No Playoffs, Now What?
(June 24, 2008)

The Tampa Bay Storm, a preseason favorite to win the Arena Football League's South Division, did not make the playoffs for the second time in three years. The team has not won a post season game since the 2003 Arena Bowl. The Storm played well at times this year, and not so good at others, and finished with an 8-8 record. Where do they go from here?

It is hard to believe the Storm are not still playing. Record breaking players scored the most points in franchise history. The team lead the league in attendance and the 16,793 average was the best since the days in St. Petersburg. An new owner and a legendary coach. What went wrong?

There have already been calls for coach Tim Marcum's head. Some people believe that the game has passed by one of the creators of indoor football. As General Manager and head coach, and the one making all the calls, Marcum is an easy target for the blame game. He does have another year on his contract and it would be a surprise if he is not back for 2009.

While quarterback Brett Dietz tied the team record for touchdown passes, he had mistakes at key times. Going into his third season, Dietz should play more like a veteran next year. The receiving corps should be strong and young players like Hank Edwards and Tyrone Timmons complement the experience of Terrill Shaw and David Saunders. Odds are that Lawrence Samuels will retire, some awfully big shoes to fill. Running back Terrance Marshall will provide balance on offense.

The defense allowed more points than any previous Storm team and the secondary has been criticized for most of the season. The defense struggled in the first part of the year, then Tim McGill, Tom Biggs and Kelvin Kinney started getting to the passer. This made Traco Rachel and Jeroid Johnson more effective in the defensive backfield.

The kicking game saw an early injury to Sedrick Robinson hurt the return game and Seth Marler is a decent kicker.

As you break it down position by position, again, it is hard to believe the Storm are not in the post season. Complain about teams with worst records making the playoffs in the other conference, but close losses and inconsistent play doomed Tampa Bay.

The Storm have the obvious two choices. They can stand pat and hope another year together will help the club reach its potential. Or, the team can make wholesale changes. Overhaul the defense, bring in a veteran QB to challenge Dietz and look for better blockers.

The likelihood is that Tim Marcum will get another year with substantially the same team. As he said, "We have to commit ourselves at coming back next year and know what did us in and do it better."