Indiana, Big Uglies On a Roll
Matthew Pickut
Friday April 23, 2004
“The name of the game is rushing the quarterback and protecting yours,” said FB/LB Leroy Thompson. “And we’ve got some great pass rushers like Brown and Mike Sutton who can bring the heat of the edges. That’s our key right now and people know we can bring heat off the corners.”
While the last few games have seen an increase in sacks and pressures, OL/DL Chris Snyder is confident that the team’s solid play up front will continue no matter who the team plays.
“A lot of the teams we play, run a lot of three step drop, and so a lot of the games we play it doesn’t look like were getting a lot of pressure,” said Snyder.
OL/DL Mike Sutton agrees.
“When we get up on people, they’re going to have to throw the ball and with our d-line we always try and get pressure, but it really shows against a 5-step drop,” said Sutton.
The work on the defensive line garners most of the stats but head coach Mike Wilpolt knows that it takes great play on both sides of the ball to be successful.
“It makes my job a lot easier when I know we can rush the passer,” said Wilpolt. “That’s the name of the game and on offense our big guys give Adrian a lot of time.
“We want to play an up-tempo game and keep pressure on the opponent.”
The play of the offensive line continues to allow rookie QB Adrian McPherson mature as a player and display his talents as a passer.
“Knowing that my line is going to give me the protection that I need, it lets me feel real comfortable in the pocket,” said McPherson. “It allows me to know that I don’t have to run. That’s the main difference between the first game and now: I didn’t know that they were going to protect me in the pocket. Knowing that the line is going to protect you makes it a lot easier for me.”
As a unit, playing on both sides of the ball, allows the line to get better each week no matter who is actually on the field.
“It really doesn’t matter who comes in, we have a good coach that coaches good technique,” said Sutton. “You do get a feel when a guy comes in what he’s going to do and what he bring to the table. And as a unit we talk to each other a lot; we’re all friends and we all hang together and joke around.”
Even more, the play on each side of the ball makes the team stronger on the other.
“We’ve got a good defensive line and that helps our offense,” Sutton continued. “If you can block these guys in practice, you can block pretty much anyone in the league. We’ve got guys who aren’t just going to get up field we have guys who can move their feet, so we see it every day.”
With the Firebirds on a 6-0 streak and in the play off hunt after a 0-5 start, the play on the line will determine exactly how far the Firebirds can go this year. With continued improvement and consistent play Indiana will continue to be big, ugly, and one of the hottest teams in the AFL.
Matthew Pickut is a pastor in northern Indiana and a long time AFL fan. He also writes for his own website: The Brown Paper Blog. He graduated from Taylor University in Upland Indiana (class of `96) with degrees in Biblical Literature and Sociology as well as a healthy respect for the medicinal properties of coffee.
