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Tampa Bay Storm game notes

May 29, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


The Tampa Bay Storm tavel to the 'Big Easy' to take on the New Orleans VooDoo Saturday, June 2 at New Orleans Arena (8:00 p.m. EST). This is a big game for both teams as Tampa Bay is one game out of the final playoff spot in the National Conference and New Orleans is two games out.

Tampa Bay looks to rebound from a tough loss in Atlanta this past weekend to the Georgia Force. Meanwhile New Orleans will try to put an end to a five game slide. With an injury to VooDoo quarterback Andy Kelly this past Monday against New York there is a good chance that each team will start a rookie quarterback.

In what may be a preview of the AFL's next generation of quarterbacks Brett Dietz will start his fifth game, he is 3-1 as a starter, while Steve Bellisari would make his second start this season after a quality performance this past Monday on ESPN2.

If Dietz and Bellisari do start it would mark a sharp departure at the quarterback position for each team. Tampa Bay and New Orleans each began the season with veteran quarterbacks in John Kaleo and Andy Kelly.

Kaleo and Kelly have a combined 28 years of experience, played in 335 games and are each scattered among the top five in every AFL all-time quarterback statistical category. In contrast, Dietz and Bellisari have a total of five starts and 11 combined games of total experience.

Helping Dietz is a tremendous trio of receivers: T.T. Toliver, Lawrence Samuels and Terrill Shaw. If Samuels and Shaw each collect 80 yards, the Storm will be the third team this season to have three players with 1,000 all-purpose yards.

Regardless of which quarterback starts for the Voodoo Tyronne Jones is the primary target. In only eight games Jones leads all VooDoo receivers with 69 catches for 757 yards and 23 touchdowns. Additionally, Jones' has 1,429 all-purpose yards which ranks 12th in the AFL.

Lawrence Samuels looks to extend his league leading consecutive games with a catch streak to 116 games. That would move him past Eddie Brown for the second longest streak in AFL history. Also, with 53 yards receiving he will surpass Greg Hopkins and move into seventh place all-time in career receiving yards.

TAMPA BAY -GEORGIA RECAP

Tampa Bay fell to Georgia 52-38 in a manner reminiscent of their Week 3 showdown. Tampa Bay led 38-31 with less than 11 minutes left in the game. However, interceptions on each of Tampa Bay's next three possessions cost the Storm the ball game. In The Week 3 match-up the score was tied 40-40 in the fourth before the Force pulled away, after two Storm turnovers, for a 61-47 victory. Ironman of the Game Reggie Doster picked off three Brett Dietz passes including two in the fourth quarter. ADT Defensive Player of the Game Jermaine Smith returned his fourth quarter interception for a touchdown. The Tampa Bay defensive backfield kept two of Georgia's three receivers in check the entire game. However the one receiver that broke free was Offensive Player of the Game Chris Jackson who led all receivers with 13 catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns. T.T. Toliver led the Storm with nine receptions for 84 yards and 113 all-purpose yards. That was his fifth consecutive game with over 100 all-purpose yards and 10th of the season. Torrance Marshall rushed five times for 13 yards and scored his 12th touchdown on the season, his first in three games.

TAMPA BAY - NEW ORLEANS

All-Time Regular Season Records

Tampa Bay

Overall: 169-91, (.650) Home: 91-39, (.700) Away: 75-51, (.595) Neutral: 3-1, (.750)

New Orleans

Overall: 24-20, (.545) Home: 15-7, (.682) Away: 9-13, (.409) Neutral: 0-0, (.000)

2007 - @ TAMPA BAY W, 66-43

Torrance Marshall rushed for three touchdowns and the Storm defense came up with six turnovers as Tampa Bay defeated New Orleans 66-43 in front of 16,644 fans ... The Storm defense knocked Andy Kelly out of the game and intercepted Steve Bellisari four times ... It was Tampa Bay's first win on the season to go to 1-5 ... The loss put New Orleans at 3-3 ... Stoney Case led an efficient Storm offense completing 19 of 23 passes for 197 yards and three scores, he added one more on the ground ... Torrance Marshall finished with 37 yards on 13 carries (2nd highest single-game carry total in Storm history) and added three touchdowns ... ADT Defensive Player of the Game was Nyle Wiren, he intercepted two Bellisari passes in the second quarter to catapult the Storm to a 42-23 lead at the half ... Terrill Shaw caught his 125th career touchdown ... DL Tom Briggs recorded his 18th career forced fumble on what was his fourth sack on the season ... OL/DL Marcus Owen played who played 75 snaps, forced a fumble that he recovered and returned 26 yards ... DB Khalid Naziruddin recorded his first career interception ... Tampa Bay committed two turnovers and New Orleans six ... New Orleans had 346 yards of total offense, Tampa Bay 249.

