SaberCats Start at the Top
Tim Ball
Tuesday February 3, 2004
San Jose starts the 2004 season already on every team’s hit list.
Chosen as the favorite to win ArenaBowl XVIII, by the Arena Football League Writers Association (AFLWA), the SaberCats are starting from a familiar place: number one.
San Jose has accomplished this by getting every player to produce. Teams that beat the SaberCats can only do it by matching them player for player every play of the game. As such, trying to highlight stars on the SaberCats is a tough task.
Last year the Detroit Fury came into San Jose and did the improbable. They beat the SaberCats and ended an eighteen consecutive home win streak.
Fittingly, the SaberCats will face the Fury in Detroit’s arena for the season opener. San Jose will have all the “pay-back” motivation they need to put a target on Detroit jerseys.
“The talent coming into the league is phenomenal,” said San Jose head coach Darren Arbet. “Coupled with the new playoff format, every game can decide where you will be come playoff time. Our guys work hard to maintain excellence and pass that on from season to season. The work they do together will decide what happens on the field. Every team faces the same challenge, but it’s players being committed to each other that will decide who is there in the end.”
San Jose will be challenged by two factors this season. Every team motivated to take out the number one team, and a playoff format that has the entire Western Division at a decided disadvantage.
While historic Southern Division powerhouse teams Tampa Bay and Orlando have two expansion teams join them, the western teams will grind it out in an intra-division rivalry of proven talent unlike any in the league’s history.
What Have You Done Lately?
Last year is history.
Every player in SaberCats camp, whether rookie or veteran, reads the press. They know, not only are the Gladiators beefed up and throwing down the gauntlet, Arizona took their place in ArenaBowl XVII, and Los Angeles has a swagger every bit as confident as the in your face style that marks San Jose’s quest for excellence.
Clevan Thomas is the AFL’s preeminent superstar and the San Jose defensive specialist is as dominating as any player in any league. Thomas is also as nice as he is talented and always willing to talk with reporters and fans.
Then, why such a quick handshake and brief smile?
“Every team is coming in this year with talent,” said the 2002 and 2003 Defensive Player of the Year. “It’s time to be in shape, and focus.”
Thomas then walked off, in shape and focused.
The SaberCats team philosophy is simple. If you make the roster, you’re as good as the next guy, starter or backup. There is very little practice. What passes for “preparation” is out and out game speed competition.
In 2002, San Jose’s quarterback Mark Grieb was felled one game shy of accomplishing perfection by a broken collarbone at Arizona in the only loss of 2002. Grieb watched from the sidelines as “backup” John Dutton picked up where Grieb left off.
Dutton, without missing a step, hit the receivers in stride all the way to the most dominating victory in ArenaBowl history. Dutton won MVP of ArenaBowl XVI and Grieb earned 2002 Offensive Player of the Year. Not a bad return on an investment for the San Jose franchise.
In 2003, Grieb was anything but completely recovered due to the short off-season between 2002 and 2003. And yet, he piloted the highest scoring offense in the league and set his team as the number one seed throughout the playoffs in consecutive years. Grieb currently ranks as the AFL’s all time leader in QB rating at 122.0.
“I never really felt 100% last season,” said Grieb. “Last year was what it was, and hopefully this year will be better.”
San Jose lost to Arizona in the semi-finals, so there can be only one meaning to Grieb’s unassuming assertion of a “better” year.
Yes, Grieb also walked off in shape and in focus.
Homecoming Party
This season sees the return of Omarr Smith. Another example of San Jose competition. By the end of 2002 Smith was the equal of Thomas, and had also earned the 2002 ArenaBowl XVI Ironman award for excellence on both defense and offense.
In 2003, Smith established himself as the only current back-to-back champion in the Arena Football League as a member of the Tampa Bay Storm. As a defensive specialist, Smith was instrumental to Tampa Bay’s victory in ArenaBowl XVII. Smith finished 2003 with 88.5 tackles and led the Storm with eight interceptions.
Smith will once again be employed on both sides of the ball by San Jose as a wide receiver/linebacker.
“It feels like I never left,” said the four-year AFL veteran about the return to San Jose. “A lot of the same guys are here and the coaching staff is the same. All of the memories just instantly come back. I feel good about it.”
It’s clear the feelings are mutual as the SaberCats signed Smith to a multi-year contract.
A Good Start
San Jose was voted as the top team for a reason.
Print out their roster and learn the names on the “hit” list. So many players produce for the SaberCats that trying to “focus” on just the stars is a waste of time. As last season proved, only by the end of the game do you know whom to highlight.
Detroit taught San Jose a lesson last year by doing their homework and preparing for those names.
With the Fury beating the SaberCats in San Jose, it’s only fair that they return the favor in Detroit. Motivation is the key to success.
Not a bad beginning to the season.
Game time is 4:30 p.m., Pacific time and the game will be televised live in the Bay Area on WB20.
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
