Chicago Rush game notes
April 24, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release
The Quick Facts
TV: ESPN2 ¡K Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic
Radio: WCKG 105.9 FM...Tom Dore, James ¡§Big Cat¡¨ Williams
Overall Series Record: Philadelphia leads 2-1
Last Meeting: April 9, 2006, Philadelphia 56, Rush 55 (OT)
Coaches (regular season, postseason records):
Mike Hohensee (101-86, 11-9 ¡X 14th season)
Brett Munsey (13-10, 1-1 ¡X 2nd season)
Officials: Dave Lambros (Referee), Al Granado (Umpire), Mike McCabe (Head Linesman), Brian Matthew (Line Judge), Joe Duncan (Back Judge)
2007 Chicago Rush Schedule
Date Opponent Time/Score TV/Attend
March 4 @ Kansas City* L, 54-41 13,600
March 9 San Jose W, 48-45 16,201
March 18 New York W, 61-40 16,128
March 24 @ Columbus W, 55-47 16,390
April 1 Los Angeles W, 66-31 15,846
April 7 @ Nashville* W, 66-54 7,332
April 15 Bye
April 21 @ Grand Rapids* W, 75-54 10,622
April 30 Philadelphia 7 p.m. ESPN2
May 7 Colorado* 7 p.m. ESPN2
May 11 @ Dallas 6:30 p.m.
May 19 Nashville* 7 p.m. CSN
May 26 @ Arizona 9 p.m. CSN
June 2 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.
June 9 Grand Rapids* 7 p.m. CSN
June 18 @ Colorado* 9 p.m. ESPN 2
June 23 Kansas City* 7 p.m. CSN
* Central Division game
American Conference ¡X Central Division
W-L-T PF PA Division
RUSH 6-1-0 412 325 2-1
Colorado 5-3-0 400 430 2-1
Kansas City 4-3-0 367 333 2-2
Nashville 4-4-0 438 436 1-2
Grand Rapids 2-5-0 356 453 1-2
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL? ESPN¡¦s Monday Night Football comes to Allstate Arena for the first time this season, as the Rush hosts Jon Bon Jovi¡¦s Philadelphia Soul on Monday, April 30. The game will be the only one in town Monday night, as all of Chicago¡¦s other major sports teams are either off or out of town.
The Rush enters the game with a franchise-best six game winning streak after a 75-54 come-from-behind victory last Saturday night in Grand Rapids.
As for Philadelphia, after opening the season 4-0, the Soul has slumped, losing its last three in a row, including last week¡¦s 44-21 loss in Columbus. In addition, the Soul is without star QB Tony Graziani, who was injured in the team¡¦s April 16 loss at Dallas.
BIG COMEBACK WIN IN GRAND RAPIDS: It took the Rush nearly three quarters to shake off the rust from its bye week, but once the team found its stride, it poured it on en route to a 75-54 road win Saturday in Grand Rapids.
Trailing 47-34 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Rush rattled off 34-consecutive points to take a 68-47 lead with one minute remaining.
Wide receiver Bobby Sippio caught 12 passes for a team record 252 yards and five touchdowns and the Rush defense forced four more turnovers to key the win.
Linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo, who always seems to be around the ball, was responsible for two of the turnovers. First, Alfonzo started the Rush rally by forcing a Timon Marshall fumble with the Rush trailing 47-41. The Rush converted the turnover into points when Sippio took a 20-yard pass from D¡¦Orazio, broke a couple of tackles and turned it into a 42-yard TD to tie the score at 47-47.
Then, with just 20 seconds remaining in the game, Alfonzo intercepted a Chad Salisbury pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown to give the Rush its final margin of victory.
In between the two Alfonzo turnovers the Rush defense twice held the Rampage on downs and benefited from rookie James Sadler¡¦s first career interception to take control of the game.
