Breaking it Down - 2008 Week Twelve
Andy Lopusnak
Thursday May 22, 2008
Five of the eight games in Week Twelve featured the road team winning. One team has clinched its division, while two teams with better records are still not in the playoffs. Arizona continues to be the only American Conference team with a winning record against the National Conference. This and other tidbits will be discussed in the dirty dozen edition of Breaking it Down.
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WEEK TWELVE RESULTS
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Tampa Bay 58, GRAND RAPIDS 50
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PHILADELPHIA 51, Columbus 43
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Arizona 55, DALLAS 54
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Cleveland 50, COLORADO 46
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SAN JOSE 74, Utah 64
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Orlando 58, KANSAS CITY 51
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Georgia 72, NEW YORK 67
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CHICAGO 72, Los Angeles 28
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BYE: New Orleans
WEEK TWELVE’S EIGHT GAMES FEATURED:
- Eight touchdowns scored on returns: fumble (2), interception (2), kickoff (2), missed field goal return (1) and net recovery (1).
- Three players had 200 or more all-purpose yards.
- Seven quarterbacks had 300 or more yards passing.
- Fifteen players had 100 or more yards receiving.
TIGER, TIGER JONES YA’LL
Georgia rookie receiver Tiger Jones caught 15 passes for 224 yards with six touchdowns in the Force’s 72-64 win over New York. Jones didn’t suit up for the Force until the team’s fifth game and on the year has 796 yards on 57 catches with 22 touchdowns. Since he started playing, Jones’ team is 5-2 after beginning the year 1-3. The two losses in this seven-game stretch have been by a combined eight points. Georgia was averaging 48.0 points per game in the team’s first four games and had averaged 66.3 points since Jones has been with the Force. Jones’ 224-yard game marks the fourth 200-yard receiving game in the AFL this season.
RATTLERS BITE NATIONAL CONFERENCE AGAIN
The Arizona Rattlers upped its record against National Conference teams to 4-1 with their 55-54 win over Dallas. Arizona has four of the American Conference’s nine overall wins against the National Conference (9-28) and has posted impressive victories over New York, Tampa Bay, Georgia and Dallas. The Rattlers are just 1-5 against their own conference and have lost their last five against the American Conference. Colorado is the only other team to post two wins against the Nationals (2-3). San Jose (0-4), Grand Rapids (0-4) and Utah (0-6) are winless against the National Conference.
POUR A FORTY (THOUSAND) ON THE TURF
New York quarterback Aaron Garcia became the fourth player in league history to surpass the 40,000 passing yard mark in the Dragons’ 72-67 loss to Georgia. He passed for 389 yards with ten touchdowns in the loss. Also during the game, Garcia became the third passer in professional football history to reach 850 passing touchdowns.
SAFETY DANCE
There were a season-high six safeties this weekend. On the year, there have been 19 safeties. Philadelphia’s Bryan Save and San Jose’s Steve Watson are the only players to record two safeties on the year. Watson had one this past weekend.
ON MARC
Tim Marcum won his 170th regular season game (195th overall) when his Storm beat the Rampage. In the league’s 22-year history, no team has won as many regular season games as Marcum. The closest is his Storm, which has won 162 regular season contests (Orlando has won 159 and Arizona is next closest with 145). If playoffs are included only the Storm (182) and Predators (181) have even won a combined 170 games in their respective histories (Arizona has 166 wins).
EVERY SECOND COUNTS
Four games were decided in the final seconds this week. Arizona beat Dallas on the final play when Rattlers QB Jeff Smoker hit Todd Devoe on a 16-yard pass as time expired; Orlando beat Kansas City when Shane Stafford connected with Rob Johnson on a six-yard touchdown with four-seconds left; Georgia scored with nine-seconds left to beat New York when Chris Greisen threw a 28-yard TD to Tiger Jones and then Matt Huebner blocked a potential Dragons game-tying field goal that resulted in a safety; and finally, Tampa Bay recovered an on-side kick with twenty seconds left to seal its 58-50 win over Grand Rapids. On the year, Orlando has had eight games decided on the last minute or final play and is 6-2 in those contests.
Four games were decided in the final seconds this week. Arizona beat Dallas on the final play when Rattlers QB Jeff Smoker hit Todd Devoe on a 16-yard pass as time expired; Orlando beat Kansas City when Shane Stafford connected with Rob Johnson on a six-yard touchdown with four-seconds left; Georgia scored with nine-seconds left to beat New York when Chris Greisen threw a 28-yard TD to Tiger Jones and then Matt Huebner blocked a potential Dragons game-tying field goal that resulted in a safety; and finally, Tampa Bay recovered an on-side kick with twenty seconds left to seal its 58-50 win over Grand Rapids. On the year, Orlando has had eight games decided on the last minute or final play and is 6-2 in those contests.
AIN’T IT GRAND
The Utah Blaze became the first team this season to have three different receivers with 1,000 receiving yards a piece when J.J. McKelvey went over the quadruple-figure mark on the year during the Blaze’s 74-64 loss at San Jose. On the year, Philadelphia and San Jose have two players with at least 1,000 yards, Cleveland and Orlando will likely have two players with 1,000 yards this weekend.
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS
Utah also became the first team this year to have at least two players with at least 100 receptions. If J.J. McKelvey gets nine more catches, then the Blaze will became the first team to have three players with 100 catches in the same year. Last season, there was a league all-time high of 25 players with 100 or more catches. Historically, there have been 107 times in league history that a player has reached 100 catches in a single season. The first was by Eddie Brown when the former Firebirds offensive specialist caught 101 balls in 1994 (the league’s ninth season).
