Mustangs 2001 Season Report Card
John Hoh
Monday August 27, 2001
Not that the Mustangs gave up. They won three out of four games before losing their final two. The last two losses came after the Mustangs were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
The players played admirably. The season started ominously in the pre-season when they hosted the Florida Bobcats in the crowded U. S. Cellular Arena. The nets were misaligned as were the Mustangs who lost the pre-season tilt. Now, pre-season generally is negligible and Florida proved to be an improved team, but it set the agenda for the rest of the season.
This was a season that began with a bye week. The first game, at the Bradley Center against the Indiana Firebirds, was moved up a day because the local indoor soccer team needed the Friday night for a playoff game. Thus, the players’ time to prepare was cut short 24 hours. On the other hand, Indiana was reduced to playing on a short week. Milwaukee came close to making AFL history as it appeared they might be the first team shut out in their own arena! They would have become the second team ever to be shut out. Fortunately, the horses tallied in the final quarter to prevent ignominy.
Right after the game, the team announced that the Bradley Center was forcing the Mustangs out because of renovations to the arena. While there was a war of words between the Valozzis and the Bradley Center board of governors for a week, the issued died down in the press but not in fans’ minds. Nothing would be said about the arena situation until season’s end when Andrew Valozzi would make a statement in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a day after a Journal Sentinel reporter reported the team closing its offices and the Mustang message board featuring messages from allegedly unpaid employees. The message board was also shut down at this time.
Against this backdrop, one wonders what other distractions were evident. Coach Frazier was relieved of his duties, via a press release, shortly after the season’s conclusion.
But how did the Mustangs do by unit and as a group?
Quarterback
A position that is vital in the Arena League, this was a position of turmoil for the Mustangs. They signed free-agent Sherdrick Bonner from Arizona only to have the league nullify the deal on the grounds it violated the salary cap. After Clint Dolezel bolted from the Houston Wandering ThunderBears to the Grand Rapids Rampage, the Mustangs signed ex-Rampage QB and one-time Mustang QB Craig Kusick. They also signed Donnie Davis from Arizona.
Kusick injured his knee in the first game. This after an unimpressive debut. He would return to play the second half of the ThunderBear game before being placed on the DL for the season. Donnie Davis played in Kusick’s stead. Just as he and the receivers were clicking, he was hurt in the Houston game. Kahlil Carter finished the Houston game and looks like a promising QB.
Where was 2000 QB Kevin McDougal during all this? He was trying the big field as a general for the XFL Chicago Enforcers. Why he signed for less money may never be known. But after the Houston game the XFL folded and K-Mac was available. While he picked up where he left off last year, it became evident that K-Mac was tiring from almost constant football for three seasons.
The Mustangs were also hurt by their practice facility, the Epicenter in Waukesha. With a low ceiling, the quarterbacks and receivers couldn’t effectively practice long routes and normal passes until the weather brightened for outdoor practices.
Grade: C-
Running Game
Free-agent acquisition Les Barley, while originally a fan favorite in a city famous for barley and malt beverages, never got the hop that made him the career leader in Arena rushing. He was off the roster by the end of the year.
Af2 graduate Lawrence Lewis was a pleasant surprise as he was a league leader in rushing average.
Nevertheless, the Mustangs struggled with third- and fourth-and-short throughout the season, an indication that the rushers and/or the offensive line weren’t getting the job done.
Grade: C-
Receivers
A bright spot for the Mustangs despite the practice facility and QB shuffle. Gary Compton cemented his eventual AFL Hall of Fame placement by his play all season on ALL sides of the ball (including special teams). Nearly every game Compton was in contention for Ironman of the Game.
During halftime of ArenaBowl XV, Gary Compton was announced as the Built Ford Tough Man of the Year. Congratulations, Gary!
Compton finally had help from a rehabbed Alvin Ashley and an emerging Kahlil Carter. These three receivers, playing consistently with Kevin McDougal, could be a match to watch in the Arena League wherever the Mustangs might be playing in the future.
Grade: B+
Linemen
Two QBs were lost for the season. Kevin McDougal was repeatedly knocked down and hurried. The team consistently had trouble with third- and fourth-and-short. The bulk of the blame lies in the up-front blocking. Too many short yardage situations became no problem for the opposing offenses with this unit on the field.
