner walks away with a huge confidence builder. They are the defending champs of the league. With only eight teams making the playoffs this year, we want to start strong." It won't be easy for the Predators. Despite losing its starting quarterback and other key players to free agency, Tampa Bay Head Coach Tim Marcum has done a splendid job of restocking his roster with outstanding players." It will be huge challenge for us," Gruden added. "You can look at Tampa's roster at every position and make the argument that they either replaced the guys they lost with equal talent or in many cases with even better players than they lost."

QUOTE/UNQUOTE
"Our team goal is to get back to the ArenaBowl and win it. Nothing else will be considered a successful season for us. We were so close the last two seasons, we need to find a way to get over the hump."

--DS Kenny McEntyre

PREDS HEAD COACH JAY GRUDEN
After spending the last two seasons as the team's quarterback, JAY GRUDEN returns to the bench as the team's head coach. Gruden began his coaching career in 1997, serving as offensive assistant for the Nashville Kats. One season later, the Predators made him the youngest head coach in the AFL. Gruden would go on to lead the Predators to three consecutive appearances in the ArenaBowl and a pair of championships. After guiding the Predators to a fourth consecutive trip to the playoffs, Gruden shocked the AFL world by announcing his intentions to resign in order to return to the playing field. In two seasons, Gruden directed the Predators to the semifinals twice. In 2003, he recorded a 10-0 record with 49 touchdown passes and two interceptions as a starting quarterback during the regular season. Off-season surgery, combined with the tragic loss of former Head Coach Fran Papasedero in a June 19 traffic accident, resulted in Gruden returning to the sideline. Gruden will take a 43-23 (.651) all-time coaching record into the Tampa Bay game. He is 35-21 in regular season games (.625) and 8-2 as a head coach in playoff games (.800).

ORLANDO PREDATORS
HEAD COACHING RECORDS

Coaches, Years Record Pct.
Jay Gruden, 1998-2001, 2004 43-23 .651
Fran Papasedero, 2002-03 22-13 .629
Perry Moss, 1991-97 67-31 .684
Tampa Bay's Tim Marcum
Arena Football League coaching legend Tim Marcum leads Tampa Bay. No single coach has had as much success coaching in the Arena Football League as Marcum. Already in the AFL Hall of Fame, Marcum has led three different teams (Denver, Detroit and Tampa) to a
total of seven ArenaBowl championships. He is the AFL career leader in coaching wins, playoff wins, games coached, winning percentage and championships won. Marcum's all-time coaching record stands at an extremely impressive 157-55 (.740).

Coaching Match-Up Features Hall of Famers:
Sunday's game will feature a match-up of two AFL Hall of Famers. Jay Gruden was placed in the Hall of Fame in 1999, earning admission as a player; while Tim Marcum was part of the inaugural class in 1998. When Gruden returned to the playing field 2002, he became the first active player already elected to the Arena Football League Hall of Fame.


IFs:
If the Orlando Predators defeat the Tampa Bay Storm on Sunday, it would:

*Would make the Predators 1-0 and drop Tampa Bay to 0-1

*Would give the Predators an 18-16 all-time series lead against Tampa Bay

*Would break a two-game losing streak to Tampa Bay

*Would give Jay Gruden an all-time coaching record of 44-23 (.657)

*Would give Jay Gruden an all-time coaching record of 7-5 against his former team

*Would give Jay Gruden six wins in last seven games against his former team.

SERIES HISTORY: The Predators lead the all-time series 17-16-0. As mentioned earlier, no other teams in the Arena Football League have a longer continuous series than the Predators and Tampa Bay. This week's game marks the 34th meeting between the two teams, dating back to the 1991 season. The teams have played in the same division since Orlando joined the league in 1991. The series has featured two regular season games each year and the Predators have met the Storm seven times in the post-season. In addition, the Predators have played the Storm in five pre-season games (results not included in series records). In a testament to how evenly matched these two teams are, it should be noted that the Storm and Predators have split 26 regular season games (13-13), with the Predators holding a 4-3 edge in post-season games. Orlando has won three of the last four post-season contests between the Storm and Predators, sending their archrivals packing for three consecutive years from 1998-2001. Tampa Bay returned the favor by pounding out a 60-50 win in the semifinals last season. The all-time series scores between the Predators and Storm follow:

ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS AND NOTES:
DATE ORL TB ATTENDANCE
June 1, 1991 (A) 51 38 10,354
July 27, 1991 (H) 16 26 13,680
May 29, 1992 (H) 32 39 11,312
July 2, 1992 (A) 48 33 20,091
August 15, 1992 (H) 24 21* 13,680
May 21, 1993 (H) 46 34 13,720
June 19, 1993 (A) 46 45 28,746
August 14, 1993 (H) 52 55* 13,720
July 1, 1994 (H) 61 40 14,015
August 13, 1994 (A) 39 40 20,819
July 14, 1995 (H) 34 51 15,638
July 29, 1995 (A) 20 44 24,055
August 14, 1995 (A) 35 48& 20,087
May 18, 1996 (A) 42 63 25,087
July 19, 1996 (H) 40 39 16,444
May 17, 1997 (A) 43 17 16,236
June 27, 1997 (H) 54 30 14,179
June 12, 1998 (H) 34 42 16,529
June 27, 1998 (A) 30 56 15,948
August 23, 1998 (A) 62 31$ 14,125
June 12, 1999 (H) 37 63 15,101
July 11, 1999 (A) 28 47 11,777
Aug. 7, 1999 (A) 41 19% 10,706
May 12, 2000 (H) 44 43 13,342
July 1, 2000 (A) 36 50 14,047
August 8, 2000 (H) 34 24% 13,122
June 10, 2001 (H) 57 45 13,691
July 1, 2001 (A) 46 38 17,634
June 9, 2002 (H) 45 48 12,855
July 7, 2002 (A) 55 48 11,784
Feb. 10, 2003 (H) 54 51 13,521
March 16, 2003 (A) 32 52 15,054
June 7, 2004 (A) 50 60* 14,028
Series Totals 1368 1380 515,127

*AFL Semifinals
&ArenaBowl IX
$ArenaBowl XII
%AFL Quarterfinals

SERIES NOTES:
Orlando leads the all-time series, 17-16...Incredibly,
only 12 points of the more than 2700 that has
been scored in this series, separates the two teams
as Orlando has scored 1,368 points in the series,
while Tampa Bay has scored 1,380 ...Orlando is
averaging 41.45 points per game in the series, while
Tampa Bay is averaging 41.81...the visiting team
won the first four games of the series and
15 of 33 games overall... Orlando is 9-7 at home
and 8-9 on the road in the series...the longest winning
streak in the series is five games (Tampa Bay,
Aug 13, 1994 through May 18, 1996)...Orlando
has won five of the last eight in the series...
Orlando has won four in a row on two occasions...
the largest regular season crowd (28,746)
and largest ArenaBowl crowd (25,087) came during
this series (both games played in Thunderdome...
now Tropicana Field)... the series has been
witnessed by more than 500,000 fans (15,609
average)...the teams have met seven times in the
playoffs, with Orlando holding a 4-3 series
edge... both teams have won an ArenaBowl
championship game at the other's expense.

THE JAY FACTOR: No discussion of the Orlando / Tampa Bay series would be complete without re-hashing the "Jay Factor." For those new to Arena Football, Gruden was Tampa Bay's "Golden Boy" quarterback of the early ‘90's, leading the team to four AFL championships in six years. Gruden left the game as a player in 1997 to assume the offensive coordinator's job with the expansion Nashville Kats. After helping that team to an AFL expansion-record 10 wins that season, Gruden came on the radar screen of the Predators Search Committee that was attempting to find a new Head Coach. The Predators shocked Storm fans a few months later by announcing that at age 30, Gruden would become the new Head Coach of the Orlando Predators. In his first season, the Storm thumped the Predators twice by an average of 17 points. Those games led up to the third contest between the two in ArenaBowl XII. Tampa entered the game as prohibitive 15-point favorites over the Predators by racing to a 14-2 mark; while Orlando needed a miracle comeback in the dessert against Arizona to keep its championship hopes alive. After a close first half, everything that could possibly go wrong for a team went wrong for Tampa Bay in the first six minutes of the third quarter as the Predators would claim their first AFL championship, 62-31, on the home floor of its arch-rivals with their former hero leading the Predators charge. The following season would once again have a surreal ending for the Storm. After another outstanding season, Tampa Bay entered the playoffs as the league's number one seed (11-3) and would host Gruden and his #8 seeded Orlando team (7-7). After jumping out to a 10-0 lead at halftime, it looked like Tampa Bay would get its much sought-after revenge, only to see the Predators outscore them 41-7 in the second half and become the first and only last-seeded AFL team to take-out a top-seeded team in the playoffs. To add insult to injury, Gruden knocked his former team out of the playoffs for a third consecutive season in 2000, as the #2 seeded Predators took a 34-24 win in the TD Waterhouse Centre. In his final season as Head Coach, Gruden again put a hurting on the Storm, sweeping the regular season series. Coming back last year as a player, Gruden lost a close three-point game at home, but guided the Preds to a 55-48 win on the road in 2002. Gruden added a second victory against his former team as a player, with a 54-51 win over the Storm back on Feb. 10 of this year, but did not participate in the rematch – suffering an ankle injury in Week four and missing six games. Since joining the Predators, Gruden has guided Orlando to an 8-7 record against his former team, including a 3-0 mark in the playoffs. Adding more juice to the Gruden/Tampa Bay situation was the fact that the Storm "retired" Jay Gruden's jersey in a ceremony a few years ago and then unceremoniously "un-retired" his jersey last year and re-issued it to a player right before an Orlando-Tampa Bay game. Tampa would later re-retire the number.

