Breaking it Down – 2011 Week Six

Andy Lopusnak
Thursday April 21, 2011

Weird week of AFL football. The road team won seven of nine games. The last winless team beat a previously unbeaten. Chicago, Orlando and San Jose all overcame 14-0 deficits against former af2 teams to win. Four winners failed to reach 50 points. The last two ArenaBowl champs are both 1-4. And Rod Windsor's back! 

Saturday night was a horrible night if your team was at home - all six lost. It was even worse if you're a fan of the Force, Command or Talons because with new all-time lows in attendance, your team might not be around unless you show up people. How can you record the worst attendance in your franchise's history on a Saturday night? Sad, truly sad.  

For the first time in the team's near two-decade existence, the Arizona Rattlers are 5-0 and as promised, the league's most explosive receiver (Windsor) finally returned with a game that almost seemed typical last year. Just two of the first five games for the Rattlers were challenging, while the others were blowouts of at least two touchdowns. The next three games will be the ultimate test if Arizona is for real or not. First is a trip to face the league's top scoring offense in Utah. Next is a trek to the Pacific Northwest to take on a defending champion Shock. Last year, Spokane beat Arizona three times, including in the playoffs. Then, the Rattlers journey to take on rival San Jose for the first time since 2008.  

Apparently, the league has added yet another game award - the MVP (I'm not mentioning the sponsor). Now, for each game the media must decided the game's: MVP, Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Playmaker, Catch of the Game and Highlight of the Game. I'm a huge advocate of the league bringing back a yearly MVP, which it hasn't had since 1995 (the AFL changed it to Offensive Player of the Year so Barry Wagner wouldn't win every award back in the day).  

Last year, the league gave Offensive Player of the Year to Milwaukee QB Chris Greisen, who had a good year, but not a great one in league history (Greisen had a better year himself in 2007 than he did in 2010). Greisen should have won MVP because as you can see this year, Milwaukee is pathetic without him. Rod Windsor's 2010 year was one for the ages. Not only did he break league marks in receptions and receiving yards, while leading the league in points scored; he shattered the catches mark by 27 and the yards mark by 243. Greisen did set the league passing yardage mark (only by 35 yards - also now the top three yardage marks are from 2010). That wasn't the case in receptions or receiving yards, where Windsor beat his next closest receiver by 42 catches and 505 yards.  

As mentioned last week, it's truly an embarrassment that this league allows instant replay only for NFL Network games. In the San Jose market that I live, the team does the correct thing and televises all of the road games (wish more teams did this). During this game, both teams lost a fumble that could've been overturned if replay was allowed for any game other than ones televised on a non-basic cable channel (damn you Comcast).  

Both Samora Goodson for San Jose and Troy McBroom for Tulsa appeared to not make a "football move" after a catch and immediately fumbled the ball. Neither appeared to take a step and move up field. The McBroom "fumble" was such a terrible call. The Goodson one was really close. I watched it on TV - there were plenty of angles, and I'm sure even more views of the play with the in-house cameras. This isn't rocket science AFL. Seems like having only the NFL Network game count when it comes to an aspect of the game goes directly against the second "amendment" to the AFL's Fans' Bill of Rights, "maintain the integrity of the finest of fair competition at all times." Letting Tampa Bay and Philadelphia have this is not fair competition. San Jose doesn't get a single game on NFL Network in the regular season. Is this fair to them or their fans? Where's Al Sharpton when you need him?  

WTF Jacksonville? I got like five press releases about a "major personnel move." I speculated that it might be a new part owner like the Storm added last week with future HOFer Derrick Brooks. Nope. The Sharks "signed" a mascot and gave it the official title of "Director of Excitement." It gets worse from here. Not only did the Sharks send out cryptic press releases throughout the week about the so-called announcement; but the damn thing isn't even a shark. The team in its infinite wisdom named this Philly Phanatic ripoff "Chum." For those of you land lovers, chum "often consists of fish parts and blood, which attract fish, and particularly attract sharks due to their keen sense of smell." After looking at this hodge-podge red and yellow bird-like mascot, it kind of looks like the bucket of bloody fish guts. So, a team named the "sharks" has a mascot named after the item that people use to lure it out to either kill it (isn't that a bad thing). I get having a mascot for community events, but using up precious media collateral with actual press releases about this is unbelievable. On top of that, the thing mascot's design and name are a joke. I know sharks are scary for little kids, but this thing scares me. WTF is it?. At least the AFL still has the best mascot of all-time in Klaw!   

