Help Wanted: Wide Receivers in Chicago
Jeff Sims
Monday June 7, 2010
If you have any receiving experience at the professional football level, you are needed in Chicago! Please contact Rush head coach Mike Hohensee to apply.
What was believed by some to be one of the best receiving trios in the league at the start of the season has now gone to shambles.
The team will most likely need a whole new receiving corps for next Saturday’s game in Utah against the Blaze. Top wide receivers Kenny Higgins and Nichiren Flowers both did not play in Friday night’s game against the Jacksonville Sharks due to undisclosed injuries. Both have been placed on the injured reserve list and will be out for at least four weeks, possibly for the rest of the regular season.
Luckily, the Rush still had their leading receiver, Samie Parker, for this game. Parker still decided to play even after receiving a call two days earlier from the NFL’s Oakland Raiders to attend their minicamp in an attempt to make their team for the upcoming NFL season. He will be leaving the team this week.
It was not known until after the game plan was in place for the week that both Higgins and Flowers would be unavailable. At that point, other members of the team had to step up and play more than expected or even change their position.
The Rush played the game against the Sharks starting their fourth receiver, Allan Turner and linebacker DeJuan Alfonso moving over and playing on the offensive side of the ball. Not a bad move considering the All-Arena linebacker led the team in receiving with 10 catches for 124 yards in a 64 – 56 loss to the Shark attack.
Playing Alfonso on the offensive side may need to last one more week, but will definitely not be a permanent move.
“’Zo is the best jack (linebacker) that ever played the game,” said Hohensee. “That’s where he needs to be. He did a great job for us today and I thought (Clifton Smith) did a great job filling in for him. But if we are going to be a great team, ‘Zo is going to be our jack and we are going to have to go out and find some receivers”
In this new age of arena football where players work second jobs because salaries for playing football are considerably lower than they were in the past, it is not going to be easy at this point of the season to get players that are willing to drop their other endeavors to play arena football for the next seven weeks.
The Rush coaching staff will need to quickly incorporate new players into their scheme, something that coach Hohensee believes can be done without much of a problem.
“Fortunately, we have Russ Michna.,” said Hohensee. “That’s the good thing about it. We still have Allan Turner and we also have ‘Zo with a game under his belt if we have to go that route. We have made some calls to three or four guys already. At this point of the season, you really have to do some talking (to convince them to play). And they really have to want to get out of whatever else they are in. Some of these guys are in jobs, some came to the terms that they are not playing anymore, but there are still some good football players out there and we will spend the next few days trying to get them to Chicago.”
The receiver position is not the only one where the Rush have reason for concern. The offensive line has taken a beating as well. Veteran defensive end Joe Peters was used on the offensive line toward the end of the game to replace Shawn McMackin.
When I stated a few articles back that there was no need for concern as the Chicago Rush would turn around after their back to back losses to Milwaukee and Iowa, I was right at the time as back to back wins on the road against Dallas and Cleveland showed this team has the ability with a full healthy team to be solid all around. Now with roster spots in question, it will be difficult for the Rush to put together a strong second half of the season, especially with 5 of their last 7 games against teams with winning records.
But with all of the problems that now exist with this Rush team, it is still a position that coach Hohensee does not mind at all.
“I think we will get healthier,” Hohensee stated. “We need to go find some receivers. We are a little banged up on the line now. We were playing short, so over the next few days we will need to find some players to fill some roster spots and see how healthy we can get. It’s okay though. I wished for these long weeks a year ago when we didn’t have football. I’m okay with it.”
Congratulations to One of the Best
In Friday night’s game against the Rush, Sharks quarterback Aaron Garcia became the all time leader in touchdowns as he passed former Dallas Desperados QB Clint Dolezel. Now with 936 touchdown passes and counting, Garcia will continue to add to his total and solidify his status as one of the best quarterbacks of all time.
“I am very proud and excited for Aaron,” Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz said. “This is a monumental occasion, both for Aaron as an individual but also for the league. He is immortal in Arena Football history, and the product he delivers both on and off the field is something special.”
Garcia feels great about the accomplishment, but is also proud of the accomplishment of his current team.
“It feels great, especially to get it in a win,” said Garcia. “Nobody has ever given up on anyone else and we are playing together as a team.”
Congratulations Aaron on a great accomplishment.