FAMILIAR FACES: Another reason the Tampa Bay/Orlando series has been so intense is the fact that several participants always seem to have ties to the other team. Last year, former Preds players Clif Dell, Pat O'Hara and BJ Cohen all played major roles in Tampa Bay's championship run. Here is a list of the connections in this year's game:

Preds Head Coach Jay Gruden: Played quarterback for the Tampa Bay Storm from 1991-96, guiding team to four championships.

Preds WR/DB Bret Cooper: Broke in as an AFL rookie with the Tampa Bay Storm in 1994.

Tampa Bay's WR/LB Clif Dell: Standout WR/LB with Predators from 1999-02, playing in two ArenaBowls.

Tampa Bay QB Pat O'Hara: Predators quarterback from 1995-99, guided team to first ArenaBowl championship in 1998 – against Tampa Bay. Won another ring in 2003 with Tampa Bay.

Preds WR/LB James Bowden: Played two seasons (2000-01) with Storm, finishing third in league in 2001 with more than 231 all-purpose yards per game.

Preds QB Connell Maynor: Back up to Jay Gruden in Tampa Bay from 1994-96. Won two rings with Storm and two with Predators, including 2000 as a starting quarterback.

Preds Partners Bob Gries: Was former owner of Tampa Bay Storm, now a part owner of Predators franchise.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN PREDS/STORM SERIES: No set of game notes on the Orlando –Tampa Bay game would be complete without a recap of the biggest and most-important games in this series.

Orlando 51, Tampa Bay 38 (June 1, 1991)
In the first game in franchise history for both teams, Reggie Collier threw for seven touchdowns, three each to Reggie Smith and Herkie Walls, as the Predators prevailed 51-38. Tampa Bay would get the last laugh, however, beating Orlando in the rematch; post an 8-2 season and win the ArenaBowl under first-year quarterback Jay Gruden.

Orlando 24, Tampa Bay 21 (August 15, 1992)
After splitting a pair of games in the regular season, the Preds and Storm hooked up in the AFL semifinals. After playing to a 21-21 draw through four quarters, Jorge Cimadevilla won it for Orlando with a 17-yard field goal in overtime.

Orlando 46, Tampa Bay 45 (June 19, 1993)
The rivalry was at an all-time high when an AFL record 28,746 fans jammed the Thunderdome to watch two of the league's best teams square off. Jay Gruden's two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete with 2:29 remaining as the Predators held on for a 46-45 win and a regular season series sweep.

Tampa Bay 55, Orlando 52 (August 14, 1993)
The league's two best teams met in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. This time, the Predators trailed for most of the game but tied the score at 38-38 on a 4th quarter Billy Owens' touchdown. Momentum appeared on the Predators side when they held Tampa Bay to a field goal on the next possession, but Arden Czyzewski's ensuing kickoff bounced off the net frame and was recovered by Jeff Mayes for a touchdown and 10-point Storm lead.

Tampa Bay 40, Orlando 39 (August 13, 1994)
This one was an especially bitter pill for the Predators to swallow. After running off 11 consecutive wins, the Orlando Predators missed an opportunity to become just the seventh team in modern day professional football to record a perfect regular season when Mike Lazecki booted an 18-yard field goal with 31 seconds remaining to give the Storm a 40-39 upset win. Orlando still had a chance to win, until quarterback Duke Tobin's fifth interception fell in the hands of Storm defensive back Eddie Brown in the Tampa Bay end zone with 10 seconds remaining.

