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Kats playing well

They say the AFL is a quarterback-friendly league. Try telling that to any QB who has faced the Nashville Kats.

The Kats have one of the most vicious defenses in the AFL this season having logged a league-high 19 sacks for a loss of 124 yards through nine games. That is a significant distance in a league whose field is only 50 yards long.

The next closest team in terms of sacks is Chicago with 14 for a loss of86 yards.

Leading the sack brigade for Nashville has been OL/DL Joe Minucci, who is tied for the most sacks in the AFL with six. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound product of Delaware led the team in sacks last year as a rookie with five.

Following Minucci is FB/LB Frank Carter with five sacks and OL/DL Anthony Herron with three. Herron, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound product of Iowa, spent time with the Atlanta Falcons and appeared in one game with the Detroit Lions.

Together, the three sackmeisters form the core of Nashville’s defense, which is one of the stingiest in the AFL. The Kats are allowing the fewest total yards in the offensive-oriented league (251.6 ypg).

They are also allowing the second-fewest points (43 ppg) and the third-fewest passing yards (235.2 ypg).

The pressure the Kats’ are putting on opposing quarterbacks has opened up playmaking opportunities in the Nashville secondary. Defensive specialist Monty Montgomery, for instance, has seven interceptions (second most in the league) in just seven games.

Last week, Montgomery, playing with a cast on one hand, had an interception and five tackles nabbing Defensive Player of the Game honors in the Kats’ 51-48 victory over the San Jose SaberCats as 4-point home favorites.

Before joining the AFL, Montgomery was a cornerback with the Colts, 49ers and Saints.

In total, the Kats had three turnovers against the SaberCats, all of which led to touchdowns.

Nashville’s defensive juggernaut has helped make up for a mediocre offense, and is a big reason why the Kats are 6-3 straight up (4-4-1 against the spread) and hold a share of the lead in the Central division.

Their tight ‘D’ combined with their softer offense has meant lower scoring games – the Kats have only seen two of nine games go OVER the posted total.

On Saturday, Nashville will be gunning for the outright lead of the Central when they visit division rival Colorado (9 p.m. ET, FSN). The defending ArenaBowl champions are also 6-3 SU (4-4-1 ATS).

The Crush enter the game riding a two-game losing streak. Last week, they suffered their first loss at home when they got spanked 65-21 by the Columbus Destroyers.

The Crush, listed as huge 11-point favorites, committed a franchise-high seven turnovers in the game. Colorado QB John Dutton tossed four INTs in what may have been the worst game of his AFL career.

Saturday’s game will be the second meeting of the season between these two teams. In the first game, the Kats clobbered the Crush 58-36 as 2-point home favorites. The score fell below the 100-point total.

On Sunday, NBC will be televising two AFL games. The early game will feature the Chicago Rush taking on the Orlando Predators (12 p.m. ET).

The Rush are currently 4-5 SU (3-5-1 ATS) overall and 1-2 SU (2-1 ATS) on the road. They are coming off a 51-44 win over Grand Rapids as a 9-point home favorite. The win snapped a three-game losing skid.

The Predators, meanwhile, are 5-4 SU (4-5 ATS) overall and 3-1 SU (2-2 ATS) at home. Last week, Orlando upset Southern division rival Austin 47-37 as a 5-point road dog.

Both the Rush and the Predators have seen only three of nine games go OVER the total this season.

The late NBC game will feature a Western division showdown between the Arizona Rattlers and the San Jose SaberCats (6 p.m. ET).

The Rattlers have the best record in the division at 5-4 SU (5-4 ATS). On the road, they are 1-2 SU (1-2 ATS). Last week, the Rattlers slithered back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to beat the L.A. Avengers 58-45 as 3.5-point home favorites.

The SaberCats are 3-6 SU (3-6 ATS) and 1-2 SU (0-3 ATS) at home. As mentioned earlier, they were beaten by Nashville last week.

This game will feature a matchup between one of the best pass offenses in the league (San Jose) against one of the best pass defenses (Arizona).

The SaberCats have seen only two of nine games go UNDER the total this season.

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