FAST START: At 6-1 the Rush is off to its best start in team history. Previous to this season, Chicago¡¦s best start came in 2004 when the Rush began the year 5-2. That season the Rush finished the year 11-5 and advanced to the AFL semifinals before falling in San Jose.
STREAKING: Chicago¡¦s current six-game winning streak is the longest regular season streak in team history. The Rush finished the 2006 season winning six in a row, including its final two regular season games and four playoff games.
STREAKING II: With its win April 1 over Los Angeles, the Rush has won six games in a row at Allstate Arena. The franchise record for consecutive home wins is eight, set during the final two home games of the 2001 season and the first six home games in 2002.
NOT ONLY WINNING, BUT WINNING BIG: Not only is the Rush winning its games, but it is doing so in convincing fashion. Chicago¡¦s six wins are by an average of 16.7 points. If you exclude the team¡¦s three-point win over San Jose in Week 2, its margin of victory jumps to 19.4 points.
TOUGH STRETCH BEGINS MONDAY NIGHT: This week¡¦s game against Philadelphia kicks off one of the toughest stretches of the team¡¦s season, as the Rush plays three games in 12 days, facing Philadelphia and Colorado at home on April 30 and May 7, before traveling to Dallas on May 11. Entering this week, Chicago¡¦s next three opponents have combined for a 16-7 record.
HOME FIELD DOMINATES IN SOUL SERIES: The Rush and Soul have played three times, with the home team winning each game and Philadelphia holding a 2-1 series lead. Below is a recap of the three games between the Rush and Soul:
April 9, 2006: Missed opportunities were the curse for the Rush as the Soul defeated Chicago 56-55 in overtime. Trailing 56-49 in OT, Rush Backup QB Michael Bishop entered the game on third-and-goal from the Soul 1-yard line and dove into the end zone to bring the Rush to within one-point. Rather than kick the tying extra point and continue to play in OT, the Rush opted to go for the win. However, Matt D¡¦Orazio¡¦s game-winning two-point conversion attempt was intercepted by Soul DB Eddie Moten in the end zone and the Soul held on for the victory.
The Rush had an opportunity to win the game in regulation, but kicker Keith Gispert missed a 48-yard field goal as time expired. Chicago also had several opportunities to go up by two scores in the second half, but failed to do so each time, turning the ball over twice on interceptions as well as missing a field goal in the third quarter.
February 6, 2005: Despite missing three defensive starters the Rush defeated the Philadelphia Soul 51-41 at Allstate Arena to notch its first win of the 2005 season. Rush QB Raymond Philyaw passed for four touchdowns and rushed for two more, and the defense held the Soul on two critical fourth-down plays to get the victory.
March 7, 2004: The Rush entered its Week 5 game at Philadelphia with a 4-0 record and was cruising to its fifth victory of the season before a second half collapse gave the Soul a 53-47 win at the Wachovia Center. The Rush led 27-14 with less than one-minute to play in the first half when Etu Molden intercepted a Nick Browder pass and appeared to have a clear path to the end zone. Soul receiver Ricky Ross hit Molden and forced a fumble before he could score, and the Soul regained possession. Three plays later the Soul scored to cut the Rush lead to 27-20 at the half. The Soul came out after the break and took control of the game, holding the Rush scoreless for 24 minutes, including the entire third quarter.
Here is a look at the Chicago-Philadelphia Series Results:
2004: Philadelphia 53, Chicago 47 (March 7 @ Philadelphia)
2005: Chicago 51, Philadelphia 41 (February 6 @ Chicago)
2006: Philadelphia 56, Rush 55 (OT) (April 9, @ Philadelphia)
FAMILIAR FACE: Philadelphia wide receiver Charles Pauley spent the 2005 season in Chicago. Pauley was a solid performer in his year with the Rush, catching 21 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns and recording 14 tackles before a broken arm cut short his season after only nine games.
NU CONNECTION: Soul lineman Dwayne Missouri played his college ball at Northwestern University from 1998-2000 and was a member of the Wildcats team that played Nebraska in the 2000 Alamo Bowl.
