Post by fwp on Mar 6, 2010 9:39:25 GMT -5
www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20100306/GPG0211/3060576/Indoor-football--Overhauled-Blizzard-faces-season-of-change
Saying that the Green Bay Blizzard's offseason was filled with changes is probably an understatement.
With the ownership group, coaching staff, league and roster all being new, it'll be hard to find anything about the team that has remained the same when it makes its Indoor Football League debut at the Sioux City Bandits tonight.
The one thing new coach Rik Richards wants to maintain is the franchise's reputation for winning, and he feels the team he has assembled can make the playoffs for a sixth straight season.
Richards spent most of the past decade as the head coach of five arena and indoor teams, compiling a 60-28 record. He is the fifth coach in the Blizzard's eight-year history and replaces Bob Landsee, who compiled a 45-28 record in four years at the helm.
"His mentality is win the football game by any means necessary," said Blizzard linebacker Maurice Simpkins, one of four players on the squad who have played for Richards.
A majority of the players on the Blizzard are new to the indoor game, however, and only offensive lineman LeRoy Auguste returns from last year's squad that went 10-6 and advanced to the American Conference championship of arenafootball2, which dissolved following the 2009 season.
Robert Garth, who has played the most games in team history, also returns to the squad as a first-year assistant coach.
"We have a lot of learning to do," Richards said. "We tried to get young, so we could have guys that want to get better."
More than half the players on the 30-man roster (only 21 can suit up for games) have been in NFL camps during the last two years, but most of them haven't played a meaningful down since college.
One of those players anxious to see game action is quarterback Jake Phillips, 24, who has been tabbed as the starter.
Phillips played at William & Mary and participated in an Atlanta Falcons minicamp last summer after not being drafted or signed as a rookie free agent.
"You got a lot of guys that are hungry right now," Phillips said. "Guys that haven't played in a year or two that just want to get back on a field and play."
While the players adjust to the indoor game, fans also will have to get used to a few different rules in the IFL.
Some of the more notable differences are that two offensive players can go in forward motion before the snap instead of one, there are no rebound nets and linebackers are free to roam in pass coverage outside the box.
"We have a true running back," Richards said. "We don't have a big 280-pound fullback like the af2 used. They used to run the ball 10 to 15 times a game mostly in the red zone. We run the ball 10 to 15 times a game, but it's all over the field for much bigger chunks of yardage."
The IFL started last year after two indoor leagues merged for the 2009 season. The league features 25 teams that stretch from Alaska to Maryland.
The Blizzard will compete in the United Conference's Central North Division with the Bloomington Extreme, Chicago Slaughter and La Crosse Spartans, who are an expansion team coached by former Green Bay Packer Gilbert Brown.
The Blizzard's home opener is 7 p.m. March 19 at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.
Saying that the Green Bay Blizzard's offseason was filled with changes is probably an understatement.
With the ownership group, coaching staff, league and roster all being new, it'll be hard to find anything about the team that has remained the same when it makes its Indoor Football League debut at the Sioux City Bandits tonight.
The one thing new coach Rik Richards wants to maintain is the franchise's reputation for winning, and he feels the team he has assembled can make the playoffs for a sixth straight season.
Richards spent most of the past decade as the head coach of five arena and indoor teams, compiling a 60-28 record. He is the fifth coach in the Blizzard's eight-year history and replaces Bob Landsee, who compiled a 45-28 record in four years at the helm.
"His mentality is win the football game by any means necessary," said Blizzard linebacker Maurice Simpkins, one of four players on the squad who have played for Richards.
A majority of the players on the Blizzard are new to the indoor game, however, and only offensive lineman LeRoy Auguste returns from last year's squad that went 10-6 and advanced to the American Conference championship of arenafootball2, which dissolved following the 2009 season.
Robert Garth, who has played the most games in team history, also returns to the squad as a first-year assistant coach.
"We have a lot of learning to do," Richards said. "We tried to get young, so we could have guys that want to get better."
More than half the players on the 30-man roster (only 21 can suit up for games) have been in NFL camps during the last two years, but most of them haven't played a meaningful down since college.
One of those players anxious to see game action is quarterback Jake Phillips, 24, who has been tabbed as the starter.
Phillips played at William & Mary and participated in an Atlanta Falcons minicamp last summer after not being drafted or signed as a rookie free agent.
"You got a lot of guys that are hungry right now," Phillips said. "Guys that haven't played in a year or two that just want to get back on a field and play."
While the players adjust to the indoor game, fans also will have to get used to a few different rules in the IFL.
Some of the more notable differences are that two offensive players can go in forward motion before the snap instead of one, there are no rebound nets and linebackers are free to roam in pass coverage outside the box.
"We have a true running back," Richards said. "We don't have a big 280-pound fullback like the af2 used. They used to run the ball 10 to 15 times a game mostly in the red zone. We run the ball 10 to 15 times a game, but it's all over the field for much bigger chunks of yardage."
The IFL started last year after two indoor leagues merged for the 2009 season. The league features 25 teams that stretch from Alaska to Maryland.
The Blizzard will compete in the United Conference's Central North Division with the Bloomington Extreme, Chicago Slaughter and La Crosse Spartans, who are an expansion team coached by former Green Bay Packer Gilbert Brown.
The Blizzard's home opener is 7 p.m. March 19 at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.