May 12,2017
Nelson, Carden Have Big Offensive Games in Week 5LAS VEGAS (May 12, 2017) – The Cleveland Gladiators and Baltimore Brigade might each only have one win on the season, but the play of their young quarterbacks is what should give both teams tremendous hope. The achievements of Arvell Nelson and Shane Carden are just some of what we're looking at in this week's edition of "Inside the Numbers."
Goosby To Hit the Century Mark
Joe Goosby isn't always a guy you notice in the stat sheet on a weekly basis, but if you ask coach Clint Dolezel what he thinks of his Jack linebacker, he'll be sure to let you know how important he is. No less than five times in interviews in the past, we've heard Dolezel utter the phrase, "I love me some Joe Goosby."
Goosby has played receiver, Jack linebacker, corner, deep safety and even fullback at times in his career, a true Ironman and an ode to the old school two-way days in the AFL.
Now, Goosby is set to strap on his cleats for the 100th time in his AFL career.
Goosby will join the AFL's "Century Club" this Saturday when the Soul take on the Brigade, and when he does so, he'll become just the ninth active AFL player to reach the 100 games played mark.
Most Career Games Played through Week 5 (Active Players)
Mark Lewis (Tampa Bay): 197 Games
T.T. Toliver (Washington): 194 Games
Larry Brackins (Cleveland): 120 Games
Tracy Belton (Washington): 115 Games
Dan Raudabaugh (Philadelphia): 112 Games
Tyre Glasper (Philadelphia): 104 Games
Alvin Ray Jackson (Tampa Bay): 104 Games
Cameron McGlenn (Washington): 104 Games
Joe Goosby (Philadelphia): 99 Games
*Note: In last week's column, we erroneously published this list in an incomplete form. This list has been corrected on the web version of the article and is complete as listed above.
Nelson's Spotlight Night for the Glads
Arvell Nelson might not have led his Gladiators to victory in Week 5 against the Soul, but he certainly did everything he could to keep them in the game. Not only did Nelson throw for 223 yards and six TDs, but he had 60 rushing yards and three scores on the ground, marking the second time this season a player accounted for nine total TDs for his team. He was the first Gladiator since Shane Austin in June 2014 to account for nine scores in a single game.
Nelson now has 60 rushing yards in consecutive weeks, marking the first player since Derrick Ross in 2012 to have 60+ rushing yards in back-to-back games.
Read more about Nelson's wild night HERE.
Week 6 Milestone Watch
The Soul just keep rolling offensively. They scored in all four quarters once again versus Cleveland in Week 5 to extend their streaks to 155 quarters and 38 games in a row without being shutout in a single quarter. In their last nine quarters, the Soul have scored at least two touchdowns.
Philadelphia scored a touchdown on 12 consecutive drives over the course of two games against Baltimore and Cleveland, the longest streak in the AFL this season. The streak was snapped with an interception on the last play of the first half, though the Soul did score TDs on each of their last four possessions against the Gladiators.
T.T. Toliver is on the verge of a bit of history as well. He needs just 10 points to become the fifth man in the AFL to score 2,000 points in his career. It would be a bit fitting if Toliver scored two touchdowns this week to reach the 2k mark against Tampa Bay, the team that he broke into the AFL with way back in 2002.
Toliver could also become the first man in the AFL to get to 16,000 receiving yards. He's sitting on 15,881 at the moment and needs 119 to hit 16,000.
Darius Reynolds has had some huge games this year for the Soul, and if he has one this week against Baltimore, he could reach a career milestone. The man they call "Money" needs 109 receiving yards to get to 5,000 for his career, a feat that only seven other active players have accomplished in their careers.
Philadelphia's Ryan McDaniel is sitting on 95 career receiving touchdowns. Don't think he can score five against Baltimore? He did two weeks ago when he had eight receptions, 123 yards and those five TDs.
Erik Meyer's first touchdown pass this week against Tampa will move him into a tie with Mike Pawlawski in career touchdown passes. Meyer is sitting on 302 in his career and should easily move into the Top 20 all-time by the end of this season. Pawlawski sits in 24th with 303. From there, Meyer will be looking to pass Chris Greisen (324), Ricky Foggie (325), Fred McNair (340) and Mike Perez (341) to reach the Top 20 all-time.
Week 5 Quick Hitters
Joe Hills had himself another huge week for the Storm in Week 5. He had 13 receptions for 126 yards and four TDs, and in doing so, he moved past both Terrill Shaw and Stevie Thomas in career receiving yards. Hills now has 7,912 yards and will have a great chance of becoming the 27th man in AFL history to get to 8,000 yards when the Storm take on the Valor in D.C. this week. Hills also extended his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown reception to 72 last week.
Brandon Thompkins picked up his 16th career kick return for a touchdown in Week 5. He's now moved up to ninth all-time in that category.
Alvin Ray Jackson's early INT of Shane Carden was the 38th of his illustrious career. Jackson already holds the record for the most interceptions by a Jack linebacker, and he's now 18th all-time in AFL history in picks amongst all players.
Shane Carden became the first rookie quarterback to throw for 350+ yards in a game since 2012. He wasn't the only Brigade man to have a good one in Week 5, though. Both Julian Talley (149 yards) and Paul Browning (138 yards) set career-highs in the receiving yards department.
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