Rattlers Welcome 2-0 Phantoms
Patrick Daly
Saturday May 4, 2002
“He’s probably the one guy that’s the hardest to replace on this team—and we have to do that this week,” said Rattlers head coach Danny White. “Sometimes, teams rally around things like that.”
The visiting Toronto Phantoms are 2-0 and stand with San Jose as one of only two undefeated teams after two weeks. Led by quarterback Chad Salisbury and a strong defense, the Phantoms make their first ever visit to the Phoenix desert after impressive wins over Detroit and Tampa Bay.
“It’s like LA,” said White. “These guys are not the same bunch of guys they were last year. They are a solid football team. It’s not a fluke that they’re 2-0.
“Rick Frazier is coaching their defense and he’s always been one of the better defensive coaches in the league. They put great heat up front. We’ve got a challenge offensively because their defense is the strength of their team. We’ve got a challenge defensively because we don’t have Cecil back there.”
Arizona shuffled the lineup with Doggette out and will activate offensive specialist Maurice Bryant and lineman Wendall Gaines. The Rattlers have also signed defensive specialist Kelvin Hunter from the practice squad to back up Jerrick Bledsoe and Ricky Parker. Hunter, who played for Chicago last season, is expected to spell Bledsoe or Parker as needed. Derek Stingley, an experienced defensive specialist signed during the offseason, remains on injured reserve and isn’t expected back for a few more weeks.
Orshawante Bryant, previously slotted as an offensive specialist, will also play defensive back, a position he hasn’t played since high school. After playing a full quarter on both sides of the ball against Los Angeles last week, Bryant has had a chance to focus on defense this week in preparation for Toronto, although it looks like he’ll see plenty of on-the-job training.
“Because they switch things up every week, I’ll learn one way, then next week it’s totally different,” said Bryant. “I’ll only practice it one period out of the week. This week has been better. I’ve been concentrating on the defense.
“I’ll adjust. It’ll get better the more reps I get.”
Parker returns to a full-time defensive specialist role after playing both sides of the ball for the Rattlers during the first two weeks of the season. With Doggette out, both Parker and Bledsoe must shoulder the responsibility for putting the defense in the right position to stop Toronto.
“We’re going to have to have a quarterback on defense that’s going to be able to step in and communicate with everybody else. That’s going to be the challenge. We’ve told them all week that our goal is to have everyone playing the same coverage. If there’s any confusion, the quarterback just has to call something and let us play it. Even if it’s the wrong coverage, let’s play it all together. Hopefully, we won’t get burnt for a bunch of big plays. That’s the key: when you give up big plays it’s usually when somebody blows the coverage.”
Defensively, Toronto has given up a league best 67 points in two games. With an opportunistic Toronto defense on the field, the Rattlers must control the ball and avoid costly turnovers.
“Watching them on tape, they don’t make a lot of mistakes and they do take advantage of every little mistake you make,” said Rattlers quarterback Sherdrick Bonner. “I just need to make accurate throws. I need to use my eyes all over the field and keep [the defense] where I want to keep them. We need to pass protect and we need to definitely take care of the football. We can’t have any turnovers.”
As was the case last week, Arizona wants to defend their home turf. With two tough road games looming on the horizon, the Rattlers can ill-afford any setbacks at home.
“At this point, with the league the way it is, they’re all going to be close and they’re all going to games that we have to win,” said White.
Fortunately for the Rattlers, they are still a veteran team that’s battled through adversity before.
“I think we’re going to be okay,” said Bonner. “I think some guys are going to step up and make plays. That’s kind of the attitude we have right now.”
Players to watch
WR/LB Ty Law, Toronto—A force on both sides of the ball, Law represents the Phantom mentality; force turnovers and put the ball in the endzone. Law, along with receiver/defensive back Charlie Davidson and offensive specialist Damien Harrell, will test the Arizona defense early.
OS Maurice Bryant, Arizona—The Rattlers activated Bryant from injured reserve this week and he will see his first action of the regular season. It’s tough to say how well he’ll perform this week, but when his head is in the game, he’s one of the toughest receivers to cover.
Rattlers Defensive Line—Good pressure is key to keeping Toronto quarterback Chad Salisbury off balance and it would take pressure off of the Arizona defensive backs. Salisbury has not been sacked yet this season, so linemen Sebastian Barrie and Tim Croff, among others, have a big incentive to bring him down.
OS Chris Horn, Arizona—With Maurice Bryant’s return to the lineup at offensive specialist, the Rattlers will still find a way to get this explosive player on the field. In addition to returning kicks, look for Horn to also see time at the receiver/linebacker spot behind Hunkie Cooper and spell Bryant at offensive specialist.
OL/DL Kelvin Ingram, Toronto—Ingram returns to Arizona after playing for the Rattlers in 2001. This “special weapon” had a touchdown catch last week and plays hard on both sides of the ball.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
