Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

One Third Season Report: Rough Start And Strong Finish
By: Editor

The innaugural season for the Erie Assassins has been marred by turnovers, penalties, and five consecutive losses to start the season. The bright side? The team looked very strong in the fourth quarter of their only win of the season, last week's come from behind 14-13 win over Denver. Let's take the first 5 games one @ a time, shall we?

Game 1
Canadian Radiation Kings 27, Assassins 13 (@ CRKs)

This game started the now-familiar Erie trend of playing pretty good in the first half and then tanking in the second half. Julius Jones got off to a great start, rushing for 61 yards and his only touchdown of the season in the first half. The problem was that Byron Leftwich had already thrown the first of his 4 INTs by halftime. His next INT would be a biggie: w/ the score tied @ 10, Julius Jones ripped off a 48 yard run to put the Assassins on the CRKs' 16 yard line. Leftwich then threw a pick to Will Witherspoon and the CRKs would go on to score a TD and take the lead for good.

Defensively, the Assassins performed well for the first half, giving up one TD and keeping Jamal Lewis to 42 yards rushing on 11 carries. Marc Bulger did have a pretty decent half against them though, going 13 of 18 for 109 yards, 1 TD and no INTs. He completed 7 of his last 8 passes for 44 yards, but the D held and they did not give up any points on that drive.

The second half was not pretty for the Assassins. Jamal Lewis ran 12 times for 85 yards for the CRKs while Bulger beat the Erie secondary seemingly @ will, hitting on 9 of 10 passes for 125 yards and 2 TDs. It was pathetic. The D looked worn down due to the ineffective and inconsistent offense, one that had opportunities to score wasted by Leftwich picks. The CRKs had the ball for over 32 minutes in the game, completely dominating the Assassins in the second half.


Game 2
Pittsburgh Fighting Shih Tzus 35, Assassins 23 (Home)

The good news: the Assassins were able to keep BZFL rushing leader Curtis Martin in check, as he finished w/ just 56 yards and one TD on 11 carries.

The bad news: Trent Green destroyed the Erie secondary, going 27 of 37 for 421 yards, 3 TDs w/ no INTs. He was 17 of 24 for 213 yards and 3 TDs in the first half, setting the tone for the entire game. Green was unstoppable, and the Assassins had no chance because of it. The Assassins didn’t help their cause w/ 6 penalties, many of which killed any momentum they hoped to build. Speaking of momentum-killers, not only was Julius Jones’ 19 carries for 130 yards wasted (no TDs, many red zone blunders), but Jones was lost for the next 6 games due to injury as well. This game was costly on so many levels. Jones was the BZFL’s leader in rushing yards and in yards per carry after the first 2 weeks, and was looking to have an MVP type season before the injury.


Game 3
Philadelphia Bushwhackers 24, Assassins 10 (@ PHI)

In their first game after Jones’ injury, the Assassins struggled mightily to run the ball, a trend that continues to this day. Backup Jonathan Wells ran for 65 yards on 14 carries and Byron Leftwich ran for 22 yards and the team’s only TD of the game, but the team ran for a collective 98 yards on 33 carries, which is horrible. The passing game struggled to bail them out also, as Leftwich was 20 of 33 for 267 yards but w/ zero TDs and 2 INTs. He looked lost and confused in clutch situations, wasting a stellar effort from leading receiver Brandon Lloyd, who finished w/ 6 catches for 148 yards on the day.

Again, the Assassins choked in the latter stages of the game. After Leftwich’s TD tied the game @ 10 in the 3rd quarter, the defense gave up a 38 yard TD run to Ahman Green, who finished w/ 134 rushing yards and 2 TDs on just 13 carries. Green would later add insult to injury w/ a 10 yard TD run to put the Assassins away for good.

The defense gave up some huge runs to Green that broke the game wide open, but suffered from an offense that, although it maintained possession of the ball for over 34 minutes of the game, managed just a meager 10 points. The D needs to have the O give it some time to rest, as they have done a decent job in the first half of most games, but then they get worn down thanks to an ineffective offense that keeps taking itself off the field w/ poor play and turnovers.


Game 4
Jersey Jaguars 28, Assassins 9 (Home)

Another game where turnovers and horrible play broke open a game that could have been won.