WEEKLY PLAYOFF UPDATE
No team clinched a playoff berth in Week Twelve, but Dallas, Philadelphia and San Jose can clinch this upcoming weekend. Chicago did wrap up the Central Division and clinched at least secured a first-round bye and at least the number-two seed in the American Conference (the Rush can clinch home-field advantage until the ArenaBowl with a win and a San Jose loss). The National Conference has nine teams with winning records (only Tampa Bay at 5-6 and Columbus at 2-9 are under .500) On the other side, the American Conference has just two teams with winning records (Chicago and San Jose). If the top 12 teams made the playoffs regardless of record, the Nationals would have nine teams in while the Americans would have just three (Arizona beat Tampa Bay and would have head-to-head tiebreaker since both teams are 5-6).
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NATIONAL CONFERENCE
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AMERICAN CONFERENCE
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SEED
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TEAM
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RECORD
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SEED
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TEAM
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RECORD
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1
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Philadelphia
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10-2
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1
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Chicago – X
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9-2
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2
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Orlando
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8-4
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2
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San Jose
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7-5
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3
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Dallas
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9-2
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3
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Arizona
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5-6
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4
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New Orleans
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7-4
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4
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Colorado
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4-7
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5
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Cleveland
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7-4
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5
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Los Angeles
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4-8
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6
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Georgia
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6-5
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6
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Grand Rapids
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3-8
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X = won division and first-round bye
WEEK TWELVE’S TOP STATISTICAL PREFORMANCES
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100-YARD RECEIVERS
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PLAYER, TEAM
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RECEIVING YARDS
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RECEPTIONS
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TOUCHDOWNS
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Tiger Jones, GEO
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224
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15
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6
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Cole Magner, GR
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175
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15
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2
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Trandon Harvey, AZ
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145
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12
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3
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Aaron Boone, UTAH
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143
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13
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1
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Siaha Burley, AZ
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140
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11
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2
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Chris Anthony, NY
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136
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14
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2
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Otis Amey, CLE
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131
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9
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4
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Larry Brackins, PHI
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127
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8
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2
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Ben Nelson, COL
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125
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11
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3
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Calvin Russell, CMB
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125
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6
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0
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Cleannord Saintil, SJ
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121
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9
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3
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Rodney Wright, SJ
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117
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11
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2
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Kevin Swayne, NY
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127
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14
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4
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Jason Willis, NY
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106
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9
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4
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Sedrick Robinson, TB
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101
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5
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1
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300-YARD PASSERS
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PLAYER, TEAM
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PASSING YARDS
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PASS TDs
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INTERCEPTIONS
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Chris Greisen, GEO
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403
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9
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1
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Aaron Garcia, NY
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389
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10
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1
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Jeff Smoker, AZ
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350
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7
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1
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Joe Germaine, UTAH
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325
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6
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2
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Raymond Philyaw, CLE
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324
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6
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0
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Matt Nagy, CMB
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308
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3
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0
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Shane Stafford, ORL
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305
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5
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1
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200 YARDS OR MORE ALL-PURPOSE
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PLAYER, TEAM
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ALL-PURPOSE
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TOTAL TDs
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Rodney Wright, SJ
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231
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2
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Tiger Jones, GEO
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224
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6
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Trandon Harvey, AZ
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202
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4
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DEFENSIVE LEADERS
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PLAYER, TEAM
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TACKLES
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INT
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SACKS
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FF
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FR
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PBU
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DEF TD
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Anthony Dunn, PHI
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6.0
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0
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1.5
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Gabe Nyenhuis, PHI
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1.5
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0
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1.5
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0
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0
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0
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0
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Garrett McIntyre, SJ
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2.5
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0
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2.0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Steve Watson, SJ
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2.0
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0
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1.0
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0
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1
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0
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0
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Arrion Dixon, KC
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3.0
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0
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2.0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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Stephen Cason, GEO
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14.0
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0
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0.0
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0
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0
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3
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0
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Dennison Robinson, CHI
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3.0
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3
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0.0
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0
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0
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2
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1
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Jeremy Unertyl, CHI
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5.5
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1
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0.0
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1
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0
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2
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1
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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Georgia quarterback Chris Greisen tossed 403 yards with nine touchdowns in the Force’s 72-67 win over New York, ending the Dragons’ five-game winning streak. Greisen completed 32-of-39 on the day (82.1%) and threw one interception. The win propelled the Force into the sixth seed in the playoff race and gave the team a tiebreaker over the Dragons, who are also 6-5.
HONORABLE MENTION: Georgia receiver Tiger Jones was on the receiving end of most of Greisen’s yardage and touchdowns. The AFL rookie caught 15 passes for 224 yards with six touchdowns.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Chicago defensive back Dennison Robinson had three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown in the Rush’s 72-38 blowout win over Los Angeles.He also recorded three solo stops and a pass breakup.
HONORABLE MENTION: San Jose defensive lineman Garrett McIntrye posted two sacks, a forced fumble and 2.5 tackles in the SaberCats’ 74-64 win over Utah.
IRONMAN OF THE WEEK
Tampa Bay WR/LB Lawrence Samuels caught six passes for 60 yards with a touchdown and defensively, he tallied an interception and 3.0 tackles (two solo, two assists) in the Storm’s 58-50 win over Grand Rapids. Over the last month, Samuels has been a dominated two-way force and with five games left should be the favorite to earn AFL Ironman of the Year.
HONORABLE MENTION: In a losing effort, Dallas WR/DB Andrae Thurman caught four passes for 74 yards with two touchdowns, 3.5 tackles and the game’s only interception.
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.