On to the games... 

DALLAS 49, MILWAUKEE 21

*         This game featured six rushing touchdowns (three each team) compared to just four passing TDs (all by Dallas).

*         The game's first three touchdowns were scored on the ground by three different players. There wasn't a passing touchdown until 5:03 left in the first half when Dan Raudabaugh hit DeAndrew Rubin on a 41-yard strike.   

*         Dallas FB Derrick Ross ran for 40 yards and two TDs. He scored the game's first points on a four-yard TD. Ross is now the AFL's leader in rushing attempts and yards. He's had at least 23 yards rushing in all five games this season.

*         Milwaukee became the second team this season to not record a passing touchdown in a game (joining the Storm, which did it in a win in Week One).

*         Dallas DB Chris Leflore posted 5.0 stops and two interceptions in the game.

*         The two teams were bad on third down, combining to go four-of-15.

TAMPA BAY 51, PHILADELPHIA 48

*         Both teams entered this game on three-game losing streaks.

*         Tampa Bay kicker Kyle Chilton, who missed two PATs, made a 30-yard field goal as time expired to win it for the Storm.

*         The last two ArenaBowl champions have lost their respective home openers (Spokane lost its home opener earlier this season).

*         Tied at 41, Soul QB Ryan Vena tossed an interception (shocking, I know) that led to the Storm's first lead of the game. Tampa Bay trailed by 15 to enter the fourth quarter and outscored Philadelphia 25-7 in the final stanza.

*         There were 25 combined penalties, including 11 that resulted in first downs.

*         Tampa Bay won despite losing the turnover battle - the Storm were -2 in turnover differential (by the way, there's no such thing as a turnover ratio).

*         Storm lineman Tim McGill had a monster game. He had three sacks and forced a fumble.

*         Vena, who has scored the first points of the game in two straight weeks with rushing TDs, had two ground scores to put his career total at 46. In the process, he passed Steve Papin and Aaron Garcia for 17th all-time in league history.

*         Vena also now has 46 career interceptions, which is tied for 23rd most in league history.

*         Tampa Bay WR Hank Edwards caught ten passes for 74 yards and four touchdowns; including two four-yard scored in the fourth quarter.

*         Soul DB Tanner Varner posted 9.5 tackles and an interception on defense. He also returned an on-side kick for a touchdown and recovered a loose ball on the second half's opening kickoff that gave the Soul the ball that resulted in a touchdown. 

*         The Storm scored almost as many points in the fourth quarter (25) as the team did in the game's first three quarters (26).

UTAH 69, SPOKANE 62

*         The Blaze scored touchdowns on every possession except Utah's final drive when it was trying to kill the clock and preserve the win.

*         Spokane has lost as many games in its first five this season as in its last two seasons combined (including playoffs: 18-1 in 2009 in the af2, 16-3 last season).

*         Both QBs had nearly flawless games: Spokane's Kyle Rowley completed 81.4% of his passes for 323 yards and nine scores (season high 137.6 rating) and Utah's Tommy Grady completed 78.8% of his passes for 245 yards with six TDs (season high 1327.2 rating).

*         Both passers weren't intercepted, but Rowley's fumble on the second play of the second quarter and his misfire on fourth down later in that quarter ended drives (both led to Blaze touchdowns).

*         Through six weeks, Rowley (34) and Grady (33) are the AFL leaders in passing touchdowns.

*         Blaze receiver Aaron Boone posted his fourth straight double-digit reception game (10-100-3). He currently leads the AFL in catches (57) and yards (699). Boone is second in receiving scores (16). However, there are reports out that he might be getting season-ending surgery and may retire from the game.

*         In a losing effort, Spokane WR Greg Orton had 14 catches for 146 yards and five scores.

*         Utah has scored 69 or more points in all three of its wins - all of which have been home games. The Blaze is 0-2 on the road and its next two games are at Arizona and at Georgia.

*         With the win, Utah has posted more wins in its first five games this season than all of 2010, when the Blaze finished an AFL-worst 2-14.

*         The Blaze has posted more 60+-point games this season (three) than all of last year (two).