Erie started off strong, w/ David Akers hitting a 50 yard field goal to give them a 3-0 lead and then Quentin Jammer picked off Carson Palmer in the red zone to stop a good Jaguar drive. From there, the lack of a running game and the error-prone play of Leftwich was Erie’s undoing. Again.

In the late 1st/early 2nd quarter, the Jags shook off their sluggish start and hit some big plays to get in the scoring column. A 63 yard pass to Az Hakim set up the first of RB Kevin Jones’ 2 TDs, a short 3 yard reception from Palmer. The 2nd TD was set up by a Jones 47 yard run.

The 2nd half featured more of the same: Assassins mistakes (Jonathan Ogden’s holding penalty on the Jaguar ONE yard line which limited Erie to another Akers FG) and Jaguars’ big plays (retrun man Eddie Drummond taking a punt 67 yards for a TD to put the game away @ 28-9). Leftwich threw 2 INTs and 0 TDs in the 2nd half, as the Assassins’ offense continued to struggle w/ no running game (47 yards on 21 carries for the entire team) and Leftwich’s erratic play @ QB stifling the passing game.




Game 5
Kalamazoo Kamikaze Squirrels 28, Assassins 16

This game was probably the best overall performance by the entire offensive unit, as Leftwich was 16 of 28 for 159 yards and 2 TDs w/ no INTs or sacks. Jonathan Wells rushed for 65 yards on 16 carries and Leftwich added 38 more on 6 carries. Brandon Lloyd caught 6 passes for 72 yards and a TD to lead the receiving corps.

The problem in this one? The run defense, or lack thereof. Chester Taylor ran for 125 yards on 20 carries while Emmitt Smith had 19 carries for 96 yards and 2 TDs. This was the worst performance of the D for the season and was a game that forced Erie to make the changes that enabled them to have a better showing the next week, not only defensively (due to Karlos Dansby’s stellar efforts) but also offensively too (Jake Plummer’s leadership in the 4th quarter).


So, overall, there's much work needed to be done by Erie, but they have some reason to be hopeful. Karlos Dansby gives the D another playmaker and allowed them to move Nick Barnett inside and give Erie a better defense up the middle. The pass defense still needs work, but is getting a better showing from starting corners Dunta Robinson and Quentin Jammer in the past couple of games. Jake Plummer's first start looked to be a disaster until he stepped his game up late and led the team to a great comeback victory. It will be interesting to see how the Assassins work Julius Jones back into the mix in a couple of weeks. Jones got plenty of carries in the first 2 games, but the Assassins have gravitated towards the passing game a bit more in his absence, w/ pretty good results. I still expect to see Erie finish w/ @ least 6 wins on the season. I do think they'll do better in their last 12 games, but they still are a very young team that will continue to have growing pains and make mistakes that will cost them. By the end of the year, I think we'll see a team that is building continuity and we may even see a nice little win streak to take them into the offseason w/ some badly needed momentum.

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

So Much For Progress: Assassins Lose Big In Pittsburgh 40-10.
By: Editor

The Erie Assassins lost any type of momentum they thought they had after a very good showing in the latter part of their win against Denver last week. Jake Plummer continued to build on a solid fourth quarter performance from last week (11 of 12 for 128 yards, 1 TD) by looking like the second coming of.........of..........Byron Leftwich! His 22 of 44 for 231 yards, 1 TD and 4 INTs was eerily reminiscient of the terrible outings Leftwich had to start the season. He was forced out of the pocket on a few occasions, but mostly decided to improvise ala his Arizona Cardinals days, w/ dreadful results. He also scrambled for 29 yards on 7 carries, making him the team's leading rusher for the day.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz, in his post game press conference, was @ a loss for words to describe what he had seen. "All I can say right now is that this was the absolute worst football we've played all season, which is saying a lot, since we're 1-6 on the year. In many of the other games, I could look to mistakes we made that resulted in a close game being blown open. This was not the case. Like the Jersey game (a 28-9 loss), we offered nothing right from the start."

Ferentz was putting it mildly, as the Assassins looked about as lackluster as a team could look on both sides of the ball. The run defense continued to struggle, as they allowed BZFL rushing leader Curtis Martin (held to 56 yards in the first meeting) to dominate, rushing for 173 yards and 2 TDs on 26 carries. Moreover, the run defense (or lack thereof) suffered a tremendous loss when NT Kris Jenkins went down w/ an injury. Preliminary word is that Jenkins is out for 10 weeks, which means the Assassins will have to decide whether or not to put him on IR as there's only 11 weeks left of the regular season. Hey coach, go ahead and do it. Do you see any reason to believe this team will rebound over the course of those 10 weeks to put Erie in the playoffs?