Tampa Bay 48, Orlando 35 (Sept. 1, 1995)
Although Orlando completed the regular season at a shaky 7-5 and barely qualified for the playoffs, the Preds fought their way through the playoffs with a pair of road upsets to meet the Storm in the ArenaBowl for the first time. But two much Jay Gruden resulted in a relatively easy 13-point win for the Storm.

Orlando 40, Tampa Bay 39, July 19, 1995
In one of the hardest hitting, nastiest and controversial finishes in series history, back-up quarterback Brad Lebo completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Alex Shell at the buzzer to pull the Predators back to within one point at 39-38. Electing to go for the win, Barry Wagner's two-point conversion pass to Jeff Parker was ruled incomplete, but Tampa was called for an illegal defense. Following an unsportsman-like penalty on Tampa Head Coach Tim Marcum, the Predators lined up from inside the one and ran a sweep to Michael McClendon, who tripped at the one and then bounced into an end zone for the two-point conversion. Tampa would claim that McClendon was down "by contact" and would later protest the game claiming clock irregularities, but Orlando held on for the win.

Orlando 54, Tampa Bay 30, June 27, 1997
In a game labeled as "Pizza Gate," new Predators owner Will Meris backed Barry Wagner's win guarantee by promising a free large Papa John's Pizza to each fan in attendance if Orlando failed to win. Staring a bill of $82,348.75 in the face (Papa John's quoted the Predators a price of $5.50 + tax per pie in the non-sponsored promotion), Meris was relieved when Mac Cody scored four touchdowns and Orlando crushed the Storm by 24.

Orlando 62, Tampa Bay 31, August 23, 1998
After being crushed by the Storm twice in the regular season, the Predators pulled off the biggest and most-unlikely upset in ArenaBowl history with a 62-31 win over 14-2 Tampa Bay. Rookie head coach Jay Gruden watched on as his Predators used six interceptions (three by Chris Barber) and a record rushing performance by Rick Hamilton (82 yards, 3 touchdowns) to defeat their archrivals and claim their first ArenaBowl championship. Leading 24-17 at the half, the Predators scored 36 second half points without completing a pass!

Orlando 41, Tampa Bay 19 (August 7, 1999)
Orlando became the first #8 seed in AFL history to knock off a #1 seed, as the 7-7 Predators shocked the 11-3 Storm, 41-19 in the playoffs. Orlando trailed 10-0 at the half, but dominated every aspect of the second half. Orlando would go on to become the first #8 seed to ever make it to the ArenaBowl, after upsetting #2 seeded Iowa the following week, 48-41.

Orlando 34, Tampa Bay 24 (August 8, 2000)
For an unprecedented third consecutive year, the Predators and Gruden would send Tampa Bay packing in the playoffs. This time, it was more difficult, as Orlando led by just three (20-17) in the third quarter, but Joe Douglass scored on a 33-yard pass from Connell Maynor and Maynor then ran over from the 9-yard line as the Preds took a 34-17 lead late in the 4th quarter.

Tampa Bay 60, Orlando 50 (June 7, 2004)
John Kaleo out-dueled Jay Gruden as the Tampa Bay Storm knocked off the Orlando Predators, 60-50, in the semifinals of the Arena Football League playoffs. Orlando had a 28-20 lead in the second quarter, when several bad breaks led to Tampa Bay taking a 33-31 lead at the half. A questionable call on a deflected pass that was ruled a lateral, combined with an apparent touchdown pass from Jay Gruden to Travis McGriff that was ruled an incomplete pass, resulted in a nine-point swing and a huge shift in momentum.

2003 GAME RECAPS: Preds Split Season Series With Storm:

GAME: 2
Orlando 54, Tampa Bay Storm 51
Feb. 9, 2003

ORLANDO, FL --Jay Gruden fired six touchdown passes and picked up a key third and 18 in the game's final minute of play to lead the Orlando Predators to a 54-51 win over arch-rival Tampa Bay before 13,521 fans at the TD Waterhouse Centre and a national television audience on NBC.

