Avengers Thinking Bigger This Season

The Avengers’ Arena Football League season has not yet begun, but players, coaches and front-office staff can already envision a finish far different from those of the last two years.

The Avengers’ best-case scenario: Win their first ArenaBowl title before a sellout crowd at Staples Center and national television audience in late June. It’s a lofty goal for any franchise, more so for one that has yet to win a playoff game.

But the Avengers, who open their fifth season Sunday against the Arizona Rattlers at Phoenix, are confident that an influx of physical linemen, combined with a nucleus of AFL stars, will be enough to put them on top of an expanded league in its 18th year of operation.

“This is the year we’ve been working toward,” said offensive specialist Chris Jackson, the only Avenger from the team’s original roster in 2000. “We got a little deeper and more physical. This is truly the year.”

The Avengers set franchise records for victories and attendance last year but finished with their second consecutive postseason flameout.

In 2002, they lost in the first round to Tampa Bay. Last season, after earning a first-round bye, they lost to Arizona in the quarterfinals.

After their 11-6 season, the Avengers went on an off-season shopping spree to beef up their line and signed, among others, Jeremy Staat and Al Lucas, both of whom have NFL experience.

“One of the things we targeted was the need to get more physical with our pass rush,” third-year Coach Ed Hodgkiss said. “I think we’ve done that.”

Staat, 6 feet 5 and 300 pounds, was a second-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1998 and played two games with the St. Louis Rams this season.

“If I’m the guy that people are going to look to for our team to be more physical, that’s fine,” Staat said. “Right now, I’m just trying to learn all I can about playing the Arena game.”

The Avengers have three of the league’s most dynamic players in Jackson, quarterback Tony Graziani and receiver-linebacker Greg Hopkins.

Jackson was named the league’s offensive player of the year last season after tying an AFL record with 46 touchdown receptions. He has caught at least one touchdown pass in all but one of the 49 games he has played.

Graziani, beginning his fourth AFL season, passed for 4,290 yards and 96 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions, last season.

Hopkins, the league’s “Ironman of the Year” in 2002, said he was optimistic about the Avengers’ prospects because of the new linemen.

“I’m anxious to see who steps up and takes charge and gives us a little bit of an edge,” said Hopkins, beginning his ninth AFL season. “Not an edge scheme-wise, but an edginess to our attitude.”

That role could fall to the 6-1, 300-pound Lucas, who played last season for ArenaBowl champion Tampa Bay.

“So far, what I’ve seen here is a lot is enthusiasm and work ethic to achieve one goal: win the ArenaBowl,” said Lucas, who played 20 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2000 and 2001.

Other newcomers expected to contribute immediately are lineman Silas Demary and veteran receiver Joe Douglass.

With expansion franchises in Philadelphia, New Orleans and Austin, Texas, the AFL has grown to 19 teams. The Buffalo franchise moved to Columbus, Ohio. Unlike last season, when 12 of the 16 teams qualified for the playoffs, only eight playoff slots are available this year. They will be awarded on overall record, and division winners are not guaranteed playoff spots.

The Avengers are in the Western Division of the American Conference with the Arizona Rattlers, Las Vegas Gladiators and San Jose SaberCats.

Arizona has played in the last two ArenaBowls. San Jose won the title in 2002.

“It’s the toughest division, by far,” Hopkins said.