Rattlers safety Kellem emerging as top defender

Rattlers safety Jeremy Kellem had his first two interceptions of the season last week in Cleveland. The last one, in the final minute, clinched a 49-41 victory over the Gladiators in a rematch of last year's ArenaBowl.

Kellem has been everything coach and General Manager Kevin Guy thought he would be through the season's first three games.

Responsible for the motion receiver, Kellem leads the team with eight pass breakups and 20½ tackles.

"I feel like we played better," Kellem said. "We improved from the Las Vegas game (a 70-53 loss two weeks ago). But we still have a lot more to improve on.

"We have 18 games to get it right. It's like walking up a stairway, getting better and better."

Guy brought in free-agent Rayhaun Kizer in training camp, partly to give Kellem competition. It raised Kellem's game to the point where Guy didn't have room for Kizer on his roster and traded him to the New Orleans VooDoo before the first game.

Guy mentioned at the end of training camp that Kellem would have his best season ever.

So far, so good.

Defensive pressure

The Rattlers had their best defensive game in Cleveland, getting five stops and three interceptions.

Still, Guy would like to see improvement from the outside pressure on quarterbacks.

"We have to get some more pressure from our D-line," he said. "Our guys on the edge have to get better. We have to collapse the pocket."

On Kellem's final interception, the Rattlers went to zone coverage after showing man-to-man the previous two downs, and "they threw right at us," Guy said.

Catching up

A.J. Cruz made quite an impression in his first game with the Rattlers in Las Vegas, returning seven kicks for 157 yards, including a 57-yarder for a touchdown. He also played well on defense, filling in at jack linebacker because of an injury.

He had a bit of a setback last week in practice with a slightly pulled hamstring that caused him to miss the trip to Cleveland.

Cruz may return Saturday for the Rattlers (2-1) against the Portland Thunder (2-1) at US Airways Center.

"He's day to day," Guy said. "We'll make a decision. He is trying to work through it. We'll see how he progresses."

But Guy doesn't want Cruz just to be a kick returner, which is all he did last year for the LA Kiss.

With players getting healthy, there are fewer spots open and it will be harder for Cruz to play in games.

"He is new to our system," Guy said. "He didn't get the reps on defense and offense. LA just used him off the nets. If he is going to play for us, he has to do more. He's working on that. He's a smart guy. He can handle that. He is studying what we do. He is getting with the veterans at night and mentally catching up."

Return game

The Portland Thunder comes to Phoenix with a couple of players who may be carrying chips on their shoulders -- receiver Jared Perry and defensive back Allen "Bubba" Chapman.

With rookie Ben Wells emerging, Chapman was part of the Kizer trade to New Orleans at the end of training camp. Since then, Chapman was traded to Portland. He had five pass breakups and an interception for the Thunder in last week's 47-43 win over the Spokane Shock.

Perry was released last week after receivers Rod Windsor and Kerry Reed returned from injuries that caused them to miss the first two games.

The Thunder picked up Perry at the beginning of this week and is expected to play against the Rattlers.