Two years ago, Ron James came to a podium in an upper conference room at the Maverick Center and made some spectacular comments on the future of the team. Having just taken a two year contract extension after taking over as the Utah Blaze Head Coach, James illustrated his vision of the team and the type of players it would take to reach that goal.

 

James stated that the Blaze planned on being playoff bound in 1 year and competing for the Arena Bowl in 2 years. These were big words for a team coming off a 2-14 season, but James believed that players like Aaron Boone, Aaron LeSue, Caesar Rayford and new additions with similar attitudes would help achieve those goals as would the addition of Offensive Coordinator Matthew Sauk.

 

Led by Sauk and QB Tommy Grady, the Utah Blaze offense went back to the pre-2009 level. The defense allowed a lot of points but changed a few of the games in the Blaze favor, especially through the play of Rayford and Michael Lewis. However, injuries and inconsistencies along with a rough schedule led the Blaze to a 9-9 season and a 6^th place finish which fell short of the playoffs.

 

So the 2011 Blaze didn’t reach their goals and while they were an amazing improvement from the 2010 Blaze, they still had to improve in order to meet the goal set for them by Coach James in that conference room at the Maverick Center two years ago. So, as we prepare for the season opener against San Antonio, lets take a look at the components the Utah Blaze have that may lead them to the postseason and beyond this year. 

 

 

1)      The high powered offense from last season returns in full with QB Tommy Grady leading the charge. A solid group of wide receivers return from last season including Alvance Robinson, Aaron LeSue, Ernie Pierce and Chris Bocage. While there's no real stars in that group (and they'll be missing the services of Aaron Boone, who is still listed on the teams website on the IR for some reason) the wide receiving corps on the Blaze is one of the deepest in the league.

2)      That offense is also helped by the fact that Offensive Coordinator Matthew Sauk is still with the team. Sauk was fully expected by many to be offered a Head Coaching position somewhere in the league after being a crucial part of Spokane's 2010 ArenaBowl victory and taking the Blaze offense from worst to first, but to the delight of fans he is back to coach the offense.

3)      Caesar Rayford and Mike Lewis, both All-Arena defensive linemen for the Blaze have returned and look to be as nasty as ever. Each player had 10 sacks last season, and Rayford was a beast on field goal blocking.

 

 

1)      Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hoffman was released and Michael Brown was brought in as the new Defensive Coordinator. From practices, it looks like James will be calling defensive sets, which frees Brown up to develop players and specifically work on the defensive backfield which was the Blaze's weakest link last season.

2)      The Blaze look to strengthen the protection for Tommy Grady by bringing in “retired” former Utah and Weber State Head Coach Ron McBride. McBride is a legend in Utah collegiate football and will bring his expertise and experience as the Blaze new Line Coach. Keeping Grady healthy is a key to long term success of the team. Backup QB Carson Coffman is a solid Quarterback, but Blaze fans would rather not see him play.

3)      Defensive Linemen Keenan Mace and Jacob Hardwick round out the pass rush that looks to be the best Utah has ever seen.

 

 

The 2012 Utah Blaze look to be a team that no one will want to play. This team has an opportunity to do something special this season. They can compete against anyone in the league, but that doesn't mean that they're necessarily going to be heading to the ArenaBowl, or even the postseason

 

For one thing, the Blaze have one of the toughest schedules in the AFL. They start the season as the first team to ever face the talented San Antonio Talons, with the ArenaBowl champion Quarterback Aaron Garcia leading the way. They will also play the Talons again in Salt Lake City later in the season. The Blaze open their home schedule on Week 3 against the San Jose Sabercats and will have to face the Sabercats, Arizona Rattlers and Spokane Shock twice in what once again is a deep Western Division.

 

Injuries could play a factor as well. Last season the Blaze were the most injured team in the AFL. At one point, they didn't have a single WR on the active roster who started the season on the active roster. Also, who could forget when WR Ernie Pierce went under center and had to play QB to finish out a game when both QBs went down in the same game. If the Blaze are going to have success, Ron McBride's offensive line is going to have to hold stout and the Blaze are going to have to stay healthy.

 

Finally, the Blaze have to learn how to win on the road and hold last year's awesome home record. Last season, the Blaze were 7-2 at home and 2-7 on the road. If they are going to be a postseason team, they will need to win away from Salt Lake and the fans and atmosphere of Utah Blaze football will need to keep EnergySolutions Arena as one of the hardest places to win in the AFL.

 

Best Case Scenario: Blaze offense rolls, defense begins to take control, and the Utah Blaze go 15-3, host a playoff game for the 2^nd (and 3^rd) time in franchise history and head to their first ArenaBowl.

 

Worst Case Scenario: Tommy Grady goes down in first game, the defense never finds it footing. The team stays resilient but finished the season 6-12.

 

Most Probable Scenario: Team stays healthy but has some injuring to key players. Defense is improved but still not stellar. Blaze can't seem to break past Arizona or San Jose. Blaze win a franchise record 11 games and go 11-7. However, they lose in the first round playoff on the road.

Don Eisenbarth has been following the Utah Blaze since 2006, but this is his first year covering for ArenaFan. Born in Provo to a family of BYU fans and having graduated from the University of Utah, Don has enjoyed all sides of the Utah college football landscape for decades and is excited for the return of professional football to the Beehive State. You can follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/bigdondoo