COMMERCE CITY - Crush coach Mike Dailey likes to maintain a high degree of stability from season to season, but it has been more difficult this year.

The Crush is pushing the salary-cap limit, which resulted in difficult decisions to release popular and productive players such as Willis Marshall,

Ahmad Hawkins and Andy McCullough. Backup quarterback Jose Davis also was released to help the Crush stay under the $1.9 million salary cap.

Still, the Crush will have 13 players on its opening roster who played for the two-time defending Central Division champions.

Five rookies made the team, the most Dailey has kept in four seasons in Colorado.

The Crush has 19 players on its active roster, one fewer than the league maximum.

"You have to work within those guidelines," Dailey said of the salary cap. "We have a pretty good core from the team we had last year."

Colorado also lost two coaches. Offensive coordinator Brian Partlow left to become head coach of the Austin Wranglers and took special-teams coach Lee Johnson with him.

Matt Gardner, a Crush assistant for the past two seasons, will be the special-teams coordinator and wide receivers coach. Tony Federico, strength and conditioning coach who has been with the Crush for four seasons, will add coaching the defensive line to his duties. Colorado hired Chris Boden as quarterbacks coach and he will share the offensive coordinator duties with Gardner.

A position-by-position look at the Crush, with Dailey's outlook:

Quarterbacks

• Player to watch: John Dutton holds all Crush single-game, season and career franchise passing records.

• Comment: Dutton has played in and won two ArenaBowls, and he'll carry the load this season. His backup is rookie Brandon Kirsch.

• Stat that matters: Dutton threw 95 touchdown passes last season and only 16 interceptions.

• Dailey's view: "We're excited to have John Dutton back. He's a proven winner. He has a great sense of timing and great leadership ability. Brandon Kirsch is a young guy out of Purdue that showed a lot of promise in camp."

Fullbacks

• Player to watch: John Peaua started all 16 games last season and had career highs in rushes (29), rushing yards (55) and rushing touchdowns (four).

• Comment: Blocking is the primary duty for fullbacks in the pass-oriented AFL. Peaua and Saul Patu, the franchise's all-time leading rusher, can get the tough yards when called upon.

• Stat that matters: Fullbacks gained 109 of Colorado's 230 rushing yards last season.

• Dailey's view: "Both guys are good players. John has been a solid pass protector for us and Saul has a lot of versatility that allows him to play multiple positions."

Wide receivers

• Player to watch: Damian Harrell, the AFL's Offensive Player of the Year the past two seasons, has caught a touchdown pass in an AFL-record 65 consecutive regular-season games.

• Comment: The Crush is counting on Harrell to have another big season. Robert Redd, who played for the Crush three years ago, and rookies Brad Pyatt and Willie Quinnie need to take pressure off Harrell.

• Stat that matters: Harrell is the only receiver on the opening roster who caught a pass last season. The released trio of Marshall, Hawkins and McCullough combined to catch 237 passes last season.

• Dailey's view: "(Damian Harrell's) a superstar player. Robert Redd returns after being in the NFL for the last couple of years. He's a guy with great quickness and change of direction. We have two young players, Brad Pyatt from Northern Colorado, who has had three years in the NFL, and Willie Quinnie, who has had several years of professional football. Both those young guys show great promise."

Offensive line

• Player to watch: Kyle Moore-Brown has started every game in his 12-year career, an AFL record of 193 consecutive starts.

• Comment: Dailey coaches the offensive line and knows he has a solid starting threesome in Moore-Brown, Chris Watton and Joey Hollenbeck, who has four years of experience in NFL camps.

• Stat that matters: The Crush has allowed only 16 sacks in the past 40 regular-season games (1,878 plays).

• Dailey's view: "Kyle is obviously a veteran guy with great leadership. Chris Watton has done a tremendous job for us the last couple years, and Hollenbeck has four years experience in the NFL. He's a good, young player."

Defensive line

• Player to watch: Dustin Barno set a Crush record with six sacks last season.

• Comment: The Crush lost Hugh Hunter to free agency, so it is hoping Barno and rookie Quinn Dorsey have big years. Patu, Chris Snyder and Anthony Dunn also could see action.

• Stat that matters: The Crush forced 11 fumbles last season - six by defensive linemen.

• Dailey's view: "They are all very good players. Patu and Barno have been with us for an extended period of time. Snyder joined us late in the year last year, and Dorsey is a good, young player."

Linebackers

• Player to watch:Last season, Dunn became the first Crush player to make the AFL All-Rookie team.

• Comment: Dunn, a Northern Colorado product, was a linebacker for two years in the NFL. Dunn, Patu and Dorsey will get most of the playing time.

• Stat that matters: Crush linebackers intercepted two passes and recovered three fumbles in 2006.

• Dailey's view: "Dunn has done a very good job for us. We'll also play Patu and Dorsey there. We'll have a rotation going with those guys playing both as linebackers and defensive ends."

Defensive backs

• Player to watch: Rashad Floyd set AFL single-season records for total tackles, with 123 in 2004 and 136.5 last year.

• Comment: Floyd and Delvin Hughley are two of the league's best defensive backs. Tony Scott, who has played in only 12 games the past three seasons, will be the third starter.

• Stat that matters: The Crush set a franchise record with 18 interceptions last season - 16 of them by defensive backs.

• Dailey's view: "Scott's been in the AFL and has five years experience in the NFL. He's a very good player. Rashad Floyd is kind of the player to watch there. He has great ability. Delvin Hughley has been a very steady performer."

Special teams

• Player to watch: Redd will take over for the released Marshall as the team's chief return man.

• Comment: Jason Ball was an emergency kicker in two Crush games last season. He made his only field-goal attempt and was 7-for-9 on PATs. Redd, who spent the past two years playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and NFL Europe's Berlin Thunder, averaged 22 yards per kickoff return for the Crush two years ago.

• Stat that matters: Colorado scored three return touchdowns last season but also allowed three.

• Dailey's view: "Jason is an experienced kicker. He did a very good job. Special teams are a major part of all football, but particularly in the Arena Football League, where the play is so fast and balls are off the nets and all that is involved with the different rules."

Crush roster

No Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Exp.

1 Damian Harrell OS 6-3 182 9

2 Delvin Hughley DS 5-11 215 5

3 Robert Redd WR/DB 5-10 195 2

4 Rashad Floyd DS 6-0 180 6

5 Brandon Kirsch QB 6-2 213 R

6 Brad Pyatt WR 5-11 187 R

8 John Dutton QB 6-4 225 8

10 Jason Ball K 5-8 192 2

27 Tony Scott DS 5-10 215 4

30 Quinn Dorsey DL 6-4 269 R

33 John Peaua FB/LB 6-3 265 7

43 Anthony Dunn FB/LB 6-3 257 2

48 Saul Patu FB/LB 6-3 260 5

54 Chris Snyder OL/DL 6-2 255 8

66 Joey Hollenbeck OL 6-4 320 R

67 Chris Watton OL/DL 6-3 291 3

80 Willie Quinnie WR 6-2 176 R

90 Dustin Barno OL/DL 6-2 263 4

96 Kyle Moore-Brown OL/DL 6-4 310 13

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