Storm Start Inconsistent
(February 24, 2003)

Four games into the 2003 Arena Football League season, the Tampa Bay Storm have a 2-2 record. While there have been some positive signs, this team very easily could have been 4-0. The start has been stumbling at times and inconsistent most of the time. And what about the coverage on NBC?

The season opened with a 60-20 pounding of Carolina, then again everyone has been beating up on the 0-4 Cobras. After that win in the home opener, the Storm went on the road for three games. A 54-52 loss in Orlando was a game that the officials took away from them. Since complaining about the referees is for losers, lets just hope the calls will average out over the season. The Storm blew a 21 point fourth quarter lead at Las Vegas and fell to the Gladiators 61-55 in overtime. The Storm almost let leads of 28-14, 41-28 and 49-35 get away from them before a field goal as time expired salvaged a 58-56 victory at Grand Rapids.

The Las Vegas game saw place kicker Pete Elezovic fail on three conversions, miss a short field goal and miss a long field goal as time expired. Elezovic had also been shaky in the opener, so he was released after the overtime loss. Ian Howfield took over the kicking duties and his is an interesting story. He played in the AFL for five seasons, and also spent time with NFL teams, but he was in a very serious car accident five years ago. Last Sunday's game was his first action since 1997. While he did miss an extra point that could have proved costly, his game winning field goal made up for it.

The Storm needs to get a wining streak going. Orlando is already 4-0, however, Predators quarterback Jay Gruden sustained an injury in the team's most recent game and is out indefinitely. Games at Orlando, Las Vegas and Grand Rapids are out of the way. Those teams are a combined 9-3 right now. The Storm's next three games are at home, including a game against Orlando on March 16. Five of the next six games, and six of the next eight, are home games, so the Storm needs to get on a roll. After that, three of the last four will be on the road.

The Storm offense has looked pretty good, but has struggled at crucial times. The defense has also looked good and a key stop here or there and this team could be undefeated. The kicking game likely cost them one game. More consistency, a few less mistakes, and this might be a pretty good year.

A few quick comments about the coverage on NBC. This is the best coverage the Arena Football League has ever had. The live cut-ins and highlights are a major advantage of covering several games each Sunday afternoon. As the season progresses, the announcers and production crews will learn more about the nuances of the indoor game. The ratings are good and so is the potential, but not too many conclusions should be draw after just four weeks.

Likewise, we probably should not draw too many conclusions about the 2003 Storm after four weeks. This still could be a pretty good football team.