Fantasy Look: Week 4 Preview
Patrick Daly
Thursday February 17, 2005
Orlando Predators at Dallas Desperados
Orlando staked it’s claim as the top team in the AFL with a convincing 61-46 win over Tampa Bay, and they did it on the ground with five rushing touchdowns against a strong Storm defense. Predators FB/LB Idris Price plunged in for two touchdowns for the second straight week, although predicting a fullback’s scoring from week to week is more difficult than predicting the stock market. Orlando WR/LB Cory Fleming (46 receiving yards and one touchdown) and OS Travis McGriff (26 receiving yards and no touchdowns) each had a relatively quiet night, but both should fare better against a Dallas defense that’s given up 151 points in the first three weeks.
Dallas QB Clint Stoerner has struggled the last two weeks after a hot start and won’t fare much better against the solid Orlando defense. Columbus kept the Desperados’ offensive trio of Will Pettis, Jason Shelley, and Bobby Sippio relatively quiet and with Stoerner’s struggles you may want to look at an alternative this week.
Chicago Rush at Columbus Destroyers
Rush QB Raymond Philyaw (848 passing yards, 15 touchdown passes and 2 touchdown run this season) has rebounded nicely after last season’s major knee injury and should do well against the struggling Destroyers, as should OS Henry Douglas (league leading 28 catches and 378 receiving yards to go with seven TDs this season), who has been more than solid through the first three weeks of the season. Second-year WR/LB Etu Molden (nine total touchdowns this season) has also hit paydirt consistently and there’s no reason to think he’ll slow down this week.
Columbus goes with unproven QB Matt D’Orazio this week after giving QB Chad Salisbury (380 yards passing, five TDs, four interceptions this season) the boot. The Destroyers also resigned QB Ryan Vena, whom they let go prior to the season. With D’Orazio getting his first start for Columbus I’d stay away from starting any of his teammates this week.
Nashville Kats at New York Dragons
Dragons QB Aaron Garcia (198 passing yards and two touchdown passes in Week 3) threw an uncharacteristically paltry two touchdowns against Las Vegas last week, but should feast on the Nashville secondary, meaning big things for WR/LB Mike Horacek (40 receiving yards and one touchdown in Week 3) and OS Markeith Cooper, who scored on a two-yard run and 57-yard kickoff return in Week 3.
Kats OS Fred Coleman’s (240 yards receiving and three TDs) fate is tied directly to QB Leon Murray (season high 261 passing yards and six touchdowns last week) and the Dragons have played reasonably well on defense so far. Coleman has managed to score once each week, but you’ll need better production to have a chance at winning.
Austin Wranglers at Grand Rapids Rampage
With a complete overhaul in the Grand Rapids defensive secondary, look for Wranglers QB John Fitzgerald to have a good night, which also means OS Ira Gooch (108 yards receiving and two touchdowns in Week 2) and WR/LB David Hill (135 yards receiving and two touchdowns in Week 3) will benefit. OS Tacoma Fontaine’s status is still uncertain after being a quiet scratch from last week’s game.
After a week off, the Rampage try to rebound from two bad losses with QB Michael Bishop (record 100 yards rushing in Week 2) making his second start of the season. Rampage OS Chris Jackson (93 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Week 2) will look for continue improvement by Bishop through the air against a Wrangler defense that’s allowed 20 touchdowns through the air in the first three weeks.
Colorado Crush at Arizona Rattlers
The Colorado Crush aren’t as bad as the 1-2 record might indicate, as they were within a made field goal try in each loss. Crush K Clay Rush has been strong on extra point attempts, but he’s only hit three of his 10 field goal tries so far. After tough game against Orlando in their opener, Colorado QB John Dutton (576 passing yards and 14 TDs in last two weeks) has looked good and should be a good option this week against a Rattlers defense that gave up 61 points to Georgia last week. OS Damian Harrell (263 receiving yards and eight TDs this season) and WR/DB Kevin McKenzie (25 catches for 222 yards and four TDs this year) are both good choices to start this week.
