Utah Blaze receivers just fine sans Burley
But Burley was a free agent and signed during the offseason with the Arizona Rattlers when he was unable to reach an agreement with the Blaze.
So a casual observer might assume Utah's inability to re-sign Burley is one of the major reasons the team has taken a huge step backward this season. The Blaze, after all, are now 0-9 on the year and are the only winless team in the AFL.
But that casual observer would be wrong to blame Utah's woes on not having Burley.
The Blaze have had myriad problems this season, but the receiving corps hasn't been one of them. The trio of Huey Whittaker, Aaron Boone and J.J, McKelvey, in fact, have been one of the team's few bright spots.
"All three of them are doing a great job," said Blaze quarterback Joe Germaine of his top targets. "They have all come up big. One week one of them will have a huge game, with the other two having good games, and then the next week one of the other ones will step up and have the spotlight. Teams can't key on just one of them."
"All of our receivers are playing very well," said Blaze coach Danny White. "Our offensive battery, Joe and those three receivers, have all been doing a nice job for us all year."
Burley, meanwhile, has suffered through an injury-plagued season for the Rattlers. He is just 45th in the league in receiving with 38 catches for 425 yards.
TOILET BOWL?: Saturday night's game at EnergySolutions Arena will feature a pair of teams with a combined 1-16 record. Blaze players are convinced they will be able to end their seasonlong losing streak against the 1-7 Kansas City Brigade.
"It's our best chance to win, but it's also their best chance to win again," acknowledged White. "I know that's exactly what (Kansas City coach) Kevin Porter is telling his guys right now, too. 'Hey, this is a team that we know we should beat,' and all of that."
Utah doesn't have a win, but Kansas City hasn't played in as many close games. Utah is being outscored this season by an average of 10.1 points per game, while the Brigade has been outscored by 12.4 points per game.
"Kansas City has a better record than we do, so we definitely have respect for them," said Germaine. "The guys that they have are good players, just like we have good players. It's just that things haven't been going well for them, just like they haven't for us. We definitely are not underestimating them at all."
HOLDING STEADY: The Blaze have found various ways to turn possible victories into losses this year from missed field goals to turnovers to poor defense and penalties. A big reason for last Saturday's loss to New Orleans was penalties, more specifically holding calls.
Utah had three touchdown passes called back due to holding on their offensive line, two by Myniya Smith and one on Devin Wyman. As a result, the Blaze held a particularly tough practice on Monday.
"Holding is usually a result of guys getting tired and not moving their feet and finishing the play," said White. "They'll block for two seconds and then not move their feet, and they'll grab the guy because they are tired. I think that was the case with Myniya, and I think Monday proved it. He's just not in very good shape."
Blaze on the air
Kansas City Brigade (1-7) at Utah Blaze (0-9)
Saturday, 7 p.m.
EnergySolutions Arena
TV: none
Radio: 1320 AM
E-mail: lojo@desnews.com
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