It has been a season of numbers in the AFL, but none more impressive than the No. 1 of the Colorado Crush.
Crush offensive specialist Damian Harrell wears No. 1, but his best numbers for the season are a long way from a single figures.
Harrell already has rewritten the league’s offensive record book, and there could be more to come.
After the 15th game of the season, a disappointing 61-56 loss to the San Jose SaberCats, Harrell has set league records in points scored at 330, and receiving and total touchdowns at 55.
With Friday night’s regular-season finale at the Pepsi Center against Arizona, Harrell needs eight receptions for a single-season record 155, and 141 receiving yards to become the first player in AFL history to reach 2,000 in a season.
Speech therapy
Crush coach Mike Dailey maintains he never raised his voice during his 40-minute oratory in the locker room after Saturday’s loss, but he had plenty to say.
“It wasn’t a throwing-chair, screaming moment,” Dailey said. “Could it have waited until the next day or the next time we met? Sure. But there are teachable moments, and I felt that it was a teachable moment.”
Dailey didn’t question his team’s effort when a win could have clinched home field throughout the playoffs.
“I thought we played extremely hard against San Jose in a loss, (more) than any other team we had lost to,” Dailey said. “We had lost some games earlier in the year where I didn’t think we played that hard – for example Utah (a 52-40 loss).”
Dailey’s point was that only three teams in the league have the chance for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Dallas already has secured the home field, with Colorado and San Jose still in contention in the American Conference.
Number verification
If Dailey needed any more ammunition to point out that the SaberCats are among the league’s best, he needed only to point to the 2002 season.
The SaberCats were 13-1 in 2002 while on the way to posting the most regular-season victories in the league’s history. Ten times since 1996, teams have reached 12 victories, including Dallas this year. The Desperados play New York on Friday.
Four playoff spots remain open, with Philadelphia, Columbus, Georgia, Grand Rapids, Las Vegas, Utah and Chicago still in the running.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
