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Tampa Bay Storm game notes

May 22, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


The Tampa Bay Storm take on the Georgia Force this Saturday, May 26 at 7:00 p.m. EST for what is the 13th installment between the division rivals. Since 2002 each team has garnered one Southern Division title.

Tampa Bay heads back on the road to Atlanta following its only home game in a five week stretch. The Storm enters the game on an upswing, winners of four in a row and five of its last six games. Tampa Bay faces the division leading Georgia Force as they come off of only their second loss on the season.

The Storm defensive backfield is coming off of a three game stretch in which it has held opposing quarterbacks to under a fifty percent completion percentage (48.8%). It will have to continue the stellar play as it faces not only the second ranked offense in the league (334.4 yards per game) but the top ranked quarterback in the league Chris Greisen (133.0 quarterback rating)..

Only four teams in the AFL have three receivers with at least 60 receptions. Both Tampa Bay and Georgia are on that list. Each team brings with it a trio of receivers in what may be a match-up of the top two receiving corps in the AFL. Tampa Bay is led by T.T. Toliver (90), Lawrence Samuels (87) and Terrill Shaw (63) while Georgia boasts Chris Jackson (100), Troy Bergeron (90) and Derek Lee (78).

In order to slow down an efficient Georgia offense, first in the AFL in scoring and last in time of possession, the Storm defensive front will have to create pressure and get after Greisen. Linebacker Torrance Marshall and lineman Tim McGill are averaging 10 pressures a game over the past three games will have to keep up the hard work as Tom Briggs, the Storm sack leader, will try to play with a broken left hand.

On the other side of the line Marcus Owen, Tom Kaleita and Lincoln Kennedy must protect rookie quarterback Brett Dietz. They face a ferocious, AFL leading, pass rush (20 sacks) led by two former Storm players, Mike Sutton and Umar Muhammad.

Lawrence Samuels looks to extend his league leading consecutive games with a catch streak to 115 games and tie Eddie Brown for the second longest streak in AFL history.

TAMPA BAY -ARIZONA RECAP

Tampa Bay defeated Arizona 59-50 in front of 16,044 fans Friday evening to win its fourth game in a row. Rookie quarterback Brett Dietz overcame two interceptions, the first of his career, as he completed 28 of 39 passes for 352 yards, the fifth best single-game high in franchise history. He also added eight touchdowns, tying a franchise single-game high, on his way to earning Offensive Player of the Game. Two receivers, T.T. Toliver and Terrill Shaw, went over one hundred yards. Shaw surpassed 500 career receptions and 6,500 career receiving yards while Toliver surpassed 4,000 career receiving yards. ADT Defensive Player of the Game Tim McGill continued to apply pressure on the quarterback registering nine pressures, one tackle and one pass breakup. The defensive backfield continues to play well, although it gave up a season high 337 passing yards, it has held opposing quarterbacks to a 48.8 percent completion percentage over the past three games and a 52.1 percent completion percentage over the past six games. Ironman of the Game Lawrence Samuels recorded his 28th career interception as well as maintained his league leading 114 consecutive games with a catch, tied for the third longest streak all-time in the AFL.

TAMPA BAY - GEORGIA

All-Time Regular Season Records

Tampa Bay

Overall: 169-90, (.653) Home: 91-39, (.700) Away: 75-50, (.600) Neutral: 3-1, (.750)

Georgia

Overall: 49-40, (.551) Home: 26-18, (.591) Away: 23-22, (.511) Neutral: 0-0, (.000)

2007 - @ TAMPA BAY L, 47-61

Four touchdowns by Rodney Filer were not enough to over come the Georgia Force as they defeated the Tampa Bay Storm 61-47 ... Tampa Bay moved to 0-3 and Georgia moved to 3-0 ... The score was 40-40 to begin the fourth quarter ... After a Matt Huebner one-yard scamper into the endzone, Lawrence Samuels fumbled as he tried for extra yards giving Georgia the ball ... Derek Lee scored on the next play to put Georgia up by 14 ... The Storm were unable to respond as the ensuing kickoff bounced off of the net and Georgia recovered the loose ball for a touchdown and a 21 point swing ... Ironman of the Game Filer rushed for 43 yards, tying the Storm 10th best single-game effort ... T.T. Toliver led all players with 239 yards of total offense ... Force QB Chris Greisen went 22 of 26 for 242 yards with seven touchdowns ... John Kaleo went 29 of 38 for 296 yards and three touchdowns ... Jeroid Johnson came up with a big interception in the endzone seconds before halftime to prevent the Force from taking a 14 point lead at the half ... Tampa Bay out gained Georgia 327 yards to 260 ... The Storm lost the turnover battle 2-1, two fumbles to the Force's one interception ... Both teams had nine penalties however Tampa Bay was hit for 63 yards to Georgia's 48 ... Georgia held Tampa Bay 0-2 on fourth down conversions ... Georgia had one sack for a loss of nine yards, Tampa Bay did not record a sack.

