Wanted: Defensive Specialist. Contact: Coach Hohensee
Kevin Sheller
Tuesday May 21, 2002
In the past two weeks, the Rush have allowed 66 and 62 points against below-average opponents: the Tampa Bay Storm (1-4) and the Georgia Force (1-4) respectively. Over the past three weeks, the Rush have allowed 62.5 points on average.
So what has gone wrong?
Plenty, but most of the problems have to do with the deep three on defense. Porter has not been 100% since hurting his ankle against Grand Rapids. WR/DB Cornelius Bonner has had some trouble on defense in his backup role to Porter. And offseason pick-up DS Tristan Moss did not grow into the Rush coverage scheme.
At the beginning of the season, Porter appeared to be coming into his own. After his first week of masterfully defending Indiana’s OS Eddie Brown, he has struggled to put himself in the right places. Despite an ankle injury, Porter has still been able to break up some sure touchdowns, but he’s had no interceptions since early in the season – which was his staple in 2001.
The biggest question mark in the preseason was answered after week four’s loss to the Tampa Bay Storm. There were questions surrounding Moss’s ability to play in the Rush secondary, and when he went down to injury in the second half against the Storm, Porter was switched to DS. This new alignment only allowed 24 points in the second half after suffering a 42-point torching in the first with Moss, Walker and Porter as the deep three.
This appears to have been the deciding factor, and Moss was released before the game against the Force.
The new (yet temporary) deep three was to be Porter and Walker at the DS spots, and Bonner at WR/DB. This alignment produced few good tidings against the Force, as the defense allowed 48 points in the second half alone.
After the Force game, Hohensee admitted that he was going to be looking for a new defensive specialist so that Porter could return to his WR/DB spot. “First we have to get Porter healthy or he isn’t any good to us as a DS or a two-way guy. When he’s healthy, he’s confident. Right now, he’s not confident physically or mentally.”
Porter is listed on the Rush injury report as probable – a 75% likelihood that he’ll be ready to play.
Meanwhile, Hohensee has already signed a new defensive specialist. Expect the announcement Wednesday.
“Next week we’ll probably have a different backfield back there,” said Hohensee after the Force game. “We’ll be better next week, I promise you that.”
The Rush are on the verge of becoming a dominating team in the league. The offense has been showing consistency. The line play is still exemplary. If the Rush can find the right fit at the vacant DS spot and Porter can stay healthy, the Rush will be able to match up with anyone.
Kevin Sheller ia founder of Arenafan Online and was the principal owner until 2004. Kevin graduated from the University of Akron with a degree in technical writing, and has been a member of the Arena Football Internet community since 1993. He has worked as a professional web programmer and is also the executive producer for a computer/video game company. The most recent Xbox title to his credit is called Hunter: The Reckoning.
