Predators finally find offense, defeat Dragons
Jason Lucas
Saturday April 21, 2007
The Preds offense only produced 52 points, but that is how the Jay Gruden offense is run. You throw the short passes, you get first downs, you grind down the clock and you score in the red zone. Gruden and Stafford found an array of different plays to get the Preds into the end zone Friday night as the Orlando Predators (4-3) defeated the Dragons 52-47 in the Jungle.
Orlando’s first touchdown of the game came on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Dudley which was a busted press coverage by the Dragons. Dudley scored again on the next drive—this time a five yard rushing touchdown.
Stafford threw touchdown passes to four different receivers including tight end Charles Hill for the second week in a row. Stafford also had three completions to fullback Kevin Nagle for 36 yards, all three of which set up the Predators in the red zone.
The Predators’ offense was perfect in the red zone on the night. In the fourth quarter the game-winning touchdown would come from an unlikely source. Facing second and goal at the four yard line, Stafford faked a handoff to Dudley and the Dragons bit hard as Stafford walked into the end zone. The fake was so good; the arena jumbotron had no replay probably because none of their cameras caught the fake.
Orlando’s defense has made vast improvements over the last two weeks since the return of Greg White. Most notably the pressure he gets on the quarterback forces mistakes and allows the Preds secondary to make big plays on bad passes.
Near the end of the first half the Dragons had a golden opportunity to go ahead going into halftime, but Rayshun Reed stepped in front of an errant pass by Dragons QB Rohan Davey in the end zone. The result was a 45-yard field goal by Jay Taylor putting the Preds up 24-20 at halftime.
Marlon Moye-Moore capitalized off of Ryan Bowers’ good coverage of Dragons receiver Chris Anthony for a diving interception off of the tip. That turned into a touchdown just two plays later on a 14-yard Stafford to Clif Dell strike. Moye-Moore’s interception was Sportscenter top ten material if the game had been televised.
Personnel Notes
The Predators did not dress Jerrian James for last night’s match-up with the Dragons. It is my assumption that James will go back to the practice squad full-time when Jimmy Fryzel returns from the hamstring injury he has been nursing since training camp. Defensive end Chris Eggleston has made a few plays here and there including a blocked extra point Friday night. However, Chaz Murphy should be back on the active roster anytime now and that would mean sitting down Eggleston or Doug Miller.
Much was made of Jay Gruden’s decision to not dress back-up QB Jake Eaton last week. Eaton was dressed and ready to go Friday night if needed; James being scratched allowed Eaton to suit this week.
This is a team that has to be healthy to be successful in their bigger games coming up on the schedule. Next week’s trip to play the Las Vegas Gladiators is the last time the Predators will play an out of division game for three weeks. It is absolutely necessary to get Fryzel and Murphy back on the active roster before the trip to Georgia on May 4.
Officiating
Once a year it’s just good to vent about poor officiating in my column. It makes me feel better; I say my piece and move on. Friday night’s officiating in the Jungle was absolutely horrible. Anytime you show up to a game and see the referee is McCabe (Tom or Bill) in this case it was Tom; you know almost immediately to expect a lot of bad calls.
Here is your example of the night—it’s fourth down for the Predators in the fourth quarter. Stafford throws a pass to Dudley who appears to make the catch, get one foot down in bounds and then fall into the corner of the end zone. A play everyone has seen in the Jungle countless times called a touchdown and it was inexplicably ruled incomplete. This call led to the next play where White was horse collared by the offensive lineman and Davey finds Mike Horacek at the Preds one yard line.
This one sequence alone was a 14-point swing in the game directly influenced by another horrible McCabe crew. Honestly, I think the McCabe crews get more John Bon Jovi imitations from the fans than any other crew in professional sports.
Quoting Doc Holliday Orlando’s public address announcer, “That’s Bon Jovi 2, the rest of the league 0”.
Week Nine
First off, you have to be kidding me that the AFL is already going into week nine. The Predators travel to Las Vegas next week to face the Gladiators. They are coming off of a 10-point loss to the Colorado Crush last night that dropped them to 1-7 on the season. The Preds now over the .500 mark for the first time since week three—will have many challenges to face this week.
Challenge number one is of course stopping Etu Molden who has finally found his stride with the Gladiators. It seems I say this every week but it would also be nice to get Murphy and Fryzel back on the field just to try and get some form of normalcy going on here.
If the Predators can go out to Las Vegas and get themselves some sleep before game day; they should have no problem dispatching the Gladiators on their home turf.
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.