Orlando jumped out to a 34-27 lead at the half, but managed only a third quarter field goal and saw Tampa Bay cut the lead to just two points at the end of the third quarter on Pete Elezovic's 43-yard field goal.

The teams traded a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with Gary Compton's 8-yard touchdown reception from John Kaleo cutting the lead to 54-51 with a minute to go. Tampa decided against the on-side kick and the strategy appeared sound when the Predators were faced with a third and 18 following a sack of Gruden. But the wily veteran faked short and hit Thabiti Davis over top on a 40-yard pass play to give Orlando a new set of downs.

GAME: 7
Tampa Bay Storm 52, Orlando 32
Mar. 16, 2003

TAMPA, FL -- Lineman Al Lucas spurred a 16-0 run with a first quarter safety and Tampa Bay ran for five touchdowns as the Storm sent the Predators down to their first defeat of the season, 52-32, in front of 15,054 fans at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Thabiti Davis gave the Predators a 7-7 tie on a 2-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter. But from that point on, it was all Tampa Bay. On Orlando's next possession, Lucas sacked Connell Maynor in the end zone to make it 9-7. QB John Kaleo hit David Saunders for a touchdown pass to make 16-7 and the rout was on.

GAME: 3
Tampa Bay 60, Orlando 50
AFL Semifinals – June 7, 2003

TAMPA, Fla. –Basil Proctor scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and Antonio Tolliver returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown as the Tampa Bay Storm capped off a 60-50 win over the Orlando Predators in the semifinals of the Arena Football League playoffs.

The Storm would go on to defeat Arizona two weeks later to clinch an unprecedented fifth championship title.

The teams started the game with an offensive flurry, as they traded touchdowns with Orlando building a 28-26 lead at the one-minute mark.

But momentum would swing on a couple of calls in the final minute. Travis McGriff's catch in the end zone was ruled incomplete when the ball was knocked out of his hand after it appeared that he had control and taken a full step in the end zone. One play later, Gruden's pass was tipped at the line and ruled a lateral that former Predators lineman BJ Cohen recovered. Tampa Bay would then score and take the lead for good at 33-28 at the six-second mark.

Tampa would score on its first two possessions of the second half to build a 47-31 lead and hold on down the stretch for the victory.

How The 2004 Predators Were Built

Retained From 2003 (9): Travis McGriff, Connell Maynor, Cory Fleming, Kenny McEntyre, Fred Ray, Justin Cleveland, EJ Burt, Doug Miller and Reggie Lee

Veteran Free Agents Signed (6): Bret Cooper, , George Williams, Rupert Grant, William Gaines, Cecil Caldwell, and Jermaine Smith.

Obtained by Trade (1): James Bowden

Rookie Free Agents (10): Paul Miranda, Idris Price, Jay Taylor, Joe Hamilton, Lin-J Shell, LaVar Glover, Marlon Moye-Moore, Buck Gurley, Michael Brown*, Derrick Ham*

*Begins season on IR list.

Released/Traded Players No Longer on Roster:
Waived: Kevin McLeod, Antwuan Wyatt, Chris Sanders, Roy Stabler, Nate Bandy, Barry Hall, Anthony Bright, Tavares Jurineack, Joe Crear, Anthony McKenzie, Abdullah Wiggins.

Traded: Thabiti Davis (Detroit)

PREDS NEWS, NOTES, TRENDS

PREDS ARE ROAD WARRIORS: Since starting 0-2 on the road in 2003, Orlando has won an incredible 12 of their last 16 road games. "I guess there is not a real good explanation for it, but I think we traditionally play well on the road because we don't have a lot of distractions," Head Coach Jay Gruden said. "We're used to large crowds at home, so big crowds on the road don't intimidate us."

ORLANDO EXTENDS AFL MARK: With a 13-5 record in the 2003 season, the Predators finished with a winning season for an AFL record 12th consecutive year. With a regular season ending win over Detroit, the Predators set a new club record for most regular season wins in franchise history. Of course, the team was aided by two extra regular season games in 2004. Still, Orlando's .750 winning percentage last season was the fifth best in club history.

K-MAC IS IRONMAN : Counting playoffs, DS Kenny McEntyre has now started an Orlando Predators' record 88 consecutive games without missing a start to injury.

