Fort Wayne Freedom

Freedom lose heartbreaker, miss playoffs

The Fort Wayne Freedom lost 39-32 to the regular season-champion Kalamazoo Xplosion on Saturday night and head coach Matt Land was taking the blame.

Why? The Freedom had a chance to tie it with first-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the waning seconds. He called a Rocky Harvey run, a quarterback sneak, a pitch to Harvey and a pass. All failed. Land was peeved at his own playcalling in that situation.

So the Freedom finished at 5-7. The Xplosion went 11-1.

And you heard it here first: The Freedom missed the playoffs, even though it's tied with Muskegon record-wise. This gets down to the third tiebreaker, which is victory strength. Fort Wayne has a percentage of .407. Muskegon's percentage will be affected by a game elsewhere, but the worst the Thunder could do would be .417.

Even though fans in several cities are awaiting playoff information, the Continental Indoor Football League is either unwilling or incapable of announcing it at this time.

Regardless, it seems the Freedom played with a lot of heart in this game, against the league's best team. Now we must determine what the future will hold -- this was the sixth season of Fort Wayne indoor football, with four different leagues and three different ownership groups.

That doesn't look good for anyone.

Speaking of which: Click here to read a good column out of the Kalamazoo Gazette, critiquing the CIFL's problems to date. Of particular note to local readers will be the writer's chastising of the league for allowing former Freedom owner Todd Ellis into the league.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Bragging rights, redemption on the line

When Fort Wayne Freedom coach Matt Land got to his office this week -- the one at his paying day job as head football coach at Tri-State University -- he found it redecorated.

And not exactly to his liking.

There were some signs with words like, "You're going down," and other words that aren't really fit for print. Land promptly destroyed the verbiage and began plotting his revenge in the form of Xs and Os.

He knew exactly where the graffiti came from -- two of his Thunder assistant coaches, Dan Musielewicz and David Gater, who happen to double as players with the Continental Indoor Football League's Kalamazoo Xplosion.

The Freedom (5-6) take on the Xplosion (10-1) on Saturday night at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Musielewicz is a wide receiver. Gater, who hails from Kendallville, is a defensive back.

It's possible the teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs, too, though the Freedom is far from having a postseason berth secured.

The best hope for the Freedom would be to win its game Saturday and get a loss from Muskegon tonight against Saginaw.

Anything else and there will likely be a tie between Fort Wayne and either Muskegon or Rock River, the teams vying for two playoff spots, and it'll come down to victory strength or strength of schedule. Those numbers will drastically change over the weekend and the CIFL sadly can't promise the playoff teams will even be available for public consumption after the games Saturday.

Click here to see the playoff scenarios, diluted as they are.

Meanwhile, the Freedom were actually able to practice this week, something it didn't do before last week's victory over the Chesapeake Tide. The theme was the team's chance for redemption, in a tumultuous season that has seen changes in ownership and coaches, players not getting paid, and plenty of roster changes.

Remember the 2005 Freedom team, which won the United Indoor Football regular-season championship then lost in the first round? Several players from that team, and Land, are back with this year's Freedom and hoping they can make up for that disappointment.

Meanwhile, quarterback Eric Hooks is already feeling redeemed, after he was benched five games into the season. He has been at the helm during the Freedom's recent 2-1 surge, which coincided with Land's return to the team.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Another storm could be on the horizon

A source close to the situation has confirmed that former coach Willie Davis -- you know, the one who was fired the day of a game last month by the Freedom -- will likely soon file a lawsuit at the team alleging $4,800 in owed salary, plus other monies including rent.

Filing of the suit could come within the next two weeks.

In more pressing matters regarding the Freedom's finances, it turns out you can thank the folks over at Memorial Coliseum for the last home victory, May 17, against Muskegon. In order to make payroll, the Coliseum drew from the Freedom's $50,000 letter of credit. Brown said the funds must be "replenished" by the team, but that certainly seems like an ominous sign from a team that's looking to stay afloat.

OK, now onto more fun but equally laborious information. The Freedom (5-6), which is 2-1 since Matt Land took over for Davis, does have a shot at making the playoffs, even if it loses. Click here to read the playoff scenarios. Now, it's likely there will be some sort of complex tiebreaker utilized, like strength of victory or strength of schedule, and those numbers could change drastically come Saturday night.

The Freedom's best hope, though, is for it to win Saturday at Kalamazoo, Mich., and then get a loss out of Muskegon. Kalamazoo is 10-1, by the way, so good luck with that. Muskegon (5-6) is playing at Saginaw (9-2) in its Continental Football League finale.

