New Season Brings New Hope For Storm
Joe Kauffman
Thursday April 12, 2001
Nine months later, a new season is about to begin and the team believes they will have much better results. “I feel confident,” said Storm Head Coach Tim Marcum. “We had a good football team at the end of the year.”
And QB John Kaleo was the main reason that the Storm finished strong. Having played for six teams in seven seasons prior to joining the Storm, it seems as if the former journeyman quarterback has finally found a home. Kaleo signed a multi-year free agent contract with the Storm during the off-season and plans to be with the Storm for years to come.
“It’s nice being with a winning organization,” said Kaleo. “The fan club comes to see us at the airport. Whether we win or lose, they’re there.”
Now that he has a stable position as a starting quarterback with a well-established franchise, Kaleo, who was 222-of-370 passing for 2883 yards, 50 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, has set high expectations for himself and his team. “We expect to win 10 games every year. Anything beyond that depends on team chemistry.”
Kaleo’s personal goals are somewhat loftier than a ten-win season. “My goals are to win the championship, win the division and to beat Orlando twice. [I must] play as well as I can to be the number one quarterback in the league. You’ve got to set your goals high and you have to achieve them.”
“There’s not a whole lot you can show [Kaleo] that he hasn’t seen’” said Coach Marcum. “He’s an eight-year vet. He’s kind of my assistant coach, like P.T. [Willis] was and Jay Gruden was. He knows what I want to do. I’ve allowed him to insert a little bit of the offense. I allow him to call a lot of his plays.”
In order to achieve his championship goals, Kaleo knows he will face a lot of pressure. “In Arena Football, every starting quarterback has to feel the pressure because the success of the team relies on the quarterback because you pass the ball every single down. If you are afraid to pull the trigger in this game, you are not going to have much success offensively.”
But Kaleo will need help from his teammates and his coaching staff. Fortunately, the Storm’s head coach is the winningest coach in Arena Football history. Coach Marcum is 126-37 as a head coach and has more post-season victories than any other, plus he has six ArenaBowl championships in nine appearances.
“I can see why [Marcum] is the number one coach in Arena Football, with the most victories and most ArenaBowl appearances,” said Kaleo. “He’ll get on your case if you don’t perform well, and the players respond to it. He expects you to act like a professional.”
According to Coach Marcum, the key to having a great season this year is improvement of the secondary and avoiding injuries. “The keys to this season are to stay healthy-- not get the critical injury-- and finding that cover guy we’re looking for. Finding the next Johnnie Harris or Tracey Perkins.”
Player health is a major factor. Last season, the Storm lost OS Wayne Walker and WR/DB Charles Wilson during their season opener. Harvey Middleton was brought in to replace them, and then he went down to injury in week three against Albany and was out for nine weeks.
While Wilson and Walker are no longer with the Storm, Middleton is back to full health. James Bowden, who joined the team in Week 5 last season as a replacement for Middleton, is also returning to the team. Bowden finished as the Storm’s leading receiver with 70 receptions for 859 yards and nine touchdowns.
While Marcum understands the importance of the passing game, he knows the importance of being able to balance between offense and defense in Arena Football. His teams have been near the top in defense every year he has coached in the league, which is something other teams have begun to pick up on. “We can’t establish the run game. We can’t be the Baltimore Ravens. We’ve got to score. If you don’t score, the other team will, regardless of how good a defense you are. We’ve led this league in defense for a long time and we still give up 30 points a game. Giving up 30 points sounds crazy, but it’s better than giving up 50.”
 Andre Bowden is the last player from the original Tampa Bay team in 1991 Image courtesy of Joe Kauffman |
Tying the Knot
Storm OS James Bowden missed the preseason win over the Orlando Predators because he was getting married last Saturday night. “It was scheduled long before the football game was scheduled,” said Marcum last week. “The fact that it is an exhibition game, we’re going to allow him to go get married.”
Last man Standing
FB/LB Andre Bowden, who returns to the Storm after re-signing as a free agent, is the last remaining player from the very first Tampa Bay team in 1991. “I know I’m the last one left from the original team, so I’m going to try and finish it up here. I’m going to hang in there. I’m an old man now. I’m just going to try to stay injury-free, hope for a good season this year.” Bowden won ArenaBowls with the Storm in 1991 and 1993 and was named All-Arena First Team FB/LB in 1993 and 1999.
Joe Kauffman is President and Editor in Chief of Arenafan Online, having joined the staff in 2000. He graduated from Florida State University in 1998 with a degree in communications andbuilds ecommerce sites for a day job. Joe has enjoyed Arena Football since 1991 and has been a member of the Arena Football Internet community since 1995. Prior to Joining Arenafan, he was a co-founder and Technical Editor of the Storm Shelter, which covered the Tampa Bay Storm from 1996-99. Joe and his wife Erika live in Hackettstown, New Jersey with their two daughters.
