Good Defense? Bad Offense? Who Cares!
Matthew Pickut
Friday April 20, 2001
Let’s face it Arenaball and defense usually go together as well as the two bumper stickers I see on a certain car as I drive to work each day. One says “We’re a Kids Plus Family,” the other says, “Show me your Hooters.” (Hopefully they weren’t purchased at the same place.)
The Milwaukee Mustangs managed to rack up the lowest score by a home team in AFL history in their 38-6 loss Thursday night. The Indiana Firebirds were even coming off a short week. It was the kind of underwhelming performance by an offence that makes you wonder, “Is the defense that good, or is the offense that bad?” It was probably a little of both, but its hard to find fault with a Firebirds defense that just set the franchise mark for least points allowed in a game.
Defensive specialists Cedrick Walker and Cornelius Cor, and DB/WR Jay Jones played great coming off a disappointing week one showing against Grand Rapids. They harassed receivers all game, intercepted three passes and broke up a lot more.
Jones’ interception return to the five-yard line seemed to signal the type of night the Mustangs were going to have. Jones won the game’s Ironman Award and stopped Milwaukee’s only first-half offensive threat. He came up big, stepping in front of his receiver in the end zone and intercepting the ball as the” Big Uglies" forced Mustang Quarterback Craig Kusick to scramble.
The “Big Uglies,” TE Mark Valvo, C Kyle Moore-Brown and G John Sikora, got down and dirty early by sacking Kusick and forcing a fumble in the first quarter. They stayed ugly all game long by hurrying him relentlessly. They gave their standard excellent performance on offense by not allowing a sack for the second strait week.
Eddie Brown turned in another great game, leading the team with 112 receiving yards and three touchdowns. After scoring Brown did, for lack of a better term, what I want to call “the frisk.” Standing with his hands on the end zone dasher boards, teammates patted him down as if he had just been arrested. Last night it fit, because Brown was so good it looked like he was stealing. Fans back in Indiana can look forward seeing Brown’s unique end zone celebration a lot this year.
The Indiana defense shut down the Mustangs until 5:20 in the fourth quarter. Milwaukee QB Donnie Davis, who came in to relieve Kusick late in the fourth quarter, hit Kevin Huntley from 11-yards out to avoid only the second shut-out in AFL history. Even that touchdown could not build momentum for the Mustangs as Kicker Remmy Hamilton missed the extra-point.
The Firebirds’ special teams made the most changes from last week. Where before they gave up big returns on kicks, this week they stayed in their coverage lanes and made solid hits. Jones added a touchdown on special teams by returning a Hamilton-missed field goal 50-yards for a score. In another great special teams play, Cedrick Walker helped preserve the first half shut-out by punching a loose ball into the stands after a missed field goal. Had Milwaukee recovered the kick, they would have had the ball around the three-yard line with a fresh set of downs. Nelson Garner contributed by hitting all of his extra points and a 33-yard field goal.
The results make you wonder if the ‘Birds shouldn’t play every game with a short week of practice. The team now takes off a couple of days before beginning preparations for next Friday’s game against the defending champion Orlando Predators. Good defense or bad offense? Only time will tell, and that’s why they play all 14 games in the regular season.
PS -- I’ve got Craig Kusick on my AFL Fantasy Football team. Anybody want to trade?
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.