McENTYRE CAN BECOME AFL'S ALL-TIME INTERCEPTION LEADER IN 2004:
Although he had an outstanding year with 10 interceptions, Kenny "The Glove" McEntyre came up four short in his pursuit to catch Durwood Roquemore for the most interceptions in Arena Football League history. McEntyre finished the 2003 campaign with 46 interceptions and now trails Roquemore by just four. Although Roquemore played the majority of his career with the Predators, McEntyre already owns the club record with 46. Roquemore only had 30 of his career 50 interceptions with the Predators. Interestingly, four of the top five players on the all-time list for career interceptions spent at least part of their career on an Orlando Predators roster.

EJ BURT SETS TEAM SACK /FF RECORD; SAYS 2004 GOAL IS LEAGUE RECORD: In 2002, EJ Burt set a professional football record with 27.5 quarterback sacks with Cape Fear of the "arenafootball2" league. For good measure, he also forced nine fumbles. So the average Arena fan would probably be surprised to learn that not one of the 16 Head Coaches in Arena Football decided to give EJ a change to play at the next level in 2003. "The book on him was that he was too small and not very good on offense," former Indiana Head Coach Mike Dailey said. "Orlando finally brought him in and looked like geniuses for doing so." The AFL rookie out of West Liberty College not only broke Jerry Odom's 11-year-old Orlando Predators single season mark for quarterback sacks in the regular season (9.5), but also topped Barry Wagner's record for forced fumbles in a single season. Burt says his goal is to break the single season league sack record of 13, set by Craig Walls of the Pittsburgh Gladiators in 1987. "You need to set your goals high, " Burt said. "Obviously our biggest goal is to win the ArenaBowl, but if individually, I want to break the league record for sacks."

McGRIFF/FLEMING TOP DUO: The duo of Travis McGriff and Cory Fleming in 2003 were the most productive in Orlando Predators franchise history. When the two combined for 212 receiving yards against Detroit in the season finale, they brought their combined season total to 2,442 yards. That total topped Barry Wagner and Bret Cooper, who combined for 2,258 receiving yards in 1999, for the most ever by a Predators pair.

PAPASEDERO'S WINNING PERCENTAGE REMAINS AMONG THE BEST IN AFL HISTORY/PREDATORS TO DEDICATE 2004 SEASON TO HIS MEMORY: After starting his AFL coaching career with a 1-4 record, former Orlando Predators Head Coach Fran Papasedero guided his team to 21 wins in his last 30 games – a winning percentage of .700. Sadly, Papasedero coached his last game in the semifinals of the AFL playoffs on June 7, 2003. Eleven days later, he lost his life in an automobile accident. For his career, Papasedero was 19-11 in regular season games. That percentage (.633) currently ranks as seventh best in AFL history. It's interesting to note that Predators coaches Perry Moss, Papasedero and Jay Gruden currently occupy three of the top 10 spots on the AFL All-Time list for regular season winning percentage. The Predators are dedicating the 2004 season to Coach Papasedero's memory.

McGRIFF AND FLEMING SLIDE INTO TOP 10:
With both players going over the 1,200-yard mark and each catching 25 or more touchdown passes, both Cory Fleming and Travis McGriff easily moved into the Predators Top 10 for single season receiving touchdowns and single season receiving yards last year.

MAYNOR REACHED MILESTONE IN 2003: With 119 yards rushing last season, Connell Maynor became the first man in Arena Football League history to rush for at least 500 yards, pass for at least 5000 yards, and have more than 500 yards in receptions. It probably won't happen, but if Maynor could return a few kickoffs for 62 yards in 2004, he could add 500 yards in kickoff returns to the above accomplishment. Maynor, a unique player who served one season as a WR/KR for New York, has also played cornerback, safety and "Jack" linebacker in his career. He is one of only two players in Arena Football League history (Arizona's Hunkie Cooper has also done it) to run for a touchdown, throw for a touchdown, return a kick for a touchdown, catch a touchdown pass, record an interception and record a quarterback sack in his career.

Lin-J Shell Makes Jump To Arena Football League Out of Try-Out Camp
Although it was uncertain whether he would be activated for Week One, Predators WR/DB Lin-J Shell has already beat the odds by becoming the first player since Fred Ray (1999) to make Orlando's opening 24-man roster via the team's free agent tryout camp. "We had no idea who he was," Head Coach Jay Gruden said. "He was one of about 300 guys that showed up for our November camp. He paid his $50 and proceeded to catch our eye." Still considered a long shot to make the Predators 24-man roster, Shell proceeded to have an outstanding camp and even challenged for a starting position. "He's going to play and probably play a lot for us," Gruden said. "We're going to bring him along slowly, but there's no question he's going to contribute."