Trent Green, who destroyed the Erie secondary in the first meeting (421 yards and 3 TDs) had a very solid performance, throwing for 235 yards and a TD while hitting 10 of 13 passes. Javon Walker had 124 yards on just 4 receptions, including a highlight reel 76 yard TD catch in the 2nd quarter that, in essence, put the Assassins away for good (27-0 @ the time).

Ferentz was questioned on whether or not there needed to be fundamental changes in what Erie is doing this year. He responded that, "The big change that must happen is that our players must show up and give a consistent effort for an entire game. We've looked really good @ times and then have looked pitiful @ other times, like today. We believe in our philosophies and our schemes; we just need our players to get the job done regularly, which they aren't doing now."

Those sentiments were echoed by Assassins executives as well. Team owner/president R. Rich said, "We look terrible out there, but I didn't expect this team to come out the gate and dominate. Did I expect them to have a clue about this time of the season? Yes. While things are far from perfect, I'm not pushing the panic button. As a collective, we knew that by going w/ a lot of young and, for the most part, untested players, we were going to struggle. Boy, were we right." Executive VP/General Manager Kevin Colbert added, "This year, we set forth to lay down the foundation of this team: an offensive line w/ depth and good starting talent, a defense featuring a lot of young, athletic playmakers, and a kicking game that could be relied upon. For the most part, we've done that. Our OL has really looked pretty good this year, especially in the interior. Where we are having a lot of difficulty offensively is @ the skill positions. Our receivers give a game effort, but we lack that game breaker who can be called upon to carry the team to a win. Our running game is suffering from Julius Jones' injury. We don't expect a total 180 (degree turn of fortunes) once he gets back, but we'll definitely improve on the numbers we've put up over the past 5 weeks."

Going on, Colbert said, "Defensively is where we've struggled the most. Our corners need to improve on their outside coverage. The pass rush has been fair, but has room for improvement. The real surprise is our run defense. By taking guys like Kris Jenkins, Jonathan Vilma, Anthony Weaver, and Randy Starks, we felt we'd be pretty good against the run. This year, we've given up far too many yards on the ground. I've talked w/ the coaches about this and there may be some personnel changes made to try to right the ship."

Personnel changes? Does this mean the Assassins are trading their entire front seven, which looks inadequate to date? Other than the LBs, Erie has little to look forward to. Jenkins has been a huge disappointment. Don't be surprised to see Erie look to the draft or free agency to find his replacement. Anthony Weaver has been decent @ RDE, but is better suited as a situational rusher. They need a strong pass rushing DE to replace him. Randy Starks, while inconsistent, has shown promise @ LDE. I believe he'll develop into a force there in time. Where the 'personnel changes' should really be made is in the secondary. Erie put together their secondary to give them a physical group that would make it tough for receivers to get off the line and into their patterns. Guys like CB Quentin Jammer and safeties Bryan Scott and Sean Taylor do deliver some big hits, but have given up even bigger plays deep. My suggestion? Give Bob Sanders a shot @ SS to see what he can do. Scott, while good near the line of scrimmage, is a liability in coverage. Ultimately, I think first round pick Thomas Davis could be the answer here, IF the play @ cornerback improves.

The only constant on this team so far has been the kicking of David Akers. Akers is 11 of 12 for the year and has looked good from long distance. Too bad Erie has the habit of throwing the ball away while on the opponent's side of the field, as he has not seen enough action. A good running game (get well soon, Julius!) and better decisions by the quarterback (whoever he is) will go a long way toward fixing this. Erie has had some nice drives here and there, but once they get in scoring range, they find ways to screw them up. And they're not picky about this, either. We've seen INTs, fumbles, and ill advised penalties, like a holding call @ the opponent's ONE YARD LINE!!!

Which brings me back to the point that the team's higher ups have made. This team is very young and will make mistakes. Even the veterans have helped in the screwing up (I believe Jonathan Ogden, out for the next 4 games due to injury, was the person responsible for that holding call on the 1). Many of the execs said this team was a 'work in progress'. Personally, I haven't seen much progress, so I'll simply call this year's Assassins a 'project'. The talent is there for this team to progress, but we haven't seen much in the way of consistency.

