Rattlers coach Kevin Guy still searching for an outside pass rush after 4 games
The Rattlers have held three of their first four opponents to fewer than 40 points and are tied for first in the Arena Football League with a plus-7 in turnover margin.
But the team's defense hasn't been good enough for coach Kevin Guy.
This week, the Rattlers released defensive end J.T. Gilmore and brought back Mike McAdoo, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound former North Carolina defensive end, who may make his Arena debut Saturday night against the winless LA Kiss at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
"We have to get better off the edge," Guy said. "Nobody we got is winning off the edge.
"All of our pass rushes we are getting are up the middle. We'll keep bringing guys in until we get better. We're not playing at the level we need to be playing at, so we're going to keep bringing in guys."
This might be a wake-up call for Cliff Dukes and Marcus Pittman, who have been two of the Rattlers' better pass rushers during their run of three consecutive ArenaBowl championships.
The Rattlers have only four sacks, which ranks tied for eighth in the league.
Pittman and Dukes both have recorded a sack. Tyre Glasper, a mack linebacker, leads the Rattlers with two sacks.
McAdoo's cousin is former NBA player Bob McAdoo.
After the Rattlers in late March released McAdoo, he said he returned to his home in the Washington, D.C., area and worked out with NFL players whom he knows.
"I've been preparing for this the whole time," he said. "If I can bring pressure around the edge with the pressure we get up the middle, it's going to be crazy."
Scaccia back
Fabrizio Scaccia, who was held out of last week's game because of a pulled muscle, is set to kick for the Rattlers against the Kiss, Guy said.
Scaccia will be the third Rattlers kicker in three weeks.
He was signed after the Rattlers early last week released Jeremy Shelley. The Rattlers were forced to add Alex Zendejas as an emergency kicker last Saturday, though, because Scaccia wasn't ready to kick.
Zendejas, the former University of Arizona kicker, was released Monday after he missed four extra points in the 65-47 win over the Portland Thunder.
"He has to show us he can stay healthy," Guy said earlier in the week about Scaccia. "That's part of being a pro."
Guy wasn't down on Zendejas, who went to Glendale Ironwood High. He showed a strong leg on kickoffs.
"He can do it, he just needs to be consistent," Guy said.
White's return
Receiver Markee White returns to LA, where he played the first half of last season, before being traded to the Philadelphia Soul.
Last year, in LA, it was part theater with a documentary crew following the team for the "Fourth and Loud" cable TV series. Kiss rock band front men Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley and the back-room dealings were a big part of the docu-series' focus.
"For me, I zoned out," White said about the cameramen following the team. "The first two weeks, it was like Hollywood. But after that, you forgot about the cameras."
Rattlers (3-1) at LA Kiss (0-4)
This could be looked at as a trap game for the Rattlers with the 4-0 San Jose SaberCats coming to Phoenix next week for the biggest early-season showdown. But the Kiss has yet to score more than 48 points in a game, having scored 37 points or fewer twice, and has to find a quarterback to replace injured Adrian McPherson, who was placed on injured reserve this week. They've signed Matt Bassuener, who has an AFL career passer rating of 88.50. He likely will back up Brian Zbydniewski, who is 4 for 9 passing with an interception and two touchdown passes in the one game he played this season. This is a good time for the Rattlers' pass rush to make its presence known. Defensive backs Jeremy Kellem, Marquis Floyd and Arkeith Brown will be waiting. This is a homecoming in a sense for Rattlers quarterback Nick Davila, who is from Southern California and will have his big family watching in person. Davila has his two biggest safety nets, receivers Kerry Reed and Rod Windsor, who have scored a combined 16 touchdowns in the two games that they've played since coming back from preseason injuries.
Prediction: Rattlers 63, Kiss 42
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim.
TV: CBS Sports Network.
Kiss update: Joe Windham, who was Rattlers team president during their three-year run of championships, now is on the other side, as team president of the Kiss. Wide receiver Donovan Morgan has been the Kiss' most consistent offensive performer with 10 touchdown catches, but he will have to adjust to a new quarterback after Adrian McPherson was placed on IR.
OBERT'S AFL RANKINGS
No. 1 San Jose SaberCats 4-0
No. 2 Philadelphia Soul 4-0
No. 3 Las Vegas Outlaws 2-1
No. 4 Rattlers 3-1
No. 5 Orlando Predators 3-1
No. 6 Cleveland Gladiators 2-2
No. 7 Tampa Bay Storm 2-2
No. 8 Portland Thunder 2-2
No. 9 New Orleans VooDoo 1-3
No. 10 Jacksonville Sharks 0-4
No. 11 Spokane Shock 0-3
No. 12 LA Kiss 0-4