Nashville Kats Playbook: Week 4

After an impressive showing in Week 3, the Nashville Kats are preparing for a competitive matchup against the Oregon Lightning. We caught up with Kats Head Coach and General Manager Darren Arbet to discuss injuries, the Week 3 performance, new faces in Nashville, and more. Be sure to catch all the action this Friday Night in Nashville as AF1 streams the game exclusively on EvergreenNOW!

injuries

On the injury front, Nashville placed Defensive Back Derrick "DJ" Maxwell and Defensive Tackle Ezrah Thibodeaux on the 14-day IR list before the team played in Week 3. Unfortunately for the Kats, the only injury of note coming out of Week 4 was a big one. Wide Receiver Trevante Long has also been placed on IR, and per Coach Arbet, Long is "Done for the year."

new faces in the music city

With players being released or headed to IR as mentioned above, some new (and familiar) faces are headed to Nashville. First, Quarterback Tyler Kulka was signed at the tail end of last week, and served as the backup in Week 3's loss to Albany. Coach Arbet spoke on what he has seen from Kulka in practice thus far. "[He is] Good. He can throw the football. He’s smart. He’s young. But he’s going to be a good one.” Next, Coach Arbet spoke on the signing of a familiar face in Quarterback Dalton Oliver. "[Dalton has] Good size, a lot of experience. He was injured for some of last year. He’s healthy now. He was with the Nashville Kats last year. [He] understands Arena football. He’s a great addition for us.” Look for Nashville to make a decision rather quickly on who will start at Quarterback in Week 4 against Oregon.

Lastly, the team has added depth by signing Wide Receiver Dakari Thorpe. Thorpe will look to make impact plays for Nashville for the remainder of the season. Coach Arbet spoke on the signing of Thorpe and what he will bring to the Kats offense. "[He is] another young guy. Very athletic. Good route runner. Catches the ball well. All intangibles you want for a receiver.”

Team leaders

Coach Arbet noted a couple of veteran players who stood out in Week 3's loss to the Firebirds. Speaking on AF1's Week 3 Offensive Player of the Week Robert Jones Jr., Coach was not shy about praising his veteran receiver. Fresh off the heels of a four-touchdown performance, Coach Arbet spoke on what Jones Jr. brings to his squad, saying "Everything. He’s our team leader. Leads up front. Leads prayer. Leads in meetings. He’s a leader in everything for this football team.” That conversation on Jones Jr. would segway to another leader. Arbet also spoke on Defensive Back Amos Coleman III. who led the Kats in tackles this past week with seven. “Heck of a football player. You can put him anywhere and he’ll have success. He can play the middle, back, anywhere. I don’t think he’s going to be a secret at this time next year. He’s a guy who can really play.”

week 4 matchup with oregon

The Kats have been preparing for the Arena aerial attack known as the Oregon Lightning. Part of the defensive gameplan for Nashville will be doing whatever they can to slow down Oregon's "air it out" mentality. Coach Arbet was not candid in his respect for the Lightning's offense, and more particularly, their Quarterback Dalton Cole. "Yeah, we see what they do and they’re good at it. They’ve improved a lot since Week 1. Their Quarterback, he can also run. So, whenever you have that combination, it’s hard to stop.” Offensively, the Kats will keep it simple and take what the defense is giving them. Coach Arbet ended the conversation with "I’m always going to coach in the 'I’ll take what you’re giving me' That’s what we did last week against Albany. So that’s what we’re going to do this week against Oregon"