-- 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

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 to Saginaw

Maybe now we can stop any talk about Fort Wayne making the playoffs.
Technically, the Freedom still is in the race with four games left. But after watching the offense struggle again Saturday in a 34-21 loss to Saginaw, the team has to progress quickly to have a real chance.
I wasn't surprised Kota-Carone Colors struggled. Like coach Willie Davis and receiver Adrian Reese said, Colors looked exactly like what he is: a first-time indoor football quarterback. Game speed is not easy to simulate, especially with the week of practice the team had leading up to the game.
"I've got a guy who wasn't used to our offense out there, and it showed at the worst time possible," Davis said.
I suppose the real question is why did Antoine Taylor bail 30 minutes before kickoff?
Taylor didn't stick around after the game for me to ask him, and Davis wouldn't tell me. The only possible scenarios I can think of are that Taylor found out Colors was going to get some reps, and he disagreed, so he refused to play or Taylor is upset about the off-field issues and wouldn't play. I don't know what's true -- or if either is -- but I did hear one player who was leaving the building after the game say Taylor was being "selfish." 
This situation stinks on many levels. The loss not only jeopardized playoff chances, but the drama came at a time when the team doesn't need any of it.
Here's hoping I can connect with Taylor at some point soon to hear his side.

• The team used more shotgun formations than normal. When I asked Davis about it, he said he was trying to give Colors more time to see the play developing.
• The defense probably should have gotten more love, but it's tough to spotlight that unit's play when the team lost primarily because of an ineffective offense. Still, defensive end Shonn Bell was fantastic. I didn't get final defensive stats, but he forced a fumble, had at least one sack, blocked an extra point and stuffed the run on multiple occasions. Quite a feat for a guy who I thought suffered a season-ending injury last week in Ohio.
  "I didn't think I was going to be back either, but fortunately everything was all right, and (the injury) wasn't as bad as we thought," said Bell, who called the injury a hyper extension of his knee. "There's a little pain, but coach gave me the week off to heal and rehab. It felt pretty good (Saturday). I could have done better, but I guess everyone says that. But what I've been through after the game last week and this week, I'm satisfied with my play."

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Muskegon beats Fort Wayne

Another heartbreaker for the Freedom, this time 39-33 at Muskegon.
Fort Wayne had the ball with a chance to win in the final minute but couldn't execute.
Afterward, coach Willie Davis largely blamed "the quarterback position," which means Eric Hooks. Hooks completed 6 of 16 passes, and I figured I'd go back and take a look at those incompletions because I didn't feel that Hooks necessarily played that poorly.
At least three of those (maybe as many as five) were throwaways when Hooks was under pressure. Two were dropped passes. One was intercepted in the end zone. Another was a side-arm throw that almost was another interception.
Hooks was sacked twice and got hit quite a bit -- maybe that's why he was getting his right knee checked out afterward -- but now I'm not so sure if that's about him not getting rid of the ball quickly enough or the line not giving him enough time.
After struggling the first two series of the game, I thought the line played much better than last week. Alf Fertil held up pretty well at center, impressive considering it was his first game at the position. I didn't notice a botched snap during the game. He also helped open a hole for Rocky Harvey's longest run of the game (16 yards).
"Bottom line is that somehow we've got to figure out somebody to lead that offense," Davis said. "Offensively, we stunk up the place again."

• Maybe Jamarkus Walters wasn't surprised when he was able to pick up a blocked field goal in the end zone for a touchdown. "They say the law of life is you move in the direction of your dominant thought. So I always say, 'turnover, touchdown' before every play, and that's what I try to get," Walters said. "That's what happened on that. I always try to play with a lot of effort and a lot of tenacity and just keep going 110 percent. So what I did was kept going forward and the ball just popped up and it was right there in my hands."
• Adrian Reese didn't get much of a chance to make an impact in the passing game. He didn't get many reps at receiver, but he did draw a pass interference call on a deep route and also seized an opportunity after taking over kickoff return duties with a touchdown.
• Ronnie McCrae had only two carries (and fumbled after one nice run), but he played the entire second half at safety. He deflected one pass.
• Give some props to kicker Justin Hoover. He was on the sidelines early in the game after apparently hurting his right shoulder (it was iced), but he came back out in the second half to kick off. Considering he hardly moved his right arm while he was out there, I can only assume it hurt to put the pads back on.
• It was nice to see Fort Wayne's defensive line get some pressure, and it seemed spurred when Maurice Terrell moved from linebacker to nose tackle. Terrell was blowing past Muskegon's center, which helped teammates, too. End Shonn Bell often was in the backfield as well.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Rock River wins in a rout

Ugh.
I know there's some talent on Fort Wayne's roster, but it didn't show up Friday in a 64-29 loss to Rock River.

• The offensive line was awful. I have never seen a center get knocked off the ball so frequently -- or so violently -- as I did Friday. Rock River nose tackle Anthony Harris said it had nothing to do with strength but attributed it all to timing. He didn't say whether he was timing the snap or timing the receiver in motion, which I'm pretty sure is illegal. On one occasion, he jumped so quickly he actually beat the ball from the center to quarterback Antoine Taylor's hand. How is that possible?
• I thought Antoine Taylor really provided a nice spark. He made quick decisions and was phenomenal when he scrambled. I don't like using the term "near sack," but I can't think of any other way to describe one play in the second quarter. It was Eli Manning-esque. Taylor was dead. But somehow, he spun away and had enough poise to make a completion. That was on fourth down, and the ball was marked short. But what a play. I still like Eric Hooks a lot -- and he's shown when he has time he can make some good throws. He had four TDs in the game, three in the second half. With no time to throw, though, how good can a quarterback be expected to be? I asked that to coach Willie Davis. "Sometimes when they did give us time, we were rushing our throws," he said. "We weren't seeing things we were supposed to see. Also, even when they get pressure, we still have hot routes and we weren't even looking at them."
• Apparently, success can be had in the running game in this league. Rock River's backs (Randy Bell and Terrell Goldsmith) were excellent. Both had 66 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Not sure how much of that is about Fort Wayne's defense ...
• It sounds like linebacker Travis Colston could be missing some serious time. He slammed head-first into a dasher board, and Davis said Colston could have some ligament damage in his shoulder. That's a big loss. Colston has looked great, and I love his energy.
• As an FYI -- because I know this is really important to some of the readers -- Todd Ellis was at the game. He sat behind the Freedom's bench.
• Also, Rachman Crable wasn't at the game because he has a tryout with a team in the Arena Football League, Davis said.
• I will post more later.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Notes from Tuesday's practice