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (08/13/05)
By: Staff



Coming off one of the worst showings of an already disappointing first season, Assassins head coach Kirk Ferentz promised his staff would do what it took to get some type of progress in motion and build some confidence.



"There are some changes that will be made. For starters, we have decided to place our starting NT, Kris Jenkins, on Injured Reserve for the remainder of the season. Kris' injury would keep him out for all but one game of the regular season, and we feel it is in his best interest to rehab the injury and to rest up. He'll be back for us next year, which brings me to our second point. No, and you can capitalize that and put it in bold if you want, we are not looking to replace Kris or to trade him. He is our starter and our anchor. This has been a tough season all around, and it isn't fair to single him out for the failure of our run defense this year." These sentiments were echoed by Executive VP/General Manager Kevin Colbert, "There is absolutely no chance of any trade of Kris Jenkins happening. He wants to be a part of this team, and we want him here." Team owner/president R. Rich added, "Unless someone wants to offer me his replacement @ NT, a WR, a CB, and their next 5 first round picks, there's not going to be any trade of Kris. He's the 3rd player we drafted and the first for our defensive line, so he's not going anywhere. This team needs a whole lot more than one replacement to become a dominant team. First, they need to grow and develop as players and then they need to become a cohesive unit. So far, we're lacking both of those traits."



On the subject of a replacement for Jekins (since backup Jimmy Kennedy is out for another 4 games), Ferentz said, "We are in the final stages of negotiating w/ Lional Dalton to fill in as Kris' replacement. That's no slight to Donnell (Washington, the 3rd team NT), but we need a strong, solid veteran in there for now. Donnell will be his backup."



The team is also about to sign a new return man and WR in Antonio Chatman. "We're looking for someone to give us a boost in the kick return game and possibly as a punt returner also. To date, we haven't seen enough out of Bethel Johnson. We're going to let one of them win the job as our starting kick returner. Nathan Vasher didn't do a bang up job returning punts, but I do want to see a few more reps out of him before I make any decison there. If there's no significant improvement, then he may be replaced."



Offensively, the team was forced to make some changes to the starting line due to the injury to starting LT Jonathan Ogden. Ferentz said, "Until we get Jonathan back, our new starting lineup will look like this:



LT Bryant McKinnie

LT Chester Pitts

C Matt Birk

RG Kendyl Jacox

RT Shane Olivea



Vernon Carey will now back up Olivea @ RT and will back up Jacox @ RG while the other backups remain the same as before. We're hoping there won't be a huge dropoff, as Bryant has had a very good season so far and we feel that he can do well on the left side."



When asked if there would be any changes in terms of the running game, Ferentz said, "That's something we're still kicking around. There's been talk of bringing in a free agent or to going w/ someone already on the roster to push Jonathan Wells for one more week until Julius (Jones) returns. Right now, if I had to guess, I'd say the chances are slim that we'll bring someone else in, but there are no guarantees."



About the offensive scheme, Ferentz said, "We attempted to open things up a bit more last week, and it blew up in our faces. We did just what they were looking for: abandoned the running game and took to the air. This week, we'll try to incorporate the running game a bit more into our game plan while still attempting to develop our passing game. Jake Plummer will continue to start despite a bad showing. As I said last week, we feel that Jake gives us the better chance to win @ the present time."



Defensively, w/ all the change @ NT, the Assassins know they'll be in for an even rougher season. "All those who want to bash Kris and our run defense have to realize that our entire team has been struggling, not just one player. Kris knows he needs to be tougher for us, but so does Quentin (Jammer), Sean (Taylor), Jonathan (Vilma), and every other starter here. The effort being put forth stinks, and if it doesn't get better, people are going to lose their starting spots. End of story."

Next up for the Assassins is a trip to Qwest Field to take on the New York Goldmines, a team coming off a disappointing 20-17 loss to the undefeated Jersey Jaguars. "This team is a whole lot better than their 2-5 record shows, something I cannot say for our team right now. Edgerrin James carved up the Jags' defense for 155 yards, so we have our work cut out for us. Our pass defense will have to also get tougher, and I'm looking for our D to have a much better showing this week. To be honest guys, we need to get a win here. This team can't take much more losing, poor performance from our leaders, and key injuries."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Roster Moves: Erie Welcomes Its 2 Newest Assassins, Puts Jenkins On IR
By: Staff

The Assassins made official the moves head coach Kirk Ferentz alluded to in his press conference on Saturday, signing WR/KR Antonio Chatman to help give a spark to the return game and DT Lional Dalton to replace starter Kris Jenkins @ NT. Jenkins was put on injured reserve, meaning he is out for the remainder of this season.

