Second Half Turnaround Gets Tampa Bay Back into Playoffs
Adam J Locascio
Wednesday June 2, 2004
On April 11th, the Tampa Bay Storm led the Chicago Rush early in the third quarter, 24-23, when the wheels seemingly came off the bus. Rush defensive specialist Corey Sawyer stepped in front of a Shane Stafford pass, which turned into a Rush touchdown. The following possession, the Rush executed a brilliant onsides kick, which turned into another seven points.
37-24. And the Rush never looked back.
The Storm dropped to 3-7 on the season. At that point, the NBC announcers talked about the state of the Storm’s attempt to defend their ArenaBowl title.
“Is this the end of the Storm’s season?” asked one announcer.
“Yes,” said the other.
But the Storm season wasn’t over. Actually, it was just beginning.
With every win guaranteeing nothing but another week, the season turned into a series of six must-win games; a rather daunting task for any team, let alone one that was 3-7.
“We were not playing bad football, we were playing dumb football,” said Storm head coach Tim Marcum. “It was just making mistakes at the wrong time and costing us games.”
Rather than fold the tents, the Storm went to work. There was not any magic fix or single solution. The team did what they were doing, except they decided to do it better.
It began with a thrilling overtime victory over the Austin Wranglers. The Storm next went on the road and beat Columbus and Orlando, and then returned home to take down Los Angeles and New Orleans. To close out the season, the Storm defeated Dallas this past weekend, 59-57.
And with that sixth straight win came a playoff birth. The Storm’s 14th in a row.
The streak earned the Storm the seventh seed in the playoffs. The Storm had to battle past three playoff teams along with Austin, which almost squeaked into the playoffs in the final week as well.
Well what happened? How does a 3-7 team make a run for the playoffs like this?
Starting with the Rush game, the Storm made some key personnel decisions. When kicker Matt George went down with a broken clavicle, George recommended his friend Ignacio Brache as his replacement. Brache has been a solid performer converting 38-of-44 extra point attempts along with 6-of-9 field goals, one of which sent the Austin game to overtime.
OL/DL Nyle Wiren delayed season-ending shoulder surgery, opting to continue the season with a torn labrum. Wiren responded with one of his best seasons leading the teams with six sacks. The Storm also added FB/LB Umar Muhammad, OL/DL Louis Williams and DJ Cooper, along with WR/DB Shevin Smith. All have contributed mightily on the field and provided some much needed depth on both sides of the ball.
While the additions on the field have helped the Storm cause, they also received some help from the bench. Former Indiana Firebirds coach Steve DeBerg was brought in as a quarterback coach to help fine-tune the skills of Shane Stafford. Stafford has responded with some solid performances since DeBerg’s arrival, including Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against the VooDoo in Week 16, the very team that cost him his starting job in a Week 5 loss.
But the Storm’s biggest boost came from the players already on the field. Several key regulars upgraded their performance and turned in some impressive second-half performances.
DS Tramain Jones proved he had more in his arsenal than just big hits and snagged three interceptions, two coming against Avenger QB Tony Graziani who has only thrown five picks all season. Ironman of the Year candidate T.T. Tolliver has become a dangerous weapon in the return game, returning four kickoffs for touchdowns and earning Ironman of the Month honors for April. OS Freddie Solomon solidified himself as Stafford’s go-to receiver and has caught touchdown passes in 21 straight games.
“It’s good to see these guys answer to the challenge,” said Marcum. “We’ve had such a terrible year in terms of ifs, ands, and buts. These guys decided that we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
The Storm opens the playoffs this Saturday against the San Jose SaberCats, a team that handed them a 62-55 loss in Week 9. In that game, the Storm led 31-14 at the half, but a furious San Jose comeback, coupled with several Storm offensive misfires helped San Jose outscore the Storm 41-17 in the second half and 21-10 in the fourth quarter.
The Storm, however, have shown that they can make the most of a second chance. The Storm played four teams twice this season and while they were only 1-3 in their initial meetings, they were a perfect 4-0 in their rematches. The Storm are also 4-3 against playoff teams.
With three more victories, the Storm can successfully defend their title.
So the real question is, do you believe in miracles?
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.
