Post by lionsroar on Jul 5, 2008 5:52:52 GMT -5
Gales returns at right time
Receiver comes back from partially torn ACL before playoffs start
BY DAVID CHING - dching@ledger-enquirer.com --
Receiver comes back from partially torn ACL before playoffs start ------
With their American Indoor Football Association playoff opener set for the day after July 4, it seems especially unfortunate that the Columbus Lions will be without the source of much of their offensive fireworks.
But entering tonight's visit to AIFA South champ Mississippi (13-1), Columbus coach Jason Gibson said Anthony Merritt's absence won't be as crippling as one might expect.
Not with star receiver Gerald Gales back in the lineup.
"Gerald would be the leading receiver in the league if he hadn't missed a game -- yards, touchdowns, receptions, everything. But he missed four games," Gibson said of Gales, who played only once in the Lions' final five games after injuring his knee in a May 9 home loss to Mississippi.
Gales was poised for an enormous year before he partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, but he still ranks among the AIFA's top 10 in receiving yards (ninth, 889), receptions (fifth, 70), receiving yards per game (second, 88.9) and receptions per game (second, 7.0).
Gibson said Columbus' offense "started to sputter" with Gales out, but the West Alabama product says he's now back at about 90 percent of his physical capability eight weeks after suffering the injury. He's now able to run at full-speed and cut without feeling pain, a quick recovery that surprised even his doctor.
"I'm glad it wasn't just surgery right there (when it happened)," Gales said. "The doctor told me he didn't think I would be back at the level I'm at now. He thought I would be 60 or 70 percent, but I'm way past that."
With Gales temporarily out of the picture, other Columbus receivers -- particularly Merritt, Silas Daniels and, most recently, Tirone Morris -- saw their numbers rise.
Before he signed to play for the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League at the end of the AIFA's regular season, Merritt -- a Shaw High grad -- emerged as one of the most versatile offensive players in the league. Merritt led the Lions (10-4) with 86 catches for 991 yards and 19 touchdowns, also led the team in rushing and was 5-for-5 as a passer with all five attempts going for touchdowns.
"Anthony, don't get me wrong, we're missing that boy," Gales said. "But we can step it up and take what we've learned from coaching and watching film and seeing what these guys do and we should be OK."
Particularly with Daniels and Morris joining Gales to form a potent three-wideout attack.
Daniels is the team's leading current receiver, with 68 catches for 898 yards and 20 touchdowns, while Morris has become a legitimate threat only recently. He played only once in Columbus' first eight games, but has a pair of 100-yard outings and six touchdown catches over the final five.
"(Gales is) tough to stop," Gibson said. "Now that I have him and Tirone on the field at the same time with Silas Daniels, it's just as potent as (Mississippi's) three receivers."
As much as Merritt's absence could affect the Lions, recent changes within the Mississippi organization make them a significantly different team than the one that dominated the league for much of the season. They played the final two games of the season without head coach Brian Brents and two of his assistants, as well as quarterback Tommy Jones, the league's top passer, and veteran lineman William Stewart.
Brents and the assistants quit the team two weeks ago when their flagging franchise asked them to restructure their contracts at a decreased salary, and Jones and Stewart quit as a result of their departure.
But the MudCats have gone 2-0 since line coach William McCarthy stepped into the interim head coach's role, and Gibson believes the off-field drama might have inspired the Mississippi team in a way.
Tonight will be a matter of withstanding the emotional surge the MudCats bring into the game and simply outlasting them. Even when the MudCats were playing at full strength, Columbus was the only team in two seasons to defeat them in Tupelo, winning 53-48 on May 17.
"They're gonna come out in the beginning a little bit fired-up," Gibson said. "They're playing at home, a playoff game. We can play without our coaches, we can play without our quarterback.
"They may get a little run here or there. But if we can weather that run, in the end I think we'll be fine. I think they'll sputter out."
www.ledger-enquirer.com/293/story/363902.html
Receiver comes back from partially torn ACL before playoffs start
BY DAVID CHING - dching@ledger-enquirer.com --
Receiver comes back from partially torn ACL before playoffs start ------
With their American Indoor Football Association playoff opener set for the day after July 4, it seems especially unfortunate that the Columbus Lions will be without the source of much of their offensive fireworks.
But entering tonight's visit to AIFA South champ Mississippi (13-1), Columbus coach Jason Gibson said Anthony Merritt's absence won't be as crippling as one might expect.
Not with star receiver Gerald Gales back in the lineup.
"Gerald would be the leading receiver in the league if he hadn't missed a game -- yards, touchdowns, receptions, everything. But he missed four games," Gibson said of Gales, who played only once in the Lions' final five games after injuring his knee in a May 9 home loss to Mississippi.
Gales was poised for an enormous year before he partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, but he still ranks among the AIFA's top 10 in receiving yards (ninth, 889), receptions (fifth, 70), receiving yards per game (second, 88.9) and receptions per game (second, 7.0).
Gibson said Columbus' offense "started to sputter" with Gales out, but the West Alabama product says he's now back at about 90 percent of his physical capability eight weeks after suffering the injury. He's now able to run at full-speed and cut without feeling pain, a quick recovery that surprised even his doctor.
"I'm glad it wasn't just surgery right there (when it happened)," Gales said. "The doctor told me he didn't think I would be back at the level I'm at now. He thought I would be 60 or 70 percent, but I'm way past that."
With Gales temporarily out of the picture, other Columbus receivers -- particularly Merritt, Silas Daniels and, most recently, Tirone Morris -- saw their numbers rise.
Before he signed to play for the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League at the end of the AIFA's regular season, Merritt -- a Shaw High grad -- emerged as one of the most versatile offensive players in the league. Merritt led the Lions (10-4) with 86 catches for 991 yards and 19 touchdowns, also led the team in rushing and was 5-for-5 as a passer with all five attempts going for touchdowns.
"Anthony, don't get me wrong, we're missing that boy," Gales said. "But we can step it up and take what we've learned from coaching and watching film and seeing what these guys do and we should be OK."
Particularly with Daniels and Morris joining Gales to form a potent three-wideout attack.
Daniels is the team's leading current receiver, with 68 catches for 898 yards and 20 touchdowns, while Morris has become a legitimate threat only recently. He played only once in Columbus' first eight games, but has a pair of 100-yard outings and six touchdown catches over the final five.
"(Gales is) tough to stop," Gibson said. "Now that I have him and Tirone on the field at the same time with Silas Daniels, it's just as potent as (Mississippi's) three receivers."
As much as Merritt's absence could affect the Lions, recent changes within the Mississippi organization make them a significantly different team than the one that dominated the league for much of the season. They played the final two games of the season without head coach Brian Brents and two of his assistants, as well as quarterback Tommy Jones, the league's top passer, and veteran lineman William Stewart.
Brents and the assistants quit the team two weeks ago when their flagging franchise asked them to restructure their contracts at a decreased salary, and Jones and Stewart quit as a result of their departure.
But the MudCats have gone 2-0 since line coach William McCarthy stepped into the interim head coach's role, and Gibson believes the off-field drama might have inspired the Mississippi team in a way.
Tonight will be a matter of withstanding the emotional surge the MudCats bring into the game and simply outlasting them. Even when the MudCats were playing at full strength, Columbus was the only team in two seasons to defeat them in Tupelo, winning 53-48 on May 17.
"They're gonna come out in the beginning a little bit fired-up," Gibson said. "They're playing at home, a playoff game. We can play without our coaches, we can play without our quarterback.
"They may get a little run here or there. But if we can weather that run, in the end I think we'll be fine. I think they'll sputter out."
www.ledger-enquirer.com/293/story/363902.html
