Fort Wayne Freedom

No practice? No problem. Freedom wins again.

Details are sketchy as to why, but the Fort Wayne Freedom didn't have an on-field practice last week. It didn't matter. The Freedom went on the road and defeated the Chesapeake Tide 37-31 on Saturday night, giving Fort Wayne its first road victory of the season and its second two-game winning streak.

And don't look now, the Freedom's playoff hopes are still alive. It essentially needs to win next week at Kalamazoo, Mich. -- and that's a pretty tall order -- while also getting some help from either Muskegon or Rock River.

"We've just got to keep winning games and everything else will take care of itself," said Freedom coach Matt Land, who is 2-1 since taking over for the fired Willie Davis.

Kind of makes you wonder why the Freedom didn't make this move sooner.

The Freedom wasn't good in the first half, Land said, and the game was tied at 22. Then came a safety, then a Rockey Harvey touchdown, then a victory that brought Fort Wayne's record to 5-6.

The Tide dropped to 1-10.

"We just played a very, very poor first half," Land said. "I told them (before the game), 'On the road, you're not going to get any favors and if you don't play well out of the gate, you're going to keep a team with you.' That's what happened.

"We had a talk at halftime and they decided to play Freedom football and we didn't look back."

The relevant tiebreaker with Muskegon and Rock River, who were both 5-5 heading into this weekend, is winning percentage against common opponent. It could change, but Fort Wayne has the edge on Rock River but not Muskegon.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Confidence is (brace yourselves) high

Stacy is out and about again, so I'm kidnapping her keyboard to report that confidence is high.

I repeat confidence is high.

After the Freedom's 42-38 victory over Muskegon last weekend, Fort Wayne (4-6) is clinging to its playoff hopes and relishing some rare improvement in what has been a season of repeated catastrophes.

"I think we need to finish (better), no doubt there," coach Matt Land said, referring to the Freedom's allowance of 14 points in the final 44 seconds, in his second game since taking over as interim coach.

But?

"But, we've got some practices in now and we played way better than we did in Game 1," Land said. "(Quarterback Eric) Hooks looks better and he understands things a bit better. We have a lot more confidence."

Confidence, however, can be a tricky thing. When you sit on the bus for 12 hours, as the Freedom will have to do Friday, it can be shaken. When you find out starting offensive tackle Brandon Hurd is going to be gone for the rest of the season, as is also the case, that can thwart your psyche, too.

Hurd is going back to Texas to strut his stuff at some sort of impromptu pro day. So who will fill the void? The same guys who did in the loss to Chicago two weeks ago -- Randal Guzman and Alf Fertil -- and sources have told me they were spotty at best in that game, when Hurd was injured. I expect Guzman and Fertil to get some serious tutelage at Thursday's practice. Hooks must be protected to be productive, after all.

"The thing about this league, is you have to be coaches to play in more than one spot," Land said.

Asked if he's shouting into his players' ears that a playoff berth is within reach, Land told me not to get ahead of myself.

"The best thing for us to do is concentrate on playing well this week," he said, adding the Freedom is still installing the Land offense before Saturday's game against Chespeake (1-9).

The Freedom needs, basically, to win out and get some losses out of Rock River (5-5) and/or Muskegon (5-5).

By the way, having covered dozens upon dozens of hockey games at Wings Stadium, I find it hard to believe the reference to Kalamazoo being "the center of the football world," however, check this site for information on Operation Gridiron Airlift, a cool idea in which fans donate footballs to be sent to troops overseas. So, bring your pigskin and make the 115-mile trip up for the regular-season finale.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Fort Wayne hangs on, beats Muskegon

Maurice Terrell, a defensive end, said players started getting tired.
But starting linebacker Bam Carter seemed to think the Freedom's dismal final minute of defense was more about players letting up than feeling fatigued.
Fort Wayne still won 42-38 Saturday night. But the defense allowed 14 points in the final 44 seconds was not the kind of ending the unit wanted.
"We played good, but we just have little mistakes," Carter said. "We've just got to finish. I think we got too lax when we got the lead."
Until the late collapse, the defense was on pace for its finest outing of the season.
Through 59 minutes, Fort Wayne allowed only 24 points. The previous season low for a game was 34. But the Freedom saw that slip away quickly.
Defensive back Hyman Smith appeared to lose his assignment, receiver Richard Gills, in the back of the end zone with about 50 seconds left. Gills caught a touchdown pass.
After Muskegon recovered an onsides kick, it scored again in six plays. On first-and-goal from the 7, defensive back Ronnie McCrae leaped to tip a pass only to turn and see it fall into the waiting arms of Muskegon's Preston Garris.
"Everybody is doing everything, defense, special teams, and sometimes it wears down on the body," Terrell said.

