Breaking it Down - Conference Finals edition
Andy Lopusnak
Monday July 14, 2008
After a wild and wacky postseason, the team with the best overall record in the league, the Philadelphia Soul, will be taking on the defending ArenaBowl champions, the San Jose SaberCats, for this year’s ArenaBowl championship righting all the wrongs of letting three 6-10 teams into the playoffs – all is right in the AFL world. The Conference finals were ones for the record books and will be highlighted in this week’s edition of Breaking it Down as well as some Soul-SaberCats notes for their upcoming ArenaBowl XXII matchup.
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CONFERENCE FINAL RESULTS
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PHILADELPHIA 70, Cleveland 35
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SAN JOSE 81, Grand Rapids 55
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THE TWO CONFERENCE FINALS FEATURED:
- Four touchdowns scored on returns: three kickoff returns and one interception return.
- Two players had 200 or more all-purpose yards.
- Two quarterbacks had 300 or more yards passing (both starting QBs from the losing teams).
- Four players had 100 or more yards receiving.
HOME SWEET HOME
Entering the conference finals, the home teams were just 3-5 with all three of those teams playing (San Jose and Philadelphia hosted games, while Cleveland which won at home in the Wild Card traveled to Philly). Both home teams won and advanced to the ArenaBowl. It also marked the tenth semifinals/conference finals to have both home teams win. The others were 1988-92, 1997, 2001-02 and 2004-05. There has been just one time that both home teams lost (2006).
SATURDAY’S ALRIGHT FOR HOME WINNING
There were four Saturday games during the 2008 postseason and all four home teams won in the playoffs. Two of those games were in San Jose and the other two were in Philadelphia.
HIGH-SCORING FINALS
The 151 points scored by the winning teams this weekend were the second highest in semifinal/conference final history. Previously, the 2001 semifinals recorded 154 combined points by the winning teams with Grand Rapids scoring 83 and Nashville tallying 71. The team with the higher point total (the Rampage) went on to win the ArenaBowl. On Saturday, San Jose had 81 and Philadelphia put up 70 points. On the losing end of the semifinals in 2001 were San Jose and Indiana (quarterbacked by current Cleveland QB Raymond Philyaw).
BLOW-OUT FINALS
The combined margin of victory of the two games (81 points) is the most in semifinals/conference finals history by whopping 36 points! In 1992, the combined margin of victory of 46 points was the previous high. Philadelphia’s 35-point win over Cleveland is the second highest in semifinals/conference finals history behind only the Detroit Drive’s 43-point win over the Dallas Texans in 1992. San Jose’s 26-point win is tied for the seventh most.
ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID, NEVER A BRIDE
Speaking of Philyaw... He has taken three different teams to total of four semifinals/conference finals and lost all four times. Each team he lost to went on to win the ArenaBowl. His previous losses were to Grand Rapids in 2001 (with the Indiana Firebirds), to San Jose in 2004 (with Chicago) and to Colorado in 2005 (also with Chicago). In three playoff games this season with the Gladiators, Philyaw tossed 1,033 yards, 20 TDs and just three interceptions; but completed just 58.7% of his passes.
ONE FOR THE THUMB
San Jose DB Omarr Smith is attempting to become just the third player in league history to win five ArenaBowl titles, joining league greats George LaFrance and Stevie Thomas. Smith, however, will be the first to win five in five tries. It took LaFrance seven tries to win five rings and Thomas six attempts. LaFrance, Thomas and Smith all won ArenaBowl titles with the Tampa Bay Storm. LaFrance won two (1995-96), Thomas won four (1991, 93, 95-96) and Smith won one (2003) with the Storm. This is Smith’s fifth ArenaBowl game in the past eight years.
MORE HISTORY FOR SMITH
Omarr Smith’s three interceptions against Grand Rapids are tied for the most in postseason history and the first since Orlando’s Chris Barber had three in ArenaBowl XII (1998). Smith now has nine career interceptions which are third most in league playoff history behind only Kenny McEntyre and Barry Wagner (both with 12).
