Sports stats



AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

Quick Hitters

May 31, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


NFL QB DEBUT: Last week in New York's 44-37 win against Detroit, former New York Giants QB DANNY KANELL made his AFL debut and recorded outstanding numbers (18-14-80 / 3 TD, 1 INT) when he relieved QB MATT NAGY in the second half and led the Dragons back from a 10-point deficit for a their second win of the season... It wasn't the first time a former NFL starter made an impact in his first AFL game:

* ART SCHLICHTER, Detroit - 22-11-166 / 3 TD, 1 INT/ Win vs. Pittsburgh (1990)
* MIKE PAGEL, Massachusetts - 30-15-214 / 2 TD/ Win vs. Las Vegas (1994)
* PETER TOM WILLIS, Tampa Bay - 32-21-224 / 4 TD, 1 INT/ Win vs. Arizona (1997)
* BROWNING NAGLE, Orlando 30-17-260 / 5 TD/ Win vs. Nashville (1999)
* TOMMY MADDOX, New Jersey - 41-22-232 / 1 TD, 2 INT/ Loss vs. Orlando (2000)
* ERIK WILHELM, Los Angeles - 22-13-147 / 3 TD/ Loss vs. Houston (2001)
* TONY GRAZIANI, Los Angeles - 17-11-128 / 5 TD, 1 INT/ Win vs. Arizona (2001)

WE'RE NO. 1... IN MANY WAYS: Averaging a record 67.3 points per game, the SaberCats (6-0) are on track to become the league's first undefeated team (The 1972 Miami Dolphins set that original standard for pro football)... The 1994 Orlando Predators fell just 2 points shy of finishing 12-0... Last year, the New York Dragons, behind AARON GARCIA's 104 TDs averaged a record 64 points (finished 8-6)... The SaberCats are the first team in history to score 70 or more points 3 consecutive games (last week: 77-54 vs. Dallas)... They rank No. 1 scoring offense (67.3), rushing offense (32.7), pass defense, and total sacks... QB MARK GRIEB is tops in pass rating with 36 TDs to just 1 INT... Here's a look at how AFL teams that started 6-0 finished up:

* TEAM, YEAR, YEAR-END RECORD (Final Game)
* Chicago Bruisers, 1988, 10-1-1 (Lost Arena Bowl II)
* Detroit Drive, 1993, 11-1 (Lost Arena Bowl VII)
* Orlando Predators, 1994, 13-2 (Lost Arena Bowl VII)
* Anaheim Piranhas, 1996, 9-5 (Lost first round of playoffs)
* Tampa Bay Storm, 1996, 15-2 (Won Arena Bowl X)
* Orlando Predators, 2000, 14-3 (Won Arena Bowl XIV)
* Tampa Bay Storm, 2001, 10-5 (Lost first round of playoffs)

QUAD CITY MEMOIRS: While first-year New Jersey head coach FRANK HAEGE has turned around a team that won just 6 games in the last two seasons (4-2), he hasn't forgotten his roots... As head coach for the af2 Quad City Steamwheelers in 2000 and ‘01 he won two championships, going a combined 37-1... This week, against the Chicago Rush, he will see his former af2 quarterbacks battle each other... Rush QB BILLY DICKEN (188-177-1,544 / 33 TD, 8 INT) led the inaugural Steamwheelers to a 19-0 season while Gladiators QB JAY MCDONAGH (258-163-1,651 / 26 TD, 8 INT) followed Dicken and went 18-1.

FIRST DOWN!: San Jose QB MARK GRIEB continues to put up impressive numbers for the undefeated SaberCats (6-0)... Grieb, who is leading the league in passer rating (130.4) and tied for TDs (36), loves throwing on first down... The four-year veteran is among the league leaders in first down passing efficiency (72.4%), TDs (19), and TDs-INT ratio (19-to-1)... Here's a look at the top 5 passers on first down... (Minimum of 50 attempts)

PLAYER, TEAM, PASSING %, First Downs Made, TDs, INTs
* Clint Dolezel, Grand Rapids, 74.1, 46, 15, 2
* MARK GRIEB, San Jose, 72.4, 45, 19, 1
* Chad Salisbury, Toronto, 71.0, 40, 13, 3
* Matt Nagy, New York, 68.2, 34, 15, 2
* Billy Dicken, Chicago, 67.6, 43, 19, 3

CRUNCH TIME: Names like Los Angeles' CHRIS JACKSON, San Jose's JAMES HUNDON, and Grand Rapids' STEVE SMITH are plastered all over the league leader board, but there are other receivers, coaches look to during crunch time as well... Toronto's DAMIAN HARRELL and Detroit's CHUCK LEVY have both been the "go-to guys" in tough situations... Harrell leads the AFL in third-and-long percentage (47%), while Levy leads the league in fourth down percentage (70%)... Here's a look at the "Top Five" leaders for each situation... (Percentages based on the number of times a team has thrown to a player in that given situation.)

THIRD-AND-LONG SITUATIONS (5 reception minimum)
PLAYER, TEAM, REC., FIRST DOWNS MADE, TDs, PCT.
* DAMIAN HARRELL, Toronto, 6, 4, 1, 47%
* Eddie Brown, Indiana, 6, 5, 2, 46%
* Greg Hopkins, Los Angeles, 11, 8, 2, 46%
* Chris Horn, Arizona, 5, 5, 2, 42%
* Mike Furrey, New York, 5, 5, 2, 42%

FOURTH DOWN SITUATIONS (2 reception minimum)
PLAYER, TEAM, REC., FIRST DOWNS MADE, TDs, PCT.
* CHUCK LEVY, Detroit, 3, 2, 2, 70%
* Steve Smith, Grand Rapids, 3, 3, 3, 60%
* Lamont Cooper, Buffalo, 2, 2, 0, 60%
* Jarrick Hillery, Georgia, 2, 2, 2, 50%
* Antonio Chatman, Chicago, 2, 2, 1, 50%

*************************************

WEEK SEVEN SCHEDULE (All times ET)

*************************************

TONIGHT -- FRIDAY, MAY 31
Carolina at ORLANDO, 7:30 P.M. (Time Warner – tape delay)
Tampa Bay at INDIANA, 8:00 P.M. (Fox Sports Midwest, Sunshine Network)
Grand Rapids at ARIZONA, 10:00 P.M.
SATURDAY, JUNE 1
San Jo
se at BUFFALO, 7:00 P.M. (NBC3/WB20 San Jose) Toronto at NEW YORK, 7:00 P.M. (Fox Sports New York)
Georgia at DETROIT, 7:30 P.M. (Turner South)
Dallas at LOS ANGELES, 10:30 PM (Fox Sports West 2, UPN 21 Dallas)
SUNDAY, JUNE 2
New Jersey at CHICAGO, 4:30 P.M. (Fox Sports Chicago)



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 31, 2002


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central