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AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

Super Bowl under a roof - look familiar to Arena folks

by John Hahn
February 11, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)


What many of us Arena Football folks couldn't get used to Sunday was the absence of nets. Yes, I said nets. What were missing at Ford's Field in Detroit were nets.

Weren't they playing indoors? Four hours earlier to that boring fiasco in Ford, was another game. Oh, if you were watching ‚¬Ëœreal' indoor football, either Los Angeles at Philly or the Colorado Crush at the Georgia Force in the rematch of last season's ArenaBowl, you know there were 80 and 120 total points scored, respectively.

Compare that to 31 points and advertising that stepped over the bounds of reality. Didn't you get tired of the blond ditz, who couldn't sing, throwing pizza poppers at the less than puberty prone punk?

Some of the commercials were funny, others were repulsive. One might like the AFL promo better. Of course, some families are not going to like their sons smashing and crashing across the room, playing football ‚¬Å“indoors ‚¬Â and then blasting through the wall into the sizzling little chick's apartment as she talks on the phone.

There's enough violence on the gridiron floor, but the attraction is the action movie theme of wham, banging, and beer guzzling neophytes.

There was plenty of action if you watched either repugnant team.

KUHN WAS READY TO BE A SABERCAT

Speaking of the Super Bowl (of, ArenaBowl is one word, Super Bowl not), remember a FB-LB by the name of John Kuhn? He was signed by the SaberCats following his release from the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 3 of last year.

On December 2, the promising AFL player, was called by his agent (as told to Steve Patterson of the York , PA, Daily Record) Kip Washington, and told that the Steelers had called. Kuhn was then placed back on the Steelers' practice squad.

What a nice way to Detroit and now a Super Bowl ring for the young man. Kuhn told the Daily Record it had been a ‚¬Å“roller coaster ‚¬Â of a three months. ‚¬Å“Within 90 days I had been released by the Steelers, signed a contract with San Jose, and now suddenly I was back in Pittsburgh. ‚¬Â

On that day in December, Kuhn was three hours from the airport, heading to San Jose, which would have been another four hour flight. Seven hours to the AFL and he ends up with ‚¬Å“the ring. ‚¬Â

GROWING UP DEFENSIVE SPEICALIST

You are going to get beat as a defensive specialist in the AFL. No crying is allowed. It's a fact of life in the high-scoring, pass-frenzy Arena League, defensive players are the most vulnerable to get burned by a receiver. So, why not double cover?

It just leaves too many more options for a quarterback and someone is definitely going to be open. The best get ‚¬Ëœtorched' as some would say. Even the SaberCats' Clevan Thomas, Omarr Smith, Orlando's Kenny McEntyre and others wave their arms in frustration on occasion. What is done is adjust. These guys don't let the same thing happen over and over. And, they aren't the leading tacklers for a reason.

Colorado defensive specialist Rashad Floyd was beaten all day like a rented mule. Despite, the Crush win at Georgia, Floyd was only good on the last play, or did he hold and it was a ‚¬Å“no call ‚¬Â by the officials that cost Georgia the game?

Floyd couldn't stay with the taller, quicker receivers of the Force, particularly Chris Jackson and Derek Lee, although the 5-foot-10 Rob Carey beat him once on an ‚¬Ëœin-out' pattern that turned the league's leading tackler into a mannequin disguised as a football player.

That brings us to that favorite subject, which I have pontificated thrice prior about tackles in the AFL. One player was quoted as saying, ‚¬Å“I appreciate the fact the league places a value on tackles. ‚¬Â Whoa! They (the league) do?

San Jose's defensive specialists, and they are all-league and MVP level, Thomas and Smith, don't have a preponderance of tackles each year.

The reason is because opposing quarterbacks stay away from them. In fact, when you do throw in their areas, you either get picked off or the ball is knocked away. Rarely do Thomas and Smith get beat, but they do on occasion, because the percentages outweigh the defender because of all the passing.

NEW RULES FAVOR LESS HAPPY HANKIES

In the game at Atlanta, the officials could have been a little quieter.

And the Super Bowl officials made some horrendous calls (at least 4) that the league defended. ‚¬Å“I would like to see the referees a little less part of the game ‚¬Â said former Super Bowl and 49er QB Steve Young in his post-game assessment of the game.