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES
A week after setting an AFL playoff record by completing 84.6% of his passes, Grand Rapids Rampage quarterback James MacPherson threw the most interceptions (five) in a non-ArenaBowl playoff game in league history against San Jose. MacPherson entered the game with eleven touchdown passes to just an interception in two playoff contests. He had a passer rating of 124.5 in those games and exited the playoffs with a 60.3 rating against the SaberCats. Grand Rapids entered the American Conference finals having given up 82 total points in its playoff wins against #3 seed Arizona and #1 seed Chicago, but allowing 81 to San Jose. The 81 points is the most the Rampage has allowed since giving up 83 in 2007 at Utah.
THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA
The Grand Rapids Rampage opened the regular season with a loss to San Jose and ended its season with a loss to the very same SaberCats in the postseason. In league history, this marks the eleventh time that a team has opened a regular season and ended its playoff run with a loss to the same team. San Jose has three of those eleven unique sweeps, all of which were the last three in league history including the only one that ended in the ArenaBowl.
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YEAR
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TEAM
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LOST TO OPEN REG. SEASON & PLAYOFFS
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2008
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Grand Rapids Rampage
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San Jose SaberCats
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2002
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San Jose SaberCats (in ArenaBowl)
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2001
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Arizona Rattlers
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San Jose SaberCats
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2001
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2001
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Indiana Firebirds
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Grand Rapids Rampage
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1998
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San Jose SaberCats
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Tampa Bay Storm
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1996
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Arizona Rattlers
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1993
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Arizona Rattlers
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Detroit Drive
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1990
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Detroit Drive
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1989
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Detroit Drive
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1988
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Pittsburgh Gladiators
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Detroit Drive
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ARENABOWL MVPs MEET
This marks the first time in ArenaBowl history that the game will feature two former ArenaBowl MVP quarterbacks facing each other. Philadelphia QB Matt D’Orazio won the award in 2005 with Chicago and San Jose QB Mark Grieb was ArenaBowl MVP in 2004 and 2007. In ArenaBowl history, there’s only been on previous ArenaBowl that featured former ArenaBowl MVPs playing against each other – ArenaBowl VII when ArenaBowl V MVP Stevie Thomas met ArenaBowl III & VI MVP George LaFrance. The following year, the two became teammates when the Storm orchestrated the biggest trade in league history to get LaFrance and five other players. Additionally, Thomas and LaFrance were the first players to be named ArenaBowl MVP in multiple title games (LaFrance three times, Thomas twice).
D’ORAZIO AND GRIEB GOING FOR MORE HISTORY
Both starting quarterbacks in this ArenaBowl are chasing AFL legend George LaFrance for two different reasons. Matt D’Orazio is trying to join LaFrance as the only other player to be named ArenaBowl MVP with two different teams (LaFrance did it with Detroit and Tampa Bay). Mark Grieb is attempting to join LaFrance as the only other player with three ArenaBowl MVP awards (LaFrance did it in 1989, 1992 and 1995).
THE HOT HAND
In two playoff games, the quarterbacks for both ArenaBowl teams are two of the hottest in the playoffs. San Jose QB Mark Grieb is completing a playoff-high 76.6% of his passes. Philadelphia QB Matt D’Orazio is ahead of all playoff quarterbacks in touchdown percentage (24.6), though Grieb is right on his heals with a 23.4%. Here’s a look at how each is doing in the postseason so far with the QB with the better numbers in bold. D’Orazio is 7-1 all-time in the postseason with his lone loss in 2007 against the San Jose SaberCats in the American Conference finals when he was with the Chicago Rush. Head-to-head in the playoffs, D’Orazio and Grieb each have a win. This marks the third straight season the two have met each other in the postseason (D’Orazio won in 2006, Grieb in 2007).
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GRIEB
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CATEGORY
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D’ORAZIO
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76.6
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Completion Pct.
