War on I-4 XXXVI
Jason Lucas
Thursday February 10, 2005
Since 1991 the Predators and Storm have gone at it in some of the most epic battles in AFL history. The two teams have met three times with an ArenaBowl birth on the line and they have met two times in the ArenaBowl with both teams taking home one championship.
Friday night will mark the first time since the 2000 season that Orlando and Tampa Bay have met on a Friday in the Jungle. Friday nights in the Jungle and Saturday nights in Tampa are where this rivalry was founded and this year as a treat the fans get both games on Friday and Saturday, and on Sun Sports in Florida. This is something I feel the league knew needed to be rectified, as Tampa Bay and Orlando games were not meant for Sunday afternoons. Something about Friday nights in Orlando brings out the loudest, drunkest fans you will find anywhere; just as Saturday nights in Tampa bring some of the meanest people out of their nursing homes. As it goes in this rivalry, being a visiting fan is not for those who are weak at heart.
But enough about being a fan in this rivalry. Let me get to the players.
Orlando is coming off of two wins in which they played only one half of the football game. Against Colorado the Predators came out with a 32-17 lead in the third quarter only to see it evaporate and barely hung on to win 39-36 on Clay Rush’s missed field goal at the buzzer. Last week the Predators took their show on the road to Arizona and dominated the Rattlers for the first half, jumping ahead 32-7 and then watching as the lead was quickly reduced to a five-point margin in the fourth quarter. The Predators made some key plays late to hang on and win 51-40 in the "snake pit".
Notice the 32 in those scores? That indicates missed extra points by departed kicker Steve McLaughlin. Out with McLaughlin and in with Brian Gowins. Gowins brings to the team about the same average as McLaughlin on extra points and field goals as the stats will show you. Hopefully the only difference for the Predators will be more made extra points and a kicker who always has a ride home to Orlando.
The Predators defense has turned in two very impressive performances only giving up an average of 30 points per game. My stats do not include touchdowns given up on interceptions returned for scores, but I will get to that in a minute. Damon Mason turned in a performance worthy of ADT defensive player of the week. Last week Kenny "the Glove" McEntyre padded his all time interceptions record with yet another one off of young Joe Germaine. E.J. Burt finally found his way to the quarterback as he forced his first fumble of the season; he still holds the league record of 10 forced fumbles in a season from 2003.
The Predators offense on the other hand has been a story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Last week at Arizona the Predators offense put up 32 points in the first half and only 19 in the second half. Week one… we will just leave as is because as I said in that previous article I can not harp on week one too much. Playing just enough offense has gotten the job done in these first two games, but with Tampa Bay coming to town with a pretty potent offense the Predators offense must find ways to score more often.
Quarterback Joe Hamilton will be looking for his two favorite targets wide receiver/linebacker Cory Fleming and offensive specialist Travis McGriff who lead the Predators in touchdown receptions. The possible return of Marlon Moye-Moore also can make a huge difference in how the Predators offense plays in this game with the threat of his signature long runs.
This past Sunday I got an opportunity to travel to Tampa and see the Storm play the Austin Wranglers. I have to say that was the most boring AFL game I have ever been to in my life. The game was tied 7-7 for the longest time with both teams trading turnovers. The Storm played without their starting offensive specialist Freddie Solomon who was the key to their offensive outburst against San Jose.
Coming into this game the Storm will have several key players coming off the injured reserve list including David Saunders and David White. The Storm offense is in pretty good hands with Shane Stafford who has had two impressive games to start the season, which I would say surprised most AFL "experts". Personally, I thought Shane was going to play this well last season and it turned out he just forgot to play well the first six weeks or so, but he did finish last season on a very impressive tear, leading the Storm to six straight wins to get them into the playoffs. This week Stafford will look to improve to 3-0 in his last three starts against the Predators.
The Storm defense showed a lot of chinks in the armor last Sunday as Austin quarterback John Fitzgerald had a field day with deep passes in the second half. The Storm brings a lot of pressure on the quarterback much like the Predators do. Austin’s starting QB Bobby Pesavento was knocked out of the game in his second series of the game due to a hit by a Storm defender.
I have now covered the game from a fans aspect and a player’s aspect, now it is time to take a look at two coaches who know one another better than peanut butter knows jelly. Tampa Bay Storm head coach Tim Marcum has been around the league since its inception and owns more championship rings than any coach in AFL history, oh and victories too. In his years with the Storm Marcum once coached a young man by the name of Jay Gruden who just happens to be the head coach of the Orlando Predators. Gruden has won two rings as the Predators’ head man and also owns four rings as a player with the Tampa Bay Storm. Marcum won his 100th game last week with the Storm in the regular season. How many times can this guy celebrate his 100th victory? In 2003 after a playoff win over Detroit Marcum celebrated his 100th overall victory. Incidentally, number 101 came against the Predators in Jay Gruden’s last game as the team’s QB. In 1998 when Jay Gruden took over for Perry Moss as the Predators head guy he brought a certain swagger to the Predators that has maybe dwindled a little in recent years. The Predators are looking to return to their old glory days this season and seem to have found the right group of players to accomplish their goal of reaching the Arena Bowl.
I guess by the material in this article you might be able to tell I have been around this rivalry for quite awhile. My first experience with this rivalry was in 1992 when the Predators defeated the Storm 24-21 in overtime on their way to Arena Bowl 6 where they lost to none other than Tim Marcum and the Detroit Drive. In those days I was nine years old, not even realizing I would get the opportunity to meet many of the players and coaches from those days when I grew up. A few weeks ago I even mentioned to coach Gruden about his zubaz they wore back in those days.
This rivalry has come a long way over the years, and the foundation was laid by many of the greatest players in AFL history. Such as, Barry Wagner, Ben Bennett, Jerry Odom, Paul McGowan, Herkie Walls, Jay Gruden, George LaFrance, Stevie Thomas, and my favorite AFL name of all time, Tank Landry. Those are just a few guys in my memory from the early days of the rivalry.
Let me arrive back in 2005, and as I do that I will make my bold prediction for the outcome of this 36th edition of the "War on I-4". It is this simple Orlando has had a week to regroup after their win in Arizona last Thursday. Tampa Bay will have just four days to rest up for this match-up, which always proves to be the most physically challenging for both teams every year. The fact that there is really no "preparing" for a game like this where both teams know exactly what the other is going to do before they do it, really gives the edge to Orlando because they are the fresher team. I will take Orlando by a touchdown in this game they will take an early lead and cruise to the finish with the Storm making a good game of it in the end. Of course, I can analyze and guess what is going to happen in this game until I am blue in the fingers (I’m typing, get it?), but the real battle in this game always comes down to which guy out works the other guy or out coaches the opposition.
To find out what will happen you will either have to get tickets or tune into Sun Sports on Friday night at 7:30 ET. This game is already close to a sell out so you might want to hurry if you are getting those last minute tickets.
Jason Lucas is a part-time freelance writer based in the Orlando, Florida area. A former director of media relations with the Orlando Predators, Jason is making his return to Arenafan.com after a short stint as a public relations assistant with the UFL‘s Florida Tuskers in 2010. Lucas has followed the AFL since 1992 and began covering the Predators for Arenafan during the 2004 season. He held that position until being picked up by the Preds front office after the 2007 season. Jason‘s knowledge of arena football and love of the game is what drives him to continue covering the sport.
