Key for Blaze is Turning Stops Into Points
Josh Fisher
Wednesday March 29, 2006
The numbers show where success comes in the Arena Football League. I counted a stop as anytime the defense forces a fumble, interception, turnover on downs, or missed field goal. I didn’t count it if the stop came on the last play of the half or game.
The Utah Blaze is 3-6 this season. In the three games they have won, the defense has recorded nine stops. The offense has turned those nine stops into six scores, all touchdowns. In return, their opponents in those three games have forced eight stops. Those eight stops have netted only three scores for the offense.
The best stop-to-score ration for the Blaze came against Nashville. In that game the Blaze defense came up with four stops. The high octane offense then put three scores on the board on the following possession. On the other side, Nashville failed to score on any of the three possessions they had following a stop by the Kats defense.
The glaring numbers come in the six losses by the Blaze this year. In those six games, Utah’s defense has kept the opponent from scoring 14 times. Those 14 stops have turned into only six scores by the Blaze offense. That is only 43 percent of the time. It also seems like they are getting worse. During their last three losses, they have scored on three of 10 possessions following a stop.
On the flip side, the Blaze opponents have forced 24 stops in those same six games. The opponent’s offense has turned those 24 possessions into 16 scores. That is a 67 percent ratio, the same 67 percent ratio that Utah scores when they win. In the same three game stretch where Utah has gone 3-of-10 the opposition has scored on 9-of-16 opportunities.
If you consider that four of the six losses are by seven points or less, these possessions become important. Utah has also loss three games by three points or less, adding even more importance to each possession following a stop.
The Blaze defense is 14th in the AFL in scoring defense, allowing 54.8 points per game. That means that every stop they get is huge. The offense needs to respond to the play of its defense and put some points on the board.
Josh Fisher has been a fan of the AFL for as long as he can remember. He followed the Arizona Rattlers since they began playing. Josh works for the University of Utah
as their head statistician. He is also the media contact for Klub Boom
Volleyball Club and the head volleyball coach at Park City High School.
