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Chicago Rush game notes

March 1, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release


The Quick Facts
TV: None
Radio: WCKG, 105.9 FM ... Tom Dore, James "Big Cat" Williams, Sharon Jackson
Overall Series Record: This is the first meeting between the teams.
Coaches (regular season records):
Mike Hohensee (81-72 — 12th season)
Pat Sperduto (28-19 — 4th season)
Officials: Perry Havener (Referee), Tom Laverty (Umpire), Kelly Saalfeld (Head Linesman), David Meslow (Line Judge), Barry Anderson (Back Judge)

2005 Chicago Rush Schedule
January 30 @ Dallas L, 65-66 11,229
February 6 Philadelphia W, 51-41 16,036
February 13 @ Colorado* W, 51-48 16,620
February 19 @ Columbus L, 39-52 17,171
February 25 Orlando L, 35-48 14,126
March 6 Nashville* 2 p.m.
March 13 @ Grand Rapids* 11 a.m. NBC
March 20 New Orleans 11 a.m. NBC
March 27 BYE
April 2 @ New York 6 p.m. FSN
April 10 San Jose Noon NBC
April 17 Colorado* Noon NBC
April 23 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m. FSN
May 1 Las Vegas Noon NBC
May 7 @ Arizona 9 p.m. FSN
May 15 Grand Rapids* Noon NBC
May 22 @ Nashville* 2 p.m. NBC

*Central Division Game ... All times Central


American Conference — Central Division
2005 Standings
W-L-T PF PA Division
Colorado 3-2-0 288 255 1-1
RUSH 2-3-0 241 255 1-0
Grand Rapids 1-3-0 221 260 0-1
Nashville 1-4-0 210 258 0-0



BRING ON THE KATS: The Rush will attempt to snap its two-game losing streak this Sunday as the expansion Nashville Kats make their first appearance at Allstate Arena. After winning their first game of the season (47-38 at Columbus) the Kats have lost four games in a row, including a 40-32 home loss last week against Las Vegas.

THIRD QUARTER KILLS RUSH IN ORLANDO LOSS: The Rush looked like it was on its way to its third win of the season last Friday against Orlando, leading 21-17 at the half. The Rush opened the second half with an impressive drive that put the team in position to go up 28-17.

However, Jeremy McDaniel fumbled on the Orlando 1-yard line, beginning a third quarter that spiraled out-of-control for the Rush. The Predators scored 21 unanswered points, turning their four-point deficit into a 38-21 lead. In addition to the McDaniel fumble, the quarter included an Orlando onside kick, which the Rush failed to recover as well as a fumble by Etu Molden. While the Rush regained some of its composure in the fourth quarter, it was unable to mount a comeback against the Predators, eventually falling 48-35.

THREE NOT A CHARM: The Rush is in the midst of its first two-game losing streak of the season, and only its second since the start of the 2004 season. The Rush has lost three or more games in a row twice in the team's history – once in 2001 and again in 2003.

During the summer of 2001 the expansion Rush lost four games in a row between June 15 and July 7 to drop the team's record to 5-7. The Rush responded by winning its final two regular season games to finish the year at 7-7.

The Rush began the 2003 season losing its first three games. The Rush rebounded to finish the season 8-8 and qualify for the playoffs for the third-consecutive season.

LOOKING UP AT .500: At 2-3 the Rush record is below .500 for just the second time in the last two years. The Rush opened this season with a loss at Dallas to fall to 0-1. Prior to that the last time the Rush was below .500 was May 11, 2003, when the team lost to Arizona to fall to 7-8.

HOME COOKIN': The Rush has a 23-11 all-time record at home (including postseason). The Rush is 1-1 this season and was 7-2 at home in 2004.

RUSH KNOWS HOW TO BOUNCE BACK: Last week's loss to Orlando was only the second time since the start of the 2004 season that the Rush has lost back-to-back games. The Rush normally knows how to bounce back from losses. After losing the 2005 opener at Dallas, the Rush responded with a 51-41 win over Philadelphia. Last season, the Rush went 4-1 after a loss, winning by an average of 18 points. Dating back to the mid-point of the 2003 season, the Rush is 9-3 after losses.

