Breaking it down – 2008 Week Two
Andy Lopusnak
Tuesday March 11, 2008
With Week Two of the 2008 Arena Football League season in the books, here are some breakdowns of this past week’s AFL action based on interesting statistical and historical notes, weekly leaders and other things from each game.
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WEEK TWO RESULTS
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TAMPA BAY 69, Georgia 48
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DALLAS 46, Columbus 36
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CLEVELAND 66, Utah 63
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Philadelphia 60, CHICAGO 49
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NEW ORLEANS 54, Orlando 53
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NEW YORK 50, Kansas City 47
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San Jose 66, GRAND RAPIDS 58
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Los Angeles 65, ARIZONA 33
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WEEK TWO’S EIGHT GAMES FEATURED:
- Twelve touchdowns scored on returns: fumble (4), interception (3), kickoff (2) and net recovery (3).
- The home team won five of the eight contests.
- 17 players had 100 or more yards receiving.
- Two players had 200 or more all-purpose yards.
- Five quarterbacks had 300 or more yards passing.
- Seven starting quarterbacks that didn’t throw an interception.
- 13 quarterbacks scored at least six touchdowns (passing and rushing).
- Eight players with 10 or more receptions – all but one had at least 100 yards receiving.
- Four players with at least 10.0 tackles.
THAT’S THE ‘POINT’
The Tampa Bay Storm has been out gained by nearly double and is converting just 12% of its third-down conversions on offense, but is 2-0. However, the Storm’s offense has made the most of its opportunities while its opponents have not. Tampa Bay has scored 42 points off of seven takeaways while its opponents have no points from two giveaways. The Storm has also had great field possession with eight of its 20 offensive drives inside its opponents’ 20-yard line and has had two touchdowns on returns.
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STORM OFFENSE
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CATEGORY
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OPPONENTS
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387
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Total Yards
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626
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383
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Pass Yards
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608
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4
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Rush Yards
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18
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1/8 (12%)
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3rd Down Conversions
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11/18 (61%)
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2
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Turnovers
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7
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42
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Points Off Opp. Turnovers
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0
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THE ALMOST PERFECT STORM
Over its last eleven regular season games, the Storm is 10-1 which is tied with Dallas and San Jose for the best record during that time frame in the AFL. Tampa Bay’s only setback was a 52-38 loss at Georgia last May. Dallas was won ten straight since a loss also to Georgia and San Jose had won ten straight regular season contests before a Week One loss at Chicago. Last season, Tampa Bay started 0-5 before finishing 9-2 and making it into the playoffs.
AFL RECORDS – LAST ELEVEN REGULAR SEASON GAME
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TEAM
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RECORD
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Tampa Bay
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10-1
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San Jose
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10-1
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Dallas
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10-1
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Georgia
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8-3
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Los Angeles
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8-3
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Chicago
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7-4
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Kansas City
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7-4
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ON ‘MARC’
With the Storm starting 2-0, it is the ninth time a Tim Marcum-led team has started 2-0 in his 19 years as an AFL head coach. All eight teams previously that started 2-0 made the playoffs and three went onto win the ArenaBowl (1989, 1995 & 1996). Two others lost in the ArenaBowl to the Storm (1991, 1993). But his last three teams to start 0-2 all failed to reach the ArenaBowl.
BY GEORGE
Sedrick Robinson became just the third player in AFL history to record at least 9,000 career kickoff return yards in the first quarter of the Storm’s 69-48 win over Kansas City. During the game, he passed former Storm legend George LaFrance for second all-time and is on pace to pass Hunkie Cooper by Week Eight. Robinson is the league’s all-time leader in kickoffs returned for touchdowns and also ranks third all-time in number of kickoff returns.
AFL CAREER LEADERS IN KICKOFF RETURN YARDAGE
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RK
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PLAYER
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KICKOFF RETURN YARDS
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1
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Hunkie Cooper
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9,810
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2
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Sedrick Robinson
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9,090
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3
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George LaFrance
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9,077
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“I’m very happy for him,” said LaFrance who showed Robinson some pointers when Sedrick was a rookie in 2001. On Robinson’s first kickoff after meeting LaFrance, he returned it 54 yards for the first of his AFL record 28 kickoff returns for scores. Robinson had returned just 17 kickoffs in his career before meeting LaFrance.
SOULFUL SECOND HALF FOR JACKSON
Philadelphia receiver Chris Jackson had just a 22-yard catch at halftime with the Soul trailing the Rush 28-26. He took over in the second half as he led Philadelphia to a 60-49 victory with eight grabs for 104 yards and three scores in the final 30 minutes.
CHRIS JACKSON VS. CHICAGO
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1st HALF
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CATEGORY
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2nd HALF
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1
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Receptions
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8
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22
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Receiving Yards
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104
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0
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Receiving TDs
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3
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NATIONAL PRIDE
In three inter-conference games, the National Conference won all three contests. Through two weeks, the National Conference is 5-2 against the American Conference. Los Angeles’ win over New Orleans and Colorado's win over Columbus in Week One are the American Conference’s only wins vs. the National Conference so far this season.