SERIES HISTORY

This is the 12th meeting and seventh game in Georgia ... The Storm lead regular season series 7-4 and trail the playoff series 1-0 ... Tampa Bay are 3-3 against the Force in Atlanta, including a loss in the first round of the 2005 Playoffs in Atlanta ... The Force have a two game win streak against the Storm ... The Storm have outscored the Force 625-605 in the series ... The winner of the past four games has scored at least 61 points ... Tampa Bay has outscored Georgia 282-277 in Atlanta ... Storm averaged 47 points while Force averaged 46.2 points in Atlanta ... This is Marcum's 11th game against the Force he has a 5-5 record, he is 5-5 in the series ...This is Doug Plank's seventh game in the series he is 4-2 against Tampa Bay ... Tampa Bay averaged 56.8 points a game, 54.1per win and 49.2 per loss ... Georgia averaged 55.0 points per game, 61.2 per win and 42.7 per loss ... Three games have been decided by 7 or fewer points, Tampa Bay is 3-0 in those games ... Four games were decided by 14 or more points, Tampa Bay is 2-2 in those games ... Tampa Bay's average margin of victory is 11.4 points, largest is 29 and smallest is 1 ... Storm average loss is 12.0 points, biggest loss by 16 and smallest loss by 8 ... 16,572 fans is the largest crowd to watch a Tampa Bay-Georgia game 2/10/06 in Tampa ... 13,032 fans is the largest crowd to watch this match-up in Atlanta 3/26/06 ... Tampa Bay has a four game win streak, the first four games in the series ... Georgia has two two-game win streaks, currently on a two-game win streak ... Tampa Bay's 15th highest scoring game, 67 points, came against Georgia in Tampa 7/20/02 ... Georgia has the second highest points by an opponent against Tampa Bay with 70 in Tampa 2/13/04 ... They have played one overtime game, won by the Storm 67-61in Tampa 7/20/02 ... Tampa Bay's highest point total against Georgia is 67, 7/20/02 in Tampa ... It's lowest point total against Georgia is 40 - 5/8/05 in Atlanta ... Georgia's highest point total is 70 in Tampa 7/20/02 ... It's lowest point total is 24 in Atlanta 3/27/04 ... Tampa Bay has held Georgia under 40 points four times ... Tampa Bay has given up over 50 points seven times ... Georgia has not held Tampa Bay under 40 points, but had held Tampa Bay under 50 five times ... Georgia has given up over 50 points seven times ... Tampa Bay Has scored 60 or more points three times ... Georgia has scored 60 or more points six times.

STORM FAMILY TIES

Georgia has two former Storm Players, fullback/linebacker Umar Muhammad and lineman Mike Sutton ...In 2006 Muhammad set career-highs with 30 carries and 50 yards with the Storm ... He also rushed for four touchdowns and corralled 15 total tackles along with two sacks ... Sutton played in nine games in 2005 with the Storm and accumulated 12 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one blocked kick and returned his only interception 32 yards

LAST TIME VS. THE FORCE

QUARTERBACK

Brett Dietz - Rookie will make fourth consecutive start ... First game vs. Georgia ... Has a 122.7 QB rating ... Leads the AFL with a fourth-quarter passer rating of 142.8 ... Storm is 4-0 since Dietz joined the lineup.

RECEIVERS

Lawrence Samuels - His 12th career game against Georgia, one of those games was a playoff game ... Last game vs Georgia 3/17/07 he led all receivers with 12 catches for 112 yards, also had 1 assist tackle on defense...In the 2/10/06 match-up he returned a Matt Nagy interception 23 yards on his way to earning U.S Army Ironman of the Game honors. .. In 11 career games he totaled 3-100 yard games, 70 receptions for 864 yards and 10 TDs ... Defensively he has 18.5 tackles, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 sack and 2 pass breakups.

Terrill Shaw - Sixth game against the Force ... Earlier this year he had 6 receptions for 64 yards against Georgia ... On 4/22/06 Shaw had his second best single-game performance against Georgia with 11 catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns, earning Offensive Player of the Game honors ... Georgia is one team Shaw has had his most success against with 38 receptions for 554 yards and 12 TDs.

T.T. Toliver - Fifth career game against Georgia...Last game vs. Georgia, 3/17/07, he accumulated 239 total yards (89 receiving, 150 on kickoff returns)...Earned Ironman honors on 5/18/03 with 4 receptions for 61 yards and 1 touchdown, one missed field goal return for 16 yards, three kickoff returns for 66 yards and 3 tackles...In 4 career games against Georgia he has amassed 649 total yards with 5 TDs, 12 tackles, and 1 interception.

