ArenaBowl 21.5 Tonight
Andy Lopusnak
Saturday March 22, 2008
Tonight in San Jose, arguably the the best team from each conference will battle in what could very well be a preview of ArenaBowl XXII. It will feature the defending ArenaBowl champion (San Jose) and the best regular season team in the league since 2006 (Dallas). The Desperados have won their last eleven regular season games and have the best road record in the AFL since 2005 (19-6). The SaberCats have won their last 15 regular season home games. Dallas enters the game undefeated, while San Jose is on a two-game winning streak since losing in Week One.
LAST WEEK
San Jose capitalized on five Rattlers turnovers to beat rival Arizona 63-43 last Saturday night. Defensive back Clevan Thomas returned a fumble for a touchdown, broke up three passes and had an interception in the winning effort. Dallas beat Colorado 51-40 thanks to a dominated defensive performance in the second half led by Bobby Perry’s two interceptions and a great all-around performance by 2007 AFL Ironman of the Year Will Pettis.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the sixth game in this rivalry and first since 2005. San Jose leads the all-time series 3-2. The home team has won the last three matchups and four of the five previous matchups. Both of Dallas’ wins were by a combined seven points. San Jose’s three wins have been by a combined 42 points.
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YEAR
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FINAL SCORE
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2005
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SAN JOSE 83, Dallas 71
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2004
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DALLAS 58, San Jose 54
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2003
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DALLAS 67, San Jose 64
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2002
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San Jose 58, DALLAS 41
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2002
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SAN JOSE 77, Dallas 54
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SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
· In 2002 when Dallas was an expansion team, the Desperados were placed in the Western Division and lost twice to the SaberCats.
· The 154 combined points in the last matchup (2005) are the third most in SaberCats history as is the 83 points San Jose scored – it is the most ever allowed by Dallas.
· The 2005 game featured two SaberCats with over 200 all-purpose yards each (Rodney Wright, 227; Rashied Davis, 201).
· Mark Grieb has started all five previous games against Dallas and has passed for 1,431 yards with 30 touchdowns, but has thrown at least an interception in each ballgame.
· Dallas QB Chris Sanders will be the fifth different Desperados QB to start a game against San Jose.
· The SaberCats are averaging 80.0 points per game at home in the series.
NOTES OF INTEREST
PURR-FECT CAT
San Jose kicker A.J. Haglund has made all 28 scoring kicks this season (seven field goals and 21 extra points). His 42 points scored leads the league among all kickers. Haglund was named Offensive Player of the Game in San Jose’s win last week over Arizona despite the fact he does not play a snap of offense. He set a team record with four field goals made and 19 kicking points.
“WATS” UP
San Jose linebacker Steve Watson has posted the most tackles by a linebacker in the league over the last two games. He missed the team’s first game, but has shined in San Jose’ wins over Grand Rapids and Arizona. Last week, he led all defenders with 7.0 tackles, two sacks and even blocked a field goal attempt that bounced out of the end zone for a safety. His 3.5 special teams tackles have helped San Jose become the best team in the league in kickoff coverage – this does not include two tackles in the end zone on kickoffs against Grand Rapids that put the Rampage on the two-yard line (the AFL does not consider these tackles).
OFF MARK
Though San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb is completing 67% of his passes and has a passer rating over 100, the league’s all-time leader in both categories has began the season with a few snags. He leads the AFL with five interceptions – a stat no QB ever wants. In the Week One loss at Chicago, he completed his first six passes; but started off inconsistent in the two wins. At Grand Rapids, Grieb misfired on his first four passes before connected with James Roe. Last week against Arizona, Grieb’s first two passes fell incomplete before hitting Roe for his first completion.
SCOOPER MEN
The SaberCats have four of the top seven players in the league in fumble recoveries. Clevan Thomas leads the league with three fumble recoveries, including one he returned 16 yards for a touchdown. Additionally, Alan Harper leads the AFL in forced fumbles.
DESPERADOS PLAYERS TO WATCH
CLINT DOLEZEL, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Dolezel might be on injured reserve, but since he is the only QB in the league to also be the offensive coordinator, he’s still noteworthy. Professional football’s all-time passing touchdown leader knows this game like no other current player and many coaches. He will call all the offensive plays from the sideline. In eight previous games as a starting QB against San Jose, Dolezel posted a 3-5 record with 35 passing TDs and eight interceptions.
