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AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

Quick hitters: week five

February 24, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


LET THE ROOKIE DO IT: Georgia rookie OS TROY BERGERON is the youngest player in the AFL and is on pace to set the record for touchdown receptions in a single season (48) for a rookie. The record currently stands at 42, which was set by Eddie Brown in 1994 while he played for Albany. So far this season, Bergeron has caught 12 touchdown passes in four games with the Force this season.

THREE'S COMPANY: New Orleans boasts the best receiving corps in the AFL, entering Week 5. OS AARON BAILEY, WR/LB THABITI DAVIS, and WR/DB JACQUES RUMPH have combined for 96 receptions, 1088 yards, and 22 touchdowns. Bailey leads the League in receptions with 36 while Davis and Rumph both rank among the top 10. The VooDoo receivers are on record-setting pace to become the first three receivers to record over 100 receptions on the same team in a single season. At this pace, they would finish with a combined 384 catches which would be only 16 shy of the team record for a season (400) set in 1999 by Houston.

RECEPTIONS YARDS TDS
New Orleans
Bailey 36 506 8
Davis 31 250 7
Rumph 29 332 7
96 1088 22
Colorado
Harrell 30 407 11
McKenzie 30 207 5
McCullough 13 123 3
73 737 19
Chicago
Douglas 30 393 7
Modlen 25 276 8
Shaw 17 208 0
72 877 15
San Jose
Roe 34 460 12
Schexnayder 21 271 5
Wagner 16 142 1
71 873 18
Nashville
Coleman 31 320 4
Hillary 24 204 5
Amey 15 167 1
70 691 10

PEYTON WHO? Two quarterbacks are on pace to break the single-season touchdown record (104) set by New York's AARON GARCIA in 2001. New Orleans' ANDY KELLY and Philadelpia's TONY GRAZIANI have each thrown 27 touchdowns heading into Week 5. During Garcia's record-breaking season, he threw less than seven touchdowns in only three games, all which took place in the last six games of the season. So far in 2005, Kelly and Graziani have thrown less than six touchdowns in two games each. Garcia averaged one more touchdown per game through four weeks than Graziani and Kelly and he set the record during a 14-game season; this season there are 16 games.

THE KATS' MEOW: Nashville WR/LB DARRYL HAMMOND needs one interception and 122 receiving yards to become the second player in AFL history to record 30 interceptions and 8,000 receiving yards in a career. San Jose WR/DB BARRY WAGNER is the only player to reach that milestone. Hammond also needs three tackles to become the third player in AFL history to record 600 tackles. Orlando DS DAMON MASON became the second player to reach the 600-tackle plateau earlier this season. Wagner is the all-time tackle leader with 688.

PROTECTING THE BALL: Holding on to the ball has proven to be a valuable skill this season. Of the five teams with a 3-1 record, four have a positive turnover margin. The only 3-1 team with a negative turnover margin, Orlando, did not see it drop into the negative numbers until after suffering their first lost of the season.


TEAM RECORD TURNOVER MARGIN
Los Angeles 3-1 +6
New Orleans 3-1 +4
Georgia 3-1 +3
Dallas 3-1 +2
Orlando 3-1 -1

THAT 70's SHOW: During the 2004 17-week season, nine teams scored 70-or-more points in one game; four of those teams accomplished it more than once. Entering Week 5 of the 2005 season, three teams have already scored 70-or-more points in a single game. Colorado is the only team to score 70 points in more than one game this season (Week 2 and Week 4). The significant difference between this year and last year's games is the margin of victory. Last season teams who scored 70-or-more points beat their opponents by an average of 21 points. This season the teams who have reached or exceeded 70 points have only beat their opponents by and average of nine points, including two games that were decided by five points or less.

NO HEXING THIS VOODOO: New Orleans QB ANDY KELLY is slated to start his 124th consecutive regular-season game when the VooDoo host the Southern Division rival Tampa Bay Storm (2-1) this Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Cox Sports. The streak is the all-time record for consecutive starts by a quarterback. The next closest active streak is held by Philadelphia QB TONY GRAZIANI, who will be starting his 51th straight game dating back to the start of the 2002 season with Los Angeles.




PARITY, NOT CLARITY: No team this season was able to make it past Week 4 with out suffering a loss. Only in 1990 did the League see its last undefeated teams go down at an earlier point in the season, when the Detroit Drive and Dallas Texas lost their first game in Week 3. There are currently five teams with a 3-1 record (Orlando, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Georgia). New York and Tampa Bay are 2-1, while Las Vegas and Chicago are 2-2.

BISHOP STILL KING: Entering Week 5 of the AFL season, former Heisman Trophy runner-up and Grand Rapids QB MICHAEL BISHOP is the top overall player in AFL Fantasy, averaging 64.5 fantasy points per game. Last week, Bishop (6-2, 220, Kansas State) totaled 62 fantasy points. He completed 20-of-32 pass attempts for 337 yards and eight touchdowns in Grand Rapids' loss to Austin. He also racked up 74 yards on eight carries.

This Sunday on NBC at 3 p.m. ET, the second-best point-getter in Week 4, New York OS KEVIN SWAYNE (45 fantasy points), and the Dragons (2-1) host the Arizona Rattlers (1-3) at Nassau Coliseum. In Philadelphia, also this Sunday on NBC at 3 p.m. ET, OS STEVE SMITH and the Soul (2-2) host the Eastern Division-rival Dallas Desperados (3-1) at Wachovia Center. Smith finished at the No. 4-spot last week with 42 points and sits in the same position (average, 33.8) overall.

TOP AFL FANTASY POINT PLAYERS OVERALL
(Minimum two games)
RANK PLAYER, POSITION TEAM FP/G
1 Michael Bishop, QB Grand Rapids 64.5
2 James Roe WR/LB San Jose 37.0
3 Andy Kelly, QB New Orleans 34.8
4 Steve Smith, OS Philadelphia 33.8
5 Etu Molden, WR/LB Chicago 33.0
6 Aaron Bailey, OS New Orleans 32.8
7 John Fitzgerald, QB Austin 32.7
8 Shane Stafford, QB Tampa Bay 32.3
9t Siaha Burley, OS Arizona 31.5
9t Sean Scott, WR/DB Philadelphia 31.5
11 Lawrence Samuels, WR/LB Tampa Bay 31.3
12 Tony Graziani, QB Philadelphia 31.0
12 Mark Grieb, QB San Jose 31.0
12 Damian Harrell, OS Colorado 31.0
15 Troy Bergeron, OS Georgia 30.8

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 24, 2005


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