Fresh Faces Provide a new Look Rush
Jeff Sims
Wednesday March 9, 2005
There were certainly a number of personnel changes made, but all were not necessarily done by choice.
The Rush went into Sunday’s game without starting quarterback Raymond Philyaw, who sat out with a sprained knee. After gutting out the game against Orlando, it was determined during the week that Philyaw would be unable to play.
Chicago was also without offensive specialist Henry Douglas for the second straight week with the groin injury he sustained in Columbus. His back-up, Jeremy McDaniel, would have started, but went down in practice on Friday with a knee sprain and was unable to play as well.
Starting defensive specialist Tony Lukins was placed on the injured reserved list on Friday afternoon as he re-aggravated his ankle injury that has kept him in and out of the lineup since training camp.
In addition, WR/DB Charles Pauley was listed as inactive for this game and did not dress.
A Rush Makeover
With the number of injuries sustained and the coaching staff looking for some answers, there was plenty of room for some new faces to take stage for the Rush on Sunday against the Kats.
Five players saw action on Sunday for the first time in Chicago’s 45 – 38 victory.
Although not a new face in the league, back-up QB Todd Hammel was able to shake off a rough first series after fumbling twice and giving up a safety to adequately fill in for Philyaw. Hammel finished with 223 passing yards and five touchdowns.
WR/DB Carlos Wright and OL/DL Scott Pospisil both saw their first action of the season on Sunday as well.
But the game and the day belonged to two guys that did not find out that they were suiting up until Friday afternoon.
Starting OS C.J. Johnson, filling in for Douglas and McDaniel, opened up some eyes in his debut for the Rush. The rookie caught seven passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson brings a little bit of a different approach to the position than do Douglas and McDaniel, which appeared to keep the Kats on their heels and unaware of what to expect.
"Henry’s a quicker guy and J Mac is a bigger, more physical offensive specialist," said Johnson. "I feel that I try to be quick and try to run smooth routes and play football like I know how to play it."
Said Coach Hohensee of Johnson; "he was not (in the game plan) at all. He is a kid that has been on our practice roster, pretty much doing a number on our defense running the other team’s stuff for the last five weeks. He had been running on the second team any time we did goal line offense in practice, so he was getting all those reps mentally. So, he knew his job and it was just a matter of whether the kid was going to show in his first professional football game and do well. I think he played well."
The other spark came from starting defensive specialist Todd Howard. Howard, who finished as the Defensive Player of the Game, had 10 tackles and defended three passes. It was his aggressiveness that set the tone for the Rush on the defensive side of the ball.
"It felt great (to play)," said Howard after the game. "I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to come out here and hit someone other than our own team. Me and the other guys have been working real hard to keep ourselves ready because you never know when you are going to get that call. I just wanted to come out and add a little spark to what we already had."
"He came to our volunteer camp early," said Hohensee of Howard. "He was there for mini-camp and then he got called up to the Rams during the playoffs. And he was a kid that we were real high on in camp, but lost all that valuable time. He didn’t get a chance to scrimmage to really understand the game. I thought he came in and did a heck of a job. He’s a kid who causes fumbles in practice; he is always around the football, you saw! He just has a nose for the ball and he is a tough-ass kid. He is very smart and once he learns this game, he will be dangerous."
It is expected that both Johnson and Howard will return to the team’s practice squad after Douglas, McDaniel, and Lukins all return from their injuries, but the Chicago Rush proved that there is some depth on their roster this season."
"I think two good things happened,’ said Hohensee. "We won the football game and we got a chance to look at some nice, young players that we didn’t know when we would get them in a ballgame."
Hopefully, both get to see more real game time for the Rush in the near future. With the injuries to the regular starters being the type that linger through the course of a full season and the Rush going into another "should win game" against division opponent Grand Rapids next weekend, the time for both Johnson and Howard could be sooner than later.
Coach Hohensee wasn’t sure of what his line-up will look like going into next week.
"I don’t know. I’ve got to make sure we are healthy. We’ll have to watch film, see how people did, and then go from there."
Jeff has been writing for ArenaFan.com since 2004. Originally from New York, Jeff has been living in the Chicago area for the past ten years and is an avid football fanatic. He holds a BA in communications from Hofstra University in New York and a sports management certificate from Loyola University in Chicago.