*         If Blaze offensive coordinator Matt Sauk isn't a head coach in this league next year then there are some stupid owners in the AFL. Look at the facts: he was Spokane's offensive coordinator last year and the Shock won the title with one of the best offensive units in the game. Spokane is 1-4 with out him. Last year, Utah.....sucked. The Blaze went from the worst offensive units to the top scoring and passing offenses in the game. I would take Sauk every day of the week over the likes of Danton Barto, Bob Landsee or Derek Stingley. Those three are a combined 3-12 right now and unless something dramatic changes none will be head coaches next year.

*         By the way, Utah is the only team yet to attempt a field goal this season.

JACKSONVILLE 65, PITTSBURGH 40

*         The game was tied at 21 midway through the second quarter before the Sharks scored the quarter's final 17 points and out paced the Power the rest of the way for Jacksonville's fourth-straight win.

*         Sharks QB Aaron Garcia tossed for 297 yards and five scores (to four different players). He had two receivers with eleven catches (Sale Key: 11-116-1; Jeron Harvey: 11-85-1).

*         Jacksonville's offense scored on all ten possessions (not including the final one to kill the clock), converted five-of-eight third down attempts and made all three fourth down conversions.

*         Pittsburgh started its third different QB this season, Anthony Morelli, who completed just 55.9% of his passes for 290 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. However, he did lose a fumble in the game and was sacked four times.

ORLANDO 48, GEORGIA 43

*         Georgia WR/KR C.J. Johnson took the opening kickoff 57 yards for a touchdown and after Orlando turned the ball over on downs, the Force capitalized and took a 14-0 lead.

*         The Force led by nine entering the fourth quarter but after a Preds score and a missed field goal, Orlando took its first lead with 4:59 left when the league's active career rushing TD leader, Marlon Moye-Moore, ran in the go-ahead score from a yard out.

*         The game's final three touchdowns were all on the ground, including Nick Hill's 23-yard scamper with 38 seconds left to win the game for Orlando. Hill completed 62.5% of his passes for 328 yards with five scores and no interceptions.

*         All 25 of Hill's completions went to just three players (Robert Quiroga: 11-128-2; T.T. Toliver: 7-11-2; and Bobby Sippio: 7-89-1).

*         Predators DB Rayshaun Kizer had two interceptions, four tackles and a pass breakup. His final pick came with 20 seconds left, which ended the Force's last-minute chance to win the game.

*         Kizer leads the league with six interceptions. Last year, he also led the AFL with 12 picks.

*         Force QB Brett Elliott suffered a left knee injury with ten minutes to play with Georgia up 37-35. His future is uncertain.

*         Though Orlando's defense had three interceptions, the offense failed to score a single point from the takeaways.

*         Through six weeks, the Preds defense has posted a league-best 17 takeaways, including a league-high 13 interceptions.

NEW ORLEANS 34, CLEVELAND 33

*         The VooDoo became the final team to win a game this season by beating the previously unbeaten Gladiators.

*         After taking a 7-0 led, New Orleans extended it to 14-0 after Cleveland QB Kurt Rocco tossed an interception on his first play from scrimmage.

*         Rocco recovered and led the Glads to four straight touchdowns and 26-20 halftime lead. However, Cleveland imploded in the second half turning the ball over twice and failing to convert fourth down. New Orleans outscored Cleveland 14-7 in the second half.

*         Up by a point with 53 seconds left, the VooDoo had the ball at its own 11 thanks to an interception, but instead of running the ball and killing the clock, New Orleans tossed three incompletions and turned the ball over on downs at the 18 with 34 seconds left.

*         With these 34 seconds, the Glads completed two passes to the three-yard line but ran out of time to attempt a field goal. This is about the worst one-minute coaching by both of these teams as you will see in the AFL this season.

*         Glads head coach Steve Thonn told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that it was his intention to run two plays then kick the go-ahead field goal. The first play went down to the VooDoo 10-yard line, which would have set up a 26-yard field goal. However, Thonn opted to get closer but receiver Victor Williams didn't get out of bounds and the clock ran out.

*         Thonn recorded his 60th loss as an AFL head coach that ranks eighth all-time in league history. The seven coaches ahead of him (Hohensee: 116; Marcum: 99; White: 95; Trigg: 87; Dailey: 83; Gregory: 69; and Gruden: 61) all have appeared in at least one ArenaBowl with six winning a combined 13 ArenaBowls.

*         The game's first four scores were on the ground (two for each team). Overall, six of the game's ten touchdowns were via rushing.

