Newly Acquired DB Sparks Rush Defense
Jeff Sims
Tuesday June 19, 2012
Going into Saturday night’s game against the Georgia Force, the Chicago Rush ranked last in the AFL giving up over 60 points per game.
After losing by 40 points, the worst defeat in franchise history, to the Utah Blaze the previous week, the Rush came back home and improved on the defensive side as they defeated the Force 62-27. Chicago continued their dominance at home and is now 7-0 this season at Allstate Arena.
“I like where our team is headed,” said Rush head coach Bob McMillen. ‘I like what they’re doing right now. They’re having player meetings to talk about getting better in practice. They’re working hard. They’re picking each other up.”
Although they did not record any sacks on the evening, defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald and nose tackle Darrell Campbell put pressure on Force quarterback RJ Archer all night and forced him into throwing three interceptions and losing possessions on downs four times.
With injuries to Vic Hall and Brian Lainhart and the inability of others to make an impact in the Rush secondary, newly acquired defensive back Jorrick Calvin took advantage of the situation and gave the secondary for Chicago what it needed, a presence. Calvin was signed as a free agent by the Rush just two days before the game and led the team in tackles with ten and came up with two big interceptions, something the Rush secondary has not done much of this season.
“This was my first week with the Chicago Rush and our main thing was to get a swagger about ourselves back there this week,” Calvin stated emphatically. “Believe in yourself and know that no one can beat you but yourself, and that is what we did tonight.”
Early in the second quarter with the Rush leading 21-7, Calvin picked off his first pass of the night as the Force drove deep into Rush territory. The Chicago offense would take over and begin the blowout on a 45 yard drive that took over four minutes resulting in a two yard touchdown pass from quarterback Russ Michna to wide receiver Jared Perry.
Calvin picked off Archer again late in the third quarter when the Rush had a 42-21 lead.
“My main thing was just to stay in my backpedal and make sure that I pay attention to my man instead of looking at the quarterback,” he said. “If you look at your man, he will take you straight to the ball.”
It was a couple of days of fast learning for Calvin, as he needed to learn the defensive schemes quickly and get used to his new teammates. He had played earlier this season for the New Orleans Voodoo.
“It’s a challenge,” Calvin said. “It’s a challenge that I was looking forward to. I like to make plays. Just put me in a position to make the play and I am going to make it. Coming in late in the week, I just made sure that I studied film, move the coverages, and just play ball.”
The third interception for Chicago came when jack linebacker Kelvin Morris leaped into the air to tip a pass to himself which he returned for 32 yards and a score. The interception was Morris’s fifth of the season and his fifth touchdown on defense.
The offensive continued to thrive for the Rush who were led by the wide receiver tandem of Regiie Gray and Jared Perry who each scored three times in the contest.
“We’ve kind of had an interesting year here,” stated quarterback Rush Michna in regards to the team’s tendency to play well at home and have difficulties on the road. “We’ve had a lot of turnover on the (defensive side) of the ball and we’ve been pretty stable on the (offensive side), so if we can get that thing right in the same direction and get them playing well, get us playing well and hopefully we can make a little run here.”
Game Notes
Vic Hall was placed on the injured reserve list and will be out for at least another three weeks. He is recovering from a leg injury.
Taking some of the buzz out this game was the potential of a player lockout by the league owners if an agreement wasn’t made with the player’s union by Sunday evening. Representatives from the union were present at the game and told players after that a tentative agreement had been reached and would be finalized.
"During the week of course, not knowing if your going to have a job or not after Sunday is tough,” said Chicago Rush player representative Reggie Gray “We were trying to go out there and play and let it play itself out"
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.
