Firebirds Put on Good Performance vs. Gruden`s Preds
Matthew Pickut
Monday April 8, 2002
The best pre-season moment of the night came after the game as I stood in the hall talking to former Nashville Kats coach Pat Supertudo who attended the game to watch his old friend Jay Gruden. A player whose name has been withheld to protect the not-so-innocent, came of the field and ran into the locker room. Unfortunately it was the Firebird’s dance team locker room, a few seconds later he ran out. Apparently, the team used that locker room earlier that year – which is either just luck or good planning.
The Firebirds lost the game, 65-67, on a Hail Mary pass from Orlando QB Jermain Alfred to OS Rodney Brown with no time left on the clock. What matters most however, is how the team performed and who showed the coaches something new.
Right from the start, you could tell that the improvement to the defensive line made a difference as Gruden’s return to the AFL came under pressure. Gruden played well, but personally, I do not think he played well enough to return to the elite level of AFL QB that he attained in his earlier days, throwing two interceptions and looking out of synch with his receivers at times. As the preseason continues, Gruden, who took over 50% of the snaps for Orlando, will no doubt continue to improve with more work.
The biggest hit of the night came from DS Cornelius Coe who slammed Orlando OS Saiha Burley to the turf with a textbook tackle that took Burley’s cleats off the floor. “It felt pretty good,” Coe said after the game, “especially after playing them last year, he destroyed us catching hitches and taking them to the house. It felt good to get a chance to redeem myself.” Coe looks forward to a strong year from the secondary in 2002. “Everybody knows I like to hit, but now we got Evan [Hlavacek] back and Gary [Compton], so we’re going to be a lot more physical this year, especially with the improved pass rush. With the [QB] pressure I hope I can step up and make some plays.”
Part of that pass rush includes OL/DL Chris Snyder who just returned from a Carolina Panthers’ tryout where he worked out at defensive end. “There were no rookies there,” said Snyder of trying out for Carolina. “When I got there I don’t think some of them [the coaches] knew who I was, but you know I think they knew when I left.”
On offense, starting QB Raymond Philyaw played well despite throwing an interception on his first pass attempt of the season. “I started the game slow. My first of the 2002 pass was an interception,” said Philyaw. “Then we kind of got into a groove and the first team played well in the first quarter. So coach wanted to get me some work in the second half situation and some scoring drives. I think we played well, but we can always do better, we’ve got a week before we play Chicago and as long as we can focus we’ll be fine.”
Miscellany
For his part, Supertudo, now working with the Tennessee Titans scouting department, seemed ready to get back into the AFL. “If I could take either of these coaches places right now I would” he said. “But I’m just here to watch as much as I can to try and get better.” You could tell from the excitement in Supertudo’s voice and mannerisms he really missed the game and could not wait to return to Nashville if Titans owner Bud Smith chooses to field that team next year.
Fan Notes: On one hand it was nice to see some signage in the stands, especially the “We love Leroy” sign, on the other hand it was slightly disturbing to see the grown man in a dress [who claimed not to have been drinking] and face paint. I applaud his team spirit but he was definitely a summer and the dress was really better suited to someone with a fall complexion. Also, the lack of a good “They’re not booing, they’re saying Hugh” chant after OL/DL Hugh Hunter’s tackles was inexcusable. If you have a player whose name or nickname rhymes with boo (i.e. Lou Pinella, “Moose” Johnson, et al.) you need to take advantage of that fact.
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.