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64.9
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538
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Passing Yards
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442
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8.4
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Yards Per Attempt
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7.8
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15
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Touchdown Passes
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14
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23.4
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TD Percent
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24.6
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3
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Interceptions
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1
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4.7
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INT %
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1.8
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121.0
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Passer Rating
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120.8
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REMATCH IN THE ARENABOWL
On April 12, the Soul beat the SaberCats 58-57 in San Jose after overcoming a 20-0 first-quarter deficit (which was also 19 points at halftime and 12 points with 7:44 left in fourth quarter). This marks the 17th ArenaBowl that features teams that faced off in the regular season. There have been five times that the teams did not play each other in the regular season and five others were regular season series splits with each team winning one game. In the twelve other times, the winner of the season series or lone matchup has gone on to win the ArenaBowl just five times. All seven previous teams that lost in the regular season, and then won the ArenaBowl occurred in an even-numbered year (1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2006) – good news for the SaberCats. Strangely, the other even numbered years featured three times the teams spilt the regular season (1990, 2000 and 2002) and one time that neither team played (1996).
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YEAR
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IN REG. SEASON
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ARENABOWL CHAMP
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2008
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Philadelphia won
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????
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2007
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Teams did not play
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San Jose
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2006
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Orlando won
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Chicago
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2005
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Teams did not play
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Colorado
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2004
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Arizona won both
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San Jose
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2003
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Tampa Bay won
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Tampa Bay
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2002
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Teams spilt series
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San Jose
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2001
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Grand Rapids won
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Grand Rapids
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2000
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Teams spilt series
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Orlando
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1999
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Teams spilt series
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Albany
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1998
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Tampa Bay won both
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Orlando
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1997
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Teams did not play
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Arizona
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1996
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Teams did not play
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Tampa Bay
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1995
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Tampa Bay won both
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Tampa Bay
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1994
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Orlando won both
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Arizona
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1993
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Teams did not play
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Tampa Bay
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1992
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Orlando won
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Detroit
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1991
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Tampa Bay won
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Tampa Bay
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1990
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Teams split series
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Detroit
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1989
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Detroit won
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Detroit
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1988
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Chicago won both
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Detroit
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1987
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Teams split series
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Denver
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WE’RE GOING STREAKIN’
Of the previous 21 ArenaBowls, the team with the longer winning streak has won the title nine times. This year, San Jose has won eight straight since losing at Orlando on May 3, while Philadelphia has won five straight after losing to the worst team in the AFL (Kansas City). The team with the bigger win streak has won the ArenaBowl the last three seasons, but lost it the previous four years. There have been two seasons when the ArenaBowl teams have entered with the same win streak (1989 and 1998). Last season’s SaberCats’ 12-game streak entering the ArenaBowl was the longest in league history.
HEY 19
The Philadelphia Soul became the 19th team in league history to advance to the ArenaBowl with their 70-35 win over Cleveland in the National Conference title game. San Jose is playing in its fourth title game. There have been eight teams to play in at least two ArenaBowls (seven if you include Pittsburgh as Tampa Bay) and eleven teams to play in just one title game. Of those previous ten teams with just one ArenaBowl appearance, five of them have won the championship (Denver, 1987; Albany, 1999; Grand Rapids, 2001; Colorado, 2005; and Chicago, 2006).
TEAMS IN CONSECUTIVE ARENABOWLS
San Jose became the eight team in league history to go to multiple ArenaBowls in consecutive years in league history and first since Arizona lost three straight from 2002-04. The SaberCats are attempting to be the third team in league history to win back-to-back ArenaBowls joining the 1995-96 Tampa Bay Storm and the 1988-90 Detroit Drive (winners of three straight) as the only teams to do so.
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TEAM
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CONSEC. ABs
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YEARS
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RECORD
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Detroit Drive
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6
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1988-93
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4-2
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Orlando Predators
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3
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1998-2000
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2-1
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Arizona Rattlers
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3
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2002-04
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0-3
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Tampa Bay Storm
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2
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1995-96
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2-0
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San Jose SaberCats
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2
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2007-08
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1-0
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2
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2000-01
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0-2
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2
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1996-97
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0-2
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Orlando Predators
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2
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1994-95
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0-2
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MOST ARENABOWL WINS
The SaberCats are attempting to be the third team in league history to win four ArenaBowl championships joining the five-time champion Tampa Bay Storm and four-time champion Detroit Drive. Tampa Bay is the only team to win its first four ArenaBowl appearances. San Jose is the only team with more than one ArenaBowl win that has no losses in the title game.
