** Adam is one of the ArenaFan writers (and is a Predattor fan.. no
one is perfect...). However, I do like reading his articles, despite
his Orlando leanings. The following is an article he posted on
ArenaFan on Lawrence Samuels that deserves our attention and
applause. **

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Link to original article:
http://www.arenafan.com/news/?page=origcol&article=2916
=====


Ironman Spotlight Should Have Shined on Samuels
by Adam Markowitz
Sunday July 20, 2008

One of the greatest quotes I've heard in the past few years came out
of the ArenaFan chat room by one of our members. He/she
said, "Lawrence Samuels is so overrated."

And so it stuck. Any time I've seen the Tampa Bay Storm play since,
every time Samuels made a diving catch, a shoestring tackle, a
leaping interception, or a one-handed snare, it was always that he
was overrated.

As an Orlando Predators fan, it's really easy for me to believe that
a man that has a grand total of zero Ironman of the Year awards is
nothing more than some overrated guy who hung around for a lot of
years to rack up some outrageous numbers. But let's be real here.
This is Lawrence Freaking Samuels.

A few days after the Arena Football League named Will Pettis its
Ironman of the Year for the second consecutive season, I can't help
but look back at the career that Samuels has built and very politely
ask the following question:

How the $^&# has Lawrence Samuels NOT won an Ironman of the Year
award?

In 1998, Chad Dukes won the award. Yeah, that Chad Dukes. In
fairness, Dukes had a pretty nice year for a FB/LB. He rushed for
364 yards and recorded a couple forced fumbles. Samuels had
pedestrian receiving numbers (55 catches for 667 yards and 14
touchdowns), but did record three picks, two forced fumbles, and
three recovered fumbles. Though those numbers aren't more impressive
than those that Barry Wagner put up that year, how can you seriously
justify to me that Chad Dukes has an Ironman of the Year award and
not Lawrence Samuels?

Don't get me wrong. Will Pettis is a truly tremendous athlete that
excels on both sides of the ball. It doesn't get much more Ironman-
esque than Pettis' game in the Jungle against the Preds this year.
He threw for a touchdown, ran in a score, caught a pass for a
touchdown, ran back an INT for a touchdown, and I swear I saw him
selling popcorn in the stands in the 4th quarter when the game was
out of hand. In a day and age that basically nobody plays both sides
of the ball on a consistent basis anymore, Pettis racked up 1,960 all-
purpose yards, did everything and more on offense, and picked off two
passes on the year. By today's standards, those are vintage Ironman
numbers (and yes, it makes me very sick).

But how do you ignore what Samuels did this season? All the 38-year
old Ironman did was rack up more receptions than Pettis, more
receiving yards than Pettis, more tackles than Pettis, more pass
breakups than Pettis, and more interceptions than Pettis, and he did
it out of the jack linebacker spot, not the defensive back position.
Plus, the essence of Ironman football is being the guy who plays
every down in every game. Pettis played in 14 games. Samuels played
all 16.

No, it wasn't Samuels' greatest season as a member of the Tampa Bay
Storm, but for a guy who has been in the league since 1994, his 121
receptions, 1,197 yards, and 16 touchdowns is pretty dang impressive,
especially when you consider the fact that he probably played half of
the Storm's downs on defense as well. I'll also throw in the fact
that Samuels basically had to learn a new position as a "modern day"
jack linebacker and can move from sideline-to-sideline.

The WR/LB position that Samuels has manned for 15 seasons was always
one that was overlooked in Ironman voting (save with Hunkie Cooper).
The much more glamorous WR/DB position was dominated by Barry Wagner
(though Wags did play a lot of jack linebacker in his career as
well). Especially with the jack confined to the box for the majority
of his career, it's amazing that Samuels has recorded the 13th most
tackles in AFL history (485) and the 19th most interceptions in
league history (32).

His offensive records are beginning to look a lot like his
predecessors as well. Though he inevitably will not hold the record
for long, Samuels will forever be the first man in AFL history to log
1,000 receptions in his career. He finished the 2008 season with
1,022 catches, ahead of the great Wagner by 31. He also became the
5th man in AFL history to top the 12,000 receiving yard plateau in
2008. Samuels' biggest bugaboo has been in receiving touchdowns,
where he has only logged 167. For guys like Siaha Burley, Chris
Jackson, and Damian Harrell, that's three season's worth of work. His
lack of receiving touchdowns is probably the reason that he was
inexplicably left off the list of the 20 Greatest Players in AFL
history two years ago.

However, Samuels is one of the four guys in AFL history to log 600+
receptions and 30+ interceptions. Darryl Hammond, Randy Gatewood,
and that Barry dude are the others that can say they've reached the
600/30 club. The three combined for eight Ironman of the Year
honors. Take note of who isn't on that list. Two-time Ironman of
the Year, Hunkie Cooper only had 15 INTs for his career in the same
position as Samuels.

Forget about the numbers, though. What Samuels meant to the Storm is
off the charts. If you faced 4th down and 6, Samuels would make a
catch two yards short of the sticks and fight for the necessary
yardage. If you needed a receiver to go over the middle, Samuels was
your man. If you needed a guy to go up and get a jump ball, the 6'2"
Samuels was the perfect target. If you needed a linebacker to stand
in there and take on the fullback, you could count on Samuels to make
the open-field tackle. If you needed a pass breakup over the middle,
you not only got the breakup, but you probably ended up with an
interception as well. There was nothing that Lawrence Samuels
couldn't do in the AFL, and the best part about it was that after the
play, you never knew if he caught the game-winning touchdown pass, or
a 5-yard out on 1st and 10. There was always a quiet demeanor about
Samuels that made him a sleeping giant on the field.

In an interview I had with Samuels earlier in the season, I tried my
best to get him to say something good about his own career. After
getting the cliché answers, I put a big smile on my face and asked
him, "Do you realize how great of a career you've really had?" He
put on a grin from ear to ear and responded like only Lawrence
Samuels can. "At this point, we're just trying to get victories.
I'm not looking at individual accomplishments."

Getting the `W' has always been what sports stand for. They're not
about glitzy numbers; they're about putting points on the board and
outscoring the guys in the opposite colors. Nobody put more out on
the line every single night on both sides of the ball like Lawrence
Samuels did and will hopefully continue to do.

After all, when his Head Coach, Tim Marcum was asked whether there
was any sign of decay in Samuels' career, his response was classic
Tim Marcum.

"Those 38-year old legs are still working."

###


Adam Markowitz has followed the Arena Football League since the
inaugural season of the Orlando Predators in 1991. He graduated from
Florida State University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Music and History. Whether it be the NFL, college football, the
Canadian Football League, or the AFL, Adam always makes time to get
in his football fix regardless of what time of year it is.