Fort Wayne Freedom

Fusion beats Cincinnati

I'm not sure I'd call Fort Wayne's 47-25 victory convincing necessarily (let's keep in mind Cincinnati is the league's worst team), but especially at this point, any victory is a good one.
I wrote about quarterback Blayne Baggett in my story for Sunday's paper, so let's talk about the defense here.
Yes, the Jungle Kats had a new quarterback playing and he looked really bad at times, but I thought the Fusion defense was pretty solid most of the night.
I liked that they mixed up their guys in the secondary - Morris Virgil, Nate Williams, Arthur Berlanga and Derrick Simmons. Virgil had two interceptions and knocked down four passes. Williams knocked down three passes. Berlanga had 4.5 tackles, and Simmons had 4. 
The front guys actually got some pressure, certainly keyed by A.J. Lindsay's return to the team. He was credited with one sack, and linebacker Tyus Jackson had two sacks and smoked Cincy quarterback Patrick Josten on the blitz several times.
Derek Brown also was solid, typical, and had a team-high seven tackles.
So a great showing by the defense, though certainly the caliber of opponent wasn't top notch.
Let's see how they do next week against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.   

• I had a nice conversation with Virgil after the game and will have more from that in a story for Monday's paper. Along with the two interceptions, he provided a big spark on kickoff returns tonight in only his second game with the team -- and second arena game. I liked his energy afterward, too. He seemed super excited to be playing, and that enthusiasm can only help this team down the stretch.
• The announced attendance was 3,828. I don't put those numbers in my game stories anymore because they're so inaccurate. And that's not a knock on the Fusion. It's rare to find an accurate estimate for any of the sports around town. I wouldn't be surprised if the turnstile count once again hits a season low. It's been a pretty steady decline for the season. The last home game, it was 2,315.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Third quarter update

Neither team scored in the third quarter, so Fort Wayne still leads 24-19.

• Blayne Baggett re-entered the game at quarterback for the Fusion on its second series of the quarter. Joe Micco, whose touchdown pass late in the first half gave Fort Wayne the lead, went four-and-out on his first series in the third quarter. Baggett came back in and moved the offense 15 yards before it had to attempt a long field goal.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Halftime update

Fort Wayne scored a touchdown with 9 seconds left in the half to take a 24-19 lead -- and it was thrown by backup quarterback Joe Micco.
Starter Blayne Baggett got yanked earlier in the quarter after throwing an interception. As soon as he threw it, I was watching him and coach Eddie Brown closely on the sidelines. Baggett headed straight for the tunnel and appeared ready to get some kind of spray on his hand. Brown said something brief to Baggett -- I'm guessing something along the lines of "You're done" -- and Baggett appeared to say the ball slipped out of his hands. Brown obviously didn't care.
Micco was in the next series. He had great field position after Morris Virgil returned the kickoff about 30 yards, setting up the Fusion at Cincinnati's 17-yard line. Micco threw an incompletion on his first pass in the end zone, but then he hit Mario Pratcher for a short completion. He followed with an 18-yard touchdown to Jonathan Graham in the back of the end zone.
Besides the interception, Baggett also lost a fumble in the end zone that Cincinnati recovered for a touchdown. He also didn't look very sharp throwing the ball, often being late on passes. He didn't have great protection -- Lou Vega has been so-so at tight end -- but even when protection was solid, Baggett seemed to be a bit hesitant.
Baggett completed 7 of 19 passes for 78 yards and threw two touchdowns. Micco completed two of his four passes for 22 yards and a touchdown.

• Maybe Aaron Marshall didn't lead Cincy to any victories, but he certainly can't be any worse than the quarterback they have playing tonight, Patrick Josten. Josten has looked really bad on the majority of his throws -- as in not even in the vicinity of his receivers. And yet, he stood in the pocket and took a big-time hit by Tyus Jackson and delivered perhaps his best ball of the half for a touchdown.
• Virgil, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown last week, has really given the team a spark. He's been steady fielding balls off the net, and he's exciting to watch once the ball is in his hands. On one return, he stopped in his tracks to avoid a defender near the sideline and followed that by ducking under another charging defensive player. Pretty shifty and speedy guy.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

First quarter update

Fort Wayne leads 10-7 after the first quarter. The Fusion just gave the ball back to Cincinnati on downs when Eddie Brown opted to go for it on fourth-and-8 from his own 22. Blayne Baggett threw an incompletion in the end zone -- not even close -- on that play.
Baggett has a touchdown pass to Cesare Manning for the touchdown, and Kyle Hooper drilled a 46-yard field goal.
Baggett also fumbled the ball in the end zone. Cincinnati recovered for a touchdown and missed the extra point.

