Familiar Foe Visits the Meadowlands
Marc Viquez
Friday August 2, 2002
The Gladiators do hold a slight advantage over the Preds in that they defeated them 45-44 at Orlando in week three of the season. That Orlando team was at the beginning of a 3-game losing streak and should not be indicative of the team the Gladiators will face on Saturday.
"I don`t think you can put stock into what happened earlier in the season," said Orlando head coach Fran Papasedero, whose club finished the season at 6-3. "It`s going to be a physical game that will probably come down to who makes the fewest mistakes."
When it comes to mistakes both teams rank high in the penalty column. Orlando ranks last in the league with 141 penalties for 835 yards; while the Gladiators have had the yellow flag tossed at them 133 times for 799 yards this past season. With an average of 10 accepted-penalties each per game, expect this to be a long one.
"They have a great all-around team but it is highlighted by their defense," said Gladiators head coach Frank Haege. "They have a great pass rush and an excellent secondary."
QB Jay Gruden’s passing is key to Orlando’s success. He hasn’t missed a beat since coming out of retirement after taking his last snap in 1996 and coaching for the past five seasons. His 225-yards and 4-touchdowns against Buffalo last week enabled Orlando to win its ninth opening game out of eleven in their playoff history. Gruden is a staggering 13-2 as a starter in the playoffs when you count his days with the Tampa Bay Storm. As coach, his 8-2 record ups his tally to 21-4 in his pursuit of seven ArenaBowl championships.
"Offensively, they have Jay Gruden at quarterback. Enough said. Their receiving core can score a lot of points," said Haege.
The Gladiators took their first week off of the season, while they awaited their next opponent. The Predator team was able to defeat Buffalo, something the Gladiators have not been able to do in two seasons. Orlando’s 7-7 regular season record was noticed by Haege.
"We weren’t surprised to see Orlando again at all because they are a very good team," said Haege.
The Gladiators do not bring in a healthy resume of playoff success, going 1-2 as the Red Dogs in 1997 and 1998. They have brought in successful af2 champions, as well as veteran Arena Football champs. DS Damon Mason has won two ArenaBowl championships with the Predators,1998 and 2000.
The Gladiators are very similar to the Predators during their second season of operations. In 1991, the Predators inaugural season, the club finished 3-7 before rebounding the next season with a 9-1 record. The Gladiators, of course, finished their first season with only two victories, before winning the Eastern Division with a 9-5 record this season. Could this be the start of another Arena Football dynamo?
The Gladiators will begin their quest for the Arenabowl this Saturday, a game that will showcase the future and the past of Arena Football glory.
Southern Hospitality
After the season was over, the once mighty Orlando Predators and Tampa Bay Storm finished with not-so-impressive win totals. The Predators won the division at 7-7, while the Storm suffered their first sub-500 season in franchise history. You have to go back to the 1988 season when the Storm, then known as the Pittsburgh Gladiators, finished third in the league at 6-6. However, entering into the second weekend of playoff action, all three Southern Division representatives are alive with Orlando, Tampa Bay, and Carolina upsetting the higher seeds.
Perhaps Papasedero put it best: "Everything comes down to how you perform in the playoffs and I think the Southern Division has made a good account of themselves in the first week."
Déjà Vu
The Predators will be the Gladiators first playoff opponent, but do you remember the first playoff opponent for the New Jersey Red Dogs? It was the same Orlando club that welcomed the Red Dogs into the world of playoff football with a 45-37 victory at the Orlando Arena in 1997.
A fan of the sport since 1990 Marc has covered both the New Jersey Gladiators and Cincinnati Swarm (Af2) for Arenafan Online. Marc now resides in Indianapolis after graduating with a Masters in Sports Management from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. When not at a Firebirds game Marc can be found traveling the Midwest covering sports for various Internet and print publications.
