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SaberCats Rumble with New-Look Rampage
By Andy Lopusnak, ArenaFan.com
March 10, 2008
The last time
SABERCATS LAST WEEK
Against the Rush, the SaberCats turned the ball over five
times; the most by
SABERCATS-RAMPAGE SERIES HISTORY
This marks the
tenth time these two teams will play each other and just the fourth game played
in
YEAR |
FINAL SCORE |
2007 |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
2004 |
|
2003 |
|
2000 |
|
2000 |
|
1999 |
|
1998 |
|
ALL CAPS = home team
SABERCATS-RAMPAGE SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
· WR/DB Cleannord Saintil scored four touchdowns in the last matchup (2007) on seven catches for 116 yards. He saw little field time in 2007 but was forced into action due to an injury to Ben Nelson.
· In the Rampage’s lone win (2006), Grand Rapids WR/DB Timon Marshall had 262 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, including a 58-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
· DS Marquis Floyd had a 51-yard interception return for touchdown in the 2006 loss.
· OS Rashied Davis posted 341 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns in 2005, including two kickoff returns for touchdowns.
·
In 2003, Mark Grieb hit WR/LB James Roe on a
nine-yard TD with four seconds left and then Grieb ran in the two-point
conversion to beat
·
Grieb has thrown at least five TDs in all seven
contests he’s played against
·
Kicker Carlos Huerta hit a game-winning 36-yard
field goal at the buzzer in the 54-53 win in 1999.
·
SABERCATS-RAMPAGE GAME PREVIEW
Like last week, the SaberCats face a team infused with new faces. This week it’s a bigger challenge because the Rampage boasts brand new players and coaches, while the Rush only had new players. The SaberCats coaches will be watching hours and hours of video from many AFL and af2 teams to prepare for the Rampage. Grand Rapids Week One bye won’t be benefiting the SaberCats either.
With that in mind, this article will be a bit longer and more intense than standard game previews this season. Here’s an outlook on the Rampage’s upcoming season and what, according to the past performance of coaches and players, you might see against the SaberCats.
RAMPAGE COACHING
Thonn is arguably one of top offensive-play callers in the game today. He’s mentored the game’s all-time touchdown leader (Dolezel) and the league’s single-season touchdown leader (Georgia QB Chris Greisen). His offenses have been among the league’s leaders in total offense, passing yards and total points since he began running offenses in 1995 with the Connecticut Coyotes.
When he became a head coach, in
1998 with Houston, Thonn immediately led the ThunderBears to the playoffs but
his teams were a combined 10-32 over his last three years because of poor
defenses – the team gave up more points over those three seasons than any team
in the league (by the way, the Rampage gave up the most points in the league
last season). The question is not if the Rampage’s offense will improve from
last season, it’s how good the defense will be – that’s the ultimate gauge on this
game and the season for
This will be the 13th time that a
Steve Thonn offensive unit will play
Thonn is the fourth Rampage head coach to start a season;
the previous three all lost their first game. Michael Trigg won his second
game, beating the Iowa Barnstormers in 1998; Bob Cortese lost his first eight
games before beating the Detroit Fury in 2004; and Sparky McEwen won his fourth
game of the 2005 season, beating the Columbus Destroyers. McEwen was the
Rampage’s coach in 2006 when
QUARTERBACKS IN FIRST YEAR
WITH THONN
Here’s a look at what quarterbacks have done in their first season as a starter under Thonn’s tutelage compared to their previous seasons. McPherson will be the tenth quarterback to start a season under Thonn. The previous nine all saw dramatic increases in completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns with Thonn’s guidance.
PLAYER, TEAM |
WITH THONN |
PREVIOUS YEAR |
||||||
|
% |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
% |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
McPherson, GR (2008)* |
? |
? |
? |
? |
60.2 |
3,193 |
51 |
14 |
Chris Greisen, GEO (2007) |
74.0 |
4,851 |
117 |
12 |
73.3 |
142 |
3 |
0 |
Matt Nagy, GEO (2005) |
68.8 |
3,003 |
66 |
10 |
68.1 |
2,371 |
47 |
6 |
Glenn Gauntt, DAL (2004) |
60.3 |
2,009 |
58 |
11 |
46.7 |
182 |
4 |
3 |
Jim Kubiak, DAL (2003) |
69.7 |
4,762 |
97 |
17 |
62.4 |
264 |
5 |
1 |
Todd Hammel, HOU (2001)* |
55.8 |
2,221 |
34 |
14 |
47.6 |
181 |
2 |
1 |
Robert Hall, HOU (2000)* |
65.5 |
4,053 |
64 |
11 |
43.9 |
219 |
5 |
1 |
Clint Dolezel, HOU (1997) |
66.8 |
3,377 |
69 |
14 |
56.3 |
103 |
2 |
1 |
Todd Hammel, MIL (1996) |
62.3 |
3,116 |
41 |
14 |
56.7 |
2,322 |
31 |
10 |
Mike Hold, |
49.8 |
1,488 |
20 |
12 |
51.9 |
237 |
4 |
1 |
* = Thonn was head coach
Ron Selesky is the Rampage’s defensive coordinator this year
after two seasons as the head coach of the af2’s Alabama Steeldogs. The
Steeldogs defense finished twelfth out of thirty in the af2 in points allowed
and second-to-last in total takeaways in 2007. With three af2 teams, his
combined record was 33-31, including a 13-3 year with the Albany Conquest that
earned him 2002 af2 Coach of the Year honors.
