Kansas City has something to prove

Dan Stroud
Saturday March 1, 2008

Kansas City Brigade majority owner Chris M. Likens spoke at the team’s first annual Kickoff luncheon with a bit of brevity in his voice.

“Just like last year, we’ve got something to prove,” Likens said.

He was speaking to the general consensus around the league that the Chicago Rush and Colorado Crush are poised to sweep through the 2008 season with most of the post season awards attributable to the Central Division of the Arena Football League (AFL).

With the Nashville Kats franchise folding for the second time, the division has been trimmed to four with the Brigade, Rush, Crush, and Grand Rapids Rampage remaining to vie for top honors in their half of the American Conference.

A general lack of respect for a Brigade squad that won 10 games in its second year of existence seems to continue to permeate despite the squad’s vast improvements during the offseason.

The team’s Co-owner Neil Smith, a fan favorite from his playing days with the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs clarified Likens’ remarks, leaving no doubt of the goals that the Brigade have set for 2008.

“We have a better team than we had last year,” Smith said. “[The Brigade] only have one state of mind. That’s to get to the Arena Bowl!”

Brigade head football coach Kevin Porter couldn’t say enough about the work that he, Likens, Smith, and Executive Director Brad Likens have done in the past eight months to make their team even more viable in the coming season.

“[Management] had some real specific goals we wanted to accomplish,” Porter said. “I think we got that done.”

Porter acknowledged a season of change in which the nucleus, which had included just four players a season ago had now grown to fourteen.

Let’s take a look at what your Kansas City Brigade team will look like in 2008.

On Offense

Offensive Line

For the most part the offensive line which was a strength in 2007 will remain the same. Last year’s squad  finished second in the league in least sacks allowed.

Included on the line to start the year off was Chris Cook, Larrell Johnson, Ed Ta’amu, and Jamarr Ward.

Jon Hall, a 6 foot 5 inch, 360 pound offensive lineman starts the season on Injured Reserve.

“[Management and coaching staff] wanted to try to keep the offensive line intact from last season,” Porter said. “We feel we’ve done a great job … offensive line wise. We expect that to continue.

Wide Receivers

Perhaps the most exciting thing about last year’s team was the development of an outstanding young wide receiver core. Charles Frederick led the Brigade in receptions (115), receiving yards (1,385) and touchdowns (41) as a rookie. Jerel Myers who potentially has the greatest upside of all the receivers, returns for his third season after a 104 reception effort and 2200 total yards of offense spread between receiving, rushing and kick return yardage.  The jumbo sized Boo Williams, all 6 foot 4 inch 265 pounds of him returns after an injury plagued rookie season that still produced 474 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. In an effort to add depth to the talented group, the team added Mike Horacek, the League’s fifth all-time leading receiver in yards with 10, 757 yards. Horacek, in his 11th season comes over from the New York Dragons after a solid campaign that saw him pick up 102 receptions, 1407 yards, and 32 touchdowns.

Porter said the staff was looking for a player who could stretch the field and open more seams for the receivers already on the roster.

“Mike Horacek knows how to play,” Porter said. “He understands how to play.”

Fullbacks

Two way player Dawan Moss returns in 2008 to start at fullback. Last year, fourth year veteran out of Michigan State hammered his way to 192 hard fought rushing yards to go with eight touchdowns. In college the burly 260 pound Moss blocked for NFL running back T. J. Duckett. Newcomer Brandon Isaiah, who comes to Kansas City from the University of Virginia, will back up Moss.

Quarterbacks

John Fitzgerald, a six year veteran who comes to Kansas City after a one year layoff to coach the arenafootball2’s Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz, will lead the Brigade offense this season. When he last played the position in 2006 as a member of the Austin Wranglers, he tossed 59 touchdown passes, throwing for 3694 yards. He has a career completion percentage of 61.6 percent. 

“John Fitzgerald has pretty much done it all in the League,” Porter said. “Even after a year off, I fully expect him to pick up where he left off.

Backing up Fitzgerald will be the job of D. Bryant, a 27 year old rookie who hales from Duke University.

Kicker

Peter Martinez, whose last action in an AFL game was in the Arenabowl as a member of the Columbus Destroyers will enjoy kicking duties for the Brigade this season. Martinez was 10-20 in field goals made with a long kick of 45 yards.

Porter, in explaining the staff’s diligent search for consistency in the kicking game had an interesting insight about the statistical perspective of special teams play.

“One out of every four plays in our League is a kick.”

On Defense

Porter paused after offering his defensive line roster to speak briefly about his defensive philosophy.

Defensive Line

This years front unit includes Arrion Dixon, Neil Purvis, and Chris Demaree, all who hope to add to their success as a group in 2007. Purvis and Demaree saw limited action last season due to injury, while Dixon recorded 2.5 sacks in 10 starts as a rookie.

“I believe if [the opponent] can’t score, you can’t lose,” Porter said. “If we can play well up front …, we can win a lot of games.”

Linebackers

The Brigade seems to have taken important strides to improve their linebacker core for the coming season. Chris Avery, a Mac linebacker who was brought in from the Grand Rapids Rampage is expected to pay large dividends for Kansa City in 2008. Porter acknowledged that it was widely perceived prior to his injury at the start of 2007 that Avery was considered to be the best at his position. Antonio Ficklin held much the same designation as a member of the af2 in 2007. Denario Smalls begins his third season with the Brigade as a key cog in the Brigade’s defensive scheme. With the rule changes in the Jack linebacker position which previously confined said athlete to a five foot by five foot box and now is free to roam the field, Smalls is seen as a big factor for the team’s defensive prowess in the coming season.

Defensive Backs

Additions to this unit also have Porter and his coaches excited about this season’s possibilities. The addition of Delmonico “Monty” Montgomery to the team brings a “tremendous hitter”, according to Porter, to the squad. Kahlil Carter, who will start the year on injured reserve is expect to add much needed experience to the Brigade secondary.  Two more strong pickups for Kansas City in the offseason were Jerald Brown, the AFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2006, who came over from Columbus, and Will Holder, “a player who can do everything”, according to Porter.

Analysis

The Brigade made a big jump in 2007 and looks to be poised to hold serve in 2008. In an AFL that seems to develop more and more new talent each and every year, it seems certain that complacency can be costly. Smith, Brad Likens, and Porter seem to have heeded that warning in the past off-season.

There seems an aura developing around certain organizations in the Arena Football League. The Dallas Desperados, Colorado Crush, and now the Cleveland Gladiators seem to be reshaping and rethinking the way things are done in the AFL. Kansas City is poised to join this group.

It is no coincidence that NFL minds are running these programs. Whether the Brigade does it this year or not, in a short time, the first class reputation this ownership group has earned will produce an Arena Bowl champion.

Prediction

Kansas City will again make it to the AFL playoffs, but this time, don’t expect them to go home early. One playoff win should be considered a successful season, anything more will be icing on the cake.