Gruden’s Smirk Says Preds Can Be Scary
Adam Markowitz
Tuesday April 8, 2008
After Chicago marched the field and went up 7-0 on the game’s opening drive, the Predators began on offense with back-to-back false start penalties before taking a snap. Quarterback Shane Stafford ended the first drive by throwing his first of four INTs on the night.
Coming out of halftime, the Predators held a 27-21 lead with the football, but the first two Orlando drives ended in touchdowns… for Chicago.
Yet four interceptions, a fumble, two defensive touchdowns allowed, TT Toliver not getting his first catch until the 4th quarter, and shaky offensive line play for the duration of the game later, the Predators found themselves in a do-or-die two-point conversion situation for the win in overtime.
Even that started out shaky.
The direct snap to fullback/linebacker Marlon Moye-Moore was a bit wide, and the play looked busted from the get go. “It was designed to be an 18 sweep, but I kind of heard the defense calling out the flow,” claimed Moye-Moore, who was awarded Ironman of the Game honors. “I saw the jack linebacker and I figured I could run him over. It happened out the way I planned it… The guy was 200 pounds. I wasn’t going to let him stop me from getting in the end zone.”
Though slightly controversial as to whether his foot touched the side boards before crossing the goalline, Moye-Moore’s dive into the end zone sent the 12,483 in Amway Arena into a frenzy.
Historically speaking, the Predators have always been a team that excelled on defense and tried to just get enough production from their offense to win. At the beginning of 2008, it was the defense that struggled while the offense carried the team to a 3-2 mark. Sunday’s game may have been the reawakening of the sleeping giant known as the defense of the Orlando Predators.
Linebacker Nick Allison is one of the many rookies that have played this year on the Predators defense. After recording 41 interceptions in his past three seasons playing in lower level indoor football leagues as a defensive back, Allison recorded the first interception of his AFL career playing the jack linebacker against Shredrick Bonner, one of the most decorated quarterbacks in AFL history. After bobbling the errant pass, Allison gained control of the football and waltzed into the end zone from 11 yards out, putting the Predators back within one of the Rush in the 1st quarter.
The defense only allowed one touchdown in almost two and a half quarters of game time, easily the best stretch the unit has had all season. “We’re starting to trust each other,” said Allison. “It’s like a family. We’re starting to gel.”
While in this game, it was the defense that excelled, the offense is putting up numbers that suggest that the 2008 version of the Orlando Predators may really be one of the best in team history.
After setting several single-season Predators passing records last year, Shane Stafford is on pace to shatter several of those records and many of the others that he failed to break last year. In spite of a 55% completion percentage on Sunday, Stafford is still on pace to break Ben Bennett’s record completion percentage of 67.8%. He should also eclipse his team record 4,284 passing yards from a year ago and very well could obliterate his team record 76 passing touchdowns from a year ago. To put that in perspective, the next best passing touchdown mark in team history was set by Jay Gruden at 68.
A lot of Stafford’s success must be credited to the big-play ability of wide receiver TT Toliver, who leads the AFL with 761 receiving yards this year. The team record is 1,620 yards held by Cory Fleming in 2004. Not only should Toliver fly past that record, he is on pace to come within about 100 yards of the all-time single season receiving record of 2,129 yards set by former Pred Siaha Burley a year ago with the Utah Blaze.
Though it’s been six seasons since Burley suited up in black and red, he still holds the record for most return yardage in a season with 1,570 in his rookie year. This is another mark well within reach for Toliver, who is 2nd in the AFL with 672 return yards.
Fleming’s record 131 receptions in 2004 is also likely to fall, as both Ron Johnson and Toliver are on pace to break that mark.
Just to break one of these records is impressive by itself, but the fact that Toliver could quite possibly shatter all three marks has to remind Predators fans of an old familiar face…
Even the great Barry Wagner has a record that I thought would never be touched threatened by Toliver. In 1999, Wags had 2,876 all-purpose yards. Toliver is on a pace to break this record by (brace yourself) almost one thousand yards.
Don’t worry Barry, no one is anywhere near your team record 310 points scored in 1997.
Even though all of these stats are nice and pretty, the bottom line is that the 4-2 Predators still have a ton of work to do to surpass the 5-1 New Orleans VooDoo in the South. Plus, if their first game in Philadelphia was any indicator, there’s even more work left to be done if 2008 can be a return trip to the ArenaBowl for Orlando.
Much like through six weeks of the 2007 season, the Predators have shown that they have plenty of talent on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Unlike last season though, the team is finding ways to win close games and win from behind. It’s that “it” factor that all good teams have. Some good clock management at the end of the first half on a consistent basis hasn’t hurt in this four-game winning streak either.
Coach Gruden recognized immediately in his post-game interview that the offense has had its moments and the defense has had its share as well. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Knowing that the team still hasn’t quite put together 60 full minutes on both sides of the ball yet put a sadistic, almost devilish smirk on his face.
"If we can ever get 'em both together on the same night, look out."
Adam Markowitz is an accountant living in Orlando. Adam is an old school AFLer, having followed the AFL since 1991. He attended or covered well over 200 games, including 17 ArenaBowls. Adam worked for the Arena Football League for two years as a columnist and historian before retiring in 2017 when the 50-yard indoor war left the Sunshine State. Adam still muses about the AFL on ArenaFan from time to time, and you can follow him on Twitter @adammarkowitzea.