DALLAS AVENGES 2007 LOSSES WITHIN A WEEK
The Desperados lost just two total games last season – at Georgia in the regular season and against Columbus in the playoffs. Within six days, Dallas has beaten both teams and has won ten straight regular season contests.
DESTROYED?
Columbus is just the third team to lose an ArenaBowl and then start the following season 0-2. The Destroyers join the 2004 Arizona Rattlers and 1989 Chicago Bruisers. Both made the playoffs with the Rattlers advancing to ArenaBowl XVIII before losing to the SaberCats. Arizona finished the regular season 11-5 in 2004 and Chicago went 1-3 in the league’s 1989 “Showcase Season.”
DALLAS DOES IT WITHOUT DOLEZEL
With the AFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes sidelined at least until Week Six with separated shoulder, the Desperados turned to Chris Sanders, who began his AFL career with the (Buffalo) Destroyers. Unlike the last time Dallas played Columbus, the Desperados won with Sanders passing for 268 yards with five passing scores and a rushing touchdown against his former team. Dallas is 2-0 for the third straight season and fourth time in eight seasons.
BACKUPS TO THE RESCUE
There were three backup quarterbacks that were forced to start this week because of injuries in Week One to their teams’ number-one gunslinger. All three won their first start of the season. Chris Saunders led the Desperados over Columbus, Danny Wimprine led the VooDoo over the Predators and Rohan Davey led the Dragons over the Brigade.
FIVE TEAMS START 2-0
Last season, four teams started 2-0 or better (Dallas, Georgia, Philadelphia and Utah). All four made the playoffs, but none made it to the ArenaBowl. This season, five teams are 2-0 - Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. Note: Colorado is 1-0 and had a bye in Week Two.
FOUR TEAMS START 0-2
Five teams have started 0-2 this season (Columbus, Georgia, Kansas City, Orlando and Utah). Last season only one team that started 0-2 or worse made the playoffs. Tampa Bay began 0-5 before ending the season 9-2 and making the playoffs. This is the first 0-2 start in franchise history for both the Force and Blaze, while it is the fourth such start for the Destroyers. The 2000 Destroyers started 0-8 before finishing 5-1 to make the playoffs. The Predators have started 0-2 only once in the team’s previous 17 seasons (2004 but finished 10-6). Interestingly, Georgia (2005), Orlando (2006) and Columbus (2007) were the National Conference representatives in the last three ArenaBowls (all three lost) and are now 0-2. Note: Grand Rapids is 0-1 because of a Week One bye.
“CUMBI’NG OF AGE
Los Angeles’ Sonny Cumbie tossed for 267 yards Monday night against Arizona, which put him over 8,000 in his AFL career. He is tied for the fastest to reach the mark with former Albany Firebirds QB Mike Perez. Both hit the mark in their 31st AFL game.
HE’S NO WIMP
New Orleans QB Danny Wimprine passed for 311 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions in his first AFL start when he led the VooDoo to a 54-53 win over Orlando. It was the VooDoo’s first win of the season.
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (IN THE BIG EASY)
New Orleans defensive back Keon Raymond made two huge defensive plays in the final 36 seconds to give the VooDoo its first win of the season, 54-53 over Orlando. First Raymond intercepted a Shane Stafford pass and raced 42 yards for a touchdown. He then tipped away the would-be game-winning two-point conversion for the Predators with no time remaining to secure New Orleans’ victory.
AVENGERS GET DEFENSIVE
In Los Angeles’ 54-33 win at Arizona, the defensive unit limited the Rattlers QBs to a 44.7 completion percentage, had four sacks and forced three turnovers. A week earlier, the Rattlers completed 66% of their passes, were sacked once and had just a single turnover in Arizona’s 63-62 win at Utah.
DAMIAN HERALDS HISTORY
Chicago receiver Damian Harrell had a historic game in the Rush’s 60-49 loss against Philadelphia. After catching ten passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns, Harrell became the league’s all-time leader in 100-yard receiving games (60), second player to reach 300 receiving touchdowns (joining Eddie Brown) and fourth player to reach 900 career catches (joining Brown, Barry Wagner and Lawrence Samuels). Last week, he became the third player to reach 12,000 receiving yards (joining Wagner and Brown).
PASSERS ON THE RUN
Week Two featured 285 rushing yards and 24 ground scores. Quarterbacks accounted for 132 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. All other non-QBs combined for 153 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. QBs averaged 3.2 yards per rush, while non-QBs averaged just 1.8 yards per rushing attempt. Most of the yardage for the QBs came from just two players – Grand Rapids’ Adrian McPherson had 41 yards, while New York’s Rohan Davey accounted for 29 yards.
WEEK TWO’S TOP STATISTICAL PREFORMANCES
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100-YARD RECEIVERS
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PLAYER, TEAM
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RECEIVING YARDS
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RECEPTIONS
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TOUCHDOWNS
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T.T. Toliver, ORL
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153
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10
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3
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Kenny Higgins, GR
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146
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7
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3
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Troy Bergeron, GEO
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138
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12
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2
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Carl Morris, GEO
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133
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13
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3
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Derek Lee, CMB
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131
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9
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4
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JJ McKelvey, UTAH
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131
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11
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3
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Aaron Boone, UTAH
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127
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10
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2
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Javarus Dudley, NO
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127
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9
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2
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Chris Jackson, PHI
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126
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9
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3
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Timon Marshall, LA
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119
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6
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2
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Kevin Nickerson, ARZ
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117
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6
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0
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Huey Whittaker, UTAH
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116
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8
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3
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Marcus Nash, DAL
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113
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8
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3
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Robert Redd, CLE
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105
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7
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3
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Damian Harrell, CHI
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104
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10
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3
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Siaha Burley, ARZ
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101
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6
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3
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Jerel Myers, KC
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100
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11
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1
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300-YARD PASSERS
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PLAYER, TEAM
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PASSING YARDS
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PASS TDs
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INTERCEPTIONS
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Joe Germaine, UTAH
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374
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8
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2
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Shane Stafford, ORL
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321
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4
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2
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Chris Greisen, GEO
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319
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5
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2
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Danny Wimprine, NO
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311
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6
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0
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Sherdrick Bonner, CHI
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306
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6
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2
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200 YARDS OR MORE ALL-PURPOSE
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PLAYER, TEAM
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ALL-PURPOSE
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TOTAL TDs
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T.T. Toliver, ORL
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233
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3
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Kevin Nickerson, AZ
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221
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0
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DEFENSIVE LEADERS
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PLAYER, TEAM
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TACKLES
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INT
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SACKS
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FF
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FR
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PBU
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DEF TD
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Mike Brown, PHI
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4.0
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2
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0.0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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Levy Brown, NY
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6.5
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2
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0.0
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0
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0
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2
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0
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Ahmad Carroll, ORL
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5.0
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2
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0.0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Nate Coggins, CMB
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8.5
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0
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0.0
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0
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0
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3
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0
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Wendall Gaines, ARZ
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3.0
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0
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3.0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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Jeroid Johnson, TB
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13.5
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0
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0.0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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Monty Montgomery, KC
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12.0
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0
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0.0
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0
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0
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2
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0
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Eddie Moten, PHI
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10.0
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0
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0.0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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M. Moye-Moore, ORL
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10.0
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0
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0.0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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Bobby Perry, DAL
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9.0
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1
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0.0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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Duke Pettijohn, DAL
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5.0
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0
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1.0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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Traco Rachal, TB
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7.0
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1
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0.0
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0
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1
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1
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0
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Keon Raymond, NO
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7.0
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1
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0.0
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0
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0
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1
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1
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Calvin Spears, NO
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8.5
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0
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0.0
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0
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0
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3
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0
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Clevan Thomas, SJ
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4.5
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0
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0.0
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1
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2
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0
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0
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Isaiah Trufant, ARZ
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5.0
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0
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0.0
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0
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0
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5
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0
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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Philadelphia receiver Chris Jackson had a huge second half in the Soul’s 60-49 win against Chicago. After catching a 22-yard pass in the first half with Philadelphia trailing 28-26, Jackson posted eight grabs for 104 yards and three scores as the Soul outscored the Rush by 13 in the second half en route to a 60-49 victory.
HONORABLE MENTION: New Orleans QB Danny Wimprine made the most of his first AFL start by leading the VooDoo to a 54-53 victory while completing 27-of-37 of his passes for 311 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran the ball twice for four yards.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
New Orleans defensive back Keon Raymond broke up a two-point conversion with no time remaining that secured the VooDoo’s 54-53 victory over Orlando. He returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown with 36 second left in the game and added seven tackles, including one on special teams.
HONORABLE MENTION: New York defensive back Levy Brown intercepted a would-be game-winning touchdown as time expired in the Dragons’ 50-47 win over Kansas City. The 2007 af2 Defensive Player of the Year had 6.5 tackles, two interceptions and two pass breakups in the contest.
IRONMAN OF THE WEEK
Philadelphia WR/DB Mike Brown returned a kickoff 54 yards for a touchdown, intercepted two passes and recorded 4.0 tackles. He also had a rush for no yards and finished with four kickoffs for 108 yards. Brown’s interceptions came on back-to-back plays taking a one-point game (36-35 in favor of the Soul) into a 15-point advantage en route to an eleven-point victory in Chicago. He snagged his first pick Willie Mays-style with a diving over-the-shoulder that prevented Rush receiver Damian Harrell from a go-ahead touchdown.
HONORABLE MENTION: In a losing effort, Orlando receiver/kick returner T.T. Toliver tallied 233 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns for the Predators. He caught a dividing touchdown at the buzzer to set up the two-point conversion that would have given the Predators the win. Overall, Toliver had ten catches for 153 yards with three TDs, two rushes for 12 yards and five kickoff returns for 68 yards. He leads the AFL in all-purpose yards after two games.
Andy Lopusnak is an 11-year AFL front office veteran, spending time with the Tampa Bay Storm, San Diego Riptide and Grand Rapids Rampage. He works as a statistician for NFL and college sports for CBS Sports and is a freelance photographer. Lopusnak received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of South Florida and has been a fan of ArenaBall since its inception.
