Storm Hope to Strengthen as Season Progresses
Adam J Locascio
Wednesday March 10, 2004
The Storm have not had an easy go of defending title number five so far, starting out the season with a 2-3 record that has left many of the Storm faithful scratching their heads. The pass rush that was supposed to be a force with several former NFL players has been inconsistent. The secondary is allowing too many big plays, and, to throw more fuel on the fire, there’s now a quarterback controversy brewing.
So, as far as storms go, we’re looking at a category five.
No one was pushing the panic button after a Week 4 victory over the Philadelphia Soul. The Storm won an ugly game in which QB Shane Stafford did not have a spectacular game, and it ended on a fourth down fumble by the Soul in the waning seconds. The Storm stood at 2-2, and it was not a bad place to be considering the player turnover and free agent losses. The impression was that the team took a few weeks to gel and was now getting ready to play as a unit.
Well, without that fumble, the Storm are in the middle of a four-game skid.
In a game that the Storm could have easily won, Stafford threw more VooDoo touchdown passes than New Orleans quarterback John Fitzgerald as three interceptions were returned for touchdowns and the VooDoo stymied the Storm, 55-43. The VooDoo did little to challenge the Storm offensively, but three defensive scores were too much to overcome.
Coach Tim Marcum pulled Stafford after only one series in the second half in favor of backup Pat O’Hara. Unlike his ArenaBowl XVII performance, O’Hara was unable to pull the Storm from the depths of the hole created by Stafford’s miscues, but he performed admirably completing 13-of-20 passes for 158 yards, no interceptions and two touchdowns, including a beautiful end zone to end zone bomb to offensive specialist Freddie Solomon.
So now the Storm faithful wait. After two lackluster games, Marcum turns the reigns of a fleeting season over to the veteran, a decision that had to be made with the high-octane New York Dragons on their way to the St. Pete Times Forum.
But what if O’Hara struggles as Stafford did? Will Marcum go back to his quarterback of the future?
Shake-ups have helped the Storm so far this season. After back-to-back losses to the Georgia Force and the Austin Wranglers, Coach Marcum changed his secondary around by benching defensive specialist Del Lee and replacing him with Jonathan Ordway. Ordway has done a respectable job, teaming with wide receiver/defensive back Tramain Jones and Antione Tolliver in the secondary. The defense has only given up 71 points in two games.
However, the overhaul on defense has not produced results in the win/loss column. Although the secondary is most certainly improved, the defensive backfield is forced to hang with their receivers for entirely too long without a consistent pass rush. The loss of lineman Kelvin Kinney to injury has stung since no one else has stepped up to anchor the line.
All is not lost for the Storm so far this season, but it is getting tense. At first glance, the Storm have gone 1-3 in the division this season, but in the unbalanced 19 team league this year, division records mean nothing as the best eight teams make it to the playoffs, regardless of conference standings.
So a win is a win is a win. But then again, so is a loss.
Also, the Storm possess an invaluable weapon in Solomon who has proved that he is no one-hit wonder after last season. Solomon leads the Arena Football League in scoring, and has been a touchdown producing maniac with 14 touchdowns in five games. And when teams decide to load up to shut down Solomon, it opens up the other four receivers for a big day.
The Storm are in their toughest quarter of the season right now, playing three of four on the road. The defense most certainly will be tested at home by Dragons QB Aaron Garcia on March 14th, before going on the road to face Carolina and Georgia.
With the loss to the VooDoo, the Storm need to at least get a split over the second quarter to make a run in the second half of the season, where they play five of their last eight games at home, which includes closing the season with three straight home games.
Adam J. Locascio is a financial advisor in the Tampa Bay area and a Board Member of the Tampa Bay Storm Surge Fan Club. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix and is a six-year season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Storm.