*         Cleveland kicker Matt Denny missed two extra points in the one-point loss (both in the first half).

*         The 34 points by the VooDoo was the lowest by a winning team since The Storm beat the Columbus Destroyers 34-32 on April 29, 2007.

ARIZONA 63, KANSAS CITY 49

*         He's back...Rod Windsor caught 16 balls for 217 yards and five touchdowns in the Rattlers' win. The 2010 Should-Have-Been Offensive Player of the Year posted his seventh 15+-catch game in short career (20 total games) and his fifth game of five or more scores to go along with his third 200-yard game.

*         In his first three games this season, Windsor had 18 grabs for 250 yards and three scores.

*         This marks the Rattlers' first 5-0 start in the franchise's history, which dates back to 1992.

*         Arizona never trailed, but Kansas City did tie it three times, including at 35-35 with less than eight minutes left in the third quarter. However, after two Trandon Harvey TDs and two Windsor scores, the Command was down 63-42 with five minutes left in the game.

*         Both kickers were perfect on PATs, going a combined 16-for-16; however, KC kicker Brian Umstead did miss a 56-yard field goal in the third quarter.

*         Each team had a kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

SAN JOSE 42, TULSA 33

*         The SaberCats overcame three first-half turnovers and a 24-14 halftime deficit to win their first road game of the season.

*         Tulsa jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to two TD passes from QB Matt Bassuener and a San Jose fumble.

*         San Jose scored on the first drive of the second half and scored again after DB Eddie Moten recorded his second interception of the game to take its first lead. The SaberCats never gave up the lead the rest of the way.

*         SaberCats WRs Burt Toler (12-99-0) and Samora Goodson (10-124-3) accounted for 22 of Mark Grieb's 25 completions as well as all by 58 of his 302 yards. The win was the 100th career victory for Grieb.

*         San Jose offensive coordinator Skip Foster was the head coach of the Talons from 2001-03 and won an ArenaCup title with Tulsa. He never lost a home game (26-0) and still has yet to lose in Tulsa.

*         In a losing effort, Tulsa WR Troy McBroom had 13 catches for 177 yards and two scores. This is just his second game this year and already McBroom looks to be the heir apparent for Donovan Morgan. McBroom has led the team in receiving yards and scores in both games.   

*         The two teams each turned over three times. Five of the six turnovers were in the first half.

*         Both kickers were Juan. How often has that happened? Random, I know, but fun. Both missed field goals and converted all of their PATs.

CHICAGO 50, IOWA 49

*         The Rush trailed 14-0 and came back to take a 34-27 halftime lead only to trail by eight with less than six minutes left in the game.

*         Chicago scored the game's final nine points, including Chris Gould's 18-yard field goal with a second left to win it.

*         The Rush turned the ball over on three of its first four possessions. Iowa capitalized on two of the turns with touchdowns.

*         Chicago WR Reggie Gray had eight grabs for 121 yards and four touchdowns, including a 12-yarder late in the fourth quarter.

*         Up by two with less than two minutes left, Iowa faced a fourth and seven from midfield. Instead of a long field goal, Barnstormers head coach John Gregory decided to go for it since his team has yet to make a field goal (0-for-2) and his kicker situation hasn't been very good this year (also dead last in PAT %). QB Brad Banks' pass attempt fell incomplete. Iowa converted one of its four attempts on fourth down.

*        Chicago took the ball over at midfield and took the ball down to the two-yard line and kicked the game winner.

*        In a losing effort, Iowa WR Jesse Schmidt caught ten passes for 113 yards and all seven of the team's passing touchdowns. The ever-amazing Des Moines media members selected him for Ironman of the Game despite not having a single defensive or special teams stat. Of course, these same media members selected Banks as Ironman despite doing nothing on defense or special teams earlier this year. I know that Ironman football is on its deathbed for most teams and players, but this is a bit ridiculous. If there isn't an Ironman, then don't give it out.

BREAKING IT DOWN PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Rod Windsor, Arizona WR

Really, you knew I was going to give this to Windsor. Sixteen catches for 217 yards and five touchdowns for the best offensive weapon a QB could have at his disposal. In just 20 career regular season games, Windsor has had seven games with at least 15 catches, five games with at least five or more touchdowns scored and three games with at least 200 or more receiving yards. These are Barry Wagner and Eddie Brown type numbers. In fact, Windsor has had the best 20-game start to an AFL career than any receiver in league history.