WINFIELD GARNETT, NT
Garnett spent the past two seasons in Grand Rapids and is considered one of the best nose tackles in the game. He earned All-Ironman team honors last season when he played a lot on offense. Remember in Week One, the fits that James Baron gave Dan Loney and Mark Grieb? Garnett has been compared to Baron, who anticipates the snap and essentially forcing a lot of mishandled center-to-QB exchanges. Grieb had three of those at Chicago and was also sacked twice by Baron (Grieb has been untouched since). In three games against San Jose, he has posted 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
WILL PETTIS, WR/DB
Pettis earned Ironman of the Week for his performance in last Monday’s 51-40 win over Colorado. He posted 12 catches for 138 yards with four touchdowns; two kickoff returns for 21 yards; one tackle and a 29-yard interception return. On the year, he has caught 22 passes for 230 yards with eight receiving scores. In three career games against the SaberCats, Pettis has recorded 482 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns, including 19 catches for 226 yards and three TDs receiving.
CHRIS SANDERS, QB
Sanders is filling in as the starting quarterback until Dolezel is healed and ready to go. In two starts this season, Sanders is 2-0 and is completing 57.7% of his passes for 529 yards with nine touchdowns to just a lone interception. He has been sacked twice and has three rushing touchdowns. Prior to this season, Sanders made just 16 AFL starts while with Buffalo, Orlando, Kansas City and Arizona – all of which were because of injuries to the starting QB. This will be his second career start against San Jose – he was intercepted three times last season with Arizona.
COLSTON WEATHERINGTON, DL
Weatherington has posted three sacks, a pass breakup and a forced fumble on the season. Last season, he was second in the league with 10.0 sacks and earned All-Arena First Team for a second straight season. On the year, Weatherington has 3.0 sacks and has forced fumble.
SABERCATS KEYS TO VICTORY
CONVERT THIRD DOWNS
Third downs haven’t hurt the SaberCats in their last two wins but it eventually will. When the SaberCats play good teams like Dallas, four stops will result in a loss (remember Week One at Chicago). San Jose’s first two wins are against teams that won just 25% of their games last season: Arizona (4-12), Grand Rapids (4-12). On the year, San Jose is third worst in the league – only Tampa Bay and New York are worse on third downs. Dallas has the best third-down defense in the league. Opponents are converting just 12.5% of their third downs (two-of-16). Mark Grieb is completing just 37.5% of his passes on third down with a horrid 47.9 passer rating (after all he is the league’s all-time leader in both categories). A field-goal attempt is considered half a stop and San Jose attempted four of them last week. With that in mind, the Rattlers stopped the SaberCats on four stops (two interceptions and four field goals).
TAKE IT AWAY, DON’T GIVE IT AWAY
San Jose’s 11 takeaways are the second best in the league this season, but the SaberCats have given the ball away nine times – the third most in the league. Mark Grieb has thrown the most interceptions (five) and has turned the ball over more (six times) than any player in the league so far this season. Dallas has given up just three giveaways which rank second best in the league.
SEEING RED
The SaberCats have attempted more field goals in the red zone than any other team in the league (six-of-six). Their 21 trips in the red zone are most in the league, but settling for field goals instead of touchdowns is not going to cut it against one of the best teams in the league. San Jose is only scoring 62% of its possessions inside the opponents’ ten-yard line, which is the third-worst in the league. Dallas has allowed just ten possessions inside the ten, but are allowing touchdowns on 90% of those red-zone drives.
GET OFFENSIVE
The Desperados is allowing the least points in the league and is in the top five in almost every defensive category. This defense will likely be the biggest challenge on the year for the SaberCats. If the team can come out victorious, San Jose will become the early front-runner in the American Conference. The National Conference is 9-3 in inter-conference games so far this season against the American Conference (including the three games played on last night and Thursday).
STAY ON T.O.P.
Dallas’ offense holds the ball more than any team in the league. In the AFL, usually teams that are bad lead the AFL in time of possession. The Desperados are the only team with a winning record in the top six in possession time. San Jose held onto the ball more in its Week One loss at Chicago, but did not in Weeks Two & Three and came out victorious both times. Without Dolezel on the field, the Desperados will slowly march down the field with short passes and running plays, which result in more first downs and less yards per play. Dallas’ offense has completed less passes for less yards and less scores in each of the past games without Dolezel.
AVOID Y.A.C. – TACKLE IMMEDIATELY
Chris Sanders is completing just 57.7% of his passes while Dolezel completed 71/1% in Week One. Expect a lot of shorter passes from Sanders to improve his completion percentage. Josh Bush is an elusive receiver and is known for catching screens, pitches and short routes then getting a lot of yards of catch (Y.A.C.). In the second half of Dallas’ win over Colorado, Will Pettis took short passes and made them into long gains. The SaberCats must tackle ball carriers and receivers once they catch the ball.
Andy Lopusnak is an 11-year AFL front office veteran, spending time with the Tampa Bay Storm, San Diego Riptide and Grand Rapids Rampage. He works as a statistician for NFL and college sports for CBS Sports and is a freelance photographer. Lopusnak received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of South Florida and has been a fan of ArenaBall since its inception.
