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AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

Quick hitters: week four

February 17, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


SLAYER OF DEFENDING CHAMPIONS: During the 19 seasons of the Arena Football League, defending champions have played 201 games and are 136-65 (.677 winning percentage) during their follow up seasons. The following is a list of the Top 10 head coaches with the most victories against defending champions. Los Angeles head coach ED HODGKISS currently is tied for No. 8, but will look to climb the ladder when the Avengers (2-1) host the San Jose SaberCats (2-1) at STAPLES Center this Sunday at 6 p.m. on NBC.

ALL-TIME VICTORIES AGAINST DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
RANK COACH VICTORIES
1. MIKE HOHENSEE 7
2t. MIKE DAILEY 6
2t. Perry Moss 6
4. John Gregory 5
5. Babe Parilli 4
6t. TIM MARCUM 3
6t. MICHAEL TRIGG 3
8t. Rick Buffington 2
8t. Dave Ewart 2
8t. JAY GRUDEN 2
8t. ED HODGKISS 2
8t. John Hufnagel 2
8t. Marty Lowe 2
8t. MIKE NEU 2
8t. PAT SPERDUTO 2
8t. Danny White 2
CAPS = Active coach


THE L.A. STORY: San Jose QB MARK GRIEB has played particularly well against Los Angeles in his career. In nine games against the Avengers, Grieb has completes 149-of-223 passes (66.8%) for 2,000 yards with 41 TDs and only six interceptions. He currently owns a 7-1 record when starting against the Avengers. Even with Grieb's success against the Avengers, the SaberCats as a team are 8-2 all-time against the Avengers, but only 3-2 while playing in Los Angeles.

TACKLING MACHINE: In 2004, Colorado DS RASHAD FLOYD set the AFL record for most tackles in a single season with 123.0 tackles. So far this season, Floyd has already registered a League-leading 28.5 tackles. At this pace, Floyd is on his way to set a new single-season record of 152.0, 29.0 more tackles then in 2004.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS FOLLOW UP: No defending champion has ever finished below .500 the year following their championship. The lowest winning percentage was by the Orlando Predators, who finished the regular season at 7-7 in 1999. Despite their .500 record, JAY GRUDEN's team still managed to make it to the ArenaBowl before falling 59-48 to MIKE DAILEY's Albany Firebirds.

ARENABOWL CHAMPIONS' FOLLOW-UP SEASONS
YEAR CHAMPION FOLLOW-UP SEASON
1987 Denver Dynamite DNP (One-year hiatus)
1988 Detroit Drive 3-1
1989 Detroit Drive 6-2
1990 Detroit Drive 9-1
1991 Tampa Bay Storm 9-1
1992 Detroit Drive 11-1
1993 Tampa Bay Storm 7-5
1994 Arizona Rattlers 7-5
1995 Tampa Bay Storm 12-2
1996 Tampa Bay Storm 8-6
1997 Arizona Rattlers 10-4
1998 Orlando Predators 7-7
1999 Albany Firebirds 9-5
2000 Orlando Predators 8-6
2001 Grand Rapids Rampage 8-6
2002 San Jose SaberCats 12-4
2003 Tampa Bay Storm 9-7
2004 San Jose SaberCats 1-2


GET DONE, AND GET IT DONE NOW: Los Angeles knows how to get things done fast. Over the last three season, the Avengers have scored a total of 258 total offensive touchdowns – 56-percent, or 148-of-258, offensive scores were three-plays-or-less. Los Angeles applies this same mentality to their overall game plans, too. The Avengers have amassed a record of 33-8 when they are leading or tied at the end of the third quarter.

NOT ON MY SHIFT: Following their 2-14 inaugural season in 2003, the Crush hired head coach MIKE DAILEY, who led the franchise to the League's best turnaround with an 11-5 record in 2004. Since Dailey has taken over duties as the head coach, the Crush have never lost consecutive games. The Crush are coming off a 51-48 loss to Chicago and face Arizona this Saturday at America West Arena at 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports Net.

NO HEXING THIS VOODOO: New Orleans QB ANDY KELLY is slated to start his 123rd consecutive regular-season game when the VooDoo host the Eastern Division-leading Philadelphia Soul (2-1) this Sunday at noon ET on NBC. The streak is the all-time record for consecutive starts by a quarterback. The next closest active streak is this week's opponent, Philadelphia QB TONY GRAZIANI, who will be starting his 50th straight game dating back to the start of the 2002 season with Los Angeles.

BREAKIN' THE MOLD(EN): Entering Week 4 of the AFL season, former Montana receiver and Chicago Rush WR/LB ETU MOLDEN is the top player in AFL Fantasy, averaging 35.3 fantasy points per game. He's followed closely by New Orleans VooDoo QB ANDY KELLY and San Jose SaberCats WR/LB JAMES ROE, who are tied for the No. 2 spot with 35.0 points per game.

This Sunday on NBC at 12 p.m. ET, from New Orleans Arena, Kelly, OS AARON BAILEY (54 fantasy points in Week 3) and the VooDoo (2-1) host the Philadelphia Soul (2-1), which has three players among the Top 15 overall fantasy leaders. Soul QB TONY GRAZIANI, WR/DB SEAN SCOTT and OS STEVE SMITH are in a six-way tie for the No. 9 position.

Here are the Top 15 Fantasy Point Players entering Week 4 of the AFL season (by average FP/G):

TOP AFL FANTASY POINT PLAYERS OVERALL
RANK PLAYER, POSITION TEAM FP/G
1 Etu Molden, WR/LB Chicago 35.3
2t Andy Kelly, QB New Orleans 35.0
2t James Roe WR/LB San Jose 35.0
4 Henry Douglas, OS Chicago 34.0
5t Troy Bergeron, OS Georgia 32.3
5t Shane Stafford, QB Tampa Bay 32.3
7 Aaron Bailey, OS New Orleans 31.7
8 Lawrence Samuels, WR/LB Tampa Bay 31.3
9t Siaha Burley, OS Arizona 31.0
9t John Fitzgerald, QB Austin 31.0
9t Tony Graziani, QB Philadelphia 31.0
9t Leon Murray, QB Nashville 31.0
9t Sean Scott, WR/DB Philadelphia 31.0
9t Steve Smith, OS Philadelphia 31.0
15 Raymond Philyaw, QB Chicago 30.3



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 17, 2005


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