SaberCats Prepared to Hold the Line (or Bust through it)
January 16, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Jan. 16, 2004) â Over its 18-year history, the Arena Football League has built its reputation on quick passes and high scores. The term âestablish the ground game' typically is nowhere to be found on most game plans. That wasn't the case in San Jose last season, resulting in the SaberCats scoring the most points in AFL history.
"I would agree with the statement that a lot of other teams don't put the same focus and make the fullback more of a grunt work kind of job," said SaberCats' fullback/linebacker coach, Anthony Ross. "We understand that part of the game and devote a lot of time in practice to running the ball and catching balls out of the backfield. I think we feature the fullback more than most teams do."
The effectiveness of San Jose's use of the run game was more than evident last season. Keala Keanaaina led the AFL in rushing as a first-year with 250 yards, while Matt Kinsinger placed third with 182 yards. Behind the lead blocking of the fullbacks, Barry Wagner, the AFL's all-time leading scorer, added a league-leading 18 rushing touchdowns, while as a team, San Jose crossed the goal line an AFL-record 47 times on the ground.
Keanaaina cites a number of factors coming together to drive the SaberCats' ground game. "We have the guys up front who are willing to get their noses dirty and fight in the trenches," said the 2003 first-team All-AFL selection. "Then we have the discipline from our coaches. Those two together â executing what we're taught to do, then having the guys that can do it - makes the difference."
Dealing constantly with the pass-first mentality of Arena Football, the SaberCats enjoy their opportunity to mix it up and play smash mouth football.
"We don't run just to keep somebody honest," said fourth-year veteran, Matt Kinsinger. "We run to gain yards and make an impression. You ask the guys on the offensive line and they love to run block. You pass block, pass block, pass block, then when you get a chance to run block and just smack a guy in the mouth, they love it."
Ross says the SaberCats' fullbacks take plenty of pride in the run game, because they know that with San Jose, they will always have a chance to be among the league leaders in rushing.
"With our guys, they know they're featured more than on most teams and take a lot of pride in having the opportunity to be in the top three every single year. With the guys we have athletically, we'll always have people in the top three."
On defense, the philosophy of the SaberCats' linebackers is simple â make life miserable for the opposing quarterback.
"We're more of the mentality of getting in peoples' faces and pushing the pocket down the middle," Ross explained. "We don't have a lot of blitzes where we're moving laterally, we try to get down the middle. We probably won't get the sacks that a lot of teams do, but we'll probably create more turnovers based on the feeling the quarterback has as the pocket is collapsing around him."
The SaberCats' made plenty of quarterbacks uneasy in 2003. San Jose led the league with 28 interceptions, the second highest amount in AFL history, and forced a league-best 38 turnovers while averaging less than one sack per game.
"We'd like the sack, but that coaching philosophy is something we've bought into, said Keanaaina. "If we're in the quarterback's face, then we'll sack the quarterback, so those kinds of things work hand-in-hand. The pressure is the key at our position."
"My way of thinking is not so much the quarterback sack, but to dent the pocket," added Kinsinger. "We have pressure coming from the outside that will force the quarterback to step up in the middle. If myself and the nose guard can push that middle back, the quarterback will have nowhere to go. The sack could come from any of the four guys rushing."
Backing up Keanaaina and Kinsinger is second-year veteran Kevin Buck, who saw significant minutes last season, recording 10 carries for 29 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 4.5 tackles on defense. Newcomer George Gordon rounds out the depth chart at the position. Ross is very confident with his group heading into the 2004 season.
"Don't be surprised to see all three among the league leaders this year," Ross claimed of Keanaaina, Kinsinger and Buck. "I think we have a chance to have the best group in the league and our guys feel good about that."
The SaberCats kickoff their 10th AFL season at Detroit on Thursday, February 5th. The home opener is set for Saturday, February 28th against the Grand Rapids Rampage at HP Pavilion. Single game tickets for all home games can be purchased at all Northern California TicketMaster outlets, on-line at www.ticketmaster.com, or in person at the HP Pavilion box office. For season or group ticket information call the SaberCats at (408) 573-5577 or visit the team's official website at www.sanjosesabercats.com.
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