Believe it or not, some of the new rules in the AFL were instituted to do just that. Leave the yellow hankies in the officials' back pocket. Last year, some of the crews (officials) in the AFL made a mockery of the game being hanky happy too many times. They slowed the game down, made it unbearable to watch on TV and just wanted to be the ‚¬Ëœshow' as so many times we see in the NBA and again Sunday in the Super Bowl.

So, now some of the rules speed up the AFL game a bit, clean it up from yellow stains on the carpet and just make it more enjoyable for the fans. We'll touch more on the subject of rules as we go through the season.

OFF THE NET NOTES FROM HONDO

As predicted, it didn't take long for the someone to pickup Kevin McKenzie...And, of course, it was the SaberCats...Mac, who played for San Jose in 2003, contributed immediately as he caught 4 passes for 45 yards, including a 7-yarder from Mark Grieb for a TD with 17 seconds remaining in the game at Las Vegas...Want to make a comeback impressive? ...Calvin Schexnayder, filling in for Rodney Wright (turf toe), caught 10 passes for 152 yards and a pair of scores...Not bad for a guy 36 who was just ‚¬Å“filling in ‚¬Â until James Roe and Wright return from injuries...Last year, in limited playing time, Schex had 21 grabs for 271 yards and five TDs...That was in just three games... Already a couple former SaberCats were released earlier in the week...WR-DB Yardon Brantley, traded to Philadelphia before the season for the proverbial ‚¬Å“future considerations, ‚¬Â was let go by the Soul and Erin Damond, a rookie DS, who played in five games for SJ last season, was given the pink slip at Utah... Evidently, Erin was beaten all night against Dallas, and Blaze head coach Danny White said it was just the start of changes to be made...See, new mid-season media guides should be available for expansion teams...DS Nate Coggins, awaiting his fate after an appeal through the AFLPA, had 4 pass breakups for Georgia in the game at home against Colorado...Coggins was given a 4-game suspension for his involvement during a pre-season scrimmage altercation with Utah... He also was fined $1,000...Georgia lineman Prentice Purnell and the Blaze lineman Garrett Smith also were suspended one game and fined $500 each...However, all fines and suspensions have been delayed pending a grievance by the AFLPA which will go before a Collective Bargaining Agreement System Arbitrator...Final decision has not been made... Say, C. David Baker, the commissioner of the AFL, is making the rounds as the season starts...Always a good interview, but the one he had with Dean Jackson, host of ‚¬Å“Under The Roof ‚¬Â on Our Sports Central internet website, was superb...In fact, in the years around since Baker became the top cheese of the league (November of 1996), have I heard the 6-foot-9, 290 pounder, who once described himself as ‚¬Å“a biscuit shy of 300 pounds, ‚¬Â or was that 400?...Doesn't matter, he was the most candid, forthright and relaxed as he's ever been heard with Dean...In fact, when asked if all the lower indoor leagues, including his own af2 level, were responsible because of the AFL and better for football, he said: ‚¬Å“Anything that's good for football, is good for the AFL. ‚¬Â...Jerry Jones, owner of both the Dallas Cowboys and the Desperados, once echoed those same thoughts in this manner: ‚¬Å“Whether it is Arena, indoor or whatever ‚¬" it is all football and that's the business we are in. It doesn't matter what league or level, it's still the same game. ‚¬Â... Baker said the challenge is always solid ownership along with boosting attendance and a consistent diet of television exposure...He can be proud of his accomplishments: 1. In the last six years there have been nine expansion teams (8 NFL owners). 2. Attendance is up 41% over the last three seasons, and 3. More than 90% of this season's games are on television, at one level or another, with NBC and FSN leading the way...If you are wondering who backup QB Matt Sauk is, well look no further than the af2 record book...Sauk was the af2 Offensive Player of the Year in 2005 with a record 99 TD passes for the Louisville Fire...The former Utah State signal caller had played four seasons in af2, three after serving as Tony Graziani's backup in 2002 at Los Angeles, had collected 345 TDs...No wonder he was so effective Sunday after Graz went out on the Soul's first possession with a jammed index finger on his throwing hand...Sauk was 17 of 29 and three scores...So much for backups...Remember, wearing the right hat for the write project is even more fun!



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 11, 2006


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