Fleming Rejoins Kats for Trip to San Jose
Charliy Nash
Saturday June 16, 2001
The big buzz in Nashville is the return of WR/LB Cory Fleming. After fracturing an ankle during a preseason practice, the Kats’ original ironman will see his first action of the year.
“I don’t expect him to have much trouble adjusting,” said QB Andy Kelly. “It may take him a few plays, or maybe a quarter, to get back used to the speed of the game. It won’t be long before he’s in the flow and getting the feel for the game.” Kelly expects Fleming, who was also his teammate at the University of Tennessee, to lift the team and make an impact. “It’s always good any time you get a guy that’s been hurt back. Cory is one of our big time players on both sides of the ball.”
Fleming’s return to the lineup may have been accelerated by injuries to receivers L.C. Stevens, Jarrick Hillery, and Tyronne Jones. Stevens had been placed on Injured Reserve after separating his shoulder for the second time this season. Hillery has a sprained ankle and two bruised shoulders. Jones has had problems with his hamstrings for a good part of the season, but maintains he will be ready to go.
“It would have to pop for me to stay out. I’ve got a role,” insisted Jones while submerged up to his chest in a barrel of ice water.
The injury situation has changed the Kats traveling plans slightly. “We’re going to bring out 23 guys,” explained coach Pat Sperduto. “We usually don’t travel with 23, but we’re so banged up I don’t think we have a choice. We’re going to bring them out and say, ‘This guy’s healthy, that guy’s healthy, you’re playing!’”
Not Gonna’ Happen, Papin
Nashville’s opponent this week is having injury problems of its own. The San Jose Sabercats have placed OS/KR Steve Papin on Injured Reserve with a sprained knee. This would seem to be a big break for the Kats, but San Jose’s Barry Wagner is no less dangerous. Kickoff coverage has been one of the weakest aspects of the Kats’ game this season, and was a focus of practice this week.
“We’ve changed up our kickoff coverage,” revealed Sperduto. “A big part of that is our speed guys have to get down and force the issue. They haven’t done a good job of that, and that’s coaching really.”
A Slight Reprieve, Steve
Kicker Steve McLaughlin confirms that the team has been concentrating on coverage. “I don’t kick differently to them, but we still have to work on our coverage a lot this week.”
McLaughlin, the league’s top scoring kicker, is more concerned with the nets, which bounces differently at various arenas. “It’s a matter of going out there pre-game and seeing how they bounce. I do change my trajectory a little bit. If they’re real tight I might line [drive] the ball a little bit more, to get it to bounce further out. If it’s softer, maybe hang it up a little bit higher.”
Even for home games, McLaughlin spends about an hour kicking balls into the nets to gauge their bounce. While he doesn’t really alter his kicking for the returners, he weighs in with this opinion on who’s carrying the ball. “There’s two guys I really hate to have to tackle, that’s Tyronne [Jones] and [Steve] Papin.”
That Was Dandy, Andy
One of the big surprises in last week’s game against Grand Rapids was QB Andy Kelly’s rushing touchdown. So, was that a designed play?
“Marty [Lowe, offensive coordinator] said ‘keep this one on’, we didn’t tell anybody except Jarrick [Hillery],” said Kelly. “We expected them, since we run that play so much with Jarrick and our fullbacks, we expected them to kind of flow, and luckily they did and they left it wide open.”
Since Kelly is not known as a running quarterback the Rampage bought the fake allowing him to stroll untouched into the endzone. “I’m sure they weren’t expecting me to keep it. They hadn’t seen it on film. I’ve scored some touchdowns in the league before, but that was my first one this year.”
It’s a Late Game, James
Saturday’s game in San Jose starts at 7:30 Pacific time, which equates to 9:30 Central. To help the team adjust, practices have been scheduled progressively later each day this week. Coach Sperduto has been encouraging the players to stay up later each night.
Well, I have to go now. I can’t think of anything to rhyme with Rupert, Travis, Adrian, or Jarrick. And Matthew Pickut is on the phone. Something about stealing his closing paragraph.
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.
