Storm Notes & Quotes: Week 6
Adam J Locascio
Tuesday March 8, 2005
The Tampa Bay Storm started the second quarter of their season by welcoming back offensive specialist Freddie Solomon and WR/DB T.T. Toliver. The Storm showed what their roster is capable of with all of their weapons as they took out some frustrations on the Grand Rapids Rampage with a convincing 70-50 win at the St. Pete Times Forum. Both returned to the line-up and did what they did best. Solomon picked up 148 yards on nine catches, including four touchdowns. Toliver chipped in on all three facets of the game. Toliver returned an attempted 61-yard field goal 53 yards for a touchdown to add to his four catches for 29 yards and a touchdown.
This marked the first game of the season for Toliver and the first complete game of the season for Solomon, both of whom battled back from injuries in the first quarter of the season.
"I’ve been off for almost a month. It felt good to get out there and make some plays," said Solomon after the game. "I was excited early on, but once I settled down, they started getting the ball to me."
Shane Who?
No one appreciated the return of Toliver and Solomon more than Storm quarterback Shane Stafford. Stafford is very quietly putting together a career year, even without his two biggest offensive weapons. Through five games this season, Stafford has racked up 29 touchdowns to just one interception.
"These aren’t the two best players on our team. These are two of the best players in the entire league," said Stafford. "It does a lot for me. Defensive backs now have to cover everything."
Stafford, who does not have the mobility of a Michael Bishop or the arm strength of a Tony Graziani, does what a quarterback should do best: he finds open receivers and makes very few mistakes.
Weapons aside, Stafford’s success has come courtesy of an offensive line that has done a good job of keeping him upright. At one point in the second half, Stafford had completed four consecutive passes – three of which went for long touchdowns.
"Second half, the offensive lineman did a great job helping me out, allowing me to throw the ball," said Stafford. "It’s just good to have people back."
Marcum: Fully Loaded
While Stafford, Solomon, and Toliver all enjoyed a fantastic reunion against Grand Rapids, Storm coach Tim Marcum was appreciative that he can call a complete game knowing that all of his players are in their proper positions.
Marcum stated on his weekly radio show that it is not the time away from the field that hurts a player; it is the repetitions that they miss during practice. This lack of practice hurts his play calling abilities, but this was not the case on Sunday.
"I’m a much better coach today, than I was a week ago," said Marcum.
Marcum had no reservations about letting his injured players run even though he paid a serious price in Week 3 against the Orlando Predators. Solomon said that his sprained ankle was good enough to play on against the Orlando; however, he was forced to pull up on a route when he re-injured his ankle and was put on the injured reserve list.
"You don’t hold anybody back. You let them go and see what they can do," said Marcum. "Guys like T.T. Toliver, he’s gonna try that knee. He’s gonna run and get hit and he’s going to know it’s solid and now he’s full speed."
Marcum now has the team that he envisioned in the off-season, but says that nothing will change as far as his play calling or coaching.
"Rush theirs. Protect yours. Pitch and catch the ball. That’s Coaching 101 right there."
Adam J. Locascio is a financial advisor in the Tampa Bay area and a Board Member of the Tampa Bay Storm Surge Fan Club. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix and is a six-year season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Storm.
