Sports stats



Orlando Predators game notes

March 2, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Orlando Predators News Release


Indiana (0-4) at Orlando (1-2)
Date: Saturday, Mar. 6, 2004
Toe-to-Leather Time: 7:30 p.m.
Site: TD Waterhouse Centre (13,692)
Officials: Referee: Craig Wrolstad, Umpire: Rick Lowe,
Head Linesman: Tim Podroza, Line Judge: Al Riveron,
Back Judge: Rob Vernatchi.
Radio: WQTM 740 The Team (Marc Daniels and Dan Pearson)
TV: None
Streaks: Predators have won one in a row, Indiana has lost five in a row dating back to 2003 season.
Series Record: Series tied 8-8-0
Coaches: Orlando: Jay Gruden (6th season, 44-25, .637); Indiana: Steve DeBerg (1st Season, 0-4)

THE STAKES: With four of its next six games in the friendly confines of the TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando has an opportunity to correct its 0-2 start. After a slow start, the Predators looked impressive against Carolina last week, going on a 23-0 run and recording a relatively easy 59-43 win. The Predators have dug themselves into a little hole with the 0-2 start, but Head Coach Jay Gruden says it is not so deep that the team can't dig itself out. "With only eight teams making the playoffs this season, all games are important and we certainly did not get off to a good start. But hopefully we started to reverse things last week and can start to build on that momentum."

The need for a win may be even more urgent for Indiana. At 0-4, the Firebirds can not afford to go much longer without posting some W's in the win column. It is important to remember that first year head coach Steve DeBerg's Firebird team could just as easily be 3-1, with three of their losses coming by a combined 10 points.

Gruden anticipates a stern test with the Firebirds. "For a first start, Adrian McPherson had an outstanding game at quarterback for the Firebirds last week," Gruden said. "He's big, strong, and mobile and has a gun for an arm. We need to make sure he doesn't get too comfortable out there."

Orlando Predators (0-2-0) *All Times Eastern
Date Opponent W/L Score
Feb. 8 At Tampa Bay W 41-52
Feb. 13 Austin L (OT) 48-49
Feb. 28 At Carolina W 59-32
Mar. 6 Indiana 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 12 Georgia 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 21 At Chicago 12 Noon
Mar. 27 Las Vegas 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 4 At Columbus 12 Noon
Apr. 9 New Orleans 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 18 At Georgia 3 p.m.
Apr. 25 New Orleans 7:30 p.m.
May 2 Tampa Bay 3 p.m.
May 9 At New Orleans 3 p.m.
May 16 At Austin 3 p.m.
May 23 New York 3 p.m.
May 30 At Los Angeles 4 p.m.

Indiana Firebirds (0-4)
Date Opponent Result Score
Feb. 7 Columbus L 48-54
Feb. 14 At New Orleans L 40-41
Feb. 23 At Detroit L 25-34
Feb. 29 Chicago L 46-49
Mar. 6 At Orlando 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 14 At Austin 3 p.m.
Mar. 20 Georgia 7 p.m.
Mar. 26 Grand Rapids 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 3 At Colorado 3 p.m.
Apr. 11 Carolina 3 p.m.
Apr. 17 At Grand Rapids 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 25 Arizona 3 p.m.
May 2 At Las Vegas 3 p.m.
May 8 Detroit 7 p.m.
May 16 Colorado 3 p.m.
May 23 At Chicago 3 p.m.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE
"The fans were so great to me at Georgia Tech and I still can't believe they still come out to see me. Whenever I see Tech fan I try to go over and talk to them. I spent four great years there and appreciate the opportunity that the school gave me. It was a special time and place."
--QB Joe Hamilton after greeting 50 or so Georgia Tech fans after the game in Charlotte last weekend.

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 in 2004. 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 44-25 (.637) all-time coaching record into the Tampa Bay game. He is 36-23 in regular season games (.610) 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 44-25 .637
Fran Papasedero, 2002-03 22-13 .629
Perry Moss, 1991-97 67-31 .684
Indiana Head Coach Steve DeBerg
After long and successful career in the NFL, Steve DeBerg is in his first season as Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator of the Indiana Firebirds.