STOERNER NO STRANGER: Soul QB Clint Stoerner, who was signed to replace injured QB Tony Graziani, is no stranger to the Rush. As a rookie with Dallas in 2005, Stoerner¡¦s first career start came against Chicago, as he passed for 398 yards in Dallas¡¦ overtime victory. The 398 yards is the most-ever against the Rush defense.
Then, after being traded to Nashville for the 2006 season, Stoerner faced the Rush twice ¡V once in the regular season and again in the Wild Card round of the AFL playoffs ¡V losing both games.
He has passed for more than 300 yards against the Rush defense in two of his three games, one of only eight QBs to do so.
Rush opponent¡¦s 300-yard passing games:
Player Date Yards
Clint Stoerner 1/30/05 @ Dallas 398
Clint Stoerner 2/13/06 vs. Nashville 368
Mark Grieb 4/10/05 vs. San Jose 368
Clint Dolezel 5/1/05 vs. Las Vegas 355
Clint Dolezel 7/7/01 @ Grand Rapids 342
Aaron Garcia 3/23/03 vs. New York 339
Mark Grieb 3/9/07 vs. San Jose 327
Clint Dolezel 5/4/02 vs. Grand Rapids 321
Andy Kelly 3/20/05 vs. New Orleans 311
Clint Dolezel 3/29/03 @ Grand Rapids 317
Mark Grieb 6/3/06 @ San Jose * 314
Andy Kelly 3/28/04 vs. Detroit 306
Donnie Davis 5/18/02 vs. Georgia 304
Aaron Garcia 6/30/02 vs. New York 303
John Dutton 3/10/06 vs. Colorado 300
Chad Salisbury 5/13/06 @ Grand Rapids 300
* AFL playoffs
Here are Stoerner¡¦s career numbers against the Rush:
Comp Att Pct. Yds. TD Int Rating
78 132 59.1% 1,015 14 2 103.6
NO MORE SOUL: Rush lineman E.J. Burt spent the 2006 season with the Soul. In 16 games, Burt recorded 18.0 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Burt was a free agent after the season and signed with Chicago.
STRONG AFTER A BREAK: The Rush continued its tradition of coming off its bye week on a good note. Saturday¡¦s win over Grand Rapids was the team¡¦s fourth-consecutive win after a bye. Overall, the Rush is 4-1 after a week off with its only loss coming in its inaugural 2001 season, when the Rush opened the year with the bye and then lost its first game 45-44 at Oklahoma.
Here is a look at how the Rush has fared after a bye week:
Year Week After Bye
2001 L, 44-45 @ Oklahoma
2002 W, 60-47 vs. Dallas*
2004 W, 58-15 vs. Orlando
2005 W, 44-43 @ New York
2007 W, 75-54 @ Grand Rapids
* AFL Playoff game
OFFENSE ROLLING: After scoring just 41 points in its Week 1 loss at Kansas City, the Rush offense is averaging 61.8 points per game during its six-game winning streak.
TAKE THAT BALL: Chicago forced four more turnovers in its win in Grand Rapids, raising its league-leading total to 24. The Rush also leads the AFL in turnover margin at +12. The team record for takeaways in a season is 34, set in both 2002 and 2003.
OWNING THE DIVISION: In its history, the Rush has a 26-17 regular season record against the Central Division, and has won two Central Division titles ¡V 2002 and 2004. The Rush also is 2-1 in the postseason against its Central Division opponents.
HOME COOKIN¡¦: The Rush owns a 35-16 all-time record at Allstate Arena (including postseason). The team is 3-0 at home this year and was 5-3 at home last season.
TWICE AS NICE?: Chicago¡¦s goal for the 2007 season is simple: become the first AFL team in more than a decade to repeat as champions. In fact, only two teams in the 20-year history of the Arena Football League ¡V the Detroit Drive (1988-90) and the Tampa Bay Storm (1995-96) ¡V have been able to accomplish the feat of repeating. Interestingly, both Detroit and Tampa Bay were coached by Tim Marcum.
PLAYOFF CONSISTENCY: Chicago has never missed the playoffs, qualifying for the postseason in each of its six seasons. Orlando and San Jose are the only two AFL teams which also have made the playoffs in each of the last six seasons.
THE SIPPIO FACTOR: Since acquiring wide receiver Bobby Sippio late in the 2006 season, the Rush is 13-3, including last season¡¦s championship run.
NOT A BAD SEASON: Including last season¡¦s regular season and playoffs, wide receiver Bobby Sippio now has played 16 games in a Rush uniform ¡V the equivalent of a full AFL season. In those 16 games Sippio has caught 135 passes for 2,116 yards and 59 touchdowns.
SIPPIO ON RECORD PACE: Seven games into the season Bobby Sippio leads the league in touchdowns (32) and scoring (192 points) and is on-pace to shatter Damian Harrell¡¦s league records for both.
The AFL¡¦s Single Season Touchdown leaders
Player Season Team TDs
Bobby Sippio 2007 (projected) Chicago 73
Damian Harrell 2006 Colorado 61
Eddie Brown 1996 Albany 51
Barry Wagner 1997 Orlando 51
The AFL¡¦s Single Season Scoring Leaders
Player Season Team Points
Bobby Sippio 2007 (projected) Chicago 439
Damian Harrell 2006 Colorado 366
Barry Wagner 1997 Orlando 310
Eddie Brown 1996 Albany 308
HIGH FIVE: Rush receiver Bobby Sippio caught five more touchdown passes in the team¡¦s win at Grand Rapids. It is the fifth time this season and the seventh time in his Rush regular season career that he scored five or more TDs in a game. (Sippio also added a five-TD performance vs. San Jose in last season¡¦s American Conference Final.)
Since the start of the 2006 season nobody has as many five-TD games as Sippio.
SIPPIO LOVES ALLSTATE ARENA: Rush wide receiver Bobby Sippio can¡¦t explain it, but he loves playing at Allstate Arena. In his five home games as a member of the Rush, Sippio has caught 45 passes for 786 yards and 25 touchdowns, and twice set a Rush single-game record for touchdown receptions (6).
Sippio also played one game at Allstate Arena in 2004 as a member of the Dallas Desperados ¡V catching five passes for 119 yards and two TDs.
NICE DEBUT: Rookie wide receiver Rob Mager, signed just two days prior to the team¡¦s game in Grand Rapids had quite an AFL debut vs. the Rampage. Mager caught five passes for 53 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for six yards and two TDs in the win. Mager also threw a nice block that sprang Bobby Sippio for one of his long touchdowns.
Mager (6-3, 205, University of Indianapolis) comes to Chicago after spending the 2005 and 2006 seasons playing for the af2¡¦s Louisville Fire. In 2006, he was named the league¡¦s Offensive Player of the Year after catching 143 passes for 1,918 yards and 54 touchdowns.
BALL HAWK: Rush linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo, who always seems to be around the ball, was at it again in Grand Rapids, recording 3.5 tackles, forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass which he returned 14 yards for a touchdown.
Through seven games, Alfonzo ranks second on the team with 45.0 tackles. He has four interceptions ¡V two of which he has returned for TDs and has recovered four fumbles ¡V two of which he has returned for touchdowns. Alfonzo leads the AFL in fumble recoveries and is just two shy of tying the AFL record for fumbles recovered in a season.
SPEED RUSH: Rush lineman E.J. Burt continues to make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks. This season Burt has recorded 12.5 tackles, five sacks, four forced fumbles and two passes broken up in the team¡¦s seven games. Burt is tied for the league lead in forced fumbles and is tied for fourth in sacks. In addition, Rush linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo has recovered two of the fumbles for Rush touchdowns.