SERIES HISTORY

This is the 6th meeting and third game in New Orleans ... The Storm lead regular season series 3-2 ... The two teams have not met in the playoffs ... Tampa Bay is 0-2 against the VooDoo in New Orleans ... The Voodoo won the first meeting 55-43 at New Orleans 3/7/04 ... The Storm have a two game win streak against the VooDoo, as each team alternated victories prior to this seasons game ... The home team has won each game in this series ... The Storm have outscored the VooDoo 257-233 in the series ... New Orleans has outscored Tampa Bay 103-85 in New Orleans ... Storm averaged 42.5 points while VooDoo averaged 51.5 points in New Orleans... This is Marcum's 6th game against the VooDoo he has a 3-2 record versus New Orleans ...This is Mike Nue's 6th game in the series he is 2-3 against Tampa Bay ... Tampa Bay averaged 51.4 points a game, 57.3 per win and 42.5 per loss ... New Orleans averaged 46.6 points per game, 51.5 per win and 43.3 per loss ... One game has been decided by 7 or fewer points, Tampa Bay is lost that game ... Three games were decided by 10 or more points, Tampa Bay is 2-1 in those games ... Tampa Bay's average margin of victory is 14.0 points, largest is 23 and smallest is 8 ... Storm average loss is 9.0 points, biggest loss by 12 and smallest loss by 6 ... 17,244 fans is the largest crowd to watch a Tampa Bay-New Orleans game 5/23/04 in Tampa ... 16,503 fans is the largest crowd to watch this match-up in New Orleans 2/25/05 ... Tampa Bay's 18th highest scoring game, 66 points, came against New Orleans in Tampa 4/7/07 ... New Orleans has the 34th highest points by an opponent against Tampa Bay with 55 in New Orleans 3/7/04 ... They have played one overtime game, won by the VooDoo 48-42 in New Orleans 2/25/05 ... Tampa Bay's highest point total in New Orleans is 43 on 3/7/04 ... It's lowest point total against the Voodoo in New Orleans is 42 on 2/25/05 ... Voodoo's highest point total in New Orleans against Tampa Bay is 55 3/7/04 ... Voodoo's lowest point total in New Orleans is 48 2/25/05 ... Tampa Bay has held New Orleans under 40 points one time ... Tampa Bay has given up over 50 points two times ... New Orleans has not held Tampa Bay under 40 points, but had held Tampa Bay under 50 three times ... New Orleans has given up over 50 points twice times ... Tampa Bay has scored 60 or more points one time ... New Orleans has not scored 60 or more points.

STORM FAMILY TIES

Storm assistant head coach Dave Ewart coached VooDoo line coach Junior Ili in 1995-96 with the St. Louis Stampede, where Ewart was the defensive coordinator in 1995 and head coach in 1996. Ili played on the offensive and defensive line . . . Eric Houle played with Rodney Filer in 2006 at Las Vegas . . . Henry Bryant played with Tom Briggs and Torrance Marshall in 2005-06 at Austin . . . Anthony Hines played with fullback Jarrod Penright in 2004 with the Albany Firebirds . . . Andy Kelly was a teammate of Tom Briggs in 2002 with the Dallas Desperados . . .Troy Mason played with T

LAST TIME VS. THE VooDoo

QUARTERBACK

Brett Dietz - Will start his fifth consecutive game, first against New Orleans ... Has a 108.8 QB rating ... QB rating leads all AFL rookie quarterbacks ... Completion Percentage is 67.3, tied for 6th highest in league and tops amongst rookie quarterbacks ... Storm is 4-1 since Dietz joined the lineup.

B.J. Symons - Rookie will dress for his fifth game ... Has not seen any action this season.

RECEIVERS

Lawrence Samuels - Last game vs. VooDoo 4/7/07 had 5 catches for 61 yards and one TD, also recorded 1.5 tackles with one fumble recovery ... Has 30 career catches for 268 yards and two TDs in five games against the Voodoo ... Recorded his 100th career touchdown reception at New Orleans 2/25/05 ... Defensively he has 9.5 tackles, one forced fumble and one pass breakup in five contests.

Terrill Shaw - This is his second career game against the VooDoo ... On 4/7/07 Shaw had 5 receptions for 74 yards and 2 TDs ... Has 322 yards and six TDs in past three games.

