Fantasy Look: Week 1 Review
Patrick Daly
Wednesday February 2, 2005
Off to a good start
QB Tony Graziani made it clear why Philadelphia wanted him so badly by leading the Soul to a 66-35 win over Austin. Graziani did stumble a bit with three interceptions, but his eight touchdowns and 352 yards passing more than made up for it. Only Tampa Bay QB Shane Stafford, the AFL Offensive Player of the Week, matched Graziani’s touchdown total for the week, a total that Stafford also hit twice last season.
Graziani and Soul OS Steve Smith seem to be on the same page as Smith grabbed five touchdowns and added 131 yards receiving against the Wranglers. The duo of QB Sherdrick Bonner and OS Siaha Burley got Lary Kuharich’s offense rolling for Arizona on the road in Grand Rapids. Bonner tossed six touchdowns and ran for another, while Burley grabbed four of Bonner’s six tosses. It looks like Bonner will be out at least the next two weeks, which means QB Joe Germaine will have to step in for at least a few games.
Chicago’s Etu Molden is off to a fast start in his sophomore season, with five combined touchdowns against Dallas, three receiving and two rushing, while QB Raymond Philyaw tossed six touchdowns in the overtime loss. On the other side, Dallas QB Clint Stoerner made an excellent start to his AFL career as the former Cowboy threw for 398 yards and six touchdowns, which means good things are in store for WR/DB Will Pettis, OS Jason Shelley and WR/LB Bobby Sippio, who combined to catch five of Stoerner’s six touchdowns.
Another newcomer made his presence known in Georgia, where Force OS Troy Bergeron grabbed three touchdowns and added 116 yards receiving in the win over New Orleans. The VooDoo did get a good performance from new QB Andy Kelly, who tossed six touchdowns and threw for 356 yards. Speaking of solid veterans, Colorado OS Damian Harrell and Tampa Bay OS Freddie Solomon got started quickly as each caught three touchdowns and racked up over 100 yards receiving. Finally, Las Vegas FB/LB Frank Carter made his presence known with three rushing touchdowns for the Gladiators in their win over Los Angeles.
Coulda been better
Although, they did record a win Las Vegas’ star tandem of QB Clint Dolezel and OS Marcus Nash didn’t start where they left off last season. Nash’s 116 yards receiving and one touchdown are still a decent game, but not a performance befitting my top overall pick. Dolezel did toss three touchdowns along with throwing for 251 yards, but it’ll take more to keep both players near the top of the list at their respective positions.
In Grand Rapids, OS Chris Jackson was blanked by Arizona and accounted for only 73 receiving yards. It didn’t help that QB Nick Browder had trouble hanging on to the ball, fumbling four times and losing two while tossing just two touchdowns. If that’s an indication of what we’ll see in the next fifteen games, Jackson won’t be much help to you this year.
Orlando’s Steve McLaughlin didn’t get off to an auspicious start against Colorado, missing both field goal attempts and hitting only three of his six point after tries. I don’t imagine head coach Jay Gruden will be patient for long, but McLaughlin is certainly better than those numbers indicate.
In Tampa Bay’s thrashing of the 2004 ArenaBowl champions, San Jose QB Mark Grieb spread the ball around, but only managed three touchdowns. With OS James Hundon on IR, Grieb will have to rely more on WR/LB James Roe and newcomer Rodney Wright at offensive specialist.
Quick outs
Nashville QB Leon Murray got the Kats off to a good start with five combined touchdowns (three passing and two rushing) in the win over Columbus… WR/DB Damien Groce gave Columbus something to look forward to with two touchdowns and 113 receiving yards, while steady WR/LB Cornelius White added two touchdown grabs… Austin OS Tacoma Fontaine showed 2004 was no fluke with two touchdowns and 91 yards receiving… Dallas FB/LB Ja’mar Toombs made the most of his opportunities with one catch and one run, each of which he turned into scores… Georgia QB Jim Kubiak made a solid return after missing 2004 by tossing five touchdowns against New Orleans… The AFL’s Ironman of the Week, Philadelphia WR/LB Sean Scott, was right at home with Graziani with 91 yards receiving and two scoring grabs.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
