Storm's Strength Suddenly A Weakness
Adam J Locascio
Monday May 9, 2005
"(Storm quarterback Shane) Stafford gets to return to the field with all of his weapons from last year as well. Specialists Freddie Solomon and Clif Dell, join Ironmen David Saunders, and TT Tolliver to form one of the deepest receiving corps in the league…Most importantly, the Storm re-signed their most recognizable player in Ironman Lawrence Samuels. Samuels, the top AFL free agent at his position, will roam the middle of the field in his 11th season with Tampa Bay and is on pace to become the Storm’s all-time reception leader."
What you just read was an excerpt from my preview of the Storm just before Week 1 of the 2005 season.
Writing about the Storm’s vaunted receiving corps was easy. The Storm were loaded with a combination of speed (Solomon and Toliver), size (Saunders and Samuels), and hands (Dell). You just knew that someone, at sometime was going to be open.
Well, with two weeks to go, the Storm receiving squad are a shadow of their former selves.
Gone are Toliver and Saunders, traded to Nashville and Grand Rapids respectively. Solomon has had a stellar season while on the field, but has missed considerable time with ankle and thigh injuries. Samuels and Dell have performed admirably, but they are alone in doing the dirty work.
While Samuels plays the part of the physical tough-to-tackle receiver and Dell can catch anything thrown to his area code, the Storm, once rich with receiving talent and depth, is now suddenly lacking role players.
The Storm have brought up some younger talent from the practice squad and the CFL, but they all lack one thing: experience – and it’s showing. Lynaris Elpheage, Demetris Bendross, and Ronney Daniels AFL careers are being measured in games, not seasons. All three have shown flashes of brilliance, but they have been mere moments in time.
And no one has felt the loss of Solomon, Toliver, and Saunders more than Stafford. Stafford was having a career season through Week 7. The Storm were among the top five in points per game. Stafford was in his groove and making his name for himself as a superstar in the league.
Now, everyone’s left the table and poor Shane is stuck with the check.
Going into Sunday, the Storm had control of their own destiny in the race for the Southern Division title as they took on the Georgia Force in Atlanta. While the Storm hung with the Force through the first half, there was just too much Force for Stafford to overcome on his own.
Stafford’s first interception was right in the hands of WR/LB Ronney Daniels. Much to Stafford’s dismay, the apparent touchdown was wrenched from his hands. Stafford’s second interception was on a long pass intended for Bendross, who never jumped or attempted a play on the ball. The 5’8", 180 pound Bendross had no chance against the physical Ricky Parker. Finally, on fourth-and-goal for the Storm, Stafford needing to punch in a crucial touchdown has no open receivers as all are engaged with their defender and Stafford has to force a pass in towards Daniels and the throw dropped to the turf incomplete.
While the situation surrounding Saunders and Toliver were certainly tense, was trading them mid-season and destroying the depth at the receiver spot the cure? Even the Minnesota Vikings waited until the off-season to trade problem-man-child Randy Moss. And it’s not like the Storm got value for the trades. The Storm received two players who haven’t even sniffed the active roster.
While Toliver was rumored to have been clashing with coaches in the locker room, a better course of action would have been to suspend Toliver for two weeks for "disciplinary reasons" and trade him in the off-season to get some value. Toliver got his revenge in a 37-21 Kats romp. To illustrate the lack of punch the Storm offense now has, the Storm were shut out for three quarters (first, third, and fourth) and lost a game where neither team crossed the 40-point plateau.
Trading Toliver and getting nothing in return was just cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. Unfortunately, that "face" is the offense’s output.
Through the first five games of the season, the Storm were averaging 56.6 points per game. Through their last five games, the Storm are now averaging 43.2. The drop-off is evident and it’s showing on the scoreboard. Stafford has dropped from league-leader in quarterback rating to the middle of the pack. It’s unfortunate for him and the rest of the team.
It may be too late to turn this around. While the Storm certainly still control their playoff (albeit "wild card") destiny, there really is not much firepower left on this dismantled roster to keep pace with other playoff teams. Even Force head coach Doug Plank said that this Storm team "was not difficult to prepare for."
Apparently.
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.