T.T. Toliver - Fourth career game against the VooDoo ... Previous meeting earlier this year he had 10 receptions for 91 yards and one TD plus one tackle on defense ... In three career games vs. VooDoo he has 16 receptions for 158 yards and one TD ... He also has 11.5 tackles, a 19-yard fumble recovery on defense and returned 5 kicks for 69 yards.

Karl Williams - Rookie's second game against the VooDoo ... In Week 6 match-up he had five KO returns for 48 yards.

FULLBACKS

Torrance Marshall - Second career game against New Orleans ... On 4/7/07 had 13 rushes for 37 yards and 3 TDs ... He also chipped in five pressures and one tackle on 13 defensive snaps.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Jeroid Johnson - Has owned New Orleans in his 2 career games against the VooDoo ... On 4/7/07 had 8 tackles, 1 pass breakup and returned an interception 45 yards for a TD ... Earned ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors on 3/20/05 as a member of the Chicago Rush when he recorded nine tackles, one forced fumble, one pass breakup and returned a recovered fumble 11 yards.

Khalid Naziruddin - Rookie will make 10th consecutive start and second against New Orleans ... In first game against New Orleans he recorded 11.5 tackles and returned one interception for 24 yards.

Traco Rachal - Second career game vs. New Orleans ... On 4/7/07 he had 3.5 tackles and one pass breakup.

Ronald 'Bo' Rogers - First career game vs. New Orleans ... Rookie has made an impact with special teams play and has earned more playing time in the defensive backfield.

LINEMAN

Marcus Owen - Second career game against the VooDoo ... On 4/7/07 he played Ironman football as he appeared in 74 plays, had 0.5 tackle, 4 QB hurries, 1 forced fumble that he recovered and returned 26 yards.

Tom Briggs - In five career games vs. New Orleans he accumulated 7.5 tackles, three quarterback hurries, 2 tackles for a loss of 6 yards, one forced fumble, one sack for a 4 yard loss and two receptions for 22 yards and one touchdown ... Earlier this year he lived in the New Orleans backfield recording 3.5 tackles, 2 of which went for 6 yards in losses, one forced fumble, one sack for a loss of 4 yards and three pressures.

Ernest Certain - Has played New Orleans five times and accumulated six tackles, one sack, one pass breakup and one QB pressure ... He also caught two passes for five yards ... Recorded one reception for 2 yards and one tackle on 4/7/07 vs. VooDoo.

Tim McGill - This is his second game against New Orleans ... Had 1 pass breakup and 5 pressures vs. New Orleans in previous game this season.

Lincoln Kennedy - Made first career start against VooDoo 4/7/07.

Tom Kaleita - First game against New Orleans ... Missed game against the VooDoo in Week 6 due to injured left wrist.

Mark Word - Rookie will play second career game against the VooDoo ... Had one tackle and one pass breakup on 4/7/07 vs. New Orleans.

RAC-ING UP YARDS

Tampa Bay's 100-yard Receivers

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

152 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

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

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

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, 873 - 3rd all-time; Receiving Yards, 10,248 - 8th all-time; Tackles, 436.0 - 14th 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, 183 - 3rd all-time; Consecutive games with a catch, 115 - T2nd all-time, longest current.

Tom Briggs: Forced Fumbles, 19 - T4th all-time; Sacks, 46 - 2nd all-time.

Jeroid Johnson: Forced Fumbles, 18 - T6th all-time; Interceptions, 33 - T13th all-time; Interception Return Yards, 471 - 3rd all-time; Interceptions returned for a TD, 7 - T4th all-time; Tackles, 424.5 - 19th all-time; Pass Breakups, 90 - 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 39.5 tackles and is on pace for 62.0 which would rank as the eleventh most in Storm history, and he'll get there in 11 games. Khalid Naziruddin currently has 53.5 tackles and is on pace for 83 tackles. That would rank as the fourth most by any Storm player in one season. He ranks fifth among all rookies in total tackles and third in solo tackles. Jeroid Johnson currently has 75.5 tackles and is on pace for 100.5 which would be the 2nd highest single-season total behind 114 by Tramain Jones in 2004. He is currently tied for eight in the league this season and his 424.5 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.

YOUNG GUN-SLINGERS: ROOKIE ARMS - Where Does Dietz Stand among Rookie Quarterbacks

Brett Dietz came from Kansas City's practice squad to help lead a resurgent Tampa Bay Storm ball club. He entered his rookie season during a Week 9 victory over Columbus. Since then (after becoming the starter) he has led Tampa Bay to a 3-1 record. He currently is the top rated rookie quarterback in the AFL and is 12th overall in the league, ranking ahead of AFL greats John Dutton and Andy Kelly. Dietz leads all rookie quarterbacks in completion percentage and is tied for 6th overall in the AFL.