• Wow, this "crowd" is pathetic. I'm admittedly not great at estimates, but maybe 1,500? I can't imagine what it will be next week against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, although maybe people will come to see the best team in the league for that one.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Pre-game against Cincinnati

This is always the interesting part to home games -- getting here early and seeing who is active.
The biggest surprise, Sunungura Rusununguko is not only not in uniform, he's not even on the team anymore. I had spoken with Rusununguko after Wednesday's practice after he had been playing with the first team offense at fullback. So when I saw Rusununguko wasn't on the active roster tonight, I was shocked. I was told he was cut, possibly for not showing up to walkthrough Friday. I'll chat with Eddie Brown after the game to find out what happened.
At the practice I went to this week, receiver Jermaine Jackson didn't practice with the first team offense then. He's not playing tonight. Cesare Manning, Mario Pratcher and Jonathan Graham are active. Jackson didn't appear to be hurt on Wednesday.
Barry Drakeford isn't back in the secondary -- he missed last week with a knee injury -- so it will be safety Nate Williams with corners Arthur Berlanga, Derrick Simmons and Morris Virgil. One will be a backup.

• When I was asking Rusununguko earlier this week about playing Cincinnati and the blowout from that road game, he stopped me short. "That's cuz it was on the road. I heard the Freedom didn't win any away games either. I say it's the Fort Wayne curse," he said, laughing. "We come home, and we'll beat anybody. On the road, I don't know what it is."
• Check back throughout the game for updates.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Notes from Wednesday

I was looking forward to seeing Aaron Marshall come back and play against the Fusion this weekend, but it sounds like that may not develop.
Fusion coach Eddie Brown said after Wednesday's practice that he heard Marshall has a broken hand and will miss the game. I had asked Cincinnati's media rep earlier in the week about getting an interview with Marshall, but it was denied. Maybe that was why.
Marshall started the season in Fort Wayne and got one start. But after not performing up to Brown's standards in that game -- against Manchester April 21 -- Brown cut Marshall. Marshall didn't like the decision, apparently, and Brown admitted there was an argument. Despite some rumors, Brown denied any punches were thrown.
Marshall was at the game in Cincinnati, but he wasn't in uniform. He talked to a couple of the Fort Wayne players after the game.
In six games with the Jungle Kats, Marshall completed 46 percent of his passes, threw for 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He averaged about 190 passing yards per game.

• Jermaine Jackson wasn't working with the first-team receivers Wednesday. Instead, Cesare Manning, Mario Pratcher and Jonathan Graham got work with starting quarterback Blayne Baggett.
• Linebacker Derek Brown was sporting a faux hawk. Makes him seem a bit more menacing, I guess.
• The office isn't moving. General manager Mike McCaffrey said he and Jim Fitzpatrick, a minority owner, found a new location last week. When Victor Shiriaev, who owns the building on 702 W. Coliseum, found out, he approached McCaffrey. They renegotiated to keep the Fusion in the same place. The team will just occupy less space, keeping its part in Suite B, which was upstairs. If you've called the office, you've noticed the phones are disconnected. McCaffrey said that is his fault -- he "jumped the gun" in an effort to have the service ready at the new space. McCaffrey said he expects the number to be working again by Thursday.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Fusion long for consistent kick returner

Since kick returner R.J. Harvey went down with a season-ending injury in Game.4, Fusion coach Eddie Brown has been scrambling to find a player to assume the role.

The search continues, nearly eight weeks later.

Brown has brought players in specifically for the role (Reginald Ferguson, Roderick Warren, Terrel White) and has used players who started at receiver (Tyrone Walker, Cesare Manning). None has shown the burst or big-play ability of Harvey, who ruptured the patellar tendon in his knee when it got caught in the turf and twisted at Manchester.

In all, 10 players officially are listed as returning at least one kick for Fort Wayne this season. Harvey averaged 26.6 yards per return, which still ranks as the best in the af2, and brought two back for touchdowns. Walker’s 18.7 average on 15 returns is the second-best on the team, but he’s no longer an option after separating a shoulder.

Brown said he is looking for one thing right now in a returner: consistency.

“The one thing I know when R.J. was back there, we never lost the ball off the net at all,” Brown said. “He was sure-handed back there. He knew how to play the net and did a great job back there. I said a long time ago, if any position (where there was an injury) would really catch up with us, I thought that one would be it.”

Rarely do players get a chance to practice fielding kicks off the net, which may be a factor as to why they’ve struggled. Fort Wayne spends most of its practice time at The Dome, which doesn’t have field goal nets. So typically the only practice comes during pre-game work at the Coliseum or opposing arenas. The Fusion will be back in the Coliseum next week before it plays Cincinnati next Saturday.

Maybe that will help solve some of the fumble problems.

Against Cincinnati on May 5, Fort Wayne botched a return just before half that was recovered by the Jungle Kats, who scored in the final seconds in an eventual victory. Two weeks later against Louisville, Manning missed one off the net, but teammate Mario Pratcher pounced on it. At Albany, Manning fumbled a kick in the end zone, and Albany recovered for a touchdown. Walker lost a fumble against Quad City, and Warren had his share of bobbles last week.