HOHENSEE NOW IN THIRD PLACE ALL-TIME: With Chicago's 51-48 win in Colorado February 13, Rush head coach Mike Hohensee moved into sole possession of third place on the AFL's all-time wins list. Hohensee, in his 12th season as a head coach in the AFL, was hired as the first coach in Rush history on September 26, 2000. He
8 has a regular season record of 81-72 (including a
36-27 mark with the Rush).
8 has a career 6-8 mark in the postseason.
8 has led the Rush to four-consecutive playoff berths and two Central Division titles (2002 and 2004).
8 is 0-1 all-time vs. the Kats, with the only meeting coming in 1997 when Hohensee's Anaheim Piranhas fell to the Kats 68-62.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason
Coach Team Wins This Week
Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 169 @ New Orleans
Danny White 141
Mike Hohensee Rush 87 Orlando
Perry Moss 86
Michael Trigg 80
Mike Dailey Colorado 78 Los Angeles

MOYER NOW 8TH ALL-TIME: Rush lineman John Moyer recorded his third second sack of the season last week against Orlando. The sack was Moyer's 31st of his career. This season Moyer has moved past Joe March into eighth place all-time. Next up for Moyer is San Jose's Joe Jacobs with 32.5 career sacks. Moyer holds the Rush season and career records for sacks.

Here are Chicago's season and career sack leaders:
Player Season Player Career
John Moyer 10.0 (2004) John Moyer 26.0
John Moyer 9.0 (2003) James Baron 10.0
Anthony Hutch 5.5 (2001) Anthony Hutch 6.5
John Moyer 4.0 (2002) Jamie McGourty 5.5
James Baron 4.0 (2003) Riley Kleinhesselink 5.0
Tony Henderson 4.0 (2001) Tony Henderson 4.0
John Moyer 3.0 (2005)
James Baron 3.0 (2004)
James Baron 3.0 (2002)
Jamie McGourty 3.0 (2004)

CAN'T TOUCH THIS: The Rush offensive line has been one of the best in the AFL the past several years. In 2004 the line only allowed five sacks all season, good for third in the league. Through five games this season, the Rush line has allowed only one sack, tied with Las Vegas for the fewest sacks allowed in the AFL.

COSTLY TURNOVERS: Last season the Rush was one of the best teams in the AFL at taking care of the ball. The Rush only turned the ball over 15 times all season, and finished the year tied for the lead in turnover margin (+15). This year, however, the Rush already has turned the ball over 10 times in five games, while only forcing seven turnovers, giving the Rush a turnover margin of –3. Rush QB Raymond Philyaw has thrown five interceptions this season, one more than he threw all last season.
PHILYAW NURSING KNEE: Rush QB Raymond Philyaw still is nursing a sprained MCL in his right knee after taking a third quarter hit and leaving the team's February 19 game at Columbus. Despite the injury, Philyaw played last week vs. Orlando, completing 22 of 36 passes for 254 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. For the season, Philyaw has passed for 1,301 yards and 23 TDs, while throwing five interceptions.

THE OLD GUY CAN STILL PLAY: 14-year veteran Todd Hammel got his first taste of action this season when starting QB Raymond Philyaw went down with a sprained knee in the third quarter February 19 in Columbus. With the Rush down 49-26 at the time, Hammel completed 5-of-8 passes for 76 yards and led the offense to two scores, rushing for a two-yard TD and connecting with John Moyer on a three-yard scoring strike.

DOUGLAS HURTING: Offensive specialist Henry Douglas returned a kick 58-yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter February 19 in Columbus. It was the team's first kick return for a TD this season. It also was the last play of the game for Douglas, who pulled his groin during the return. Douglas missed last week's game against Orlando and could miss this week's game as well. At the time of his injury Douglas had caught 30 passes for 393 yards and seven touchdowns on the season, and was the AFL leader in receptions, receiving yards and all-purpose yards.

J-MAC BACK: Jeremy McDaniel has filled in admirably since replacing the inured Henry Douglas in the second quarter of the team's February 19 game at Columbus. In two games McDaniel has caught 14 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns.

NOSE FOR THE END ZONE: When the Rush needs a touchdown it is very likely that the team will look to second-year WR/LB Etu Molden. Molden has scored 12 touchdowns this year (10 receiving and two rushing) and is tied for seventh in the AFL in scoring (72 points). As a rookie in 2004, Molden finished eighth in the AFL in scoring.

SHAW STRONG ON BOTH SIDES: New Rush WR/DB Russell Shaw continues to make an impact on both sides of the ball for Chicago. Shaw already has set career-highs by catching 20 passes for 259 yards on the season. In addition, Shaw has recorded 11.5 tackles, a career-high five passes broken up and two interceptions. He is tied for fourth in the AFL in passes defended (INT + PBU) with seven.

McDONALD RELEASED: The Rush released FB/LB Travis McDonald on Tuesday. McDonald played in two games for the Rush this season, recording 0.5 tackles.

KICKIN' KEITH: Rush kicker Keith Gispert continues to be one of the AFL's most consistent kickers. Through five games this season Gispert has connected on 24 of 28 extra point attempts and five of six field goal attempts. Last season Gispert connected on 95 of 108 PAT attempts and 12 of 22 field goal attempts.

FAMILIAR FACES: The Nashville roster features four players who have spent time in Rush blue during the past several seasons.
8 Six time All-Arena lineman James Baron anchored the Rush defensive line for the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons, recording 10 sacks during his Rush career.
8 FB/LB Levelle Brown played for the Rush in 2003 and 2004 after a career at Northwestern University that included Big 10 titles in 1995 and 1996. Brown played in seven games during his two years in Chicago, recording 6.0 tackles, one sack and one interception.
8 WR/LB Lindsay Fleshman is on Nashville's practice squad after spending the past three seasons with the Rush. He was voted the team's Ironman of the Year after the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In his Rush career, Fleshman caught 136 passes for 1,551 yards and scored 42 touchdowns. He also notched 88 tackles and seven interceptions.
8 Also on the practice squad in Nashville is FB/LB Casey Urlacher, brother of Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher. Casey attended training camp with the Rush in 2004, before playing for the af2's Peoria Pirates.

SCORING DOWN: Since scoring 65 points in a season-opening overtime defeat in Dallas, the Rush offense has slowed. The Rush scored 51 points in its Week 2 win vs. Philadelphia and its Week 3 win at Colorado, but scored only 39 points in its loss at Columbus Week 4. Last week the Rush scored a season-low 35 points in its loss to Orlando. The Rush scored less than 40 points only once in 2004 – a 71-35 home loss to Los Angeles on April 25.

BLOCK THAT KICK: Last season the Rush special teams blocked nine kicks – two field goals and seven extra points. In the season opener against Dallas the Rush continued its ability to put pressure on opposing kickers as lineman John Moyer blocked a Carlos Martinez 22-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the first half. It was Moyer's sixth blocked kick since the start of the 2004 season (including 2004 postseason).

FB=MC2: Perhaps the deepest position on the Rush roster is FB/LB, with AFL veterans Bob McMillen and Jamie McGourty manning the duties.
8 McMillen is the first player in AFL history to rush for 100 or more yards in six-consecutive seasons and just the fifth player in AFL history to rush for 1,000 career yards. He is playing in his 11th season in the AFL, ranking 4th in AFL history in rushing yards (1,188) and rushing attempts (367) and 5th in rushing touchdowns (66). McMillen enjoyed the best year of his career in 2004, rushing for a career-high 285 yards and 22 TDs.
8 McGourty is the last original member of the Rush, entering his 5th season in Chicago. In his six-year career, McGourty has rushed for 445 yards and scored 40 touchdowns. McGourty also ranks fourth in Rush history in sacks, with 5.5.

A VETERAN GROUP: The 2005 Rush 24-man roster features many players with a wealth of AFL experience. Todd Hammel leads all Rush players with 147 career games, followed by Bob McMillen (116), John Moyer (85), John Sikora (81) and Frank Moore (80).

OFF-SEASON MOVES RE-SHAPE TEAM: One bold move – the trade of lineman James Baron to Nashville – helped the Rush re-shape its roster this off-season. Baron was traded to the Kats in exchange for the first three picks in this year's expansion draft, as well as one of Nashville's picks in the dispersal draft. The Rush used those picks to select four players: WR/DB Charles Pauley (San Jose), WR/DB Russell Shaw (LA), QB Todd Hammel (Philadelphia), and OL/DL Charlie Cook (Indiana). Then, Chicago hit the free agent market and signed AFL veteran defensive specialist Jeroid Johnson.

REVAMPED SECONDARY: The Rush used the off-season to re-tool its defensive backfield, adding veteran Jeroid Johnson and rookie Tony Lukins as the new starting defensive specialists. Johnson is a five-year veteran with 22 career interceptions who signed a free agent contract with the Rush during the off-season. Lukins originally signed with the Rush in November 2002, but has spent the past two years on the team's exempt roster while playing with the Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders and Rhein Fire.

INJURY REPORT: The following players appeared on this week's injury report to the AFL.
Probable – QB Raymond Philyaw (MCL, right knee)
Questionable – OS Henry Douglas (groin)
Out –Todd Howard (hamstring) and Carlos Wright (abdominal strain)

RUSH PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Practice for the week of February 28:
Monday, February 28 – Off
Tuesday, March 1 – 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Wednesday, March 2 – 8:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Thursday, March 3 – 8:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Friday, March 4 – 8:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Saturday, March 5 – 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (Closed)

All practices this week will be held at the team's Hoffman Estates practice facility, Poplar Creek Sports Centre.

TALE OF THE TAPE:
Chicago Category Nashville
5 Games 5
48.2 (13) Scoring Offense 42.0 (16)
51.0 (9) Scoring Defense 51.6 (11)
295.4 (5) Total Offense 271.0 (12)
306.2 (13) Total Defense 268.4 (7)
24-28, 85.7% Red Zone Offense 20-26, 76.9%
19-24, 79.2% Red Zone Defense 22-28,78.6%
274.8 (5) Pass Offense 232.2 (14)
275.8(12) Pass Defense 253.8 (9)
20.6 (7) Rushing Offense 38.8 (3)
30.4 (12) Rushing Defense 14.6 (4)
241 (10) Scoring 210 (13)
39 (6) Scoring (Kicking) 30 (13)
28-522-1 Kickoff Returns 30-499-1
18.6 Kick Return Average 16.6
3-51-0 Missed Field Goal Returns 2-22-0
17.0 Missed FG Return Avg. 11.0
-3, (12) Turnover Margin +1 (8)
5-6, 83.3% Field Goals 2-8, 25%
24-28, 85.7% PAT Kicking 24-29, 82.8%
5-19 yards Sacks By 2-13 yards
1-3 yards Sacks Against 6-27 yards
13-27, 48.1% Third Down Conversion 26-49, 53.1%
4-7, 57.1% Fourth Down Conversion 7-12, 58.3%
41-250 Penalties (#-Yards) 46-293
42-300 Opp. Penalties (#-Yards) 40-241
BOLD – AFL Leader

INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE LEADERS: The following Rush players are among the 2005 AFL league leaders:

DeJuan Alfonzo: forced fumbles (6th-1), tackles (11th-28)

Henry Douglas: all-purpose yards (4th-783), receiving yards per game (1st--126), kick return yards (6th-371), kick return average (12th- 18.5) scoring (T-14th –48 points) missed field goal returns (7th-4), kick return touchdowns (5th-1)

Keith Gispert: scoring, kicking (T-6th-39 points), field goals made (T-3rd -5), PAT percentage (7th—84.2), PAT made (T-5th—16), touchbacks (T- 6th—10)

Jamie McGourty: rushing yards (T-13th—38), rushing attempts (T-7th —10), fumbles recovered (T-5th-2), yards per rush (9th-38 yards)

Bob McMillen: rushing yards (T-13th—38), rushing attempts (9th-5)

Etu Molden: receptions (T-10th—34), scoring (T-7th—72 points), touchdowns (9th-12)

John Moyer: sacks (T-5th—3), tackles for loss (10th-3)

Raymond Philyaw: total offense (6th-260.8 yards per game), total offensive plays (T-3rd-181), total offensive touchdowns (10th-72 points), completion percentage (4th-66.3), passing touchdowns (7th-116), passer rating (3rd—122.2), passing yards (5th-1301), completions (2nd-116)

Russell Shaw: passes defended (T-4th-7), interceptions (T-6th—2)

John Moyer: sacks (T-4th –3), fumbles recovered (T-6th –1)

Jeroid Johnson: passes defended (T-2nd—5)

RUSH GAME AWARD WINNERS: The following Rush players have won individual game awards for their play this season:

Offensive Player of the Game:
Raymond Philyaw (2/6 vs. Philadelphia)
Henry Douglas (2/13 @ Colorado)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game:
Russell Shaw (2/6 vs. Philadelphia)

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game:
Henry Douglas (1/30 @ Dallas)
John Moyer (2/6 vs. Philadelphia)



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 1, 2005


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