Karl Williams - Made AFL debut against the Georgia Force ... first career touchdown came on 6-yard pass from John Kaleo, only TD scored by Storm in the 4th quarter vs. Georgia on 3/17/07... Karl had 3 receptions for 24 yards in that game.

FULLBACKS

Jarrod Penright - Rushed three times for eight yards and a touchdown an recorded 2.5 tackles against Georgia 2/10/06. He was on IR at Georgia 3/26/06 with a leg injury ... He did not accumulate any stats against Georgia on 3/17/07... Ironman vs Georgia while with Indiana on 3/20/04 with 4 rushes for 8 yards, 2 receptions for 19 yards and 1 TD, 2.5 tackles, .5 sack, and 1 QB hurry.

Torrance Marshall - Rushed five times for 20 yards and two touchdowns in two contests against Georgia in 2006 with the Austin Wranglers ... He also garnered 2 tackles, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup on defense ... Made one tackle vs Force on 3/17/07 ... This is his fourth game against Georgia.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Jeroid Johnson - Fourth career game against Georgia ... 20.5 tackles, 3 interceptions and 1 forced fumble in first three games ... MVP of game vs. Georgia on 3/29/03 with 7.5 tackles and two interceptions.

Khalid Naziruddin - Rookie will start 9th consecutive game and first against Georgia ... Second on team with 45.5 tackles ... Third on team with two interceptions (tied with Wiren).

Traco Rachal - First career start against Georgia ... Third on team with 35.5 tackles.

Ronald 'Bo' Rogers - First career game against Georgia for this rookie ... Has made an impact with special teams play.

LINEMAN

Marcus Owen - This is his sixth contest against Georgia...3/17/07 vs Georgia, had one blocked kick and one QB hurry.

Tom Briggs - Made 4 tackles against Georgia on 3/17/07.

Ernest Certain - On 2/10/06 in Tampa he recorded 2.5 tackles including one tackle for a loss ... Certain added another tackle at Georgia 3/26/06 ... He recorded no stats in the previous meeting between the two teams this season.

Tim McGill - Played against Force with New York Dragons 2/8/04 at Georgia ... Did not accumulate any stats ... In two career games vs. Georgia he recorded one tackle.

Lincoln Kennedy - This is the rookie's first career start against Georgia.

Tom Kaleita - One reception for 7 yards vs. Georgia on 3/17/07 ... Injured wrist in last meeting.

Mark Word - 1 tackle for a loss of 3 yards in his only appearance vs. Force (3/17/07).

RAC-ING UP YARDS

Tampa Bay's 100-yard Receivers

162 yards - T.T. Toliver, (12 rec., 2 TD) at San Jose 3/31

144 yards - Terrill Shaw (8 rec., 3 TD) vs. Arizona 5/18

136 yards - Terrill Shaw (10 rec., 2 TD) at Orlando 4/14

135 yards - T.T. Toliver (10 rec., 1 TD) at Austin 5/6

128 yards - T.T. Toliver (11 rec., 3 TD) vs. Arizona 5/18

126 yards - T.T Toliver, (9 rec., 2 TD) at Dallas 3/10

124 yards - Demetris Bendross (10 rec., 2 TD) vs. Orlando 3/2

117 yards - Lawrence Samuels (11 rec., 1 TD) vs. New York 3/23

114 yards - T.T. Toliver (7 rec., 1 TD) vs. Columbus 4/29

105 yards - Lawrence Samuels (11 rec., 0 TD) vs. Georgia 3/17

100 yards - Terrill Shaw (6 rec., 1 TD) at Los Angeles 5/12

Tampa Bay's 30-yard Rushers

31 yards - Rodney Filer (7 carries, 3 TD) at Dallas 3/10

43 yards - Rodney Filer (10 carries, 4 TD) vs. Georgia 3/17 - Tied for 10th Storm single-game high

37 yards - Torrance Marshall (13 carries, 3TD) vs. New Orleans 4/7 - 13 attempts in a game is 2nd single-game high

Tampa Bay's 200-Yard Club: All-purpose yardage

239 yards - T.T. Toliver (89 receiving and 150 kick return) vs. Georgia 3/17

219 yards - T.T. Toliver (128 yards receiving and 91 kick return yards) vs. Arizona 5/18

LEADERS OF THE PACK - Where They Stand All-time in the AFL

John Kaleo: Rushing Touchdowns, 56 - 10th all-time; Passing Attempts, 4878 - 4th all-time; Completions, 2939 - 4th all-time; Passing Yards, 35,244 - 5th all-time; Passing Touchdowns, 581 - 5th all-time; Games Played, 160 - 10th all-time.

