Officiating Not the Issue
Jeff Sims
Friday February 10, 2006
It was heard throughout the NFL playoffs on a number of occasions. Plays regarding interceptions, touchdowns, quarterbacks blocking and making tackles, and anything else that you want to throw in to the mix, have been broken down more than a compound into its natural elements.
The Chicago Rush could have fallen into that same category this past Friday night as the team lost on what appeared to be a last second touchdown by scrambling QB Matt D’Orazio. With nine seconds left in the game, D’Orazio rolled to his right, could not find a receiver, tucked the ball back under his arm and ran to his left, diving into the endzone for an apparent Rush victory as time expired.
As fast as the crowd could show their elation, noticing that a yellow flag had been thrown onto the field during the play silenced them. An official called a block in the back penalty on the Rush negating the touchdown and giving the New York Dragons a 51-47 victory.
Instead of crying about the officiating and a call that cost his team the game, Rush head coach Mike Hohensee addressed the issue from a standpoint that other coaches at any level should take note of. He addressed the play of his team.
"We did not make plays when we had to," said Hohensee after the game. "We didn’t make the throw when we had to. We didn’t make the catch when we had to. We had a costly penalty when we finally made a play. Those are the type of things in a tight game like this that will keep you from winning games consistently."
Even if deep down, he felt that his team had been screwed out of a victory, he certainly did not show it.
His secondary, after giving up seven catches, 111 receving yards and four touchdowns to Damian Harrell of the Colorado Crush in week one, turned around and gave up another nine catches, 108 yards, and four touchdowns to Dragons OS Kevin Swayne. The Chicago secondary (Tony Lukins is listed at 5’11" and Todd Howard is listed at 5’10’) is outsized in most cases and is being abused by larger receivers such as Harrell and Swayne.
"That’s the way the game is; bigger, faster, and stronger," says Swayne. "You take advantage of the mismatches when they come to you. That’s the game of football."
In an attempt to improve their size in the secondary, this week the Rush traded OS Henry Douglas, who was second on the team last season in receptions, to the Columbus Destroyers for WR/DB Jeremy Unertl.
Unertl, at 6’1" and 210 pounds, should bring a bigger, stronger presence to the Rush on the defensive side of the ball.
"We felt we needed to get some more size in our defensive backfield," Hohensee told ChicagoRush.com after the trade. "Unertl is a big, physical DB with good ball skills. Unfortunately, to get someone you want you have to give up a good player, and while we hate to lose HD, we felt this was a move we needed to make."
A Kick in the Groin
The loss of K Keith Gispert for at least four weeks has already shown to be a big disadvantage for the Rush. After Gispert pulled his groin in pre-game warm-ups in Colorado, the Rush were forced to use back-up QB Michael Bishop and DS Todd Howard for kicking duty. Needless to say, the Rush were forced into going for two-point conversions after each touchdown, completely changing their game strategy.
They would have been better off doing the same against New York as well. After signing Steve Azar during the week to replace Gispert, Azar missed two extra points and his only field goal attempt of the game, points that could have led the Rush to a win instead of the game coming down to the final play.
"We will have another kicker in on Monday," bellowed Hohensee. "This team deserves a good kicker and I will find them one."
It is nice to see a head coach take responsibility for the performance of his team and not place blame on the officials for their shortcomings. Considering that plays such as the one that ended the game on Friday night make up a small percentage of the entire 60 minutes, it is a breath of fresh air to see a coach get "the big picture" and then take action in order to be ready for the upcoming game ahead.
Thank you Mike Hohensee!!!
Jeff has been writing for ArenaFan.com since 2004. Originally from New York, Jeff has been living in the Chicago area for the past ten years and is an avid football fanatic. He holds a BA in communications from Hofstra University in New York and a sports management certificate from Loyola University in Chicago.