Last week in Grand Rapids, Burt¡¦s second quarter sack of Chad Salisbury on fourth down set up the Rush touchdown drive that gave Chicago its first lead of the game.
Just seven games into his fifth season, Burt already has recorded 33 career sacks, and has moved into 11th place in AFL history. He also has forced 19 fumbles in his career, good for fourth on the all-time list.
SACK MACHINES: The Rush has two players ¡V John Moyer and E.J. Burt ¡V who rank in the top 11 in AFL history in sacks. Moyer has 34.5 career sacks ¡V including 29.5 as a member of the Rush ¡V and currently is in ninth place on the AFL¡¦s all-time list for career sacks. His teammate E.J. Burt is just 1.5 sacks behind, in 11th place with 33. Moyer also is the team¡¦s all-time leader with 6.0 playoff sacks.
Here are Chicago¡¦s regular season & career sack leaders:
Player Season Player Career
John Moyer 10.0 (2004) John Moyer 29.5
John Moyer 9.0 (2003) James Baron 10.0
Khreem Smith 8.0 (2006) Khreem Smith 8.0
John Moyer 6.0 (2005) Anthony Hutch 6.5
Anthony Hutch 5.5 (2001) Jamie McGourty 5.5
E.J. Burt 5.0 (2007) Riley Kleinhesselink 5.0
John Moyer 4.0 (2002) E.J. Burt 5.0
James Baron 4.0 (2003) D.J. Bleisath 5.0
Tony Henderson 4.0 (2001) Bob McMillen 4.5
D.J. Bleisath 4.0 (2006) Tony Henderson 4.0
NEW LOOK OFFENSIVE LINE: The Rush offensive line has a very different look to it this year. Center Frank Moore, who had started 72 of 73 games since joining the Rush in 2003, had off-season surgery on his knee and opened the season on Injured Reserve, forcing veteran John Sikora to move to center. Sikora is flanked by two rookies ¡V Jason Thomas at guard and Robert Boss at tight end.
PROUD PAPPA: Rush QB Matt D¡¦Orazio became a father for the first time this week, as he and his wife, Nicole, welcomed a baby girl on Tuesday morning. Maria D¡¦Orazio measured 20-inches and weighed six pounds, nine ounces.
On the field, D¡¦Orazio continues to manage the Rush offense well, helping lead the Rush during its current six-game winning streak.
For the season, D¡¦Orazio has completed 133 of 207 passes for 1,612 yards and 38 touchdowns, while only throwing seven interceptions.
Earlier this year, the Rush rewarded D¡¦Orazio with a two-year contract extension through the 2009 season.
D¡¦ORAZIO vs. PHILLY: Matt D¡¦Orazio is 1-2 as a starter against Philadelphia (0-1 with Chicago and 1-1 with Columbus), passing for 795 yards and 13 touchdowns in his three games against the Soul.
Here are D¡¦Orazio¡¦s career numbers against Philadelphia:
Comp Att Pct. Yds. TD Int Rating
73 118 61.9% 795 13 4 95.1
SADLER¡¦S SPECIAL DAY: Rookie defensive back James Sadler had the best day of his young career last week in Grand Rapids. On defense Sadler recorded 4.0 tackles, recovered a fumble that helped start the Rush comeback and intercepted his first career pass.
WORKING ON HIS SECOND 100: Chicago Rush head coach Mike Hohensee is the third-winningest coach in AFL history with 112 career victories. He is one of four coaches in AFL history with 100 or more wins, joining Tampa Bay coach Tim Marcum, Utah coach Danny White and Colorado coach Mike Dailey in the 100-win club.
The only head coach in Rush history, Hohensee has guided Chicago to a 65-47 overall record and playoff appearances in each of the team¡¦s six seasons. In addition to winning ArenaBowl XX under Hohensee, the Rush has won two Central Division titles (2002, 2004) and advanced to the AFL semifinals four times (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006), including each of the past three seasons.
