If the Arena Football League playoffs began today based on the current standings, the American Conference's third-place team, the Colorado Crush, would face the No. 6 seeded Utah Blaze.
As it is, the Crush and Blaze will meet tonight in a made-for-cable-TV, regular-season game that certainly has postseason implications for both teams — and may end up being a playoff preview.
The game will start later than usual — at 8:30 p.m. — due to ESPN2's coverage. It begins a vitally important week for the Blaze, who will play their final home game of the year Saturday night against the division champion San Jose SaberCats.
"Having a Monday/Saturday turnaround is tough, but it's good to have them both at home," said Blaze coach Danny White.
Utah will then have a bye week before finishing the regular season June 23 against division-rival Los Angeles in the Staples Center. While the Blaze made the playoffs a year ago with a 7-9 mark, they are hoping to be at least 8-8 — and possibly 9-7 — this season.
Of course, the Blaze could fall out of the playoff picture completely with a three-game losing streak. As it stands, Utah is one game ahead of Nashville for the sixth — and final — playoff spot in the conference.
"Depending on what other teams do, if we win one game there is a chance (of still getting to the playoffs), but if we win two it will be pretty safe that we will get into the playoffs," said White. "But we have to understand that we still have a chance to host a playoff game — which would really be big for us."
To host a playoff game, however, the Blaze would have to move into the third or fourth spot in the conference. To do that, they'd have to sweep their final three games and get some help since the current third- and fourth-place teams — Colorado and Kansas City — both already have eight victories.
But a win tonight to close out Week 14 in the AFL would be a good start. This is the second meeting between the two teams, as the Blaze upset the John Elway-owned Crush last season in Denver.
Colorado, meanwhile, still has plenty to play for also. The Crush are just one game behind defending ArenaBowl champion Chicago in the Central Division race.
Tonight's game will feature two of the best receivers in the AFL — Colorado's Damian Harrell and Utah's Siaha Burley.
Harrell is a legend in the league, having caught at least one touchdown pass in 78 consecutive games. He's the leading active receiver in the indoor game, with almost 12,000 career yards.
"We need to get in his face," said White of how the Blaze will try to defend Harrell. "We need to be physical with him. He's big and he has great hands and can run when he gets going, but he doesn't have real quick feet, and he's not real physical. So we need to get up on him because out in the field he's hard to stop."
Burley, meanwhile, is well on his way to the best season in league history. He has 1,837 yards already with three games to play and will likely become the first player to ever gain more than 2,000 in one season. He could even do it tonight with a huge game.
BLAZE BRIEFS: Three Utah players were placed on the injured reserve list on Sunday — defensive back Clarence Lawson, LB/WR Justin Skaggs and LB Valentine Chude. That means they will have to sit out at least four games, so they won't be eligible to play again this season unless the teams gets to the second round of the playoffs. The Blaze, meanwhile, activated LB/FB Frank Carter and lineman Tyshaun Whitson off the injured list and signed 6-foot-5 receiver Huey Whitaker, who spent time with the Tampa Bay Storm earlier this season. The Blaze were looking for a taller, more physical receiver since both Skaggs and Aaron Boone are on the injured list. ... DB/WR Orshawante Bryant was eligible to come off the injured list and began practicing with his teammates this week, but he wasn't activated and will spend at least one more game off the active roster as he recovers from a hamstring strain.
Monday Night Football
Colorado Crush (8-5) at Utah Blaze (6-7)
Tonight, 8:30 p.m.
EnergySolutions Arena
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 1280AM
E-mail: lojo@desnews.com