Fantasy Look: Week 3 Review
Patrick Daly
Wednesday February 16, 2005
Notable performances
In Austin, Los Angeles Avengers kicker Remy Hamilton nailed five field goals and all seven of his extra point attempts. Hamilton’s recovery of a fumble on a kickoff, in addition to the superb kicking performance, earned him the game’s Ironman award for the first time in his career. Avengers WR/LB Jerome Riley had 125 yards receiving and two touchdown catches in the Avengers’ win. For Austin, OS Ira Gooch saw his first significant action of the season, filling in for injured OS Tacoma Fontaine, and responded well with 108 yards and two touchdowns while second-year WR/LB David Hill had two touchdowns of his own to go with 135 receiving yards.
The War on I-4 came out in Orlando’s favor thanks to five rushing touchdowns spread out over four players, including FB/LB Idris Price, who scored twice for the second week in a row. Predators kicker Brian Gowins, making his first start for Orlando in place of recently released Steve McLaughlin, missed two of his nine extra point tries and also missed a 32-yard field goal try. Tampa Bay Storm QB Shane Stafford, after racking up 15 touchdown passes in the first two weeks, tossed only two scores, both to Clif Dell, who also grabbed a third touchdown from QB Stoney Case at the end of the game. Storm OS Freddie Solomon did play, but was limited to one catch for 10 yards.
While the Las Vegas Gladiators offense has sputtered, the defense came up strong, holding New York Dragons QB Aaron Garcia to only two touchdowns and 198 yards passing. Gladiators QB Rod Robinson, making his first start in place of QB Clint Dolezel, earned mixed reviews with three touchdowns passing and three touchdowns on the ground to go with three interceptions that fortunately didn’t cost Las Vegas the win. Gladiators OS Marcus Nash, listed as questionable going into the game, turned in a strong performance with 11 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Georgia Force head coach and former Arizona Rattlers defensive coordinator Doug Plank came out on top in his first game against his former team, thanks to OS Troy Bergeron’s third straight week of three touchdown catches. FB/LB Robert Thomas plunged in for two more scores, while QB Jim Kubiak threw five touchdown passes and ran for another. Arizona Rattlers QB Joe Germaine looked a little sharper in his second start, throwing for 311 yards and five touchdowns, but didn’t help his cause with two picks in the end zone. Rattlers kicker Anthony Brenner hit both of his field goal attempts and went five for six on extra points in his first game back with Arizona.
Although the Columbus Destroyers built a 24-6 first quarter lead over the Dallas Desperados, their offense stalled and managed only seven points for the remainder of the game, which is why starting any Destroyers player, even WR/LB Cornelius White or OS Damien Groce, is a gamble. Destroyers QB Chad Salisbury managed only one touchdown pass, which went to Groce, who also scored on a 56-yard kickoff return late in the first quarter. Despite falling behind, Dallas closed the gap to three points by halftime and eventually pulled ahead in the fourth quarter. WR/LB Bobby Sippio and WR/DB Will Pettis accounted for two touchdowns apiece in a sloppy game that featured seven total turnovers.
Philadelphia Soul OS Steve Smith rebounded from a below average game last week to tally 131 receiving yards and two touchdowns, along with a 49-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Soul QB Tony Graziani tossed six total touchdown passes, while rookie WR/DB Rob Milanese accounted for 75 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Nashville Kats QB Leon Murray posted his highest touchdown total of the season, with a rushing touchdown to go along with his six touchdown passes. WR/LB Jarrick Hillery grabbed two touchdowns, while OS Fred Coleman scored a touchdown for the third straight week.
Chicago Rush QB Raymond Philyaw threw for 409 yards and five touchdowns, although his two interceptions slightly marred his performance. Rush OS Henry Douglas had a tremendous game, with 13 receptions for 192 yards and three touchdowns, while WR/LB Etu Molden tallied 95 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Chicago kicker Keith Gispert produced a clutch performance, hitting all three field goal attempts, including a game-winning 21-yard try. Colorado had their opportunities, with Crush QB John Dutton tossing six touchdowns, three of which went to OS Damian Harrell.
In New Orleans, the VooDoo scored an upset on the arm of QB Andy Kelly, who finished the day with 340 passing yards and eight touchdowns. That helped VooDoo OS Aaron Bailey post big numbers with 12 catches for 166 yards and four touchdowns, plus a rushing touchdown in the third quarter, while New Orleans WR/LB Thabiti Davis continued to produce, scoring twice and posting 86 yards receiving. Despite coming out on the losing end, San Jose SaberCats WR/LB James Roe filled in at the offensive specialist spot and responded with 168 receiving yards and five touchdowns. San Jose QB Mark Grieb nearly matched Kelly’s performance, throwing for 352 yards and seven touchdowns.
Stay tuned later in the week when I’ll begin providing a weekly fantasy football preview for the upcoming weekend.
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.