One of only four men to be involved in the Arena Football League in each of the league¡¦s 21 seasons, Hohensee:
ƨ has a regular season record of 101-86 (including a
57-42 mark with the Rush).
ƨ has a career 11-9 mark in the postseason.
ƨ has led the Rush to six-consecutive playoff berths and two Central Division titles (2002 and 2004).
ƨ is 1-2 all-time vs. Philadelphia and 0-1 vs. Brett Munsey
All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason
Coach Team Wins This Week
Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 180 vs. Columbus
Danny White Utah 153 @ San Jose
Mike Hohensee Rush 112 vs. Philadelphia
Mike Dailey Colorado 104 @ Kansas City
Darren Arbet San Jose 96 vs. Utah
MR. RELIABLE, DAN FRANTZ: Kicker Dan Frantz is having the best season of any kicker in Rush history. Through seven games Frantz has converted 50 of 55 PAT attempts (91%) and six of 12 field goal attempts goals ¡V including a team record 56-yarder vs. San Jose.
He also is making a habit of booting a field goal on the final play of the first half. So far this season, Frantz has kicked a field goal on the final play of the half three times. Dating back to last season, Frantz has converted a kick eight times in the team¡¦s last 13 games (including last year¡¦s postseason).
Frantz ranks fifth in the league in scoring among kickers with 73 points and is tied for seventh in field goals made with six.
CHASING 1,500: Rush FB Bob McMillen gained 11 more yards last week at Grand Rapids, giving him 41 for the season and 1,458 for his career.
McMillen, who announced he is retiring at the end of the 2007 season, is the AFL¡¦s second all-time leading rusher and needs just 42 yards to become only the second player in AFL history to rush for 1,500 career yards.
Last year, as part of the league¡¦s celebration of its 20th season, McMillen was named one of the AFL¡¦s 20 Greatest Players of all-time. Now in his 13th season, he ranks second on the AFL¡¦s all-time rushing list, second all-time in rushing attempts and fourth in rushing touchdowns. He is one of only two players (Darrin Kenney) who has won ArenaBowl championships with three different teams (1997 with Arizona, 2002 with San Jose and 2006 with Chicago).
The AFL¡¦s All-Time Rushing Yards list
Player Seasons Team Yards
Bo Kelly 1996-present Arizona 1,511
Bob McMillen 1995-present Chicago 1,458
Les Barley 1992-2001 ¡X 1,382
Chad Dukes 1996-98, 2002, 2004-07 Austin 1,271
The AFL¡¦s All-Time Rushing Attempts list
Player Seasons Team Attempts
Bo Kelly 1996-present Arizona 517
Bob McMillen 1995-present Chicago 465
Andre Bowden 1991-2004 ¡X 438
Les Barley 1992-2001 ¡X 425
The AFL¡¦s All-Time Rushing Touchdowns list
Player Seasons Team Rushing TDs
Barry Wagner 1992-2006 ¡X 127
Andre Bowden 1991-2004 ¡X 93
Bo Kelly 1996-present Arizona 85
Bob McMillen 1995-present Chicago 82
Chris Ryan 2000-2007 Grand Rapids 76
MICHNA MAKES HIS DEBUT: Rush backup QB Russ Michna made his AFL debut in the fourth quarter of the team¡¦s April 1 win over LA. On his first career pass attempt, Michna hooked up with Bobby Sippio for a 34-yard completion down to the LA 3-yard line. Two plays later, Michna dove into the end zone from the 1-yard line for his first career touchdown. The game was Michna¡¦s only action this season.
McCULLOUGH ADJUSTING: When an ankle injury suffered Week 1 in Kansas City landed Buchie Ibeh on Injured Reserve, the Rush needed to add a receiver. Prior to the team¡¦s game against San Jose in Week 2, the Rush signed free agent Andy McCullough to fill the opening.
A member of the league¡¦s All-Rookie team in 2002 with Dallas, McCullough spent the past two seasons playing for John Elway¡¦s Colorado Crush, catching 163 passes for 1,833 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was released by Colorado for salary cap reasons at the end of camp.
McCullough might best be remembered by Rush fans as the Crush player who caught the game-winning touchdown in overtime of the ¡§Confetti Bowl¡¨ ¡V the 2005 American Conference Championship game between Chicago and Colorado.
In his first five seasons, McCullough played in 74 games, catching 381 passes for 4,336 yards and 82 touchdowns.
In six games in a Rush uniform, McCullough has caught 34 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns.
MOYER TO MAC: With linebacker D.J. Bleisath nursing an ankle injury sustained in Week 1 at Kansas City, the Rush turned to veteran lineman John Moyer to play the Mac linebacker position. Moyer has played the position so well, that his move to linebacker has become a permanent one.
This season Moyer has recorded 14.5 tackles, including three TFLs, broken up two passes and recovered a fumble, not to mention providing constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
DON¡¦T FORGET MOYER ON OFFENSE: With the changes to the substitution rules this year, lineman John Moyer has found himself playing mostly defense this season. However, Moyer has taken some snaps on offense the past few games, and on April 1 vs. Los Angeles, caught his first touchdown pass of the year. Dating back to the start of the 2005 season, Moyer has caught 13 passes, 10 of which have gone for touchdowns.
PETERS GETS AN OPPORTUNITY: With the move of lineman John Moyer to linebacker, the door was opened for Joe Peters to start on the defensive line. Peters, in his second season with the Rush, has made the most of his opportunity, recording 12.5 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a pass broken up. He also placed a hit on New York QB Rohan Davey March 18 that led to a Rush interception.
LAST LINE OF DEFENSE: The Rush starting secondary of Jeremy Unertl, Dennison Robinson and Jonathan Ordway might be the strongest in the team¡¦s history. In seven games, the trio has combined for 110 tackles, seven interceptions and 26 passes broken up. Add rookie James Sadler to the mix and you get 128 tackles, eight interceptions and 27 PBUs.
As a unit ¡V working in conjunction with the great pressure the Rush line continues to put on opposing quarterbacks ¡V the secondary looks like it is on its way to being considered one of the AFL¡¦s best. Through seven games the Rush ranks second in the league in pass defense and second in scoring defense, giving up just 46.4 points per game.
Last season Unertl and Robinson were the team¡¦s two top tacklers, combining for 145.5 tackles to go along with 13 interceptions and 21 PBUs.
Ordway, who spent the first four years of his AFL career with the Tampa Bay Storm, had signed in the off-season with the Grand Rapids Rampage, but was released at the end of training camp.
Prior to coming to Chicago, Ordway played in 45 games, recording 226.5 tackles, seven interceptions and 69 passes broken up. He was the Storm¡¦s leading tackler in 2006 and finished tied for fourth in the league with 19 passes broken up.