Assassins Director of Player Personnel Phil Savage stated that, "We're glad to be able to bring in a couple of solid players to help us out in areas of need. Due to Kris being put on IR and w/ Jimmy Kennedy out for another 4 games because of injury, we needed to add a capable DT to our roster, and we feel we've done that w/ Lional."

Signing Chatman was, "a necessary move", according to Savage, "because of our kick return game. Bethel Johnson has been struggling to get us good field position. We felt we had to bring in someone who has the ability to help us in this area as well as push Bethel to give us his best."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (08/20/05)
By: Staff


Assassins head coach Kirk Ferentz answered some pretty difficult questions this week about his team's performance, the team's morale, and the perceived failures of both the coaching staff and management.

In regard to his offense's bad showing in the 44-7 loss to the Goldmines, Ferentz said, "Yeah, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, eh? Seriously, the coaching staff has been somewhat @ a loss to explain the repetitive patterns of this offense: the INTs, the breakdowns in crucial situations, and the lack of true leadership. As the head coach, I must take a huge part of the blame here, as I must not be emotionally preparing this team well enough on a week to week basis. I've heard some comments this week from the sports talk crowd of whether or not I should've hired more NFL-experienced coaches. Well, from the owner on down, we stand behind the staff we have here. These guys are knowledgeable, and have put together some very solid game plans. We just need to do better in terms of getting players out of bad habits. We do need work in that area, and we'll continue to improve as the year goes on. I also think this team will come together @ some point this year. We've had a rash of injuries and have made some personnel moves on the fly this year. It's been tough to build any kind of momentum that way. Hopefully, we'll stay relatively healthy from here on out and the guys will become more familiar w/ each other and will start to trust each other more."

On the injury note, Ferentz said the team is very happy to get their franchise RB, Julius Jones, back from his 6 week absence due to injury. "Julius will give us a more reliable running game, which we intend to use the way we did in our first 2 games. We're also hoping to get more play action opportunities from that, which will allow Jake Plummer to get back on track. Our WRs have had a tough year so far, but they've worked hard this week and will look to have a good showing against Kalamazoo."

Defensively, the move to sign veteran DT Lional Dalton did give the Assassins a decent push up the middle in the pass rush, but problems stopping the run continue, as Edgerrin James rushed for 164 yards and a TD on 30 carries, a 5.5 yard average per rush. "Our run defense is still very bad. (LDE) Randy (Starks), Lional, and (RDE) Anthony (Weaver) have got to do more to plug up the rushing lanes and to help out the LBs on the outside running plays. Also, Jason Babin has been in a rut for the past few games and needs to step it up as well. Our other 3 LBs (Jonathan Vilma, Nick Barnett, and Karlos Dansby) have done a solid job of both pressuring QBs and being in position to make the tackle in the running game. Even still, they all know that they could be more stout against the run, especially on the outside plays. Now, our secondary has had a good season on paper, but we still have seen too many QBs have very respectable stats. They're completing passes @ a high rate and we're not seeing many pass break ups nor INTs from our guys. DB coach Teryl Austin is working w/ our starters to get them to be a bit more aggressive on the ball so that they'll be in better position to make more plays out there."

When asked whether the poor back to back efforts from Plummer has led to a bad environment in the locker room, Ferentz replied, "Everyone is down now, I won't even try to sugar coat that. Guys realize that what they are doing is just not enough for us to improve and start to become the team we all feel we can become. There's no finger pointing, other than @ themselves. That includes us coaches, too. If our guys come out and look listless, throwing the ball away, and not showing the heart to dig themselves out of a bad situation, then that falls on me. I know I need to do a better job of motivating my players, and I will."


The question of how the players and coaches feel about the job management has done came up, to which Ferentz replied, "Our guys love the treatment they've received from the front office. They give us what we need to perform, but hey, they can't suit up for us and make it happen on the field. The best thing I can tell you is that we have a united front here. There's no questioning our motives, our strategies, or our commitment to this team. When we put the team together, we knew this would be a difficult year for us by going w/ the young guys. The thing I appreciate from managemnt is that they haven't forgotten that, even in the face of a 1-7 start. I haven't even had a proposition of trading players to bring in a marquee name or any of that. We like the group of guys we have. They work hard, they listen well, and they all have the same will to win. We just have to struggle through this tough time and find our niche."

