Utah entered 2013 with hopes of an Arena Bowl, after coming off a loss in the National Conference championship game and having the reigning League MVP back to direct the show in Tommy Grady. The lofty expectations of an Arena Bowl berth were hard to come true when Grady had a down year by leading the AFL in interceptions and a defense that was filled with new faces this year.
The Blaze started the year slow by losing three in a row after a season-opening win at Pittsburgh. Part of the reason can be contributed to the twelve interceptions that Grady threw in that span and the early absence of Aaron LeSue in those games. Utah bounced back with a pair of wins in weeks six and seven, but the turnover problems and injury issues continued to plague them and played a major part in a stretch that featured four losses in five games. The Blaze entered week thirteen with a 4-7 record and were desperate for a spark. After seeing Tommy Grayd toss 25 interceptions in twelve games, Ron James decided it was time for a change to Jason Boltus as the starting quarterback. In Boltus's first start he led Utah to a 62-55 win vs. Jacksonville that kept the Blaze in the mix and stirred excitement among the fan base.
Unfortunately for the Blaze the success didn't last as they lost the next four games; including a 80-41 defeat at Spokane and a tight 57-49 loss vs. San Jose that put an early end to their playoff hopes. For a year that was filled with disappointment, injury, and new faces, Utah ended the campaign with two wins to wrap-up a 7-11 record. A bright side for Utah was the reemergence of Tommy Grady as the starter in the last two wins and Mario Urrutia, who had a stellar rookie season. The Blaze were "that team" in the west this year who hit the bottom; 1-5 in division play, 6-6 vs. the rest of the League. With a healthy Aaron LeSue for more than eight games and omitting the loss of Caesar Rayford to the NFL might have allowed the Blaze to make more noise, or at least hung around longer in the postseason chase. Overall, Utah found some keepers on the defensive side of the ball in David Hyland, Keenan Mace, Antwan Marsh, Arness Ikner, and Maurice Leggett; and also developed to younger pass catching targets in Urrutia and Chase Deadder. The real question for the Blaze heading into 2014 is whether Tommy Grady will be back to take the snaps.
The Good from 2013:
- A 52-48 win vs. Spokane in week seven.
- Finishing the season on a two-game win streak.
- 6-6 record outside the wild west.
PLAYER STATS
- Jason Boltus 118-188, 1425 yds, 31 TD, 7 Int; 140 rush yds, TD (14 games--5 starts)
- Ben Stallings 73 rush, 170 yds, 11 TD; 3 rec, 24 yds, TD (16 games)
- Mario Urrutia 142 rec, 1675 yds, 38 TD (17 games)
- Aaron LeSue 62 rec, 748 yds, 16 TD; Kick-ret TD (8 games)
- Chase Deadder 85 rec, 793 yds, 15 TD; 6 rush TD (17 games)
- David Hyland 85.5 tackles, 7 Int, 2 FF, 3 FR, 2 Def TD (17 games)
- Maurice Leggett 69 tackles, 5 Int, 3 FF, FR, Def TD (15 games)
- Arness Ikner 37 tackles, 3 Int, FF, Def TD (10 games)
- Keenan Mace 11.5 tackles (5.5 TFL), 5 sacks, 2 FF, 1 FR (13 games)
TEAM STATS
- 3rd in pass offense (270.7 ypg)
- 4th in total offense (293.4 ypg)
- 3rd pass defense (239.7 ypg)
- 3rd total defense (262.3 ypg)
- 4th in kick returns (18.7 avg, 3 TD)
The Bad from 2013:
- A 1-5 division record.
- 35 Interceptions thrown by Grady and Boltus.
- Losing three straight home games to start the year.
- Ugly division losses: 77-49 vs. Arizona in week two, 80-41 at Spokane in week fourteen. And a 69-39 loss at Philadelphia in week seventeen.
- Three losses by three points or fewer; back-to-back one-point defeats in weeks ten and eleven.
PLAYER STATS
- Tommy Grady 310-541, 3570 yds, 67 TD, 28 Int; 38 rush yds, TD (15 games--13 starts)
- The fact Aaron LeSue was only available for eight games, his absence was mightily felt by the offense
TEAM STATS
- 9th in scoring offense (49.8 ppg)
- 10th in scoring defense (54.9 ppg)
- 11th pass efficiency (92.7)
- 2nd-worst in turnover margin (-23)
- 3rd-most penalized team (58.6 ypg)
- Allowed opposing pass efficiency of (107.3)
- 3rd-worst 4th down conversions (22/60)
The Reason for a Losing Season:
This Utah team finished 7-11 and could of easily racked up nine or ten wins, despite a year filled with new faces and sloppy play by the offense. The clear reason for the Blaze's failure to qualify for the postseason was the fact that they were the worst team in the west this year and turnovers. Utah was tied with Pittsburgh with a minus-23 turnover margin and ranked at the bottom of the AFL with a collective pass efficiency of 92.7; understandable when 35 interceptions are thrown by your quarterbacks. The defense did pretty well this year other than allowing 55 points per game and struggling to get takaways. When you play in Arena Football's toughest division you have little room for error, and when you lose five of six wild west games and the turnover battle a last place finish will be the result.
2013 Finish: 7-11 (1-5 in West), sixth in the National Conference
For more on the Utah Blaze:
http://www.arenafootball.com/
http://www.arenafootball.com/teams/aflblz/
http://www.utblaze.com/
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/03/2013-arena-football-season-kickoff-wild.html
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/04/2013-afl-season-frist-quarter-anaylsis.html
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/06/2013-afl-midway-report-west.html
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/07/afl-turning-into-home-stretch-west.html
http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/stats/2013/CONFSTAT.HTM
No comments:
Post a Comment