Burley Doesn`t Mind Reduced Impact
Steven Herbert
Sunday March 30, 2003
That’s not even taking into account that the Avengers (6-2) will be facing one of the four other Arena Football League teams they share the league’s best record with at the season’s halfway point.
“It’s going to be extremely tough on us,” Los Angeles coach Ed Hodgkiss said. “There are a lot of things we’ll have to stay focused on.”
One challenge is playing at Orlando’s TD Waterhouse Centre, nicknamed The Jungle.
During the team’s practice sessions at West Los Angeles College, Hodgkiss had the inflatable barrier surrounding the field rounded to simulate the TD Waterhouse Centre’s rounded end zones.
The Avengers have never played at the TD Waterhouse Centre, but some of their players have.
“It’s tough playing at their field,” said Los Angeles wide receiver/linebacker Greg Hopkins, who played at the TD Waterhouse Centre with the Albany/Indiana Firebirds. “Their crowd’s always loud. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
A victory would make Sunday’s game a landmark occasion for the Avengers, as it would put them five games above .500 for the first time in their four-year history and give them their first four-game winning streak.
Sunday’s game marks the return of Los Angeles wide receiver-defensive back Siaha Burley to the TD Waterhouse Centre, where he played the past two seasons with the Predators. Only the now-retired Lamont Cooper gained more all-purpose yards than Burley’s 4,547 in 2001 and 2002.
Burley has not be able to match that productivity through his first eight games with the Avengers since being acquired in a Dec. 11 trade for a player to be named later, catching 10 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns and making a team-high 23 kickoff returns for 446 yards.
Unlike many professional athletes who would complain about diminished statistics, Burley said he is satisfied with his amount of receptions.
“There’s no need for me to catch any more balls,” said Burley, who made 88 catches in 12 games in 2001 and 78 in 12 games in 2002. “Our offense is so productive. [It is] one of the best, if not the best in the league.
“I’m all about winning. [Quarterback Tony] Graziani, [offensive specialist] Chris [Jackson] and Hopkins have the connection. You can’t break that up. They have something special. I don’t need to come in here and break anything up. I’m just happy to come in here and do anything I can offensively to help us win.”
Burley is Los Angeles’ best player playing the S position, Hopkins said.
“He gives us a whole ‘nother element,” Hopkins said.
When Hopkins played for Indiana, he had to defend Burley and recalls him as being “real shifty.”
“He could make plenty of moves and make lots of people miss,” Hopkins said. “His yards after catch have always been a large part of his success.”
After mainly being used as an offensive specialist with Orlando, Burley said he likes playing defense with the Avengers.
“It’s fun to go out there and show my athletic ability and show that I can make plays on that side of the ball also,” said Burley, who has made 13.5 tackles, broken up three passes and recovered a fumble. “It makes me worth more and gets me on the field so I can help the team.”
Hodgkiss said Burley has fulfilled his expectations.
"When he came to us, Chris Jackson and Greg Hopkins were already established in our offense," Hodgkiss said. "We were looking for Siaha to come in and be a quality two-way player for us and he`s done that. He`s done a great job on the defense. Offensively, he gives us a lot of depth.
“Part of being a quality team is that you have some depth and that’s what Siaha’s really brought us. When he gets the opportunity, he’s an impact guy.”
When asked if Burley would be making more catches in the season’s second half, Hodgkiss said: “Besides a running play, we never call a play to a certain player. We just call a pass pattern. Whatever the defense does determines who we go to.”
Steven Herbert began covering Arena Football in 1988, the league’s second season. He has covered the sport for The Associated Press, Arizona Republic, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Providence Journal-Bulletin, Palm Beach Post, Daily Oklahoman and other publications. Herbert has also written on college and NFL football for The Washington Post and spent five years as a Los Angeles Times staff writer.