ROOKIE QUARTERBACK RANKINGS

RATING COMP. PERCENTAGE

1. Brett Dietz 108.8 1. Dietz 67.3

2. Steve Bellisari, (NOV) 102.7 2. Jones 66.0

3. Jeff Smoker, (NAS) 102.0 3. Lang Campbell, (AUS) 65.8

4. Brian Jones, (LVG) 100.7 4. Davey 63.2

5. Rohan Davey, (NYD) 98.0 5. Bellisari 60.3

INT % TD%

1. Shaun King, (LVG) 3.5 1. Bellisari 17.5

2. Dietz 3.6 2. Dietz 13.7

3. Jones 3.8 3. Davey 13.4

4. Bellisari 4.8 4. Smoker 13.2

5. Davey 5.3 5. King 11.8

SWEET HOME FLORIDA

The Storm currently has 11 players on the roster that have ties to Florida. Five players have played college football in the State of Florida while 10 enjoy the sunshine state year round.

COLLEGE'S REPRESENTED:

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

Florida: (2) Clint Mitchell

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

Jacksonville State: (1) Mark Word

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, Darren Hambrick, 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. 60 40 46 55 79 |

Avg. Age 31.4 27.7 26.5 27.1 28.4 |

QB 0/25.5 6/28.5 1/26 13/33 2/29 |

WR/DB 34/31.6 6/26.7 26/29.1 17/27.3 30/28.6 |

OL/DL 22/29.4 23/31.3 16/27.5 14/28.3 39/30.9 |

FB/LB 4/28.5 5/28.3 3/26.5 11/28.5 8/30.3 |

Rookies 9 5 7 10 4 |

(yrs of exp./avg. age) as of 5/29

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 873 receptions and needs 27 to become the third player in AFL history to reach 900 receptions. He is also tied for the second longest streak of consecutive games with a reception all-time, 115 games, 13 behind Cory Fleming (128) in first 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* 873 14 Tampa Bay, New Jersey

Damian Harrell* 868 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

Lawrence Samuels* Tampa Bay 115

Eddie Brown Indiana 115

Darryl Hammond Nashville 114

Damien Harrell* Colorado 113

Barry Wagner San Jose 111

*active

INJURY REPORT

Player POS Injury Status

Tom Briggs QB L. Hand Probable

Lincoln Kennedy OL R. Knee Probable

Lawrence Samuels WR/LB Lacerations Probabe

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 FB/DL Ribs/Lung 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, Tom Briggs and Jeroid Johnson sit tied for fourth (2) and in 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

Tom Briggs* 19 11 Ana., Portland, Oklahoma, Dallas, Austin, TB

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

Jeroid Johnson* 18 8 New Jersey/Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando, 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 (.935) percent of all kicks second in the AFL and tops amongst rookie kickers ... He is tied for fifth in made field goals (10) and first in field goal percentage (.833) ... 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 (.954) ... 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 20 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; Jeremy Darveau, Week 10 and Darren Hambrick, Week 13.

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 (270-regular season, 35-post season), and postseason victories (25).

ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES

Coach Team Wins This Week

Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 186 @ New Orleans

Danny White Utah 154 COLORADO

Mike Hohensee Chicago 115 @ Los Angeles

Mike Dailey Colorado 108 @ Utah

Darren Arbet San Jose 102 ORLANDO

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 3/17/2007 5/12/2007 TAM

Mark Lewis 48 3/31/2007 5/27/2007 AUS (current)

Dan Frantz 32 3/18/2007 4/21/2007 CHI

Todd Sievers 32 3/16/2007 4/16/2007 DAL

Todd Sievers 30 4/27/2007 5/26/2007 DAL (current)

Jason Witczak 29 4/14/2007 5/05/2007 NAS

Remy Hamilton 24 4/06/2007 4/28/2007 LAA

Eric Houle 20 3/03/2007 3/24/2007 NVD

Steve Videtich 19 5/12/2007 5/26/2007 UTA (current)

Seth Marler 13 5/18/2007 5/26/2007 TAM (current)

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 44 times for 94 yards and twelve touchdowns. He is tied as the 13th ranked rusher after only seven games filling in and is tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns. He is four 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 10th in the league in Third-Down receptions with 13. Siaha Burley, of the Utah Blaze, currently leads the league with 23. Terrill Shaw is tied for seventh with 13.