After being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1977 , DeBerg played 18 seasons in the National Football League – making stops with San Francisco (1977-80), Denver (1981-83), Tampa Bay (1984-87), Kansas City (1988-91), Miami (1993) and Atlanta (1998). During his career, he threw for more than 34,000 yards with 196 touchdowns. His career stats rank in the top 15 for career pass attempts (14th), completions (12th), and passing yards (15th).

Previous coaching experience for DeBerg includes stops as a quarterbacks coach with the Giants (1996) and Falcons (1999). DeBerg also runs a successful pro camp for college quarterbacks in Tampa, where he tutored Quincy Carter, Byron Leftwich, and Rex Grossman.

1st Year Head Coaches in AFL in 2004
Skip Foster, Austin
Steve DeBerg, Indiana
Will McClay, Dallas
Tom Luginbill, Detroit
NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY
In 1994, the Orlando Predators were off to their best start ever, rolling to a 10-0 record. In game 11, quarterback Ben Bennett was injured and would miss at least one and possibly three weeks. At that time, Head Coach Perry Moss and Owner Don Dizney placed a phone call to a well-known but out of work veteran NFL quarterback to ask about his interest in playing for the Predators. After several days of negotiations, no agreement was reached and Orlando would start back-up Duke Tobin. The name of that NFL quarterback? Current Indiana Head Coach Steve DeBerg.

IFs:
If the Orlando Predators defeat the Indiana Firebirds on Saturday, it would:

...Give the Predators two straight wins
...Extend Indiana's losing streak to six (from 2003)
...Give Jay Gruden an all-time coaching record of 45-25
...Even the Predators 2004 record at 2-2
...Give Orlando an all-time home record of 73-30-0
...Give Orlando an all-time record of 134-69-0
...Give Orlando nine wins in last 12 home games

SERIES NOTES – ORLANDO vs. INDIANA
Other than Tampa Bay (34 meetings), the Orlando Predators have played more games against the Firebirds than any other active Arena Football League franchise (Predators did meet the now defunct Miami Hooters/Florida Bobcats 19 times from 1993-2000)...Saturday's game marks the 17th meeting between the two teams...Other than Tampa Bay (17), the Firebirds also have more wins against the Predators (8) than any other team in AFL history...with the exception of 1992 and 1997, the teams have played each other at least once every year since 1991...the series has featured the number one (Barry Wagner) and number two scorer (Eddie Brown) in AFL history...those two players dominated the mid and late 1990's, with one of them winning the league scoring title every year between 1993-99...the series has featured some high scoring games, including the season finale in 2000 when Connell Maynor hit Bret Cooper on the final play of the game to give Orlando a 61-59 win and the 1998 game when the Predators scored 70 points and still LOST a 79-70 decision...the Firebirds are one of the few teams that does not feature a former Predators player on its roster, but OL/DL Bill Duff did go to camp with the Predators in 2003 and was also a member of the Orlando Rage (XFL) in 2001...although the Predators have made the playoffs every year since 1992 and the Firebirds have been in the playoffs 12 times since 1990, the two teams have only met once in the post-season, with the Firebirds scoring a 59-50 victory in ArenaBowl XIII in 1999...the Firebirds played as the Albany Firebirds from 1990 to 2000, moving to Indianapolis in time for the 2001 campaign.