Brown said he’s opting to go with a “tandem approach” lately, depending on the situation. He thinks Manning is a good bet for ball security, but he may opt for someone with more speed if a big return is needed. Brown didn’t know Thursday who would handle return duties against Green Bay.

“We’re working on it,” Brown said. “I think at one time guys were trying to do too much. Now it’s just make sure we get the ball. Does it make play calling a little more difficult? Yes, it does. But having the football and being able to put that pressure on me as opposed to the kid trying to do something out of character, we just switched the focus to just securing the football and then we’ll go from there.”

Fusion lose at Green Bay

Can we finally stop talking about the playoffs now?
I understand that Green Bay's defense is good. I understand the Blizzard hadn't lost at home this season. But the Fusion supposedly was coming off one of its best weeks of practice and supposedly understood how important this final five-game stretch was. It could ill-afford to lose more than one the rest of the way, and that figured to be against undefeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a couple weeks.
So one would expect an inspired effort.
Instead, the Fusion delivered another awful performance on the road in a 54-28 loss. With it, Fort Wayne dropped to 4-8. Green Bay improved to 6-5 in a huge game in the Midwest Division, especially considering division leader Quad City lost to drop to 7-4.
With quarterback Blayne Baggett in his third week, I figured the offense would get better. It sounds like he was under pressure most of the night, so I suppose it's hard to judge how much heat he should take for the offense's performance. But he did throw three interceptions, a statistic that quickly is climbing. That gives him seven already this season. Only seeing him play once, I don't know what needs to change. Maybe he's not making the right reads. Maybe he's making poor throws. Maybe he's trying to do too much. Whatever it is, he has to fix it now. Although it may be too late.
An offense that only scores one touchdown with its starting quarterback? How do you explain that for the 12th game of the season?

• Green Bay's offense entered the game as one of the league's worst, ranking 27th out of 30 teams in scoring offense and total offense. But the Blizzard tied its season-high point total against the Fusion. I counted five touchdowns against Fort Wayne with its starting safety Nate Williams out of the game. Without Williams, the secondary had three players who had never played together in a game (Derrick Simmons, Morris Virgil and Arthur Berlanga). Perhaps that contributed to Green Bay's outburst?
• Joe Micco relieved Baggett in the fourth quarter and threw two touchdown passes, one coming in the final 40 seconds.
• Linebacker Derek Brown played receiver late in the fourth quarter. I've never seen him play that position in practice. But perhaps it was a way for coach Eddie Brown to appease Derek Brown, who is from Wisconsin and had a nice contingent of fans at the game, according to radio broadcaster Dean Jackson.
• How often did Jackson mention shoving and words being exchanged between players? A lot. I'd guess that's frustration from the Fusion, which I understand. But not if Eddie Brown is your coach. He will rip players for it, no doubt.
• For those of you don't get our first edition, I will post my story on kick returning in a blog Saturday.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Third-quarter update against Green Bay

Green Bay extended its lead to 35-14 by the end of the third quarter with a pair of touchdown passes.

• Does one big return make Morris Virgil the man? We'll see. He had Fort Wayne's third kickoff return for a touchdown this season in the third quarter.
• Nate Williams wasn't in the game at least midway through the quarter. Virgil apparently was playing the secondary in Williams' place. Virgil played safety at Illinois. 
• On a random note, Dean Jackson has had a color commentator of sorts for the last couple quarters -- the founder of www.oursportscentral.com who was a halftime guest -- and it's a nice mix.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Halftime update against Green Bay

Green Bay leads 21-7 at halftime and will get the ball to start the second half.
The Blizzard has one of the league's best defenses, but the Fusion offense isn't helping itself. Quarterback Blayne Baggett has thrown two interceptions, and the team has fumbled at least four times, losing one. Kicker Kyle Hooper has missed two field goals.
For a team that so desperately needs a victory, Fort Wayne doesn't sound like it is very focused. At least on the offensive side of the ball.
The defense allowed two touchdowns -- Green Bay also scored on special teams -- on what sounded like a pair of blown coverages. Perhaps that's attributed to another new player in the secondary this week.

• For late games, sometimes I write a story for first edition in case we don't get the game results in time. I did that this week and talked about kick returning. Eddie Brown said he was looking for "consistency" from that position. But the Fusion had trouble again tonight, apparently being confused when the ball bounced at the 3-yard line and no one went for it. Green Bay recovered it for a touchdown. Radio broadcaster Dean Jackson didn't say who was back to return on that kick, but Morris Virgil was back on the next one. Virgil, a guy who just added, had trouble on that one. I doubt he got much practice leading up to the game, so can we expect anything less?

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette