Fantasy Look: Week 4 Review
Patrick Daly
Wednesday February 23, 2005
Orlando’s poor offensive showing in Dallas didn’t help anyone as Predators OS Travis McGriff, WR/LB Justin Skaggs and WR/LB Cory Fleming had a touchdown apiece to go along with QB Joe Hamilton’s four touchdown passes. On the Desperados’ side, OS Jason Shelley had one of his best games with 138 receiving yards and two touchdowns while WR/DB Will Pettis made the most of his three catches with two touchdown receptions. QB Clint Stoerner had a so-so game with 217 passing yards and four touchdown passes.
In New York, the Dragons offense got back on track against Nashville. OS Kevin Swayne’s return highlighted the evening and he finished with 117 receiving yards and five of QB Aaron Garcia’s seven touchdown passes. FB/LB Josh White scored twice for the Dragons. Nashville QB Leon Murray scored twice on the ground, but managed only two touchdown passes before being spelled by backup QB Tony Zimmerman. Kats FB/LB Dan Alexander accounted for 36 yards rushing and a touchdown, giving him 96 rushing yards and six scores on the season.
Columbus surprised the Chicago Rush, with QB Matt D’Orazio leading the Destroyers to an upset win on the strength of his 281 passing yards, four touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown. Destroyers WR/LB Cornelius White showed what he can do with an accurate passer on the field, racking up 132 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The Rush lost two offensive stars during the game, with both QB Raymond Philyaw and OS Henry Douglas leaving early. Philyaw tossed three touchdowns before being replaced by journeyman QB Todd Hammel in the third quarter.
In a game that someone had to win, the Austin Wranglers and Grand Rapids Rampage combined for 134 points and 718 total yards. Wranglers QB John Fitzgerald led the way for Austin with 270 passing yards, six touchdown passes and one more score on the ground. WR/DB Kevin Nickerson had another strong showing with 108 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while OS Tacoma Fontaine returned to the lineup and tallied 104 receiving yards and a touchdown. Rookie FB/LB Henry Bryant scored twice and added 18 yards rushing in his second game for the Wranglers. Rampage QB Michael Bishop posted some big numbers with 337 passing yards, eight touchdowns and another 74 rushing yards. OS Chris Jackson also put up some big numbers himself with 132 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while WR/DB Dennison Robinson looked good in his first game with Grand Rapids, racking up 92 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The Arizona Rattlers and Colorado Crush lit up the scoreboard as well, combining for 143 points. With Rattlers QB Sherdrick Bonner still on the shelf with a knee injury despite a promising few days of practice early last week, QB Joe Germaine had a big game with 319 passing yards and eight touchdowns, although his two fumbles and an interception didn’t help Arizona’s cause. Arizona OS Siaha Burley continues to be a strong fantasy player as he added 108 receiving yards and three touchdowns to his season totals, while WR/DB Randy Gatewood contributed 73 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Colorado OS Damian Harrell racked up 144 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while QB John Dutton tossed five total touchdowns to go with 241 passing yards. Colorado K Clay Rush rebounded nicely from a slow start to nail all four of his field goal tries while hitting on eight of nine extra point attempts, making it the type of game that should boost his confidence.
The battle of top quarterbacks in New Orleans went to VooDoo QB Andy Kelly, who continues to have a hot hand, tossing seven touchdown passes and throwing for 315 yards in the win over the Philadelphia Soul. VooDoo OS Aaron Bailey posted another strong line with 155 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while WR/DB Jacques Rumph continues to impress in his first season as a major part of the New Orleans offense. Rumph talled 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the VooDoo, and FB/LB Leroy Thompson saw his first action of the season for New Orleans, posting a 14 yards rushing to go with his first score of 2005. Philadelphia Soul QB Tony Graziani continues to deliver touchdowns, with seven more scoring strikes, but he also threw two interceptions to raise his total to six on the season, already one more than he threw all of last year. OS Steve Smith was hitting on all cylinders, racking up 145 receiving yards and four touchdowns for the Soul, while WR/LB Sean Scott rebounded from last week’s MIA performance to grab two touchdowns and 105 yards receiving. Soul FB/LB Chris "Soul Train" Ryan saw his first action of the season, carrying the ball twice for a total of 11 yards.
In a low-scoring affair in Las Vegas, the Georgia Force came away with a 38-13 win over the Gladiators with OS Troy Bergeron and WR/LB Derek Lee leading the way. Bergeron had his fourth straight three-touchdown game, while Lee hit 100 yards receiving and grabbed two scores, which accounted for all five of QB Jim Kubiak’s scoring tosses. Little went right for the Gladiators’ offense, as QB Rod Robinson finished the night with more interceptions (three) than touchdowns (two) before being replaced by veteran QB Craig Whelihan. With QB Clint Dolezel possibly out for two more weeks, Whelihan might get the nod next week. With the poor offensive showing, last year’s Offensive Player of the Year, Marcus Nash, finished with only 69 receiving yards and no touchdowns, while WR/DB CoCo Blalock accounted for Las Vegas’ only two touchdowns.
The San Jose SaberCats fell short in a wild affair against the Los Angeles Avengers, but both teams kept the scoreboard busy with a combined 140 points. Avengers QB John Kaleo threw four of his seven touchdowns during a 34-7 second quarter and finished with 327 passing yards on the day. The Los Angeles offense took on a new look with WR/DB Jerome Riley and OS Tony Locke accounting for three touchdowns apiece. Avengers K Remy Hamilton missed his first field goal of the season, but hit his other three tries and converted eight of his nine extra point attempts. While the SaberCats didn’t quite come back to win, San Jose QB Mark Grieb tossed five of his seven touchdowns in the fourth quarter to go with 399 yards passing, although his three interceptions played a role in the loss. WR/LB James Roe had another big game, accounting for 147 yards receiving and three touchdowns, while WR/DB Rashied Davis played big role with 117 receiving yards and two touchdowns. WR/DB Barry Wagner set a new record for receptions, breaking the previous mark of 949 catches set by former Albany/Indiana Firebird Eddie Brown.
Stay tuned later in the week for a Week 5 fantasy preview.
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.
