Storm Should Contend in 2005
(January 25, 2005)

It has been a relatively calm off season for the Tampa Bay Storm. There were a couple of interesting stories, but this team will be very much like last year's squad. There were not that many changes league-wide, so most expect the teams that contended last season to contend this year. The 2005 Arena Football League opens this Friday and the Storm kickoff this Sunday with a home game against defending champion San Jose.

The Storm's opening day roster features seven players not on last year's team, including five rookies. WR/DB Anthony Derricks and OL/DL Ricky Hall are the new veterans, while the AFL rookies are linemen DeMarcus Johnson and Omar Smith, WR/DB Lynaris Elpheage, FB/LB Elfrid Payton and WR/LB Ronney Daniels. The players the Storm have on injured reserve made the new spots available. Key contributors such as WR/DB T.T. Toliver WR/DB, FB/LB David White, OL/DL Rod Williams and QB Pat O'Hara. The loss of Toliver is the most critical and he may miss half the season. O'Hara will serve as offensive coordinator this season.

Continuity is the word as most return from last season's 9-7 team. The team won its last six games to make the playoffs, but lost at San Jose in the first round. Those who will be back include QB Shane Stafford, WR/DB Lawrence Samuels, OS Freddie Solomon, WR/DB Clif Dell, RB/LB Umar Muhammad, WR/DB David Saunders, K Matt George, DS Tramain Jones and OL/DL Nyle Wiren.

Can the Storm contend in 2005? Never count a Tim Marcum coached team out. A pre-season writers poll picked the Storm to finish second to San Jose. Perhaps not surprising since these two teams have won the last three Arena Bowls. Danny White has stepped down at Arizona and Todd Shell is the new head coach of the team that has lost the last three title games. Record setting quarterback Tony Graziani is now with Philadelphia making them an instant contender. Chicago and New Orleans, division winners last year, are expected to make a serious run at the championship. Colorado and New York could round out the eight team playoff field.

There are always franchise changes in the Arena Football League and seventeen teams take to the turf this season. Three teams are gone and one is back. The Indiana, Detroit and Carolina franchises have folded. After not playing since 2001, the Nashville Kats are back.

What about the interesting off-season stories mentioned in the first paragraph? One was about Storm head coach Tim Marcum being accused of falsifying an insurance claim on his fishing boat. Apparently the investigation was sparked by a telephone call from his ex-wife and her new husband Thom Hopper. What made the story interesting was that the call supposedly came around the time Marcum and team owner Woody Kerr were involved in breach of contract lawsuits against Hopper resulting from his failed bid to buy the Storm in 2002. There was another newspaper article about how some of the Storm's 2003 championship rings contained cubic zirconia. The team did confirm that some rings did have cubic zirconia, and that was also the case in past championship rings, but denied the allegation that players who did not re-sign with the team got the fake rings.

The Storm jump right into things Sunday with the home game against San Jose. The Storm and SaberCats have split the ten previous meeting and it should be a great way to start the 2005 Arena Football League season.