ORLANDO VS. FIREBIRDS SERIES RESULTS
Date ORL OPP
July 6, 1991 (A) 36 44*
July 12, 1991 (H) 25 28*
May 14, 1993 (H) 40 30*
July 31, 1993 (A) 35 49*
June 25, 1994 (A) 63 48*
June 10, 1995 (H) 55 47*
July 8, 1995 (A) 56 38*
July 6, 1996 (A) 41 53*
July 25, 1998 (A) 70 79*
May 28, 1999 (H) 45 38*
June 7, 1999 (A) 54 62*
Aug. 21, 1999 (A) 48 59*$
June 23, 2000 (A) 61 59*
April 27, 2001 (A) 50 66
May 24, 2002 (A) 40 37
*Team played as Albany Firebirds (1991-2000)
$ArenaBowl XIII,

MOST GAMES PLAYED AGAINST PREDATORS
Tampa Bay Storm 34
Miami Hooters/ Florida Bobcats 19*
Indiana/Albany Firebirds 17**
Arizona Rattlers 13
Nashville Kats 12
New York Dragons/Iowa Barnstormers 11

MOST VICTORIES AGAINST PREDATORS
Tampa Bay Storm 17***
Indiana/Albany Firebirds 8
Nashville Kats 6
Arizona Rattlers 6

*Team left league after 2000 season, **Includes Saturday's game, ***Includes win in 2004

PREDATORS RECORD WIN IN 100th ROAD GAME
Last Saturday's road game with the Carolina Cobras marked the team's 100th road game (including playoffs) in club history. The Predators were victorious in that game, running their all-time road record to an impressive 61-39 mark (.610 winning percentage). The team has now won 12 of their last 15 regular season road games.

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 (5): Bret Cooper, Rupert Grant, William Gaines, Cecil Caldwell, and Jermaine Smith.

Obtained by Trade (1): James Bowden

Rookie Free Agents (11): Idris Price, Jay Taylor, Joe Hamilton, Lin-J Shell, Marlon Moye-Moore, Arkee Thompson, Paul Young, Buck Gurley, Michael Brown, Sean Riley

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, Paul Miranda, LaVar Glover, George Williams Traded: Thabiti Davis (Detroit)


PREDS NEWS, NOTES, TRENDS

McENTYRE CAN BECOME AFL'S ALL-TIME INTERCEPTION LEADER IN 2004:
With an interception in Week 2 against Austin, Predators DS Kenny "The Glove" McEntyre continues to inch forward in his efforts to become the Arena Football League's all-time leader in that category. McEntyre now has 47 interceptions and trails former Orlando Predators DS Durwood Roquemore by just three for the most in Arena Football League history. Interestingly, four of the top five players in AFL history have spent the majority of their AFL careers with the Predators.

AFL ALL-TIME LEADERS
INTERCEPTIONS
Name No. Years With Preds
Durwood Roquemore 50 1987-96 1991-96
Kenny McEntyre 47 1998-04 1998-03
Barry Wagner 40 1992-04 1992-99 Tracey Perkins 37 1991-01 ---
Chris Barber 35 1992-00 1996-98

McPHERSON TO MAKE HIMSELF AVAILABLE TO FLORIDA MEDIA ON FRIDAY
Former Florida State University quarterback Andre McPherson will make himself available to the Florida media on Friday, March 5 from 12:30 p.m. – 12:50 p.m. on the Orlando Predators practice field at Indiana's Team Walk Through. Orlando practices at Thunder Field, adjacent to the Florida Citrus Bowl. It will be the only time McPherson will be available to the media prior to Saturday's game between the Predators and McPherson's Indiana Firebirds team.

PREDATORS SAY GOODBYE TO WILLIAMS, McGRIFF REMAINS QUESTIONABLE FOR GAME
On Tuesday (March 2), the Predators waived wide receiver/linebacker George Williams. Considered a long-shot to make the Predators roster in January, Williams earned a spot on the 24-man opening day roster with a strong pre-season camp and then played in the team's first two games, where he caught two passes for 20 yards. The emergence of rookie Lin-J Shell and Michael Brown, along with Head Coach Jay Gruden's desire to have more speed in his 20-man roster led to the decision to release Williams on Tuesday. In other news, offensive specialist Travis McGriff continued to be held out of practice on Tuesday with a hamstring injury and remains questionable for Saturday's game with Indiana.

