Tommy guns down the record book
Andy Lopusnak
Thursday June 14, 2012
Utah Blaze quarterback Tommy Grady became the fastest player to reach 100 passing touchdowns in a season in AFL history doing so in just 13 games. Grady, the 2012 league leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns, is on pace to destroy AFL single-season marks in both categories. If he continues at this ridiculous record-setting pace, Grady will have statistically the greatest season by a QB in 25-year history of Arena Football.
Since joining the Blaze in 2011, Grady epitomized the term "gunslinger." Last year, he was on pace to shatter league marks in TDs but was hurt in the 15th game of the season and missed the final three games. At the time, he had 107 passing scores (7.13 per game) along with 4,365 yards (291.2 per game). Despite missing the final three and a half games of the season, he led the league with nine 300-yard passing games and still finished third in passing touchdowns.
Through 13 games this year, Grady already has reached at least 300 yards nine times and is on pace for more touchdowns (7.77 per game or 140 for an 18-game season) and yards (340.4 per game or 6,127 yards) than last season. Those numbers are stratospheric! The current league records are 117 and 5,312 respectively.
"Having records like those would be great for me and my teammates since this league's being around for 25 years," Grady said. "But, we're trying to win a championship. That's our goal."
Here's a look at the 18 times in AFL history that a player has reached 100 passing touchdowns. Grady has done so in back-to-back seasons. He joins Nick Davila, Clint Dolezel and Mark Grieb as the only players to reach 100 passing scores in consecutive seasons. Grady is also just the sixth player to have multiple 100 pass TD seasons (In addition to Davila, Dolezel and Grieb; Aaron Garcia did it three times and Chris Greisen twice).
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MOST PASSING TOUCHDOWNS - AFL HISTORY, SINGLE SEASON
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PLAYER
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TEAM
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YEAR
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PASS TD
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GM 100 REACHED
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1. Chris Greisen
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Georgia
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2007
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117
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14th
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Nick Davila
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Arizona
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2011
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117
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16th
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3. Aaron Garcia
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Jacksonville
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2011
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116
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16th
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4. Justin Allgood
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Tulsa
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2010
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108
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16th
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5. Tommy Grady
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Utah
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2011
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107
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14th
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Brett Dietz
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Tampa Bay
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2010
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107
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15th
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Joe Germaine
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Utah
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2007
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107
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15th
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Clint Dolezel
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Dallas
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2007
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107
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15th
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Chris Greisen
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Milwaukee
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2007
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107
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15th
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10. Clint Dolezel
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Dallas
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2006
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105
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16th
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Aaron Garcia
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New York
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2001
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104
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14th
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12. Kyle Rowley
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Spokane
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2010
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102
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16th
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Nick Davila
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Arizona
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2010
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102
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16th
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14. Tommy Grady
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Utah
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2012
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101
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13th
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15. Aaron Garcia
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New York
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2003
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100
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14th
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Mark Grieb
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San Jose
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2008
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100
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16th
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Mark Grieb
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San Jose
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2007
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100
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16th
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John Dutton
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Cleveland
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2010
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100
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16th
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If Grady continues his staggering pace, he should easily be named the AFL's Offensive Player of the Year and would be a strong consideration for MVP.
"I really do believe that Tommy can be or is at least very close to being the best quarterback in the league," said Matt Sauk, Utah's assistant head coach/offensive coordinator. "His ability to throw the ball into spots that most quarterbacks are not able to is amazing to watch every game. He has the arm strength to throw a strike and such great touch when that's needed. He has all the tools and it really is amazing to watch him play every week."
The reigning AFL Assistant Coach of the Year and af2 Hall of Famer should know. He tutored Nick Davila from 2008-09 as the offensive coordinator of the Spokane Shock in the af2. Davila was 38-3 in those two seasons. In 2009, the Shock won the final ArenaCup championship and with Davila being named ArenaCup MVP (By the way, Davila is the reigning AFL MVP). A year later, Sauk mentored Kyle Rowley when the Shock jumped to the AFL and just like a year earlier, Spokane won it all and Rowley earned ArenaBowl MVP honors. "All three [Davila, Rowley and Grady] brought something different to the table, added Sauk. "[It's] hard to compare them because all three are different when it comes to running the offense we have here in Utah. Rowley was gritty, Davila was so smart with the football and [Grady] is a combination of both. I think if he continues to play, the sky is the limit with [Tommy]."
The six-foot-seven Grady, who was ranked the third-best pro-style QB in high school, began his college career at Oklahoma in 2004 backing up the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Jason White. He played in just three games completing 12-of-14 for 63 yards and a touchdown. The next season with White gone, there were three QBs vying for the starting nod. Grady opted to transfer to Utah when it appeared that he was going to be the odd man out. Things didn't work out with the Utes that ran a spread offense that didn't suit his large frame.
Grady did have a shinning moment in college. In 2007 with the mobile Brian Johnson (now the offensive coordinator with the Utes) hurt, Grady started three games, including the 44-6 win over #11 UCLA. He tossed three scores in the win.
In 2008, the Cleveland Browns signed him as an undrafted free agent, but was among the final cuts for the opening-day roster. Without an NFL team, Grady decided to give Arena Football a shot. He was going to be signed by the San Jose SaberCats for the 2009 season to backup Mark Grieb. However, at the time of his workouts the AFL folded and the entire 2009 season was scrapped.
