Firebirds Mid Season Report Card
Matthew Pickut
Tuesday June 12, 2001
Offense:
Offensive Line: “I don’t know where it started [the nickname], but anyone who protects the quarterback is a big ugly,” said OL/DL Mark Valvo. The ‘Big Uglies’ are ties for third in the league in sack allowed so far this year. The o-line’s performance is especially spectacular considering the off-season loss of All-Arena players, Joe Jacob and John Krick. The guys up front, who Head Coach Mike Dailey calls “good soldiers,” have given QB Raymond Philyaw a chance to get comfortable in his first season. They neutralized a great Detroit Fury rush and have played consistently all year, helped the by 3- and 5-step drop passing plays called by Coach Dailey. Grade A- (could be used more on screens and passing to the tight-end)
Quarterback: “I think we’re coming together as a team,” said Philyaw about his own performance, ”I try not to rate myself, I leave that up to the coaches.” As far as that goes “We had to curtail a few things on offense,” said Dailey, “but he did a good job of preparing himself last year as a back up and he’s a cacheable guy, a mature guy with a lot of growth potential.” Keeping the plays simple has allowed Philyaw to focus on getting his job done without throwing into trouble. His two interceptions this year, both against the Chicago Rush have come on plays were he was fooled by the pass coverage. Philyaw has bounced between a season high of 308 yards against the Predators and a season low of 155 yards against Arizona when his passes sailed high all game. Opening up the playbook will allow the kind of play calling that will keep opponents off-guard. The nationally televised spat with OS Eddie Brown fortunately never really became a distraction. As Philyaw continues to grow as an AFL quarterback his consistency will improve. Grade B+ (will improve as he works up to his potential)
Receivers: The return of OS Eddie Brown and WR/LB Greg Hopkins might have created a high expectations for the team, but Coach Dailey sees it differently, “I don’t know were those expectations come from . . . it’s a team effort, if you have great receivers but only an average QB the results are average. They’ve all been understanding of Raymond’s progress.” Eddie Brown leads the league in scoring and consistently draws opposing team’s best coverage man, allowing Hopkins, WR/DB Jay Jones and WR/DB Van Johnson more freedom. The Indiana receivers have played well as a team this year while Philyaw has progressed as a QB. They deserve a lot of the credit for Philyaw`s success. Grade A (It’s hard to argue with success)
Overall Offense: Play calling could add more variety with screens and using the tight end on passing plays. Overall the play calling fits the progress of Philyaw and will need to keep pace with his development. Grade A- (at 6-2 could the team could still improve its consistency)
Defense:
Defensive line and backers: Although the Firebirds’ defensive line ranks near the bottom of the league in sacks, Coach Dailey isn’t concerned, “Sacks are usually the result of a blown assignment or great coverage, sacks are good, but pressures are what you want.” FB/LB Umar Muhammed provides a lot of that pressure from his ‘mack’ linebacker position. “He’s a tough guy, who really brings it, and wins the collision battles.” Grade B+ (struggled early in the season against the draw, but has improved steadily stifling the run along the way)
Defensive backs: The Firebirds defensive backfield took a little time to come together. DS Cornelius Coe, last year’s af2 defensive player of the year, continues to show he belongs at the AFL level. “The af2 helped Coe learn the angles of the shorter field,” said Coach Dailey. Joining Coe in the backfield is DS Cedrick Walker. Walker provides some muscle. Both Coe and Walker play with heart and deliver the kind of hits for which the AFL is famous. Grade A- (Occasional lapses hurt, but overall play has improved steadily)
Overall Defense: The team has struggled on third downs in several games this season. Their play against Milwaukee, allowing only 6 points in 4 quarters, show just what this team is capable of. They will have to continue to play at a high level for the Firebirds to be successful. The ‘birds have produced 12 more turnovers then the offense has given up. That key stat allowed Indiana to come back from offensive mistakes in more then one occasion. Grade A- (3rd down play must improve for the defense to really dominate)
Special Teams: The team has struggled on kick coverage from the begining of the season. “You can look great one week and awful the next,” said Dailey. Kicking has improved steadily from what looked like a tough beginning. K Nelson Garner’s kick-offs have improved as the season wears on. Pressure seems not to stop Garner from hitting the big kicks and his composure has been impressive to watch. Hitting the middle net on his kick-offs will be the key to improving the chances of the coverage team to improve. On the return teams, the Firebirds have been consistent but not spectacular and will need to break some long returns to help the team. Grade: Scoring A- (Garner continues to show that the 1st half of game one was an aberration) Coverage: C (needs to show that they can shut down a return man for 4 quarters) Return: C (hasn’t shown that they can provide a spark with a big return)
Overall Team Grade: B+/A- With a 6-2 record the Firebirds have played well, but can still improve. Young players allowed to reach their potential for this team will help it to find success for the rest of the season. If the team expects to catch the Grand Rapid Rampage for the division lead, they will need to improve on their consistency and find a way to stop teams on third downs.
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.
