Arena Football League: BattleWings at Storm
By SCOTT COOLEY
This Friday’s Arena Football game of the week on the NFL Network features two teams trending in opposite directions.
Tampa Bay (7-3 SU, 4-6 ATS) is one of the hottest teams in the AFL as it comes into this affair riding a five-game winning streak. On the other end of the spectrum, the boys from the Bayou have dropped eight of their last nine games with three of those losses coming by 19 points or more.
“We really have to leave the past in the past and play this week’s game,” said Bossier (3-8 SU, 5-6 ATS) coach Jon Norris. “Our players and our coaching staff have to focus on winning games, one game at a time.”
The sequel
These squads met down in Cajun Country during Week 7 and the Storm put together a fourth-quarter rally to squeak out a 48-44 victory as 5-point favorites.
Tampa Bay gunslinger Brett Dietz had a career night against a less-than-average BattleWings defense, completing 34-of-40 passes for 395 yards and six touchdowns. He did so without the services of the team’s leading wide receiver, Hank Edwards, who will be active for tonight’s game.
The Storm’s win served as the turning point in the season with the team failing to drop a decision since.
“(Coach) Tim Marcum’s teams tend to get better as the season progresses,” said Covers Expert Ted Sevransky. “If they aren’t good in April, they certainly have it going by July.”
Bossier was able to neutralize some of Tampa’s offensive attack in the game by picking up big chunks of yardage on the ground. Byron Douzart rumbled for 74 yards and a score, but the BattleWings cut the fullback and signed a pure rusher, Jason “The Mule” Schule, on Wednesday.
Hey rookie!
The BattleWings’ season begin to spiral downward when the team lost starting quarterback Raymond Philyaw in Week 8. After not dressing a backup signal-caller for that game, Bossier was forced stick wideout Randy Hymes under center and the offense struggled mightily, eventually losing the game 56-19.
In the next four games, rookie Kinsmon Lancaster and veteran Gary Cooper split duties at quarterback but neither proved to be effective. Bossier will roll the dice this week with its fifth option under center – former LSU quarterback Jimmy Welker.
Welker hasn’t started a game since his senior season of high school in 2003 and doesn’t have any experience playing indoor football. The 6-4, 250-pound California native has been practicing with the ‘Wings for several weeks.
"We've struggled offensively in the second half of our last two games," Bossier coach Jon Norris said. "We've seen some good things out of Jimmy in practice, so we decided to give him a chance to see what he can do."
Tampa Bay expects to see a lot of one-step and three-step drops from the rookie Welker. This will make it tough for the Storm’s rushing four to get pressure on the quarterback which will put an even greater emphasis on the team’s secondary play. The addition of Bossier’s new fullback might also indicate another heavy dose of running.
Storming defense
Tampa’s turnaround can be attributed to a renewed effort on the defensive side of the ball. The Storm have held four of its last five opponents to fewer than 50 points and stymied Utah for a season-low in points in last week’s 65-40 road victory.
The Storm secondary, which is expected to be tested with quick passes Friday, has collected five interceptions and nearly 30 pass breakups in its last three games. Defensive back Eric McIntosh, who will be playing in his fourth career arena league game, has picked off one pass in each of the last two games.
"We run mostly dude coverage," Coach Marcum said. "We say, 'You cover that dude, and you cover that dude.’”
Tampa Bay is 139-41 all time when holding its opponent to 50 points or fewer and the BattleWings have failed to eclipse that number in five of their last six outings.
Home-field advantage?
The Storm pack the St. Pete Times Forum like no other team in the AFL. Tampa Bay’s home arena averages the largest attendance (14,349) in the league but does it create a decisive home-field advantage?
“We have the largest AFL arena and the second-largest hockey arena in the country,” said a Storm spokesman, who expects Friday’s game to be a sellout. “So the environment some AFL venues create, where the fans are on top of the field, isn’t duplicated in Tampa.”
And while most AFL teams have benefitted from a local officiating crew when playing at home, the Storm have actually been penalized more than the opposition in Tampa this season.
The BattleWings have recorded only one road victory this season (1-5 SU and ATS) and league play last week saw the home teams go 6-1 SU and 5-2 ATS.
Stat pack
- Bossier has been one of the most vulnerable defenses in the AFL in 2010, giving up the second-highest averages in points per game (63.6) and yards per game (326.3).
- Tampa Bay is the most penalized team in the league, yielding 80.6 yards per game in yellow flags.
- The Storm have registered 14.0 sacks this season compared to 6.0 sacks for Bossier.
- The BattleWings have allowed 18.0 sacks, the third-worst mark in the league, while Tampa Bay has only given up 4.0 sacks.