2007 Arizona Rattlers Season

[dreamcastrocks]

Bad news....

.....The Rattlers may have lost receiver Cosmo DeMatteo for the rest of the season after he fractured his foot early in the second quarter Saturday. What makes it hard for coach Gene Nudo to digest is the injury was avoidable. He let the league office know it this week. Referees failed to call the play dead after a Georgia kickoff banged off the wall behind the net and back into play. "If they would have blown the whistle to kill the play, we wouldn't have had a player lost for the season," Nudo said. DeMatteo finished the game and ended up with 13 catches for 171 yards and three touchdowns.....

I am focusing on the "may" in the report and hope that we haven't lost Cosmo for the whole season. He was finding his groove Saturday and finished the game with a broken foot? That is determined. The Rattlers signed Kevin McKenzie to fill the space at WR, 6 year vet, former Sabercat, Crush and Bobcat 5'11", 193 lbs.

Maybe my high school buddy Justin Taplin can get some PT because of it.

 

[Nasser22]

Ugh, another close loss. After starting 0-3 and the new playoff format, I'm starting to have some doubts. Too bad since Bonner is having an incredible season. 20TD's and 2 INT's so far. This team just isn't good enough.

 

[boisesuns]

Hey Nasser,

Does Ryan Dinwiddie Ever play? He was such a great QB at Boise State. He had the most accurate pass i've ever seen. Is he a second string or starter?

 

[Nasser22]

Hey Nasser,

Does Ryan Dinwiddie Ever play? He was such a great QB at Boise State. He had the most accurate pass i've ever seen. Is he a second string or starter?

I'm thinking he's the 2nd stringer because there was some talk about him on the Rattlers boards. He won't ever play though as long as Bonner is here. Bonner has been here for over a decade(not exactly sure how long but I'm thinking close to 15 years) and he has been arguable the best QB in league history and even at the old football age that he's in, he has thrown 20 TD's and only 2 INT's so far and has really become the offensive coordinator too. Dinwiddie may get his chance in a year or 2 when Bonner is gone.

 

[Angel]

. . . . ."Rattlers fullback Bo Kelly sets new AFL rushing standard

Rattlers FB Bo Kelly now ranks as the Arena Football League’s all-time leading rusher. Kelly’s 18 rushing yards in last Friday’s game at Colorado gives him 1,430 yards for his career, passing previous record holder and former Rattler Bob McMillen.

Kelly has been one of the league’s top rushers since 1996, when his 12-year AFL career began. Other than the 2000 season when he was with Carolina, Kelly has spent nearly his entire Arena Football career in black, copper and teal.

“Bo has been a guy throughout the history of this league and his career that has never really been appreciated enough, in my opinion,” Head Coach Gene Nudo said. “He’s become the league’s all-time rusher without the fan fare.

“I’m really happy for Bo and proud of Bo. This is an awesome achievement.”

In addition to the league rushing record, Kelly also holds the league’s all-time mark in carries (485) and ranks fourth among the AFL’s all-time leaders in rushing touchdowns with 78 (Barry Wagner, 127).

This season he ranks second in the league in rushing yards with 81 (Josh White, Dallas, 98), tied for second in carries at 26 (White, 28) and tied for fifth with three rushing touchdowns (Dan Alexander, Nashville, 9)". . . . .


Congratulations to Mr. Kelly, I know personal records are way down on the list when we are sitting at 0-3 but what an outstanding accomplishment. Coach Gene you are incorrect, Rattler fans love and appreciate Bo, in a game where rushing yards are scarce we treasure every one of them. So as you have probably heard us from the end zone "Goooooooooo Boooooooooo" and keep on going

 

[Angel]

Maybe my high school buddy Justin Taplin can get some PT because of it.

Buy a ticket and come out.....


. . . . ."The Rattlers signed wide receiver Atnaf Harris from the practice squad on Thursday and placed Randy Gatewood on injured reserve.

Harris (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) is in his second-year in Arena Football, having been with the San Jose SaberCats in 2006. A fifth metatarsal stress fracture, however, sidelined the former Fresno State and Cal State Northridge player, who is known for his speed and ability to stretch the field.

Harris played briefly with the NFL’s Houston Texans in 2002 and was on the Denver Broncos practice squad in 2003. He was originally signed by the Rattlers on Nov. 14, 2006 and began training camp this season with the team before being released on Feb. 10, 2007. Harris had recently been signed to the Rattlers practice squad.

A foot injury has landed Gatewood – the reigning Ironman of the Year – on injured reserve. He leads the team in receiving this season with 319 yards on 30 catches along with six touchdowns.

In other roster moves, the Rattlers have signed receiver Justin Taplin from their practice squad and placed OL/DL Brandon Phillips on recallable waivers. ". . . . .

We can always use some more noise in the pit!

 

[Nasser22]

Don't know too much of what happened, but the Rattlers beat the Gladiators by about 27. Bonner had 6 TD's and 0 INT's. He has been having an incredible season so far. It good to finally get a win, even if it was against poor competition. Kral seemed to have some more trouble kicking...