• Eric Hooks looked sharp at quarterback. He directed the offense on five of its six scoring drives. But it may be one of the non-scoring series that haunts coach Matt Land. The Freedom started with great field position (Muskegon's 20-yard line) after Adrian Reese returned the kickoff about 30 yards. Fort Wayne moved to Muskegon's 10-yard line with about 5 minutes to play but couldn't punch it in on four plays. The final two of the drive had Hooks' passes deflected. "That (fourth) was a big down," Land said. "We can't give plays away. We made some mistakes on that drive, and you can't do that in this game. It's too fast."

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Third quarter update vs. Muskegon

Fort Wayne keeps piling it on, scoring on both of its possessions in the third quarter to make it six consecutive series with a TD, and leads 42-18 after the third quarter.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

First quarter update vs. Muskegon

Fort Wayne scored a touchdown with 42 seconds left in the first quarter and led 7-6 entering the second.
Quarterback Eric Hooks ran in from 2 yards out on the team's fifth play from inside the 5-yard line. Justin Hoover added the extra point.

• Before the game, the team's award winners were announced. Receiver Luther Stroder was team MVP. Running back Rocky Harvey got offensive player of the year. Defensive end Shonn Bell was defensive player of the year.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Pre-game vs. Muskegon

Just got the 21-man active roster, and there aren't any surprises in terms of players who are active.
One thing to note, though, is new head coach Matt Land is opting to have only two true receivers (Adrian Reese, Luther Stroder) on the roster. That was the case last week as well. Hyman Smith is listed as a WR/DB on the roster.
Tackle Brandon Hurd is back active this week after missing last week with a lower back injury. That should help quarterback Eric Hooks, who didn't get great protection last week with Randall Guzman filling in.

• Craig Plaster is on Muskegon's roster. He was with the Freedom much of the season, playing defensive end and acting as the team's long snapper.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Time warp into Freedom Land

As a matter of forewarning, I hadn't been out to a Freedom practice in a few years. (Stacy is out of town tending to a personal matter, so I'm in from Komet land to blog.) And it felt like some sort of time warp out at The Dome.

There was Matt Land, coaching the team again. There was Mike Quick, working with the secondary. Luther Stroder? Rocky Harvey? Alf Fertil?

Whoa, it was like walking into 2005 again, only I had less hair. It was weird to seem them all there again and from what I've read and heard, weird for them to speak positively about things.

"I'm excited," said Land, who took over after Willie Davis was fired on game day last Saturday. "I really enjoy this game and Fort Wayne football and the fans."

Land, who guided the Freedom to a 14-2 record in 2005, pledged to break the bad habits, to give the Memorial Coliseum fans a show Saturday against Muskegon. They certainly deserve one, having stomached a season that's seen a change in ownership, a change in coaches, players quitting and a 3-6 record.

Land has been working the phones, talking with players interested in the new regime.

"You've got some decisions to make," I overheard him tell one on the phone. "I'm not going to make you any promises; I haven't seen you play yet."

Yeah, nothing like a swift kick in the bluetooth.

Land, who is back only on an interim basis, spent a lot of practice trying to improve the techniques of quarterback Eric Hooks and the receivers.

OK, it wasn't the most structured workout I've ever seen -- Land is still going off the one-sheet or handwritten plays he scribbled together before Saturday's 38-26 loss to Chicago -- but it's baby-steps right now and you can't expect much more than that.

"The plays worked out pretty well," Land said. "Hooks was a little off in the first half, for obvious reasons. We put (the system) into place on the bus and practiced it for 15 minutes during pre-game (warm-ups). It was to be expected. In the second half, he settled down, got more comfortable and played pretty well."

