It’s not shocking that San Jose SaberCats coach Darren Arbet admits his team feels confident going into Saturday’s AFL playoff game against the Colorado Crush.
History indicates it would be shocking if the SaberCats felt anything less than confident. San Jose has dominated its series against Colorado. The SaberCats own a 6-0 record against the Crush in regular-season play. The Crush, however, has won the only playoff game between them.
Refusing to appear overconfident, Arbet pointed to postseason play after what he termed a good Thursday practice.
“The playoffs are a whole different season,” Arbet said. “Look at Colorado’s playoff record. This isn’t a regular-season game. We understand the kind of opponent we have.”
The Crush has posted a 5-2 record in the playoffs, including a 56-48 triumph over San Jose in 2005 on the way to the Arena- Bowl championship.
But in the six regular-season victories over Denver, San Jose has won by an average of more than 26 points – including a 72-44 home win on April 6.
Arbet, whose 13-3 team is riding a 10-game winning streak, joined the crowd by avoiding a specific opinion on why the SaberCats have dominated the Crush.
“Many of the times when we played the Crush, we were in a must-win situation,” Arbet said. “We just played really hard.”
Crush coach Mike Dailey pointed to matchups and style of play. His thoughts centered on SaberCats defensive back Clevan Thomas.
“Clevan Thomas can meet a receiver at the line of scrimmage and run right with him all the way down the field,” Dailey said. “He makes it tough on our style of play with (wide receiver) Damian Harrell.”
Crush defensive back Delvin Hughley noted San Jose’s efficiency on offense.
“They execute,” Hughley said. “We know what they’re going to do, but it’s still hard to stop them.”
San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb ranks third in the league in efficiency, throwing 107 touchdown passes with only nine interceptions this season.
Crush quarterback John Dutton knows the SaberCats well. He led them to the ArenaBowl championship in 2002 when Grieb was injured. Dutton came to the Crush the next year.
“You can’t get into a situation where you’re chasing them,” Dutton said. “They just keep scoring points and if you don’t stay with them, you get too far behind and it’s over.”
Noteworthy
The AFL office reported ESPN networks had the largest viewing audiences of the season in last week’s wild-card games. In Columbus’ 56-55 victory over Tampa Bay, the highest rating of the season was reported at 450,000 households. Colorado’s 49-42 win over Kansas City came in at 366,000 households. The Crush gained its best Denver audience (0.8 share).
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
Colorado Crush (9-8, 1-0) vs. San Jose SaberCats (13-3, 0-0)
What: AFL playoffs, second round
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.
TV/Radio: ESPN/KKZN 760 AM