Just got back from my first Freedom practice of the season. It's still a bit tough because I don't know all the players yet. Plus, the practice jerseys they wear (which I'd bank on being old Fusion gear) aren't assigned via numbers they wear during games. So it'll take me a bit to learn who these guys are, but for now, here are some observations from Tuesday's practice:

• The final 20 minutes were spent on a kicking competition. Brian Clawson still is around, but he'll be challenged the rest of the week by Justin Hoover, who played at Tri-State. Hoover appeared to have a booming leg, one more powerful than Clawson's. But accuracy always is a bit harder to tell in the Dome. Hoover proved enough, though, to have coach Willie Davis want to keep him around awhile. Davis accuracy is the No. 1 issue, and he doesn't want his guys to miss extra points. Clawson missed one last week.
• Running back Terrell White suffered a high ankle sprain against Kalamazoo and will be out at least two weeks. He injured the ankle in the third quarter last week and was on crutches Wednesday. Without White, Andrew Shrock could make the active roster for Friday's game at Rockford.
• Alf Fertil didn't get the reps at starting nose tackle. Davis said he likely will give the nod to Maurice Terrell because he wants a player who is taller in the middle this week. Terrell is listed at 6-foot-3, and Fertil at 5-9.
• One of my favorite plays of the night was during one-on-one drills. After catching a short pass, Shrock turned upfield and got popped by linebacker Travis Colston. And all Colston really did was lower his right shoulder, but it was enough to send Shrock to the turf. I haven't seen much of Colston yet, but he seems to have the right make-up for a linebacker: a craving to hit and a bit of arrogance.
• I'm hoping to get to Thursday's practice this week, too, and will blog afterward. I'll also be making the trip to Rockford, so be sure to check in for pre-game, halftime and post-game updates.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Kalamazoo rallies to beat Freedom

The Freedom actually finished with more total yardage (266-179) than Kalamazoo in its 50-34 loss Thursday.
But Xplosion quarterback Randy Hutchison was one thing Fort Wayne's Eric Hooks wasn't: consistent. Hutchison rarely had a throw sail on him, rarely made a bad decision.
Hooks looked great on some passes in the first half, sticking them on the numbers on touchdowns, and made some plays running the ball, too. But, just as frequently, he'd miss an open receiver with an errant throw, sometimes too deep, sometimes too high.
I think the difference is experience.
Hutchison has been playing indoor football for years, and Hooks is a bit of a rookie.
Hooks got some time with the Fusion last season but said he had been playing semi-pro, outdoor 11-on-11 football before joining the Freedom.
"It's a lot different," he said. "So to come back and try to adjust to this with new players and a new situation is a little hard to do. It took me awhile to feel comfortable. But once I felt comfortable, I think that's when coach saw my ability shine through."
Hooks completed 14 of 36 passes for 225 yards and five touchdowns against Kalamazoo. He also threw two interceptions, both near the goal line.
I think the talent is there for Hooks to have some success in this league. I like his athleticism, and he seems to have good zip on the ball. It'll just be interesting to see how long coach Willie Davis lets him develop with Antoine Taylor as a back-up.
Hooks said he has a lot of confidence in Taylor's abilities, and that'll keep him working hard.
"My job is to just keep competing every week to make sure I'm the guy out on the field," Hooks said. "That's how I look at every day of practice."

• I have to say I was a bit bummed with my first Continental Indoor Football League game. The teams combined for only 15 rushes. I was hoping we'd have a return to the "old" days where Rocky Harvey was running all over the field. Instead, he had only four carries and managed -1 yards. The offensive line rarely opened anything resembling a hole. So, I guess, maybe it was good the Freedom didn't run more often.
• The announced crowd was 2,550. Not sure how accurate that is. About 10 minutes before kickoff, I would have guessed 1,500. I'll try to get the official count this week and post it.
• Davis didn't seem bothered by his defense's performance. Fort Wayne did hold Kalamazoo to only one touchdown in the third quarter, but the secondary also got burned for two deep touchdowns in the fourth. "Realistically, you can't expect the defense to hold every time. The fact they get three or four stops, it shows they're a great defense. They held. They held. We didn't get any points. They held again, and then we give them the ball right back. What do we expect?"

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette