More than a dozen potential Utah Blaze football players — guys who went through all of training camp, which ended Friday — are no longer on the team. Final cuts, getting the team down to 24 players, were to be made Friday night and will be announced by the team this morning.
One guy who certainly didn't have to worry about being cut, however, was offensive specialist Siaha Burley.
After all, Burley may be the most explosive player in the offensive-minded Arena Football League. He certainly was last season with the Arizona Rattlers, when he scored a league-high 46 touchdowns.
"He's just got a great feel for the game," said Blaze coach Danny White. "He's the hardest guy to cover man-to-man. He's just too quick for most defensive backs to cover one-on-one. And if you try to gang up on him, somebody else will be open."
Burley's numbers last season for Arizona were eye-popping. He caught 117 passes for 1,542 yards and 45 touchdowns. He also scored on one of his three rushing attempts last season to boot. It was the third time in his five-year AFL career that he posted 1,000-plus yards receiving. For his impressive 2005 season, Burley was named the offensive player of the year by the AFL's Writers Association.
"He's just a great route runner and has obviously figured the game out so that he knows how to set guys up," said Utah quarterback Joe Germaine. "He's got such great natural athletic ability — and he knows how to use it, too."
Germaine and Burley played together the past two seasons in Arizona. They've known each other a lot longer, however. "We've been friends since junior high," said Burley.
Both grew up in Mesa, Ariz., and even went to the same junior high school. They were split up and went to rival high schools, but their familiarity with each other should help the expansion Blaze team that has many of its players together for the first time.
"We're used to each other," said Germaine. "I'm pretty new to the arena game — a lot newer than he is — so I'm just trying to get up to his level."
Germaine was the backup for two seasons in Arizona, but he did start six games last season after an injury to Shedrick Bonner. The former Ohio State star, who actually has a Super Bowl ring for his time as a backup QB for the St. Louis Rams, threw for 40 touchdowns and nearly 2,000 yards last season. Burley has plenty of confidence in Germaine as the Blaze's starter.
"When Shedrick went down, Joe did a good job," said Burley, who played college football at Central Florida with Minnesota Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper throwing him the ball. "I feel most confident with him back there in the pocket. He's throwing the ball great right now."
Germaine-to-Burley may not have the ring to it of Stockton-to-Malone. But the Blaze tandem hopes they will combine to score many points in the Delta Center like their basketball counterparts.
The Blaze are now just one week from their first-ever game. They open the season a week from today against the San Jose SaberCats on the road. The home-opener is Feb. 4 when the Dallas Desperadoes will face the Blaze in the Delta Center.
CHANGING HIS MIND: White, who coached the Arizona Rattlers for 13 seasons, knows his expansion team may take awhile to put things all together. For that reason, he wishes the AFL has an exhibition game or two as a warm-up.
Interestingly, that is opposite of his views when he was the coach of the veteran Rattlers.
"Preseason games would be nice for an expansion team," said White, "but I was opposed to it when I was in Arizona. We had a veteran team and I thought why should we waste all this energy and possibly get guys hurt playing games that don't count. Now, as an expansion team, I'm on the other side of that argument."
E-mail: lojo@desnews.com