Blaze return to face the Storm
Don Eisenbarth
Thursday March 17, 2011
The wait is over! The nets are up, the field is set, the sets are in position, the dasher boards are out and the Utah Blaze are back.
The Blaze are returning to form in many ways this season. After a one year hiatus, the Arena Football League came back in 2010, and while there was a team that represented Utah, they never truly felt like the Utah Blaze I had come to know. The arena was different, the offense sputtered, games weren’t competitive.
However this year, things look different. That is, things look a lot like they used to. Just like in 2008 the Blaze have one of the better quarterbacks in the league in former University of Utah quarterback Tommy Grady. Last year with the now defunct Oklahoma City Yard Dawgs, Grady threw for 4,307 yards and 81 touchdowns.
As in 2008 the Blaze have a couple of new tall wide receivers that will be led and taught by team veteran Aaron Boone. The receiving core also includes 6’5” WR John Cooper and 6’4” Ernie Price both of whom should be at a considerable advantage over the shorter defensive backs of the Arena Football League (the average DB is 5’10”). In 2008, the trio of Aaron Boone, J.J. McKelvey and Huey Whittaker combined for 4,597 receiving yards and 93 touchdowns. Cooper and Price are built the same as McKelvey and Whittaker and have similar speeds, with 6’7” Grady at the helm, the Blaze are poised to have an offense that’s head and shoulders above the rest.
The first game of the season features the return of Huey Whittaker, as he is now one the main offensive threats for the Tampa Bay Storm. The Storm escaped the Graveyard of New Orleans, defeating the VooDoo with a final score of 46-40. In that game, Storm WR Michael Lindsey had three touchdowns (including one from a kick return) and LB Cliff Dukes had four sacks. Whittaker and Dukes won Ironman and Defensive Players of the Week in the AFL.
The Storm scored 107 passing touchdowns in 2010, however they were unable to score a single passing touchdown against the VooDoo. The Storm seem to have a need of a solid quarterback after 2010 starter Brett Dietz left. New Storm QB Mike Potts completed just 57.1% of his passes for the game and didn’t throw for a single touchdown, which is a severe rarity in arena football.
Their defense was solid in the first game of the season, with Cliff Dukes getting 4 sacks on the Voodoo. Richard Clebert and Greg Taplin also had a sack each. If the Blaze are going to win, Tommy Grady must have the protection he needs from the offensive line that includes Jason Boone (brother of Aaron), Raymond McNeil and Raushan Rowser. The Storm should also be aware of the Blaze defense which includes last year’s standout Caesar Rayford, as well as new members MLB Michael Lewis and DB William Mulder. This trio will cause problems for the Potts, or whoever else will play for the storm, as Rayford and Lewis are beast who will apply pressure and Mulder is an int. specialist who played for the Arena Bowl champions Spokane Shock last year.
My take of this game: In an early addition of Ask Coach Ron James on the Utah Blaze website, coach James said that he would gladly jump into the “firepit” fan section of the stands after Utah won their first game at the EnergySolutions Arena. This is going to happen tonight.
Tampa Bay is a good team, but their lack of a solid quarterback will be their ultimate demise as Tommy Grady and the Blaze will simply just score more than the Storm. Both defenses should have moments in this game, but they will cancel each other out and the Blaze will begin their season 1-0 for the first time since 2007.
