ESPN Game Preview: Dallas at Georgia
Courtesy: Ray Bentley
Release: 02/28/2008

THE STAKES
By Ray Bentley -- The Arena Football League is offering an amazing kickoff to the 2008 season with an ESPN on ABC telecast of two of the league’s top teams doing battle at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Dallas Desperados visit the Georgia Force at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in a game that features teams which won a combined 29 games during the 2007 regular season while only losing three. It really doesn’t get much better than this.

Dallas had the best regular season record in AFL history going 15-1 last year. Their lone loss came at Georgia in a week nine shootout, 78-63. Georgia went 14-2 in 2007 for the second highest regular-season win total ever. Both teams lost to a red-hot Columbus team in the playoffs and are looking to take it a step or two farther this season.

This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Desperados and the Force with the series tied at three wins apiece. This very well could be a preview of the National Conference Championship Game. Sure, it is only Week 1 but odds are pretty good this game could determine home-field advantage when the playoffs roll around this summer.

THE PLAYERS

This contest will feature two of the best QBs in Arena Football in Dallas’s Clint Dolezel and Georgia’s Chris Greisen. The two combined for 18 TD passes the last time they faced each other with Greisen tossing 10 and Dolezel eight in the shootout. They both threw for over 100 TDs on the season (Greisen 117, Dolezel 107) in 2007.

Dolezel has been one of the best in the league for nearly a decade and calls his own plays. He is one of the top talents and offensive minds in the game. He’s got some pretty good receivers to sling it to, too.

Both Will Pettis and Marcus Nash are back after racking up 1,000+ yard seasons last year. Pettis, the reigning AFL Ironman of the Year, is explosive and physical. He can go deep or take the bubble screen to the house. He is one of the fiercest competitors in the game. Nash is a big, long-bodied receiver who excels at bringing in the long ball. Rounding out the receiving group is 2nd-year man Anthony Armstrong. He showed flashes of being a threat in his own right in limited action last year. Veterans Andrae Thurman and Josh Bush add exceptional depth.

The Dallas offensive line was one of the best last year allowing only four sacks. However, that low number is also a credit to Dolezel who knows when to just throw it away. Center Jeff Chase and G Terrance Dotsy return to anchor the line. FB Josh White is a solid protector as well as a viable running threat. He had career numbers last year rushing for 10 TDs and 278 yards.

Georgia’s young QB Chris Greisen took the league by storm last year in his first season as a starter. However, offensive coordinator Steve Thonn has left the fold as he took over as the Grand Rapids Rampage head coach. The good news is Jim Kubiak has taken over for Thonn, so the Force is in good hands. The Georgia offense is also losing two of its top receivers as Chris Jackson went to Philadelphia and Derek Lee, to Columbus. The lone holdover is Troy Bergeron and that is a good thing; a real good thing.

Bergeron is proclaimed to be the fastest man in Atlanta. He also had the best numbers in town with 132 catches for 1,736 yards and 41 TDs in 2007. He can’t do it alone though, and with Carl Morris, Brent Holmes and Fred Coleman making plays, he won’t have to. The only thing Morris and Holmes have lacked is opportunity. Don’t sell this offense short.

The Desperados feature a strong group of pass rushers on defense led by Cee Weatherington who had a team high 10.0 sacks in 2007. Perennial All-Arena linebacker Duke Pettijohn had six sacks and is a beast in the middle. Rickie Simpkins and Winfield Garnett are proven veterans with some pass rushing skills of their own.

The Dallas secondary is led by last year’s leading tackler and middle defender, Jermaine Jones who had seven picks in 2007. Pettis doubles as one of the top corners in the game and Dallas picked up wily veteran Johnnie Harris, a former Defensive Player of the Year in the AFL. Bobby Keyes and DaShane Dennis round out a smart, experienced secondary.

A new rule this year puts the defensive coordinator in direct communication with a defensive player via a helmet speaker system. Dallas Head Coach Will McClay also calls the defense and his ability to diagnose and breakdown an offense and relay that to a player during the game will give the Desperados another dimension on “D”.

As good as the Dallas pass rush is, Georgia’s may be better. On paper, the Force has the best defensive line in the game with the return of R-Kal Truluck to the AFL. He had spent the past four years playing with the Kansas City Chiefs. Truluck was the AFL Lineman of the year with nine sacks back in 2002 with the Detroit Fury. With All-Arena players Ernest Allen at nose and Jermaine Smith at the other end, Georgia will be bringing the heat.

The secondary will miss middle man Hamin Milligan who is starting the year on Injured Reserve and will miss the first four weeks. Willie Gary is the veteran back there and will be working with second-year man David Crocker and newcomer Stephen Cason. All they have to do is stop the long ball and let the pass rush do the heavy lifting.

Dallas went out and shored up the kicking game in the off-season by signing the best to ever play the game in Remy Hamilton. Hamilton is as close as there is to a sure thing in this league. He also has a great array of onside kicks and gives you a solid cover guy on kick offs. Georgia counters with a good, solid veteran booter of their own in Carlos Martinez.

THE GAME

This one has the makings of an instant classic. The AFL schedule makers were not messing around when they put these two together for the opener. What more could you ask for than the top two teams from the previous season hooking up on opening day.

Both teams have suffered through a long off-season after falling in the playoffs to Columbus in shockers last year. They also both stayed pretty much pat in the off-season as Dallas returns 16 players and Georgia 15. The additions they did make give them two of the strongest teams in the league.

You also have a great coaching matchup in this one. Doug Plank, the reigning AFL Coach of the Year has already taken the Force to an ArenaBowl in his three years as the top man. Will McClay has led Dallas to back to back Eastern Division titles.

There are a couple of keys to the outcome of this one. The first being can the Force secondary matchup with the talented Dallas receivers? Dolezel is one of the best at finding a good matchup in the secondary and then taking full advantage of it. He’s certainly got the weapons to do it.

The other part of that is the pass rush from Georgia. If the front three can be a “force” then it will help the secondary immensely. If they can get after and hassle Dolezel and get him moving his feet then they have a chance.

Another question that needs answering concerns the Georgia receivers. When you lose guys like Chris Jackson and Derek Lee you have to think there is going to be a drop off. The question will be, how steep of a drop off?

I see this one coming down to the wire. If I had to pick I would take the Desperados but would not be surprised if Georgia pulled it out.