Freaky Friday
Jason Lucas
Thursday April 21, 2005
Last week the Predators defeated the New York Dragons 72-60 in the Jungle but paid dearly with the losses of defensive specialist Kenny "the Glove" McEntyre (fractured ribs) and quarterback Joe Hamilton (left shoulder separation of third degree). Both Hamilton and McEntyre have been placed on injured reserve and will not be available to return until May 7 against the Austin Wranglers. The Predators also lost another fullback/linebacker when Kevin Jefferson tore his ACL in the third quarter and he will be out for the remainder of 2005. Wide receiver/linebacker Justin Skaggs suffered a minor concussion in the Dragons game and has also been put on injured reserve with neck spasms.
The Predators injured reserve list is quickly starting to resemble a whole roster. Coming into this week the Predators have six players on injured reserve. Joining Hamilton, McEntyre and Skaggs are, in no specific order, FB/LB Marlon Moye-Moore (quad), offensive/defensive lineman Buck Gurley (knee), wide receiver/defensive back Michael Brown (fracture orbital). DS Reggie Doster sat out last week’s game with a groin injury he suffered in the April 9 loss to the Tampa Bay Storm.
Predators head coach Jay Gruden had to bring in some new faces this week to even field an active roster of 20 players. Hold your breath Predator fans as Wednesday saw the return of QB Connell Maynor who led the Predators to the 2000 Arena Bowl championship but has not done much since. DS Korey Banks will fill in for McEntyre until he can return to action. McEntyre’s streak of 117 games started will come to an end this week.
Now that we have cleared up who is not playing this week let us go ahead and point out who is playing this week for the Predators. Back-up QB Chris Sanders will be forced into action again this week after last week’s surprisingly stellar performance. Sanders threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns against New York last week, also running for two scores of four yards and one yard respectively. However, it is hard to get excited about your back-up QB playing well against the New York Dragons defense, even Maynor carved them up in 2003 and then went on to lose four straight starts. I have a feeling that the defense of the Georgia Force will be a very grounding experience for young Chris Sanders this week. If Sanders has anything in his favor it is coach Gruden on the sidelines calling the plays and giving Chris pointers here and there. I expect the Predators will come out with quite a few wide receiver screen passes and runs to FB/LB Idris Price to get Sanders into the flow of the game. Of course, this is what I am expecting; this is what Doug Plank and the Force defense are expecting, so look for Sanders to go deep for Jimmy Fryzel or Jerrian James early. If I know Jay Gruden as well as I say I do he will look for that element of surprise.
Idris Price can expect some big minutes this week as well as quite a few carries. In the past when the Predators have had injuries at the FB/LB position they have moved over OL/DL Doug Miller to fill in at the position. This week will be no different, but Price is more than capable of playing big minutes for the Predators in this big game.
WR/LB Cory Fleming the constant performer for the Predators will also be looking at some big minutes this week with the loss of his back-up Justin Skaggs. Last week Bret Cooper stood in pretty well at receiver but what the Predators do not want is Cooper playing in the defensive backfield too much. It will be at this position where Jay Gruden will have to mix and match guys to fill in and you are more than likely to see some odd receiver combinations. For instance, last week we saw Fryzel, James, and Arkee Thompson as receivers at the same time. Thompson was a DS for the Predators last season so him being at receiver very much surprised me.
DS Johnnie Harris was brought in to bring the Predators defense to the "next level". Since his arrival and the departure of DS Damon Mason to Grand Rapids the Predators defense has only gone to the next level towards the cellar. In each of the last three games the Predator defense has allowed over 50 points, something that had only happened twice in the first 8 weeks that Mason was still here. Granted in the last three weeks we have seen three different WR/DB’s back there, but how many times do we really have to see Harris standing there while his assignment has been blown and his man walking into the end zone? Through the grapevine I have heard Harris is slowed with a groin injury, great that is just what we need right now, a 32 year old DS that is moving slower than normal. Sorry Johnnie you are just the target of my wrath since I am missing Damon Mason big time, that and you are not tackling anybody. Mason did not cover well, but at least he tackled!
What to Watch For
The Predators are 6-0 this season when leading at halftime and an even better 7-0 when leading after three quarters. What does this mean? Absolutely nothing unless you noticed that last week was the first time the Predators have won a game when trailing at halftime.
Jimmy Fryzel continued his 100- yard ways last week against the Dragons. He also added three touchdowns for the third straight week. I keep mentioning how he has been the perfect complement to Cory Fleming so far I just do not want to jinx it I guess. Fryzel was also the kickoff return man last week after Jerrian James had fumbled twice in Tampa Bay on returns. While most of New York Kicker Rob Bironas kickoffs went over the nets, Fryzel was able to handle every return except for one that came off the net to Cory Fleming. Georgia has one of the tougher defenses in the league so it should be interesting to see if Fryzel can continue his success this week.
The Predators defense has about half of their starters on IR for the next couple of weeks. With Georgia’s vaunted receiving corps of Derek Lee, Troy Bergeron, and Chris Jackson coming to town this week the key for the Predator defense will be to get pressure on Force QB Matt Nagy. Predators OL/DL E.J. Burt must have a big game pressuring the QB in order for the Predators to have a fighting chance downfield. Burt has had a very quiet season with sacks compared to years past so now would be the time for him to step up and make some plays.
The Build-Up
These are two teams that know one another quite well and in the past have had many epic battles in playoff games and Arena Bowls. As you know the Force are the same franchise as the old Nashville Kats. Georgia has won their last two trips to the Jungle in 2003 and 2004, both wins coming down to the last play. Orlando will look to defend their home turf for the first time against the Force since their inception. If the Predators are to win this game by three points or more they will take over first place in the southern division and national conference by virtue of the total points head to head tiebreaker. If the Predators are to win by two or less then things will get interesting as to the official standings. A loss for the Predators will mean their fifth loss of the season virtually assuring the fact that they will have to win every one of their remaining games to make the playoffs.
Friday night’s match-up of the Orlando Predators and Georgia Force will be televised on FSN and Sun Sports at 7:30pm. If you plan on going to the game less than 1,500 seats remain at the Predators box office. Look for yours truly at the tables atop section 107 for a pre-game session of prayer that we do not lose any more players to injury.
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.