Lawrence Samuels: Receptions, 864 - 3rd all-time; Receiving Yards, 10,101 - 9th all-time; Tackles, 433.5 - 15th all-time, ; Interceptions, 28 - T22nd all-time; Interceptions returned for a TD, 7 - T4th all-time; Defensive Fumble Recoveries, 33 - 1st all-time; Fumble Return Yards, 101 - 1st all-time; Forced Fumbles, 19 - T4th all-time; Most Seasons-One Team, 13 - T2nd all-time; Games Played, 182 - 3rd all-time; Consecutive games with a catch, 114 - T3rd all-time, longest current.

Tom Briggs: Forced Fumbles, 18 - T6th all-time; Sacks, 46 - 2nd all-time.

Jeroid Johnson: Forced Fumbles, 18 - T6th all-time; Interceptions, 32 - T14th all-time; Interception Return Yards, 471 - 3rd all-time; Interceptions returned for a TD, 7 - T4th all-time; Tackles, 420 - 19th all-time; Pass Breakups, 89 - 12th all-time.

LIGHTS ... CAMERA ... ACTION - Hollywood comes to Tampa

Storm offensive coordinator Pat O'Hara works for Reel Sports Solutions in the off season where he works as a consultant for big budget films such as "The Waterboy," "Any Given Sunday," "We are Marshall," and "The Game Plan." This past summer the coaching staff helped to shoot a reality series based on indoor football. Several members of the Storm have worked on or in films including Nyle Wiren, Ernest Certain and Marcus Owen.

Member of Tampa Bay Storm with Movie Connection

Pat O'Hara - The Waterboy (1998), Any Given Sunday (2000), The Longest Yard (2005), Invincible (2006), We Are Marshall (2006), and The Game Plan (2007).

Nyle Wiren - 'Any Given Sunday,' 'Longest Yard,' 'We Are Marshall' and 'The Game Plan'

Ernest Certain - 'Invincible'

Marcus Owen - 'Longest Yard' and 'The Game Plan'

TRAVELING MAN

New quarterback Brett Dietz will play football anywhere there is pigskin ... He began his career at Division III Hanover College where he set DIII records ... Then took his show on the road to Finland where he played in the Finnish Professional American Football League with the Turko Trojans http://www.turkutrojans.com/news_in_english/ ... He led the league in passing and led the Trojans to Maple Bowl XXV ... He then hit the National Indoor Football league where he played for the Cincinnati Marshals ... From there it was off to Tampa and the AFL with the Storm on the Practice squad which then led to a productive stop in af2 with the Lousiville Fire ... With the Fire he set af2 a blaze earning Rookie of the Year ... Next up is Training Camp with the Chicago Rush ... A trip to Buffalo to visit the Bills ... Almost to the airport to go to Spokane, but derailed to head to the Kansas City Brigade for a spot on its practice squad ... Last stop - Tampa Bay as back up quarterback and now starting quarterback... Whew what a journey.

ARENABOWL XXI - New Orleans, a city renowned for sports championships, will host its first team championship since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina when ArenaBowl XXI is played at New Orleans Arena on Sunday, July 29, 2007 at 2 p.m. CT on ABC.

TAKING A U-TURN IN MID-SEASON

The Tampa Bay Storm winners of four in a row and five of their past six games began the season 0-5. Roster moves, personnel changes and health have played a part in the reversal of fortunes. So have an improved offensive line, defensive unit and sticky hands. In weeks 6-11, as compared to the first five, the Storm gave up fewer sacks and turnovers, allowed fewer yards and points and held strong in key situations. A much maligned defensive backfield has stepped up and made key plays as Khalid Naziruddin and Traco Rachal have taken to the leadership of Jeroid Johnson. The offensive line, beset with injuries early in the season, finally started the same group in consecutive weeks in Weeks 10-11. The continuity has caused sacks to drop in half from eight in the first five games to only four in the following five games. Guys are taking better care of the ball evidenced by 13 giveaways in the first five games to only seven Weeks 6-11. Additionally they are getting to the other team more collecting five more turnovers in Weeks 6-11 than in the first five games of the season.

Statistical Improvement

After Week 5 Category After Week 11

Rank - Stat Rank - Stat

16th - 60.0 Opp. Pts./Game 10th - 51.8

15th - 305.8 Opp. Total Off. 3rd - 279.0

13th - 279.2 Opp. Pass Yds. 2nd - 257.0

16th - 26.6 Opp. Rush Yds. 13th - 21.3

17th - 58.8 Opp. 3rd Down Conv. 4th - 41.8

14th - 21.8 Opp. 1st Down/Game 4th - 18.1

15th - 18.9 Opp. KO Ret. Avg. 11th - 18.1**

16th - (-6) Turnover Differential 9th - (-1)

15th - 7 Interceptions Thrown 6th - 8

11th - 7 Take-Aways 9th - 19

** Week 9 we played Columbus - 1st in AFL with 21.3 KO return average.

HOW ABOUT A DARE: YOU THROW THE BALL WE'LL HIT YOU.