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TEAM
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ARENABOWL WINS
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Tampa Bay Storm
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5
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Detroit Drive
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4
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San Jose SaberCats
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3
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Arizona Rattlers
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2
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Orlando Predators
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2
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Five other teams
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1
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AMERICAN PRIDE
The American Conference has won the six of the last seven ArenaBowl titles, including the last four. Since the AFL began conference play in 1993, the National Conference has seven of 15 wins (Tampa Bay, 4; Orlando, 2; and Albany 1).
EASTERN PROMISES
The Soul became the first team from the Eastern Division to make it to the ArenaBowl since the 1999 Albany Firebirds won the championship over Orlando. In league history, the Soul is just the second Eastern Division team to make it to the ArenaBowl.
UNDER FURTHER REVIEW
Through three weeks, the AFL’s instant replay system has been used twelve times – eight by teams and four times by the officials. So far, there have been just two plays have been overturned. This weekend, the officials used it once for timing issues in the Philadelphia-Cleveland game and twice by teams, including Grand Rapids which was awarded a touchdown in the fourth quarter against San Jose that was originally called a tackle on the goal line.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Last year at this time, Columbus was the National Conference champions awaiting a matchup with the SaberCats. Tomorrow, the Destroyers will announce a new head coach after the team finished 3-13 this season and fired Doug Kay. Many speculate that it will be Pat Sperduto, who last coached the Nashville Kats in 2007. Sperduto had three great seasons as head coach of the Kats from 1999-01 (27-15 record and two ArenaBowl appearances), but was out of the AFL until the Kats returned in 2005 with three sub-par years in Music City (21-26-1 and just one playoff appearance).
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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Kenny Higgins, GR
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142
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12
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2
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Cole Magner, GR
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103
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10
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1
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Cleannord Saintil, SJ
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113
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11
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5
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Robert Redd, CLE
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152
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11
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2
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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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James MacPherson, GR
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314
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4
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5
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Raymond Philyaw, CLE
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303
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4
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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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TDs
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Chris Martin, GR
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211
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1
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Robert Redd, CLE
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232
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2
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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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Clevan Thomas, SJ
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11.0
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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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2
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0
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Omarr Smith, SJ
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4.5
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3
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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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Marquis Floyd, SJ
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9.5
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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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2
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0
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Eddie Moten, PHI
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10.5
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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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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
San Jose receiver Cleannord Saintil posted eleven receptions for 113 yards and five touchdowns, including the SaberCats’ first points during their 81-55 win over Grand Rapids. Saintil caught touchdown strikes of 7, 16, 3, 17 and 21 yards.
HONORABLE MENTION: San Jose QB Mark Grieb completed 80% of his passes (24-of-30) for 255 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions leading his SaberCats to an 81-55 win over Grand Rapids. Grieb’s two interceptions were on freakish plays – a batted-down pass at the line of scrimmage and a pass when the game was well in control late in the fourth quarter to an offensive lineman.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
San Jose defensive back Omarr Smith had three interceptions, 4.5 tackles and two pass breakups during the SaberCats’ 81-55 win over Grand Rapids. In all, he picked off Rampage QB James MacPherson four times if you include his pick on a two-point conversion try. Smith’s first interception led to a SaberCats touchdown that put the team up 35-14 with under a minute to go in the first half. His second pick came midway through the third quarter with San Jose up 41-28 and led to another touchdown. Smith’s final interception came with three minutes left in the game and also led to a SaberCats’ touchdown.
HONORABLE MENTION: Philadelphia defensive back Eddie Moten had two interceptions, 10.5 tackles and two pass breakups in the Soul’s 70-35 win over Cleveland.
IRONMAN OF THE WEEK
San Jose WR/LB Jason Geathers moved into the starting lineup on offense with James Roe out with an injury and stepped up on both sides of the ball. The 2008 All-Ironman selection scored the SaberCats’ final three touchdowns on a nine-yard reception, 14-yard run and a 29-yard interception return. In all, he had four touchdowns, three rushes for 18 yards (one TD), four receptions for 52 yards (two TDs), half a tackle, a pass breakup and an interception (returned for a TD).
HONORABLE MENTION: Cleveland WR/KR Robert Reed posted 232 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort against Philadelphia. Redd caught eleven passes for 152 yards and two scores; returned three kickoffs for 80 yards and posted two solo tackles.
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.
