Kats Quietly Get More Defensive
Charliy Nash
Sunday January 15, 2006
Most of the attention the Kats have received during the off season has been for the two major trades that have brought them QB Clint Stoerner and WR/LB Cory Fleming. Almost unnoticed were several other moves to strengthen the defense. Free agents Cornelius Bonner, Frank Carter, and Chris Angel were high on coach Pat Sperduto’s shopping list. "Bonner, Angel, and Carter have kind of fallen under the radar as big acquisitions," he remarked, "They bring intensity, they’re just good fits for our team."
In Frank Carter the Kats have found a perfect complement to Rupert Grant at the FB/LB position. The midseason addition of Grant to the team last year ignited the pass rush, helping to form the linebackers and linemen into a pass rushing unit. Carter’s defensive abilities (nine sacks last year) give the Kats a dangerous duo at Mack linebacker (and they just happen to have two of the all time greats at Jack linebacker in Darryl Hammond and Cory Fleming). Another upgrade at FB/LB happened without any transaction taking place at all, as second year player Dan Alexander came into camp as clearly the most improved player since last season. "I had to look at what I did last year and say ‘that’s not good enough, that’s not going to cut it,’ and really come back a new person," Alexander explained, "I’m really listening to my coaches right now, and I’m trying to learn as much as I can from Rupert and Frank – they’re just great; they’re like coaches on the field."
The biggest, and least noticed, changes have been at Defensive Specialist. Chris Angel was signed as a free agent, but the real stealth move was obtaining Monty Montgomery. After going from AFL to NFL and back with no off season, Montgomery needed a break from football. The Kats claimed him off waivers last season, but left him on the "Refused to Report" list. Well now he is rested and ready.
Veteran DS Khalil Carter likes what he sees from his new teammates. "Monty brings a physical level of play that was absent from our secondary last year," Carter said, "We excelled in coverages and man to man, but I think Monty brings the whole package: run stopping, recognizing coverages, recognizing routes that they can run. He’s an all-around complete player."
Carter has similar praise for Angel, "I think he brings a physical aspect to the game also. I like his size. I like his heart. It’s his second year in the league; I think he’s still learning a little bit of the nuances of the game, but he definitely brings an intelligent approach to the game."
Angel, who put up impressive statistics in his rookie season with the New York Dragons, described his reason for coming to Nashville, "It’s hard to play defense in this league, so I wanted to be part of a great defense, not to mention the team and what they have to offer here."
Can the Kats improve on last year’s league-leading 44.7 points allowed per game? The defense will be more physical, and more experienced – and this year it won’t take them half the season to come together. If you’re playing fantasy football, bench your offensive stars when they play Nashville.
Charliy Nash has covered both incarnations of the Nashville Kats, and now has make the 2 hour drive to Huntsville for an Arena Football fix. He also covers the Tennessee Titans as a blogger for nfl.com and still hopes this will eventually lead to a paying gig.