The defensive backfield is not shy about hitting opposing defensive backs evidenced by Khalid Naziruddin hitting Jeremiah Pope over the wall to breakup a pass last week against Arizona. Traco Rachal currently has 35.5 tackles and is on pace for 65.0 which would rank as the eighth most in Storm history, and he'll get there in 11 games. Khalid Naziruddin currently has 45.5 tackles and is on pace for 74 tackles. That would rank as the 6th most by any Storm player in one season. He ranks tied 6th among all rookies in total tackles and solo tackles. Jeroid Johnson currently has 71.0 tackles and is on pace for 103 which would be the 2nd highest single-season total behind 114 by Tramain Jones in 2004. He is currently 9th in the league this season and his 420 career tackles is 19th all-time.

NOT ONLY CAN HE HIT, HE MAKES HITS

Defensive back Traco Rachal is the biggest defensive back on the team and looked upon to play a physical style of game with opposing wide outs. A tough guy on the field he is a genuine good guy off of the field. While he spends the off-season working with kids at the YMCA he also put performances on with his Christian rap group. Traco and his fellow rappers travel to local community centers and churches to put on performances for the kids. He strives to bring a positive role model into the lives of young people.

ARENA QB RATING: The debate has gone on for years in the AFL... Does the outdoor QB Rating really translate to the indoor game? In a game where possessions and completion percentage dictates whether you win or lose, AFL stats guru, Tom Goodhines came up with a different formula that puts more weight on "TD-INT ratio" and completion percentage and no emphasis on yardage. Here's how it works: TD% = TDs divided by TDs + INT ARENA QB FORMULA: Multiply the TD% by 2 and add the completion % and divide it all by 3. Since the AFL is a different game, below is the current ranking of the top 10 QBs based on the rating system for AFL QBs:

QB TEAM COMP % TDs INT AFL RATING

Greisen GEO 73.9% 84 8 85.5%

Germaine UTA 68.9% 85 9 83.2%

Dolezel DAL 69.6% 72 8 83.2%

Philyaw KCB 70.5% 57 7 82.9%

Garcia NYD 65.2% 29 3 82.1%

Grieb SJS 71.0% 74 11 81.7%

Stafford ORL 65.6% 52 6 81.7%

Cumbie LAA 63.7% 59 7 80.8%

D'Orazio CHI 66.7% 55 8 80.4%

Salisbury GRR 64.0% 40 6 79.3%

Brett Dietz does not yet qualify; if he did qualify he would be the fourth rated quarterback with an 83.1% rating. ** (67.4 + (90.9 x 2))/3 = 83.1%

SWEET HOME FLORIDA

The Storm currently has 12 players on the roster that have ties to Florida. Six players have played college football in the State of Florida while 11 enjoy the sunshine state year round.

COLLEGE'S REPRESENTED:

Bethune-Cookman: (1) T.T. Toliver

Florida: (1) Clint Mitchell

Florida A&M: (2) Ernest Certain and Rod Williams

Jacksonville State: (1) Mark Word

South Florida: (1) Clenton Crossley

THOSE WHO CALL THE STATE OF FLORIDA HOME:

These players did not play college football in the State of Florida, yet the found a way to enjoy the sun: Hank Edwards, John Kaleo, Torrance Marshall, Lawrence Samuels, Ronald 'Bo' Rogers and Nyle Wiren. Among those who went to school in Florida and still live here are; Ernest Certain, Clenton Crossley, Clint Mitchell, T.T. Toliver and Rod Williams.

AGE OR EXPERIENCE . . . WHICH MATTERS MOST

Tampa Bay began the season as the most experienced team in the Southern Division by more than 20 years, and the oldest team in the Southern Division. Due to roster moves and injuries that is no longer the case. Currently the Storm wide receivers/defensive backs have the highest combined experience and average age in the division while the quarterback position is the lowest in the division. Tampa Bay also has the second most rookies on its roster. *(only active roster considered)

TAM ORL AUS NWO GEO |

Yrs of Exp. 69 39 48 61 83 |

Avg. Age 29.7 27.6 26.3 28.0 30.8 |

QB 0/25.5 6/28.5 1/25 13/33 2/28 |

WR/DB 39/31.3 6/25.4 25/28.2 14/27.1 30/28 |

OL/DL 24/30.3 23/30.0 16/26.9 19/28 38/31.4 |

FB/LB 6/27.5 5/26.7 3/26.5 11/27.8 8/29.6 |

¬Rookies 9 5 7 8 4 |

(yrs of exp./avg. age) as of 5/21

SACK FULL-O-BRIGGS

In need of a stronger pass rush Coach Marcum sought out a true sack-master. Tom Briggs wasted no time proving why Tampa Bay signed him this past off-season. It only took Briggs his first game in a Storm uniform to wrap up the opposing quarterback for his 42-career sack. Briggs has recorded five sacks in eleven games this season along with 21 pressures and three forced fumbles. He now sits alone in second place all-time on the AFL career sack list with 46.

AFL All-Time Sack Leaders

Player Sacks # Seasons Teams

Sam Hernandez 59.0 13 Charlotte, Las Vegas, Anaheim and San Jose

TomBriggs* 46.0 11 Ana., Portland, Oklahoma, Dallas, Austin, TB

James Baron* 44.0 11 Nashville (pre-GEO), Chicago and Nashville

Sylvester Bembery 43.0 13 N.England, Albany, Tampa Bay, Buffalo

* Currently Active

CATCHING ON TO THINGS

All-Arena performer Lawrence Samuels is catching up to those ahead of him on the all-time career receptions list. He currently is in third place with 864 receptions and needs 36 to become the third player in AFL history to reach 900 receptions. He is also tied for the third longest streak of consecutive games with a reception all-time, 114 games, one behind Eddie Brown (115) in second place.

AFL All-Time Reception Leaders.

Player Rec. # Seasons Teams

Barry Wagner 991 15 Orlando, San Jose

Eddie Brown 950 10 Albany, Indiana

Lawrence Samuels* 864 14 Tampa Bay, New Jersey

Damian Harrell* 856 8 Albany, St. Louis, Nash/Ga., Austin, Nash

Cory Fleming 846 10 Nashville, Carolina, Orlando, Nashville

Greg Hopkins 832 11 Albany, Indiana, Los Angeles

AFL All-time Consecutive Games with a Reception Leaders

Player Team Games

Cory Fleming Orlando 128

Eddie Brown Indiana 115

Lawrence Samuels* Tampa Bay 114

Darryl Hammond Nashville 114

Damien Harrell* Colorado 112

Barry Wagner San Jose 111

*active

INJURY REPORT

Player POS Injury Status

Tom Briggs QB L. Hand Probable

Lincoln Kennedy OL R. Knee Probable

Jarrod Penright FB/LB R. Quad Questionable

Clint Mitchell DL L. Groin Questionable

Geir Gudmundsen OL L. Ankle Questionable

Byron Jones DB L. Hamstring Questionable

Rodney Filer FB L. Ankle/Leg Out

Rod Williams OL R. Ankle Out

Stoney Case QB R. Shoulder Out

Nyle Wiren LB L. Elbow Out

John Kaleo QB L. Wrist Out

O'HARA NAMED OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

Former Tampa Bay Storm quarterback Pat O'Hara has been named the team's offensive coordinator. The AFL veteran finally hung up his spikes at the conclusion of the 2006 season as he seeks to enter a career in coaching.

O'Hara is in his fifth season with Storm (second as a coach) and 13th season in the AFL. He is best remembered by Storm fans for relieving quarterback John Kaleo in the second half of ArenaBowl XVII and leading the Storm to their fifth ArenaBowl championship.

O'Hara owns three ArenaBowl rings and has played in five championship games. He spent the first six seasons of his career with the Orlando Predators, where he won ArenaBowl championships in 1998 and 2000. He also was with the Toronto Phantoms in 2001 and 2002. O'Hara has thrown for more than 13,000 yards and 200 touchdowns in his AFL career.

TONS OF EXPERIENCE ON THE SIDELINE

If there's one thing the Storm coaching staff has, it is Arena Football coaching experience with the addition of Pat O'Hara. Headed by Tim Marcum, the AFL's all-time winningest coach, the four-man coaching staff has a total of 42 years of AFL coaching experience entering this season.

Marcum is in his 19th season in the AFL, all as a head coach. He enters his 13th season in Tampa Bay, and prior to that served as the head coach of the Detroit Drive and Denver Dynamite. Under his guidance his teams have won seven ArenaBowl titles and have played in 10 of the 20 championship games.

Storm assistant coach Dave Ewart is in his fifth season with the Storm and his 13th season in the AFL. Prior to joining the Storm he served as head coach of the Florida Bobcats, Texas Terror and St. Louis Stampede. He served as an assistant with the Bobcats, Stampede, New England Sea Wolves, and Cleveland

Thunderbolts.

Assistant coach Eddie Vowell is in his fourth season with the Storm and his 8th year in the AFL. He was an assistant coach with the Austin Wranglers and the Grand Rapids Rampage.

YOU BRING THE FOOTBALL WE'LL BRING THE BUTTER

Lawrence Samuels, Jeroid Johnson and Tom Briggs sit fourth and (2) tied for sixth respectively on the AFL all-time forced fumbles list. A list led by none other than Barry Wagner. Briggs has two on the season.

Player FF # Seasons Teams

Barry Wagner 32 15 Orlando and San Jose

Sam Hernandez 24 13 Charlotte, Las Vegas, Anaheim and San Jose

Damon Mason* 22 12 Orl., N. J., L.V., Carolina, G. Rapids and Austin

Lawrence Samuels* 19 14 Tampa Bay and New Jersey

E.J. Burt 19 5 Chicago, Philadelphia, Orlando

Jeroid Johnson* 18 8 New Jersey/Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando, TB

Tom Briggs* 18 11 Ana., Portland, Oklahoma, Dallas, Austin, TB

* Currently Active

JUST KICKIN' IT

Rookie kicker Seth Marler began the season with the Storm just one day before the Week 3 match-up against the Georgia Force ... The third kicker in three weeks for Tampa Bay ... He kicked long in his opener and secured position on the team ... He has made (.930) percent of all kicks second in the AFL and tops amongst rookie kickers ... He is 7th in made field goals (9) and second in field goal percentage (.818), first among all rookie kickers ... He has two misses, one was a blocked kick, the other was more of a kickoff ... He is third in the league in PAT percentage (.950) ... After missing two in his first game he did not miss for 48 consecutive kicks, second longest recorded streak in history of AFL ... Marler has improved the kickoff coverage with his booming kicks regularly hitting the net and has 17 touchbacks.

FIRST TIMERS

The Tampa Bay Storm's active roster for the 2007 season features 16 players making their Storm debuts, including seven rookies. AFL veterans Tom Briggs, Jeroid Johnson, Torrance Marshall, Tim McGill, Marcus Owen, Traco Rachal and Terrill Shaw are in their first season with the Storm. AFL rookies Brett Dietz, Tom Kaleita, Lincoln Kennedy, Seth Marler, Khalid Naziruddin, Bo Rogers, B.J. Symons, Karl Williams and Mark Word will make their AFL debut with the Storm. Dietz, Kaleita, Kennedy, Naziruddin, and Word are starting.

HEY ROOK

The Storm has always been a veteran-laden team under head coach Tim Marcum. This season started of that way, as the Storm opening day active roster included only three rookies: Tom Kaleita, Dwayne Morgan and Mark Word. However, six additional rookies did make the roster only to find their way to the practice squad or injured reserve list. Beginning the season on the practice squad were Khalid Naziruddin and Karl Williams. Starting the season on injured reserve was Hank Edwards, B.J. Symons, Bo Rogers and Clint Mitchell. However these rookies have been added since the start of the season: Geir Gudmundsen, Week 3; Lincoln Kennedy, Week 5; Clenton Crossley, Week 5; Brett Dietz, Week 8 and Jeremy Darveau, Week 10.

WHEW . . . HAS IT BEEN THAT LONG

Storm wide receiver Lawrence Samuels begins his 14th season in the AFL. Samuels has tied Hunkie Cooper for second all-time seasons played with one team, as 2007 is his 13th campaign with the Storm.

MOST AFL SEASONS WITH ONE TEAM

Player Team # Seasons YEARS

Sherdrick Bonner* Arizona 14 1993-98, 2000-07

Lawrence Samuels* Tampa Bay 13 1994-2000, 2002-07

Hunkie Cooper Arizona 13 1993-2005

* Indicates active

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

Legendary AFL head coach Tim Marcum enters his 13th season as head coach of the Tampa Bay Storm in 2007 and his 19th overall as an AFL head coach. A charter member of the Arena Football League Hall of Fame, Marcum's AFL coaching legacy is unmatched and his incredible on-field achievements continue to overwhelm.

Marcum is the winningest head coach in Arena Football history. He enters the 2007 season having won seven ArenaBowl championships and has coached in ten of the league's 20 ArenaBowls. Marcum is the only coach in Arena Football history to lead three different teams to ArenaBowl championships (Denver, Detroit, and Tampa Bay), and is the AFL leader in victories (186), games coached (269-regular season, 35-post season), and postseason victories (25).

ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES

Coach Team Wins This Week

Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 185 @ Georgia

Danny White Utah 153 @ Orlando

Mike Hohensee Chicago 114 @ Arizona

Mike Dailey Colorado 108 @ Grand Rapids

Darren Arbet San Jose 101 @ Nashville

Michael Trigg -- 84 --

STRINGING ALONG KICKS

Rookie Kicker Seth Marler has the longest streak of consecutive extra points converted this season. He is 57 of 60 on the season, missing two of his first three kicks in his first game. Since then he converted 48 consecutive kicks on PATs from 3/17/07 to 5/12/07. The longest streak recorded in the AFL is 49 by Clay Rush with Colorado from 2/26/06 to 4/30/06.

Longest consecutive streaks of made extra point attempts this season.

Name # Start End/Current Team

Seth Marler 48 03/17/2007 05/12/2007 TAM

Mark Lewis 39 03/31/2007 05/20/2007 AUS (current)

Dan Frantz 32 03/18/2007 04/21/2007 CHI

Todd Sievers 32 03/16/2007 04/16/2007 DAL (start of season)

Jason Witczak 29 04/14/2007 05/05/2007 NAS

Remy Hamilton 24 04/06/2007 04/28/2007 LAA

Eric Houle 20 03/03/2007 03/24/2007 NVD

FILLING IN FOR FILER

Even though Rodney Filer is out for the rest of the season after suffering a broken left leg and dislocated left ankle he ended Week 4 as one of the leading rushers in the AFL. He was third in rushing yards with 94 and second in rushing touchdowns with nine. Stepping into his shoes is Torrance Marshall; he has rushed 38 times for 79 yards and eleven touchdowns. He is tied as the 15th ranked rusher after only six games filling in and is fifth in rushing touchdowns. He is five rushing touchdowns from setting the Storm single-season high. He recorded the second most rushing attempts in a single-game vs. New Orleans.

YOU'RE IN GOOD HANDS WITH LAWRENCE

With one of the best set of hands in the league, Samuels is the receiver you want to go to when you need those hard yards. He currently is tied for 11th in the league in Third-Down receptions with 12. Siaha Burley, of the Utah Blaze, currently leads the league with 19. Terrill Shaw is tied for 11th with 12.

THE OVAL OFFICE

Recently acquired offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy is the first NFL first round draft pick to dress for the Tampa Bay Storm. A three-time Pro Bowl Tackle he sent 11 years in the NFL and spent time as an analyst on the NFL Network. His first game, he set the tone on the offensive line as all four rushing touchdowns came on the right side of the line behind him.

RUN ... T.T. ... RUN

T.T. Toliver leads the Storm with 1132 yards from the line of scrimmage good for 10th in the AFL and is 13th with 60 first downs made (Two rushing and 58 receiving). Additionally, Toliver is seventh in the league in all-purpose yardage with 1640. He leads the team in receiving with 90 receptions, 1109 yards and 17 touchdowns; kick returns with a 20.5 average; leads Storm in special team tackles with 10.

All-Purpose Yardage Leaders

Name Yards Team

1. Timon Marshall 2642 Grand Rapids

2. Will Pettis 1897 Dallas

3. Siaha Burley 1867 Utah

4. Charles Pauley 1790 Philadelphia

5. Damien Groce 1767 Columbus

7. T.T. Toliver 1640 Tampa Bay

MAKING HIS CASE

Quarterback Stoney Case has three career AFL career starts this season after spending four years as a backup. It had been over seven years since he was a starting quarterback. He was 48 of 73 for 540 yards and six touchdowns; he has also run in two touchdowns. He is lost for the season, on IR with a dislocated shoulder, and making progress rehabbing his shoulder.

BOWLIN' 'EM OVER

Khalid Naziruddin is a bowler in his free time that carries an average of over 200 a game. He participates on a local radio show on bowling. He also may be the hardest hitter in the defensive backfield. A rookie this season he has shown a penchant for knocking down receivers and sending them over the wall. He is quickly getting a reputation for his hard-hitting style.

MAN ... THEY LOOK FAMILIAR

Storm quarterback John Kaleo is a 14-year AFL veteran who has played in 160 games 10th most in the AFL. The Storm is the 10th team that he has quarterbacked. The Storm face four former Kaleo led teams a total of fives times this season. The teams faced this season are San Jose, Columbus, Austin and Los Angeles. He also played for Albany, Cleveland, St. Louis, Anaheim and New England. John is currently on IR and may miss the rest of the season with an injury to his left wrist.

G SQUARED, TWO PASSIONS

Offensive lineman Geir Gudmundsen has two passions, football and art. While playing for the Storm he maintains a website www.g2-arts.com to display artwork, football and talent. Geir has been drawing ever since he could hold a pencil. His work consists of portraits, figurative work, still life, charcoal landscapes, and pencil drawings using a simplistic composition structure. Some works he applies using a very tight, photo-realistic approach of subject matter. His specialty is portraits, using charcoal his preferred medium.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 22, 2007


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