 

[Nasser22]

Standings:
http://www.arenafootball.com/schedules/Standings.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3500
Desperados, Blaze, Force and Rush looking very good. So is Philly, but they started off the season hot last year and that didn't get them anywhere. They just blew up in the end so lets see if they can continue this.

Rattlers have had the opportunities to be at 5-0 right now, but they just haven't finished games strong. 1-4 looks bad, but if they can get their **** together they are not far off from a playoff spot.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Buy a ticket and come out.....


. . . . ."The Rattlers signed wide receiver Atnaf Harris from the practice squad on Thursday and placed Randy Gatewood on injured reserve.

Harris (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) is in his second-year in Arena Football, having been with the San Jose SaberCats in 2006. A fifth metatarsal stress fracture, however, sidelined the former Fresno State and Cal State Northridge player, who is known for his speed and ability to stretch the field.

Harris played briefly with the NFL’s Houston Texans in 2002 and was on the Denver Broncos practice squad in 2003. He was originally signed by the Rattlers on Nov. 14, 2006 and began training camp this season with the team before being released on Feb. 10, 2007. Harris had recently been signed to the Rattlers practice squad.

A foot injury has landed Gatewood – the reigning Ironman of the Year – on injured reserve. He leads the team in receiving this season with 319 yards on 30 catches along with six touchdowns.

In other roster moves, the Rattlers have signed receiver Justin Taplin from their practice squad and placed OL/DL Brandon Phillips on recallable waivers. ". . . . .

We can always use some more noise in the pit!

I went to the home opener. I plan on seeing at least one more game this year.

 

[Nasser22]

The Rattlers are now 2-6. They just came off a win over rival, Utah Blaze and tonight the game is on TV, finally. It's been over a month that I've seen a game.

 

[Nasser22]

After a close first half the Rattlers are really playing like crap. What a disappointing team they've been.

 

[Angel]

It has been a disappointing season, especially with all the injuries.

I thought for sure our defense would get with the program quicker than this and I’m not even touching the special teams; kick off returns excluded from criticism of course .

The contrast between the past two games allows me to voice an opinion I've held for a while now. We NEED Randy on the field, whether the tosses are going in his direction or not he raises the playing level of the entire team by just being out there.

Congrats to Sed for reaching 801, career touch downs that is. As usual you define what being a Rattler and an Arena player is, your fans know and appreciate it.

 

[green machine]

http://azrattlers.com/news/releases/?article_id=267

 

[Nasser22]

Nice write-up, but I'm starting to lose interest in this season. I love the team but the season has been such a disappointment. I don't think it's worth my time to listen to them on the radio getting whipped by their biggest rival. I'll still watch the televised games though if it's not during the Suns' playoff games.

 

[Nasser22]

We lost again, 56-49.

 

[Angel]

We lost again, 56-49.

Crapper wasn't it?

Though I thought San Jose would give it to us harder, guess they no longer have anything to prove where we are concerned. However they did not win that game, we lost it. Our own mistakes cost us. Canning half the starting line up and replacing them with not only new guys, but new guys that for the most part hadn't played the game before, days before a game against a division rival that historically has been a tough opponent could we really expect any other outcome.

Kudos to Sed who played well again, and to new kicker guy who put the ball where it needed to be, as for the rest of my boys I never thought I would watch so many Rattler players just going through the motions we have lost out heart.

As a fan it really sucks to lose, I can't imagine how it feels as player.

 

[Nasser22]

New kicker, huh? Good news.

 

[Angel]

A little fluff to lighten the mood...

http://www.azrattlers.com/news/releases/?article_id=272

PHOENIX – Mother’s Day arrives a day early for the Amey family this year as Rattlers OL/DL Vince Amey will face his brother Otis on Saturday night at the U.S. Airways Center. Otis Amey is a rookie receiver for the visiting Austin Wranglers and the unique pre-Mother’s Day match-up makes for the ultimate gridiron gift.

“My parents are so excited about coming out on Saturday,” Vince Amey said. “My mom was like, ‘I couldn’t ask for anything better for Mother’s Day.’ It’ll be crazy. I’m excited about being on the same field with him.”

Saturday will mark the first time the brothers have battled one another in a professional arena or any setting since their days of playing ball in the backyard. But for Vince – who grew up to have a successful collegiate career at Arizona State and seven seasons in the Arena Football League – hitting his six years younger brother will seem like old hat.

“I used to beat him up when we were kids and everything,” said Vince, who now outweighs Otis by 108 pounds and has five inches on his sibling. “Nothing’s going to change. I’m still going to try to beat him up and win this game, but it’ll also be an honor to see some Amey boys on the field and be able to play my brother.”

The Amey brothers will renew their sibling rivalry at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 12 at the U.S. Airways Center as the Rattlers host the Wranglers. Tickets are now on sale through azrattlers.com, ticketmaster.com and the U.S. Airways Center Box Office.