HAMILTON SOLID IN EARLY GOING
For not having any Arena Football League experience prior to the 2004 season, rookie quarterback Joe Hamilton continues to get solid reviews through three games. "He's not making many mistakes, he's putting points on the board and he's making the right reads and throwing on time," Predators Head Coach Jay Gruden says about his first year quarterback. Hamilton had a solid first game against defending ArenaBowl champion Tampa Bay and followed it with a 23 of 33 performance (69.7%) against Austin where he threw for 296 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He continued his hot hand against Carolina in his first win, completing 19 of 29 passes for 212 yards, six touchdowns and no picks. Hamilton has now thrown 15 touchdown passes and ran for two more; while not throwing an interception in his 102 attempts.

McENTYRE IS TRUE IRONMAN: Kenny "The Glove" McEntyre has been one of the toughest competitors to ever wear a Predators uniform. Despite numerous injuries in his career, McEntyre has yet to miss a start since coming to the Predators in the tail end of the 1998 season. Counting the last game against Carolina, McEntyre has now answered the bell for 91 consecutive games -- a team record.

PREDATORS ROOKIES PLAY KEY ROLES
IN FIRST WIN
Head coach Jay Gruden credited the play of five first-year players in Saturday's win over Carolina. Playing in his first AFL game, Michael Brown led all players with 9.5 tackles, a pass break-up, one reception for nine yards and the longest kickoff return of the 2004 season by a Predators player (27 yards). Newly signed DS Sam Young (4 tackles, 1 FF, 1 PD) and OL/DL Josh McKibben (1 Sack) contributed; as did rookie quarterback Joe Hamilton (212 yards passing, 8 TDs responsible for). Also seeing action for the first time was fullback/linebacker Idris Price (1/2 tackle). "The new guys brought a lot of energy with them," Gruden said. "They all played a crucial role in the win, especially on special teams."

HAMILTON RANKS HIGH AMONG LEAGUE PASSERS
After Joe Hamilton's stats are corrected for an error in passing yards (a +18 yard completion to Rupert Grant was improperly listed as a -7 yard completion, resulting in 212 passing yards instead of 187 in the Carolina game), Joe Hamilton is the third highest rated passer in the Arena Football League with 126.5 rating.



HIGHEST PASSER RATINGS IN AFL THROUGH WEEK 4
Mark Grieb, San Jose 147.8
Clint Dolezel, Las Vegas 127.2
Joe Hamilton, Orlando 126.5

TAYLOR PERFECT ON PATS
Rookie kicker Jay Taylor has yet to miss an extra point this season, one of five AFL kickers that can make that claim through Week 4 of the regular season. How impressive is Taylor's 16 for 16 performance? Consider that Taylor is almost halfway to the team record for consecutive extra points made (34, by Charlie Baumann in 1996). Baumann holds the record for best PAT percentage in a season, 89.2% (74 of 83), also in 1996.

FLEMING AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
Wide Receiver/Linebacker Cory Fleming has started the last three games at offensive specialist, replacing the injured Travis McGriff. Fleming has made the most of his time as the "feature" receiver, ranking third in the league in receiving yards (378). He is also tied for eighth in scoring, but that number is misleading as most of the players in front of him have played in four games; while Fleming has only played in three (Orlando's had a ‘bye' week during the third week of the season).

GRUDEN'S PREDICTION APPEARS SOLID
When asked about the implications of only having eight teams make the playoffs in 2004, Predators Head Coach Jay Gruden remarked that league officials better plan on "studying the tie-breaking formula." Gruden added that because of league parity, there may be as many as 6-8 teams tied with the same record for the last couple of playoff spots. Here are where all teams stand after Week 4 in terms of losses:

No Losses
(2) Chicago and San Jose
1 Loss
(5) Dallas, New Orleans, Colorado, Detroit, Austin
2 Losses
(7) Carolina, Georgia, Tampa Bay, Orlando, Arizona, Las Vegas, Los Angeles
3 Losses
(3) Columbus, New York, Philadelphia
4 Losses
(1) Indiana

The number of teams with two or more losses will grow by at least one member this week as Detroit plays Colorado.