2007 RUSH BY THE NUMBERS: Here is a breakdown of the 2007 Rush:
Site: Home 3-0 Road 3-1
Time: Day 2-1 Night 4-0
Opponents: vs. American Conf. 4-1
vs. Central 2-1
vs. West 2-0
vs. National Conf. 2-0
vs. East 2-0
vs. South 0-0
TALE OF THE TAPE ¡V Regular Season Numbers
Chicago
Category Philadelphia
7 Games 7
58.9 (6) Scoring Offense 54.1 (8)
46.4 (2) Scoring Defense 47.0 (3)
248.6 (18) Total Offense 275.4 (15)
273.6 (3) Total Defense 305.0 (14)
29-34 85.3% Red Zone Offense 19-23, 82.6%
29-35 82.9% Red Zone Defense 27-32, 84.4%
229.0 (18) Pass Offense 258.1 (14)
243.9 (2) Pass Defense 288.6 (15)
19.6 (10) Rushing Offense 17.3 (12)
29.7 (18) Rushing Defense 16.4 (7)
412 Scoring 379
68 (5) Scoring (Kicking) 59 (14)
34-604-2 Kickoff Returns 39-731-1
17.8 (8) Kick Return Average 18.7 (6)
3-84-0 Missed Field Goal Returns 3-64-1
28.0 (1) Missed FG Return Avg. 21.3 (5)
+12 (1) Turnover Margin +4 (7)
6-12, 50.0 Field Goals 4-8, 50.0%
50-55, 90.9% PAT Kicking 47-52, 90.4%
8-46 (10) Sacks By 8-51 (8)
15-45 (17) Sacks Against 4-17 (6)
18-39, 46.1% Third Down Conversion 26-45, 57.8%
6-8, 75.0% Fourth Down Conversion 2-8, 25.0%
55-309 (6) Penalties (#-Yards) 60-340 (9)
63-393 (5) Opp. Penalties (#-Yards) 55-306 (14)
INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE LEADERS: The following Rush players rank among the 2007 AFL league leaders:
Matt D¡¦Orazio: quarterback rating (8th ¡V 113.6)
DeJuan Alfonzo: interceptions (T-6th ¡V 4), tackles (T-8th ¡V 41.5), special teams tackles (T-7th ¡V 8.0), fumble recoveries (1st ¡V 4)
Dennison Robinson: tackles (6th ¡V 51), passes defensed (T-10th ¡V 10)
Bobby Sippio: scoring (1st ¡V 192 points), touchdowns (1st ¡V 27), receptions (T-4th ¡V 64), receiving yards (3rd ¡V 1,010), third-down receiving (T-1st ¡V 12 receptions for 165 yards and 9 TDs), first downs (4th ¡V 53)
Dan Frantz: touchbacks on kickoffs (T-4th ¡V 18), scoring (5th ¡V 68 points)
Jonathan Ordway: passes defensed (9th ¡V 11)
Jeremy Unertl: passes defensed (T-5th ¡V 12)
EJ Burt: sacks (T-4th ¡V 5), forced fumbles (T-1st ¡V 4)
INJURY REPORT: The following players appeared on this week¡¦s injury report to the AFL:
Injured Reserve ¡V Frank Moore (knee), Demetrios Walker (hamstring), Kevin Beard (Knee), Russell Shaw (ankle), Carl Ford (left hip flexor)
RUSH GAME AWARD WINNERS: The following Rush players won individual game awards for their play this season:
Offensive Player of the Game:
Bobby Sippio ¡V 3/9 vs. San Jose, 3/18 vs. New York, 4/1 vs. Los Angeles, 4/7 @ Nashville, 4/21 @ Grand Rapids
Matt D¡¦Orazio ¡V 3/24 @ Columbus
ADT Defensive Player of the Game:
Jeremy Unertl ¡V 3/9 vs. San Jose
EJ Burt ¡V 3/18 vs. New York
DeJuan Alfonzo ¡V 3/24 @ Columbus, 4/7 @ Nashville
Curtis Eason ¡V 4/1 vs. Los Angeles
James Sadler ¡V 4/21 @ Grand Rapids
Ironman of the Game:
Jonathan Ordway ¡V 4/7 @ Nashville
AFL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS: The following Rush players won AFL weekly awards for their play this season:
Offensive Player of the Week:
Bobby Sippio ¡V Week 5 (4/1 vs. Los Angeles)
ADT Defensive Player of the Week:
DeJuan Alfonzo ¡V Week 3 (3/18 vs. New York)
AFL MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS: The following Rush players won AFL monthly awards for their play this season:
ADT Defensive Player of the Month:
E.J. Burt ¡V March
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- Philadelphia Soul game notes - AFL I
- Nashville's Alexander, Colorado's Floyd, And Austin's Wright Earn Week Eight Honors - AFL I
- Week Eight Total Attendance Ranks Fifth All Time - AFL I
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- Colorado Crush game notes - Colorado Crush
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