HAMILTON TO TAKE OVER QUARTERBACK REIGNS FOR GRUDEN
For the first time since the 2001 season, the Orlando Predators will open the season with a new quarterback under center. Rookie Joe Hamilton takes over for Jay Gruden and becomes the team's eighth opening day quarterback . Hamilton, who spent three seasons with the Tampa Bay Bucs, was the 1999 Heisman Trophy runner-up to Ron Dayne. Orlando quarterbacks are just 3-4 in opening day starts. Here is the all-time list of opening day quarterbacks for the Predators.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
ORLANDO AT TAMPA BAY

PREDS QUARTERBACK JOE HAMILTON
Hamilton will make his first career start with the Orlando Predators and will have to do so on the road, against the defending AFL champion and against Orlando's biggest rival. So how does he feel about it? "Great," Hamilton said. "Why not go against the best in your first game? It will certainly give me an idea of where I stand early." Hamilton does have one advantage. He ran two series and 36 plays against Tampa Bay in a pre-season scrimmage. The former Tampa Bay Bucs signal caller will attempt to become the first Preds quarterback since Connell Maynor (1999 playoffs) and just the fourth Preds quarterback ever to win in his Orlando debut.

TAMPA BAY WR/LB CLIF DELL
After helping lead the Predators to two ArenaBowls and one title from 1999-2002, Clif Dell signed with the Tampa Bay Storm as a free agent last year and helped that team to a championship last season. Dell made several huge plays against the Predators last season, including three catches for 53 yards and interception against the Predators in a semifinal win last season.

PREDS OL/DL EJ BURT AND JERMAINE SMITH
Burt had a fabulous rookie season with the Predators last year, setting club records for both quarterback sacks and forced fumbles. With the addition of All-Arena lineman Jermaine Smith, Burt may be even more effective this season. "Teams are not going to be able to focus on EJ when he's in the game the same time as Jermaine Smith," Head Coach Jay Gruden said. "With the addition of Buck Gurley to our roster, I think we have three guys that may be dominating on the defensive side of the ball. We'll just have to take it one game at a time and see which combinations work the best."

TAMPA BAY QUARTERBACK SHANE STAFFORD: After playing two seasons as a back-up, Stafford is finally ready to be "the man" in Tampa Bay. He is not without experience, however. He started nine games in 2001, throwing for 2,164 yards and 39 touchdowns and also had two starts in 2002, throwing for 770 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. Stafford was signed by the Tampa Bay Bucs (NFL) and went to training camp with them in 2003. Preds quarterback Jay Gruden says there will be no drop off in Tampa's talent level with a new starting quarterback. "Shane may turn out to be better than Kaleo," Gruden says. "I liked him a lot with the Bucs and think he'll be terrific with the Storm. It's not like they are putting it in the hands of a rookie. He has solid AFL experience.

PREDS DS KENNY "THE GLOVE" McENTYRE
After being "nicked up" during each of the past two seasons, Kenny "The Glove" McEntyre came into camp this season in the best shape of his life. Now in his sixth season as the Preds starting defensive specialist (he joined the Predators in the final week of the 1998 season), McEntyre needs just five interceptions to become the new all-time leader in AFL history. McEntyre is a former two-time winner of the AFL Defensive Player of the Year award and has been placed on the first-unit All-AFL for each of the past four seasons. McEntyre is Orlando's big play guy on defense. A defensive specialist who does not return kicks, Kenny McEntyre has scored 14 touchdowns in his AFL career, including three in the post-season. McEntyre's touchdowns have come in a variety of ways, including 10 on interceptions, 2 on on-sides kickoff returns, one on a recovered fumble and one on a blocked field goal. As the chart below indicates, when McEntyre scores it is usually good news for the Predators. Orlando is 11-2 when McEntyre scores a touchdown.

TAMPA BAY WR/DB TT TOLLIVER
Player a huge role in Tampa Bay's run to the title last year, signing for the last four games of the regular season and coming up big in the playoffs. Was named "Ironman of the Game" in semifinal win over Predators, catching two passes for 46 yards and two touchdowns and leading the team in tackles (6.5) with one pass defense and an interception that he returned 30 yards for a third touchdown.

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



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 2, 2004


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