Selesky also has some AFL head coaching experience. He was the head
coach of the
Thonn’s last two offensive coordinator gigs (Dallas and
Georgia) have featured two of the top defensive minds in the game calling the
defense. Consequently, those two coaches have been named the AFL Coach of the
Year the past three seasons –
RAMPAGE PLAYERS TO WATCH
PLAYER |
2007 TEAM |
2007 NOTES |
DL
Rahim Abdullah |
2008 AFL Rookie |
Played
six years in CFL, 2 years in NFL |
Kicker
Brian Gowins |
GR |
Led AFL
in field goal attempts (30) |
DB
William Haith |
NO |
Led
VooDoo in tackles (66.5) and interceptions (four) |
DB
Ahmad Hawkins |
NAS |
Led
AFL in interceptions (13) |
WR
Kenny Higgins |
NAS |
2007
All-Rookie Team |
WR
Anthony Hines |
AUS, KC |
Played
just ten games due to injury |
OL
Marcus Keys |
GEO |
2007
Second Team All-Arena |
QB
Adrian McPherson |
AUS, GR |
Led
all QBs in rushing yards (360) |
FB
Chris Ryan |
GR |
Had
team-record 20 rushing TDs |
McPherson will be the
Hines returns to
Ryan ran for a club record 20 touchdowns last season and will again be used heavily in the ground attack. He ranks seventh in league history in rushing yards and third in rushing touchdowns.
Keys earned First Team All-Arena honors on the offensive
line with the Georgia Force. He will be protecting McPherson’s blind spot at
the left guard position. The Force offensive allowed only six sacks last
season, which was third best in the league.
There are no returning defensive
starters for the Rampage this season, though the team did pick up last year’s
leader in interceptions, defensive back Ahmad Hawkins, in the dispersal draft.
The First Team All-Arena selection will bring leadership and experience to a
defense that has AFL rookies starting at all three line positions and the Mack
linebacker. Hawkins had 13 picks in 2007. He posted just eleven in his previous
three seasons combined when he was with the Colorado Crush. Last season, he
posted 6.0 stops and an interception in the Kats’ 48-34 loss to
Aside from Hawkins, the Rampage defense has defensive back William Haith, who was the leading tackler for the expansion VooDoo last season. Haith had his best game of the season last year in the shocking 67-54 win over the eventual champs when he recorded 12.0 tackles and an interception.
KEY
MATCHUPS
SaberCats receivers vs. Rampage secondary – Last week in
Marquis Floyd vs. the Rampage receivers
–In last Monday’s loss, Floyd covered the motion man for a majority of the
night thus resulting in more passes thrown his way. Eight balls went towards
Floyd – five of the six completions were for at least 17 yards, including three
touchdowns. The two incompletions were passes of over 20 yards. With
Ron Jones vs. Marcus Keys – Jones had a sack and batted down a ball at the line in the loss last week while constantly pressuring Sherdrick Bonner. Last year when Jones faced Marcus Keys and the Georgia Force, he did not record any stats in the SaberCats’ 64-62 loss.
KEYS
TO THE GAME
Avoid stupid penalties – The SaberCats were penalized five times for 36
yards. Three of the five penalties were inside the
Hang onto the ball – The Rush
scored half of its 70 points off of the SaberCats’ five turnovers. During
Remember you’re the Champs - On
paper, the SaberCats have the advantage offensively, defensively, on special
teams and coaching in this matchup. If the SaberCats hang onto the ball and
limit silly penalties,
Tonight’s SaberCats-Rampage game will be televised live in the San Francisco Bay Area on Fox Sports Bay Area (channel 40 on Comcast).
*** ArenaFan.com ***
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