Blaze are playing in familiar area

PHOENIX — There are plenty of story lines stemming from tonight's Arena Football League game between Arizona and Utah. The most obvious one is Danny White's return to coach against the team he led for 13 seasons before being let go in a cost-cutting measure following the 2004 season. How will Arizona fans greet White, who led the Rattlers to 12 straight playoff appearances and five ArenaBowl games?

But there are plenty of other stories, too. How will all of the ex-Rattlers players — the Blaze have nine of them — do against their former team? Will White's former assistant, new Arizona head coach Gene Nudo, earn his first win as a head coach in his fourth attempt? Can the winless-at-home Blaze stay unbeaten on the road?

And is Blaze vs. Rattlers an AFL rivalry waiting to happen?

"It's not a rivalry because we haven't had time to create a rivalry yet," said former Arizona star player Hunkie Cooper, who is now the offensive coordinator for the Blaze. "Right now, it's just two struggling teams trying to get a win."

The Blaze got off to an impressive start with an upset victory over the San Jose SaberCats in the opener three weeks ago. But their defense has been burned repeatedly the past two weeks in narrow losses at home. New York scored on all 11 of its offensive possessions last Saturday and added a special teams score for 84 points. Amazingly, the Blaze forced the Dragons to third down just once all game.

Utah's offense, meanwhile, was strong. Led by quarterback Joe Germaine and offensive specialist Siaha Burley — both Arizona natives who played last season for the Rattlers — the Blaze scored 81 points last week, tied for the most in league history for a losing team.

Arizona, meanwhile, has struggled offensively in opening the season 0-3 — the franchise's worst start in its 15-year history. The Rattlers are averaging just 38.3 points, compared to Utah's 60.7-per-game scoring average.

"They are still trying to get untracked offensively," said Burley. "Offense had been a struggle for them. Defense has been a struggle for us."

The Rattlers are coming off their best offensive game of the season, however. Not coincidentally, Arizona's 50-point game last week coincided with the return of veteran QB Sherdrick Bonner, who had missed the previous outing with a sprained throwing shoulder.