SAN ANTONIO — Utah (12-6) invades the Alamodome against top-ranked San Antonio (14-4) in the first round of the 2012 Arena Football League playoffs today.
The Talons won both contests this season (48-40 and 54-48), in large part to Utah's inability to maintain possession. The game will air live on the NFL Network at 6 p.m.
Utah's last battle with the Talons marked a turning point in the Blaze's season. Utah went on to win six of its final seven games, securing the fourth seed in the playoffs. The Blaze hope the lessons learned from previous games with the Talons will benefit them this time around when they take on the top seed in the National Conference.
"San Antonio is a team filled with veterans," said Blaze coach Ron James. "They aren't your typical expansion team and have a group of players that have been playoff tested. We will need a strong effort to battle to the wire."
Veteran quarterback Aaron Garcia leads a San Antonio offense that doesn't necessarily light up the scoreboard, but is effective when it needs to be. The group finished 10th in total offense (283.5 yards per game), seventh in scoring (57.9 points per game) and ninth in passing (273.0 ypg). However, the Talons scored on 86.4 percent of their red zone attempts in 2012, ranking atop the Arena Football League charts.
Garcia threw for 4,985 yards with 118 touchdowns and 16 interceptions on 405-of-610 passing (66.4 percent) in the regular season. His favorite target was receiver Jason Willis, who registered 101 receptions for 1,179 yards and 25 touchdowns. Receiver Jomo Wilson is the team's leading scorer and top deep threat having hauled in 36 touchdowns on 83 catches for 1,284 yards.
The Blaze must play tight coverage in the secondary and allow the defensive front time to generate pressure on Garcia in order to create turnovers. In their previous two matchups, Utah caused a total of five turnovers with two stops on downs, two fumble recoveries and an interception.
"Aaron Garcia is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the Arena Football League," James said. "Every time you play him, you compete against a great quarterback and a great offensive mind. We need to play sound defensively and take advantage of opportunities when we have the chance to make plays."
The Talons defense is based around a strong group of pass rushers and physical defensive backs. The combination has allowed the unit to be especially effective in the red zone, where they've allowed opponents to score on just 78.3 percent of attempts — sixth-best in the Arena Football League. San Antonio posted 39 sacks in the regular season, good for second-most in 2012. Defensive lineman Victor DeGrate paced the front four with 9.5 sacks, while defensive back Fred Shaw led the secondary with 120 total tackles and eight interceptions.
On the other hand, no team in the AFL with 100 or more red zone possessions converted as often as the Blaze. Utah visited the red zone 104 times in 2012 — third-highest in the AFL — and found the end zone 85.6 percent of the time, placing second in the AFL. The Blaze must protect prolific QB Tommy Grady and deliver another efficient performance.
Blaze on the air
Utah Blaze (12-6) at San Antonio Talons (14-4), 6 p.m.
TV: NFLN Radio: FM-97.5