MILESTONES
Cory Fleming
...With 1,966, he needs 21 all-purpose yards to move past Joe Douglass on for eighth place on Predators all-time career list and 174 to move past Alex Shell (1,976) for seventh place.

...With 1305 yards, he needs 335 receiving yards to move past Alex Shell (1939) for 6th place on Predators career receiving yards list.

...With 36, he needs 5 TD receptions to move past Clif Dell (40) for 5th on Orlando's all-time list, needs 8 to move past Siaha Burley (43) for 4th on the all-time Preds list and 17 to move past Herkie Walls (52) for third on Orlando's all-time list.

Joe Hamilton
...With 15 TD passes, needs 8 TD passes to move past Reggie Collier (22) for eighth place on Predators career list.


PLAYERS TO WATCH
INDIANA AT ORLANDO

Predators Defensive Specialist Michael Brown
Michael Brown opened the season on Orlando's injured reserve list and was activated just prior to last week's game with Carolina. He responded with a Preds' season-high 9.5 tackles and knocked down one pass; while grabbing one completion for 9 yards when a substitution situation forced him to play wide receiver for a series. Brown also posted a Predators season long 27 yards on his lone kickoff return. In special teams play, Brown knocked down star player Damien Gross inside the one-yard line on a kickoff return. Two plays later, Orlando picked up a key safety, which resulted in a huge momentum swing for the Predators. "It was one of the biggest plays of the game," Head Coach Jay Gruden said of Brown's efforts.

Firebirds QB Adrian McPherson
The former Florida State quarterback will get just his second AFL start this week. McPherson had a great game in his first start against Chicago last week, until a clock management blunder cost his team a chance at a first victory. McPherson has completed 56.9% of his passes for 408 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception this season. He is also one of the league's leading rushers with 78 yards on just 18 carries (4.3 average) with three rushing touchdowns.

Orlando OL/DL Jermaine Smith
After a relatively quiet first two games, Jermaine Smith began to show that form that made him a first team All-Arena performer last year with a quarterback sack that resulted in an eight yard loss and a safety at the start of the third quarter last week. Smith also performed well on offense, helping anchor an offensive line that provided solid protection to Joe Hamilton all game.

Indiana Offensive Specialist Mike Horacek
Horacek is Indiana's counter to Cory Fleming. A big receiver (6-2, 200), Mike has put together three straight seasons with at least 1,200 receiving yards and 30 receiving touchdowns. After posting just 101 receptions for 15 total touchdowns in his first three years, Horacek has caught 364 for 113 touchdowns in his last three seasons. He is on pace for another 1,000-yard season in 2004 and will be a primary concern for the Predators defense.

Predators WR/DB Bret Cooper
After not scoring in Orlando's first two games, veteran wide receiver/defensive back Bret Cooper came alive last week with five catches for 55 yards and a pair of touchdowns. With teams increasingly employing double team coverage on Cory Fleming, it is imperative for the other Predators receivers to step up and play a bigger role in the Orlando offense. Orlando got that last week from Cooper and will need the veteran to step up again this week.

Indiana Kicker Clay Rush
One of the top field goal kickers in league history in terms of accuracy, Clay Rush is just four for 10 this season – 20.5% below his career field goal percentage of 60.5% heading into this season. Rush also has struggled a little on PAT's, hitting just 15 of 20 (75%) this season. Still, it is important to keep in mind that six of Rush's misses have come from outside 50 yards, reflecting the troubles Indiana had earlier in the season moving the ball. He came alive last week, hitting both of his field goal attempts.

PREDATORS PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Wed., Mar. 3 9-11 a.m. Thunder Field
Thur., Mar. 4 9-10 a.m. Thunder Field
Fri., Mar. 5 9-9:30 a.m. Thunder Field
All Practices Open to the Media

NEXT WEEK: The Predators will be home in Week 6, taking on the Georgia Force on Friday, March 12 at the TD Waterhouse Centre. Indiana concludes a two-game road trip, facing the Austin Wranglers in Texas on March 14.

• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League (1987-2008) message board...

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 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.

Other Recent Orlando Predators Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central