"Without the AFL as an option, Grady was persuaded to come back to Sooner State by Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz head coach Sparky McEwen to play in the af2. Grady played in just two games, starting both, in the final two games of the year. He tossed for 332 yards and six scores in his debut to go along with an OKC franchise record 44 pass attempts. A week later, he was even better passing for 355 yards with seven touchdowns and a franchise record 31 completions. Despite his impressive numbers, Oklahoma City lost both contests.
When the af2 morphed into the re-launched AFL in 2010, the Yard Dawgz were one of the teams.
"Over the years that I have coached professional football, [Tommy's] is without doubt the most gifted quarterback that I have seen play in Arena Football," McEwen told the Oklahoma Gazette prior to the 2010 season. McEwen coached soon-to-be AFL Hall of Fame finalist Clint Dolezel from 2001-03 as the offensive coordinator of the Grand Rapids Rampage, winning an ArenaBowl in 2001.Grady started all 16 games with 4,307 yards and 81 touchdowns in 2010. At times, he showed greatness including his 430-yard, 10-touchdown performance in the highest scoring game in league history (88-79 win over Bossier-Shreveport). He also had his issues, including 17 interceptions and numerous mishandled center-to-QB exchanges that led to turnovers and were in part to blame for at least three losses that would have turned a 6-10 season to perhaps a 9-7 one and a playoff berth.
After the 2010 season, Grady worked out the Miami Dolphins (twice) and the Arizona Cardinals, but wasn't signed so he returned to the AFL. With OKC folding, he decided to follow a similar path. He went from Oklahoma to Utah just as he did in college, but with a much different result. In 2010, the Blaze was the worst team in the league (2-14) and at the bottom in every offensive statistic. Head Coach Ron James, who was 1-8 in 2010, was retained and signed Sauk to lead the offense. The first offensive signing was Grady.
He didn't disappoint. Grady tossed for over 300 yards in his first four games and six of the first seven. He has three ten-touchdown games (two were ten TD passes and another was nine pass scores and a rushing one). The Blaze went from the worst pass offense to the league's best and finished third in scoring. However, the Utah defense allowed an AFL record 1,117 points (62.1 per game).
Despite the defense allowing so many points, the Blaze were 7-7 entering a game with Chicago. Late in the first half with the score tied at 28, Grady was driven into the turf very late by Rush lineman Antonio Ficklin late. Grady was down for several minutes with a severe rib injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Chicago head coach Bob McMillen told Yahoo! Sports, "I'm very upset with the late hit on their quarterback. That's not how we teach things here. It's very unfortunate that they got a kid hurt on a late penalty that should never have happened."
In addition to losing Grady and the game, Utah lost its backup QB in the game. A blowout loss the next week against Spokane without Grady (and his backup) gave the Shock the playoff tiebreaker and the Blaze missed the post season.
This past week, Grady got his chance for a little revenge against the Rush. He completed 71.1% for 366 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions as the Blaze handed Chicago its worst loss (by 40 points) in the franchise's 11-year history. It was Grady's 24th 300-yard game in his 44-game AFL career, which is the most in the AFL since the league's reboot in 2010 (Davila is second with 23 in 48 games). Two days after beating the Rush and getting to 100 faster than anyone, Grady became a father when his fiancée, Lexi, gave birth to Olivia.
Just like last season, the Blaze's next opponent is Spokane. The Shock has turned around its season since the addition of Kyle Rowley, who was signed by Pittsburgh in the offseason but released after his part in the Week One players' union debacle. Rowley re-joined his former team in Week Four and nearly upset Arizona. Since losing to the Rattlers, Spokane is 6-2 and has scored at least 56 in each of those contests - one of those losses was an 84-63 thumping by Utah. In that game, Grady tied the AFL record with 11 passing touchdowns. Rowley countered with nine, but tossed three interceptions. Grady's had at least seven passing scores in each of his past eleven games and has two with at least ten passing TDs, including the Shock win. The Blaze is going to need Grady at his best the rest of the way if the team hopes to reach the postseason. After the Shock game, the Blaze has four more left on the season - all of which are with teams with at least a .500 record. Three are against division leaders Georgia, Arizona and Philadelphia. If the playoffs started today, Utah would be in the fourth and final National Conference spot. The defense is improved over 2011, but still allows nearly 60 points per game; so every one of Grady's 101 passing strikes have been needed.
With training camps starting in a few weeks, the NFL might be calling Grady's number again. His numbers are so far ahead of the next player this season. Grady has 12 more passing TDs than the next quarterback, he has over 40 more attempts and completions than the next guy and averages nearly 20 yards more per game than any player in the league.
"He should be in the NFL," stated McEwen. "He's that good."
In addition to the record-destroying pace for passing yards and touchdowns, Grady should end the season with the most 300-yard passing games in a single year (record in 11, he was nine with five games left). He's on pace for 118 more pass attempts than the single-season mark and 64 more completions than that record.
"The amazing part is he is still learning the game," Sauk concluded.
With numbers like these this season, imagine if he actually gets this game down.
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.