Arizona can breath a little sigh of relief as QB Sherdrick Bonner (202 passing yards and six TDs in the opener at Grand Rapids) returns to the lineup after missing two weeks on injured reserve with a knee injury. Rattlers OS Siaha Burley has found the end zone nine times this season, including catching four touchdowns from Bonner in the season opener. FB/LB Bo Kelly (14 rushing yards and two TDs) is out for at least one more week. WR/DB Randy Gatewood (11 catches for 141 yards and one TD last week) has been sharp and deserves a look.
Philadelphia Soul at New Orleans VooDoo
The league’s hottest quarterback, VooDoo QB Andy Kelly, hosts QB Tony Graziani in what should be a fantasy scorefest. Kelly (973 yards passing and 20 TDs this season) earned Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second straight week, and all three of his offensive weapons, OS Aaron Bailey (351 receiving yards and six TDs this season), WR/LB Thabiti Davis (222 receiving yards and six TDs) and WR/DB Jacques Rumph (227 receiving yards and five TDs) are viable scoring threats.
Soul QB Tony Graziani (858 yards passing and 20 TDs this season) has thrown at least six touchdown passes each week, which should continue this week. OS Steve Smith (303 receiving yards and eight total TDs this season) was held quiet by Chicago in Week 2, but had five TDs in the opener and three more, including a kick return for a touchdown, last week. WR/LB Sean Scott (190 receiving yards and eight TDs this season) should return to form this week after significantly lower output in Week 3. WR/DB Rob Milanese (75 receiving yards and two TDs last week) is a player to keep an eye on, especially if Smith and Scott garner more attention by opposing defenses.
Georgia Force at Las Vegas Gladiators
Georgia erupted for 61 points in a Week 3 win over Arizona and OS Troy Bergeron (116 yards receiving and three touchdowns) tallied three scores for the third straight week, although the going may get a little tougher in Las Vegas against a Gladiator team that’s held two of their last three opponents to 37 points, including the offensively potent New York Dragons. With WR/LB Dialleo Burks out, QB Jim Kubiak (251 passing yards, five touchdown passes and one touchdown run in Week 3) still has WR/LB Derek Lee (17 receiving yards and no touchdowns in Week 3) and now has OS Todd Doxzon (31 receiving yards and one touchdown in Week 3) back in the lineup.
With QB Clint Dolezel on injured reserve, the Gladiators turned to QB Rod Robinson (262 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in his first start of the season) who led the Gladiators to the Week 3 win, but did toss three interceptions. OS Marcus Nash (126 receiving yards and one touchdown in Week 3) was considered doubtful to play against New York, but played and made an impact with 11 receptions.
San Jose SaberCats at Los Angeles Avengers
Something tells me the Avengers are in for a long day after San Jose let one slip away in New Orleans last week. With OS Calvin Schexnayder (131 yards receiving and three TDs in Week 2) out last week, James Roe (313 receiving yards and nine TDs this season) stepped in and responded with 13 catches for 168 yards and five touchdowns. He’s expected to fill that role again this week, which could mean more big numbers. FB/LB Matt Kinsinger has three touchdowns in the last two weeks, although he’s lost a few opportunities to WR/LB Shalon Baker, who has scored a rushing touchdown each of the last two weeks.
Despite the return of DS Clevan Thomas, San Jose gave up eight touchdown passes to New Orleans last week, but I don’t expect Avengers QB John Kaleo (240 passing yards and five TDs last week) to have that same success. Kaleo did play well against a suspect Austin secondary, with WR/DB Jerome Riley (season-high 125 receiving yards and two TDs against Austin) coming up big. WR/DB Kevin Ingram (163 receiving yards and five TDs) is still a good play here.
Bye: Tampa Bay Storm
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.