The Freedom has some confidence believing they gave Chicago fits last week. There's also a light-hearted feel, Land being good at joking around with a crew whose names he still doesn't fully know, while delivering solid fundamental wisdom, too.

Is it too late for this team? Maybe. They have to win at least two of their last three games to have a legitimate chance at the playoffs and two of those games are against top-notch teams Muskegon and Kalamazoo.

But the Freedom's going to have some fun trying. It'd be a lot more fun if they could win a couple.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Fort Wayne loses at Chicago

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Matt Land's first game back as the Freedom's head coach: in-game adjustments.
The Freedom may have lost, 41-33, Saturday, but there's reason for optimism for the final three games with Land back at offensive coordinator.
Despite getting essentially only 15 minutes of prep time to install an offense, the team had a chance to tie the game late.
"See what the defense does and adjusting to it was much more prevalent (Saturday)," quarterback Eric Hooks said. "Really just feeling like during the game instead of just getting encouragement, we got coaching. Instead of 'C'mon guys, let's go, pick it up,' we got, 'This is what you need to do when this happens. See this, do this.' "
With the quick turnaround, it wasn't surprising to see the offense struggle a bit, especially early.
Hooks admitted there were points where he wasn't sure where his teammates were going to be, and the timing was off. He also hadn't played since Game 4 of the season, so that could have factored in.
"I think it will be (OK) because most of our starting skill guys have played under coach Land, so they know the system," Hooks said. "It's a similar system that I played at Saint Francis because Land learned it from coach (Kevin) Donley. I think it's going to be a smooth adjustment, and I think you saw a little bit of that (Saturday). It's just really getting used to the timing, especially me getting back used to game speed."

• All Land expected out of the players Saturday night was for them to play hard, and he thought they did that. "Really (Saturday) was us getting to know each other, seeing if I could get the effort out of them and letting them know it's going to be OK," he said. "I think we crossed a lot of bridges (Saturday) on a positive note. While losing is never good, it could have been a lot worse."
• Here's hoping Land runs his practices more structured than Davis. It's clear some individuals need work, and there's always the issue of practicing at game speed, which didn't happen often under Davis.
• Land said the team will practice twice next week. The first order of business: shoring up special teams. Chicago's Robert Height had three returns for 86 yards Saturday, and the Slaughter often had good field position.
• Fort Wayne's defense was good again. Shonn Bell and Maurice Terrell really wreck havoc from the end spots, getting consistent pressure on the quarterback.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Third quarter update at Chicago

Chicago scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and took a 38-26 lead into the fourth.
Fort Wayne's Eric Hooks had a touchdown pass to Luther Stroder to cut the lead to 31-26. But the Freedom allowed a deep kickoff return on the ensuing kickoff -- though that was boosted by a fumble that bounced right to Chicago. The Slaughter needed only two plays to go 9 yards for a touchdown.

• After Fort Wayne's touchdown, Hoover missed another extra point, his second of the game. That makes it at least three games this season that he has missed two extra points. I know there have been different holders and snappers at points, but Hooks has been a holder from the beginning of the season.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Halftime vs. Chicago

Another solid performance by Fort Wayne's defense, but Chicago leads 24-20 at halftime.
Scott Heighland and Ronnie McCrae have interceptions for the Freedom, which also forced the Slaughter to kick a field goal.
But Fort Wayne's offense still is a bit stagnant.
Eric Hooks played all but one snap at quarterback, and he had mixed results. He had connected with Luther Stroder on a 19-yard touchdown pass, but he's completed only 5 of 14 passes for 47 yards.
The offense settled for field goal attempts twice. The first didn't happen because of a botched snap. The second from about 25 yards, Hoover missed.

• Randall Guzman has looked awful at times at left tackle. I'm not sure if he has any experience playing the offensive line -- it certainly doesn't look like it. He has whiffed on at least three blocks that I've noticed. Now, it seems as if he's just settling to try to shove guys out of the way, which if it works, he might as well.
• Rocky Harvey has five rushes for 17 yards and a touchdown.
• Mike Pike is on Chicago's team. He spent a very brief time in Fort Wayne, either because he quit or was cut, depending on who you believe.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette