The Rematch of the Rematch
Charliy Nash
Saturday May 12, 2001
When I mentioned to Kats Coach Pat Sperduto that Orlando’s Jay Gruden would have 16 days to prepare for their next meeting, he just smiled.
“What am I to do?” he finally responded. Pat and the Kats are not worrying about things over which they have no control. Orlando has a new quarterback in Craig Whelihan and a new receiver in Thomas Bailey. Nashville is going to rely on the same old formula of pressure, pressure, pressure.
Several skirmishes between the two teams marked the last game. Can we expect more of the same?
“We’re not going to be any calmer,” predicted lineman C.J. McLain, “We’ll be a lot more controlled in the sense of outside the game play, but we’re going to come at them with everything we’ve got.” What can Craig Whelihan expect? “We’re looking forward to getting a lot of pressure around him, some pressure that he probably hasn’t seen since he’s been in here.”
Coach Sperduto downplayed the fighting in the previous game.
“We didn’t get into those altercations to intimidate; it was just the heat of the moment. They were revved up; we were revved up. That’s in the past.”
Lions and Rhinos and Panthers (Oh My)
At the beginning of the season I asked Sperduto about the new players. The first name he mentioned was Travis Reece, who gives the Kats a different look at fullback.
“He’s not your fireplug like we’re had like [Jason] Bratton and Rupert [Grant]. Travis is a little leaner and more like a panther back there as opposed to a rhinoceros.” Reece also gives the Kats an additional option as a receiver coming out of the backfield. “He has great hands, he’s got ball skills.”
Four weeks into the season, the coach’s assessment of him has not changed. “He’s a solid football player. He’s not going to let you down. He’s a good blocker. He’s a good pass receiver. He can run the football. He can do the little things.”
Unlike most players coming into the AFL, Reece had previous experience playing offense and defense. He played fullback and outside linebacker at Michigan State, then played tailback and special teams for the Detroit Lions.
“It’s a lot more fun playing Arena ball than in the NFL, I believe. It’s more exciting.”
He recalls watching AFL games on TV when he was an NFL player. “I thought it was real exciting. At first I didn’t think it was for me, playing both ways.” After being approached by Sperduto about playing in the Arena League, Reece picked up most of the rules by watching tapes of Kats games.
If you’ve ever wanted to talk directly to an AFL player, Travis Reece is your man; you can e-mail him at: sirjuggenaut@aol.com “That’s ‘Juggernaut’ without the ‘R’” he explained.
Lord of the Rings
Ron Carpenter has played in championship games in the NFL, NFL Europe, Arena Football, and the now defunct (I love saying that) XFL. This is the man to make that comparison we’ve all wondered about.
“This one [AFL] is a little more extreme, just because of the wall and the nets. That league [XFL} is extreme because of all the outside elements that were being brought into it, the cheerleaders, the WWF, and all that other different stuff.”
The circus atmosphere that alienated TV viewers did not really distract the players once the game began, nor did the frequent rule changes. “It was no big deal to us. We just went to find out before the game started which way we had to play it that week.” With two championship rings already (yes, the XFL gave rings, not belts), Carpenter is anxious to add to his collection, but there is one other league that he has ruled out.
“My wife won’t let me go to Canada. No way. No how. Too cold. She won’t come visit.”
Roster Move
The Kats have waived DS Steve Johnson and have activated WR/DB Corey Kelley from the practice squad. Kelley becomes the second player in Kats history to make the active roster from open tryouts.
Charliy Nash has covered both incarnations of the Nashville Kats, and now has make the 2 hour drive to Huntsville for an Arena Football fix. He also covers the Tennessee Titans as a blogger for nfl.com and still hopes this will eventually lead to a paying gig.
