2/25/2008 8:29:00 PM Cuts continue at Adrenaline camp
The Daily Courier/ Matt Hinshaw Head coach Andrew Moore and his staff have trimmed the team roster to 40, but more cuts are coming this week.
Special to the Courier
PRESCOTT VALLEY - Some players earned roster spots, others didn't as a result of the Arizona Adrenaline's Black vs. Blue scrimmage Sunday at the Coors Event Center in Prescott Valley.
But as the team's first ever training camp hit its unofficial halfway point, head coach Andrew Moore beamed that "I couldn't be happier" as a crowd of between 150-200 got their first look at live indoor football in northern Arizona.
"Considering that this was our first day in pads, I thought we looked really good overall," said Moore. "I thought the offense probably got the best of the first half and the defense the second.
"Defensively, we keep it pretty simple, but offensively we won't even distribute our playbook until all of the cuts are made. Looking at it from that perspective, our defense might be a little bit ahead (of the offense)."
The offense found the end zone about 10 times during the nearly three-hour scrimmage, and there were a fair amount of breakdowns and penalties on both sides of the ball.
But quarterback Chad DeGrenier, who backed up the ageless Sherdrick Bonner for five years with the Arizona Rattlers, sees it all coming together once the team announces its final roster on Friday.
"I think once we cut down the roster and we all know who we're going into battle with, we're going to do very well," DeGrenier said.
Now comes the hard part - trimming the roster - which is currently at 40. Moore felt that "about four guys" lost spots as a result of the scrimmage, while a handful of others will get the bad news on Friday.
"This was definitely a decision day for some people," Moore said. "It's hard to cut these guys because I really like all of them. But that's just the way it works."
Adrenaline Notes The Adrenaline signed receiver Maurice Bryant. Bryant spent some time with the Tennessee Titans and will start camp after passing a mandatory physical ... quarterback/receiver Earl Vercher missed Sunday's scrimmage due to a deep thigh bruise, but says he will be back in camp this week ... In addition to announcing their final roster during a press conference this Friday at the Quality Inn and Suites in Prescott, the team expects to model its uniforms for the 2008 season.