Grade: D-
Linebackers
At times brilliant, at others sloppy. Too many running backs sprang long runs against the Mustangs. Too many teams were able to convert those third- and fourth-and-short opportunities. The rush to the quarterback wasn’t as effective as coach Frazier hoped for.
How bad was the linebacking corps for the Mustangs? QB Donnie Davis played linebacker in the Mustangs final game of 2001.
Grade: C-
Defensive Backs
This unit struggled at the start of the season. In the Tampa Bay game alone the Storm scored on four occasions on the first play of a series with plays of 30 yards or more. And when it appeared the Mustangs stopped an opponent with a fourth and long—BOOM—the opposing team strikes for a quick score. The unit jelled in the second half and was instrumental in the team’s three victories.
Then Raphael Ball was released with a week to go in the dismal season. Nobody understood why. The only guess was relief on salary figures for the Velozzis. Whatever the case, Ball earned a ring in the Arenabowl a month later.
Grade: C-
Kicking Game
The Mustangs were forced to sign a new kicker after Scott Videtich signed with his home town New Jersey Gladiators. What showed up in camp must have been a headache as the Mustangs traded for Remy Hamilton just before the start of the season. Remy was, well, inconsistent. He now owns the longest half dozen field goals in Mustang history, but short chip shots became adventures. And when the team loses games by less than six points, those missed field goals and extra points begin to add up and count.
Grade: C-
Coaching
Coach Frazier’s job became a hot topic when the Mustangs started 0-4, but was always a topic not to be considered in interviews with the Valozzis—well, if they spoke with anyone. Starting a rather rookie defense can be frustrating. And free-agents that don’t pan out is disheartening.
For the fourth straight year the Mustangs got off to a slow start. Injuries plagued the team and the Mustangs seemed stymied to address this issue. That is puzzling given that injuries are a part of the game and a team should be ready to address injuries to be successful.
But Coach Frazier kept the moral and spirits of the team up. The players never pointed fingers or bad-mouthed each other. And when a team goes 3-11, that is rare.
Grade: C-
Overall
The expectations were high—win the division, get a first round bye, and win a playoff game. Instead, the Mustangs won only two division games, went 1-3 against expansion teams, and made it possible for four Central division teams to make the playoffs.
Plenty of blame must be laid before the Valozzis. The Mustangs used to be a model franchise for attendance. This year the fans avoided the team in droves. There were plenty of obstacles. The team got off to another of its patented slow starts. The arena issue was never addressed. Toward the end of the season, season ticket holders received their order forms with a note that the team was gauging interest in its fans for next season. Those I spoke with expressed skepticism of management and a hesitancy to pay for tickets with a suspicion the team might fold.
Had the Valozzis at least attempted to speak to the public, they might have retained fan confidence. But what confidence do you place in a management that fires its coach via press release? Or stays silent until a reporter opens up issues—but Mr. Valozzi never addressed the issues brought up in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (closing its offices, not paying bills, not paying employees). And when the week after the cessation of the season found disgruntled employees and, it appears, a few players speaking up on the team web site message board, the message board is closed. Heck, it was the only part of the team’s web site that was current!
Where will the Mustangs play next year and what might they be called? Hard to say. Not sure who in the Milwaukee community might want to buy the team. Or will the Valozzis retain ownership with the team in another city? Arenaball drew well in Milwaukee and whenever David Cooper addressed the situation from the league’s viewpoint he has stressed the league’s desire to have a team in Milwaukee. While I don’t see the league keeping the Mustangs from playing in the U. S. Cellular Arena, the Valozzis have stressed they can’t make money in the old barn. Hey, they might be able to garner some ad and concession revenue which they weren’t getting at the Bradley Center!
Meanwhile, if the Mustangs bolt from the MKE Corral, I’ll anxiously await a new team in town. I’ve already got a name for it, if anyone’s interested.
“Ladies and gentlemen, your Wisconsin Mosquitoes!”
Grade: D+
John L. Hoh, Jr., is a free-lance writer from Milwaukee who grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, as an avid Dolphins fan. He followed Arena Football since its inception, at one point watching tape-delayed games on low-powered WAV-TV in Waukesha. His happiest day was when Milwaukee was awarded the Mustangs franchise; his saddest when the Mustangs were contracted out of the league. John is married to his wife Maija (13+ years) and has a young son, Matthew. John pines for the return of the Arena Football League to Milwaukee.
