Studs and Duds for Week 11
By Paul Celmer
It was a strange week in Arena Football, with a number of low scoring games including the Predators-Destroyers slow-motion 39 to 36 defensive battle. But as Heraclitus once said: "All is flux." Let us see who rose above (or sank below) the mire.
THE STUDS
Randy Gatewood
This Wide Reviever for the Arizona Rattlers scored 5 TDs last week. This week, he pulled 7 TDs from the air to take the King of the Studs title for Week 11. Gatewood was unstoppable with 13 catches for 149 big yards, including two long catches of 27 and 33 yards. Gatewood uses his height and route-running ability to simply dominate opponents. With Bonner back in form, Gatewood is money for the rest of the season.
Shederick Bonner
This veteran Quarterback for the Arizona Rattlers comes back to the land of the Studs after stumbling a bit early in the season. Bonner tossed the rock into the endzone for 8 TDs in week 11. If I were a persnickity critic I would point out that he had to rely on Randy Gatewood for 7 of his 8 TDs, but we can overlook that just this once. What is nice about Bonner is that as the game moves into the fourth quarter, this southpaw just gets tougher and tougher even as his delivery gets smoother and smoother. But that is a veteran for you. And oh yeah, it was Bonner's 100th win.
John Dutton
This QB for the Colorado Crush was quite studly again in Week 11. Dutton was highly accurate, completing 21 out of 29 for 244 yards and 5 tosses into the Palace of Points. A standard performance for this every week stud.
Damian Harrell
This Offensive Specialist for the Colorado Crush had a monstrous 5 TDs last week; this week he had 7 catches for 61 yards and 3 TDs. If there is ever written a treatise on truth and beauty in Arena Football, Damien Harrell's name will be there.
Chris Jackson
This Offensive Specialist for the Georgia Force had 7 TDs in week 9 and 5 TDs in week 10. Well, week 11 was a bit of down week for Jackson. C-Jax had only 1 TD catch, but he was still Georgia's No. 1 receiver with 12 receptions for 117 yards. But what keeps Jackson in the stud column is that he also had a TD while returning a missed field. Jackson's strategic vision on returns is legendary. This kind of drive to take broken play all the way back to the other end of gauntlet is what makes a true stud. The former go-to guy for Ryan Leaf in their college days, Jackson is the kind of guy that after the catch does not look for the wall, but puts his head down and fights for every yard. Jackson's numbers were down in week 11 primarily because the game was over by the first half. But don't let this little break from hauling in TDs out of the air fool you. Week 11 is just the little breather the monster takes before devouring the rest of the citadel.
Rashad Floyd
This perrenial stud DS for the Colorado Crush had no mercy on the Grand Rapids Rampage replacement QB Ryan Van Dyke. Floyd snagged a nice three INTs in the Crush domination of the Rampage and is a solid stud DS.
THE DUDS
After the glorious highs, must always come the horrible lows. Such is life in the Land of Arena Fantasy...
T.T. Toliver
I love this guy. So that is why week 11 hurt me so much. This Offensive Specialist for the Nashville Kats had only 2 catches for 41 yards and an uncharacteristic measly one TD. This was a strange result considering the Kats got their QB, Clint Stoerner, back from the injured list. But look for Toliver to do well next week.
Mark Grieb and James Roe
Sometimes there arise things that you just can't explain. This week we initiate a new category of Duds: Two-headed monsters. The Two-headed monster category is so named because of the intertwined, co-dependent relationship of some Quarterback/Receiver pairs. And with the Sabercats in Week 11, the fates of two studs can both fall at the same time. Both Grieb and Roe fell prey to the strange no passing TD win by the San Jose Sabercats. Coming off a 9 TD performance in Week 10, Grieb had no touchdowns in week 11 as the rushers took all the glory.
James Roe had 8 catches for 75 yards and no TDs. Not great numbers. But like Ben Nelson, Roe's numbers were hurt by the statistical weirdness of this Week 11 Sabercats win. Roe did have have the most catches of any San Jose receiver, so you should look on the bright side. A mediocre 22 fantasy points based on the catches and the yards ain't too bad, so maybe we put him in the Centaur category, and hope he makes it all the way back to stud next week. The glass is indeed half full, and Roe should be fine going down the stretch.
THE SAP IS RISING
Neither fish nor fowl, there are some good things that defy the Aristotelian mania for categorization. The players in this list were not expected to be studly, yet stepped-up bigtime. Will they continue to produce? You have to judge these in a case-by-case analysis.
Freddie Solomon
It seems almost an insult to put this Tampa Bay Offensive Specialist in the "Rising" category, but we must take into account his early season injury when we evaluate his overall studliness. Nevertheless, it appears that King Solomon is back. In week 11 Solomon had 8 catches for 107 yards and 2 trips to the land beneath the yellow scaffolding. Look for Solomon to produce points for the rest of the season, even if Stafford throws to the wrong guys as much as he did in week 11.
Chris Sanders
This replacement QB for the Kansas City Brigade had a tremendous week 11. Sanders tossed 7 TDs and rushed for 1. His passing numbers were pretty good as well. Sanders completed 26 of 32 for 265 yards. Sanders is a decent option if you are in need of a QB.
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