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 1217 yards from the line of scrimmage good for 10th in the AFL and is tied for 10th with 67 first downs made (Two rushing and 65 receiving). Additionally, Toliver is eighth in the league in all-purpose yardage with 1753. He leads the team in receiving with 99 receptions, 1193 yards and 17 touchdowns; kick returns with a 19.9 average; leads Storm in special team tackles with 10.

All-Purpose Yardage Leaders

Name Yards Team

1. Timon Marshall 2843 Grand Rapids

2. Will Pettis 2071 Dallas

3. Siaha Burley 2058 Utah

4. Damien Groce 2038 Columbus

5. Chris Jackson 1934 Georgia

8. T.T. Toliver 1753 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.

SIX HANDS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

Tampa Bay trio of receivers, Lawrence Samuels, T.T. Toliver and Terrill Shaw, are one of the best in the league. Each receiver brings a different and unique ability to the passing game. Toliver is the speed guy, Shaw is your man over the middle and Samuels is the tough one. This trio of receiver is one of only five in the league with at least 60 receptions. The other teams are Colorado, Georgia, Los Angeles and San Jose.

LEADING RECEIVER TRIOS

Colorado Georgia Los Angeles San Jose Tampa Bay

D. Harrell - 107 C. Jackson - 113 K. Ingram - 95 J. Roe - 98 Toliver - 99

B. Pyatt - 82 T. Bergeron - 96 R. Turner - 73 B. Nelson - 96 Samuels - 96

R. Redd - 62 D. Lee - 83 L. Jackson - 62 R. Wright - 70 Shaw - 69

1,000 YARD CLUB

As of Week 13 only two teams, San Jose and Austin, have three players with over 1,000 all-purpose yards. Tampa Bay's trio of receivers, Toliver, Samuels and Shaw are close to becoming the third group of players to do so this season and the second trio to do so in franchise history. If Samuels can get 79 yards and Shaw can get 74 yards against New Orleans they will become the second trio of players to accomplish this feat in 2007. The 2006 Storm team was the first in franchise history to accomplish this feat; it took until Week 16 (no bye week) to do so. This feat has been accomplished 47 times in AFL history.

1,000 ALL-PURPOSE YARDS CLUB

NAME G RUSH REC FG KOR IR TOT NEEDS

T.T. Toliver 12 24 1193 78 458 0 1753 --

Terrill Shaw 12 0 904 0 22 0 926 74

Lawrence Samuels 12 0 880 0 3 38 921 79

JUST FOR KICKS

Not only is kicker Seth Marler having a phenomenal rookie season, he is having a great season by any standard. He is one of the most accurate kickers in the AFL.

2007 KICKING LEADERS

FG% - (min. 5 atts.) PAT% - (min. 20 atts.) OVERALL % -

1. Seth Marler, (TAM) - 83.3 1. Sievers - 97.5 1. Sievers - 94.4

2. Mark Lewis, (AUS) - 63.6 2. Lewis - 95.8 2. Marler - 93.5

3. Todd Sievers, (DAL) - 62.5 3. Marler - 95.4 3. Lewis - 88.2

4. Jason Ball, (COL) - 60.0 4. Carlos Martinez, (GEO) - 95.2 4. Remy Hamilton,(LA) - 88.1

5. Peter Martinez, (CLB) - 58.8 5. Jay Taylor, (ORL) - 92.4 5. A.J. Haglund,(SJ) - 87.7

CLICK-CLICK, WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE

Tampa Bay enters its contest against New Orleans ranked fifth in the league in red-zone defense. The Storm defense keeps opposing offenses that enter the red-zone out of the endzone 30.4 percent of the time and off of the scoreboard 21.7 percent of the time each category ranks fifth in the AFL.

Team Poss Pts TD TD% FG Score Score%

1. San Jose 60 288 40 66.7 4 44 73.3

2. Orlando 61 292 41 67.2 4 45 73.8

3. Arizona 50 249 34 68.0 4 38 76.0

4. Los Angeles 64 325 44 68.8 8 52 81.3

5. Tampa Bay 46 230 32 69.6 4 36 78.3

6. Las Vegas 52 286 38 73.1 8 46 88.5

7. Dallas 58 300 43 74.1 2 45 77.6

THIRD TIMES A CHARM - NOT ALWAYS THE CASE

The Storm defense brings to New Orleans the fourth rated third-down defense. This is when the heat is turned up and the pressure is put on the opposing offense to produce. Defensive stops are what help lead a team to victory. When you get one your halfway there.

Team 3DPct Made Att

1. Philadelphia 38.8 31 80

2. San Jose 40.0 34 85

3. Dallas 41.4 36 87

4. Tampa Bay 43.3 29 67

5. Los Angeles 45.5 35 77

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 29, 2007


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