Davis Takes Unusual Approach to Fury`s Inagural Season
Kevin A. De Ceuninck
Tuesday April 17, 2001
“We decided to take a different approach,” said Fury head coach Mouse Davis.
Davis and his assistant coaches went north to recruit and stock his expansion team. He realized his team was in a tough spot starting this season. Because of the new collective bargaining agreement, existing Arena teams did not have to protect their free agents, thus weakening the expansion draft pool of players.
"If you can`t get them from the arena league," Davis said. "You have to get them from the CFL, some from NFL."
The Fury feature Canadian exports offensive specialist Robert Gordon and Lineman Bennie Goods, who were teammates with Winnipeg in the CFL. Gordon has, however, played one season in the AFL, earning a championship with the Orlando Predators.
“Bottom line, football is football. We need to gel and execute,” said Gordon.
Their 20-man roster contains seven players with a total of 19 seasons of Arena Football experience. Seventeen of those seasons are wrapped up in four AFL veterans. Pre-season starting quarterback Scott Semptimphelter (4), receiver/back Antonio Worthman (4), and two fullback/linebackers, Andy Chilcote (7) and Jeff Cothran (2), will be looked to lead the squad.
Looking for Semptimphelter, Goods, Worthman, and Gordon to be major influences, Davis realizes that a successful season will depend on who steps up. “We still need a few impact players out of a group of 8-10,” added Davis.
The Fury start the season with less than half of the training camp roster they started with, and with less than seven days before the season kickoff, is still four under the league maximum of 24-man roster.
“Like I told the kids (players) when we started, if we can’t play, we are just going to get kids that can,” said Davis. “We need to keep improving to get where we need to be. As an expansion franchise, you don’t start normally with the guys you will end up with.”
Davis does not feel his approach will damage the season. As a team, they’ve focused on keeping talented position players working together all through camp. They continue to look toward acquiring skilled “big men” that will make an impact.
“Our skill kids have been working and have continued to work on conversions,” said Davis. “What you do up front is a skill and technique. With the experienced players we expect to bring in, they will have an easier time to pick things up and plug them in.”
Effectiveness is the key for the Fury this season as the team focuses on continual improvement all season long, and making an impact on the playoffs. Davis realizes that making a difference in the playoffs as an AFL expansion team is rare, but he has been trying to work outside of the mold from the beginning, as is obvious by his preseason mentality.
Davis focused primarily on the rookies’ showing during the exhibition season. And he had a number of players to get a look at. With so few with AFL experience, the veterans enjoyed down time while the kids took to the turf.
“Pre-season is pre-season. I am not big on [winning],” said Davis. “If you have a veteran team, you have the opportunity to look at more kids. When we know that guy is a player, there is no sense in getting him beat up.”
With the season in full swing now, it’s time to ante up the “big wigs” and turn on the power. While there’s still room on the roster for a handful of other guys, Davis has to make the ones he has worth the fans’ time. He acknowledges that they have to come first, and he appreciates that the tremendous season ticket sales the Fury has had will increase the intensity of the season.
“Knowing that 10,000 plus people will be at every home game is outstanding,” said Gordon. “Now it will be up to us to perform and keep that excitement going.”
Kevin A. De Ceuninck was a writer for ArenaFan Online during the 2001 season.
