Two QBs Help Rush Defeat Power
Jeff Sims
Monday April 15, 2013
The Chicago Rush had taken a gamble during the first three games of the season by not having a second quarterback on their roster and electing to use the extra roster spot to suit up an additional defensive back or lineman.
They got lucky……for those three games.
Prior to the end of the game in week four against San Antonio, quarterback Carson Coffman dislocated a finger on his throwing hand. This forced the team to have to sign a second QB prior to the game this past weekend against the Pittsburgh Power.
Enter Danny Southwick, who has previous experience as a quarterback in the Arena Football League with the Tampa Bay Storm and last season with the San Jose Sabercats.
Southwick was given the start against the Power by head coach Bob McMillen in order to allow Coffman to rest his hand. Coffman was kept on the active roster as the back-up for the game.
“Last week his finger was off to the side,” McMillen said in reference to Coffman. “I’m sure that he was upset that he wasn’t getting the start, but for precautionary reasons, we sat him.”
Southwick was adequate at best in the first half leading the team to two touchdowns on four possessions. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. He was not intercepted, but at times held the ball too long which led to him being sacked twice.
Just before the end of the half with the Rush on the Power one yard line and two seconds left on the clock, Southwick fumbled the center to quarterback exchange. The fumble was recovered by the Pittsburgh defense leaving the Rush without a score on the drive.
The culmination of the sacks and the fumble had to leave a lasting impression on the Rush coaching staff as they pulled Southwick in favor of Coffman for the second half.
According to McMillen, Southwick got injured on a hit that he had taken earlier in the half.
“His eyes looked a little glassy so we had to do a test at halftime,” he said. “We also struggled by only putting up 14 points in the first half, which was not exciting and something that we were not happy about, so we decided to change it.”
The decision turned out to be a solid one as Coffman sparked the offense to a 31 point second half en route to a 45 – 14 Rush victory.
Coffman only threw ten passes, but he was able to complete seven of them for 98 yards and two touchdowns. He was not intercepted either. The offense obviously made the correct adjustments in order to put the game away in the second half.
“In the second half we went basic,” said wide receiver Reggie Gray. “We didn’t do anything special. We just went man to man and went after them.”
Gray had a big game for the Rush catching ten passes for 152 yards and two scores.
Defensive Effort
What gets lost in the offensive success in this game is the performance of the Rush defense.
They only gave up 14 points and shut out Pittsburgh three out of four quarters. The shutout in the first half was the first time in Power history that they had been shut out in any half in their three year existence.
Power rookie quarterback Jordan Jefferson completed only 50 percent of his passes for 139 yards and one touchdown. The Rush defensive line kept pressure on him all game and got three sacks after having only one in the team’s first three games.
“That was the thing (we emphasized) all week was getting pressure up front,” said Rush jack linebacker Kelvin Morris. “He couldn’t throw the ball as well and we tried to keep him contained and we were able to do that for the most part.”
Coach McMillen is confident that his defense is finally coming around after giving up 139 points in their first two games. They have given up 55 points in the past two games.
“The guys are understanding our defense more,” he said “We have a bunch of new guys that have not been playing in our system. I think they are finally understanding where the windows are and where they need to be. Our DBs are finally playing more together and understanding what they can and can’t do. It is starting to click for our defense right now.”
Rush Notes
Rush fullback JJ Payne had a solid game as well with six carries for 15 yards and two touchdowns.
New Rush wide receiver Jared Jenkins, who played with Milwaukee last season, made his presence felt as well as he collected ten receptions for 73 yards and one touchdown. He proved to have good hands as a big target.
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.