Next up for Erie will be a rematch w/ the Kalamazoo Kamikaze Squirrels, the team that beat Erie 28-16 back in their week 5 meeting @ Soldier Field. This was the game where the defense nearly gave up 100 yards rushing to 2 different backs (Chester Taylor had 125 yards on 20 carries while Emmitt Smith had 96 yards and 2 TDs on 19 carries), so the run defense will be a major focus this time. "We had our worst defensive effort of the year against Kalamazoo the first time, and we don't want a repeat of that. We must do better against the run to have a chance for the win this week, plus we must not make the same drive killing mistakes we've been making all year. That has to stop if we're to work towards salvaging this season. I think if we can get back to running the ball well and playing very tough, solid defense, we have a good chance to come out on top."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (08/27/05)
By: Staff


After a tough 34-29 loss @ home to Kalamazoo, Assassins head coach Kirk Ferentz reflected on his team's poor first half of the season. "We have made very little progress from the start of this season, and that's something that we must work on for the remainder of this year." Ferentz did say that he was, "a bit encouraged" by the performance of his offense, which saw the return of RB Julius Jones, who finished w/ 28 carries for 93 yards and a TD while also saw the best performance of the season from the QB position, as Jake Plummer completed 13 of 16 passes for 255 yards and a TD while throwing no INTs or being sacked. "We were able to hit a couple big plays in the passing game due to our ability to run the ball effectively", Ferentz said. "I was happy to see our ground game back to its' efficient self again, as we controlled the clock for over half the game (33:37 time of possession). Now, what we must do is build on that solid offensive performance and then carry it over to our defense."

Speaking of the defense, they had another poor showing, allowing Emmitt Smith to rush for 131 yards on 21 carries and score a TD. The Assassins also allowed QB Chad Pennington to complete all 17 of his throws for 221 yards and 4 TDs. Pennington was sacked 4 times, but was not intercepted. Ferentz remarked, "We have more than out work cut out for us in the second half of this season defensively. We need to do better at stopping the run (a league worst 160.6 yards per game allowed on the ground) while doing better to control the opponents' passing game. On paper, our pass defense looks good (214.8 yards per game allowed, 4th best in the league), but teams have been way too efficient in putting up passing numbers. We need to do better w/ our pressure to generate more turnovers and more incompletions. I have been impressed w/ our pass rush in general (28 sacks, tied for 4th best in the league), but there's a lot of work to be done." The move to sign DT Lional Dalton seems to have helped in the pass rush, but the run defense still is struggling. "Lional has done a good job of creating pressure up the middle for us. Where he needs to improve is in shutting down the interior rush lanes and routing the RBs to the outside. Same w/ (LILB) Jonathan (Vilma) and (RILB) Nick (Barnett). They have to start shutting down the inside run for us. There may be a change made @ LOLB, as Jason Babin has continued to struggle after a nice start. Dexter Coakley and James Harrison have both looked pretty good in practice the past few weeks, so we may look to one of them to step in there." There may also be changes in the secondary as well. "(Defensive Coordinator) Al (Golden) and I are looking @ ways to get CB Andre Woolfolk and S Bob Sanders more playing time. Both have been really pushing for more playing time and they may get it in the second half of this season."

One thing Ferentz was happy to see out of this game was the opportunities for the kicking game. "David Akers showed why we drafted him, connecting on both of his field goal opportunities, including a 46 yarder. If we can keep moving the ball this well, David will get more chances to figure into the outcome of our games. Also, Brad Maynard had a solid game punting for us, with a 46 yarder and a 52 yarder w/ very little in return yardage. The kick coverage unit did allow Doug Gabriel to burn us for 186 yards on 6 returns, including a 53 yard return that came right after we we took a 27-26 lead on Akers' second FG of the day. We can't allow teams to have such great field position when we're struggling to stop them from running the ball the way we have been. As I said before, there's a lot of work to be done."

Next up for Erie is a rematch w/ the New York Goldmines, who torched the Assassins just 2 weeks ago in Giants Stadium by a 44-7 score. In that game, Edgerrin James ran for 164 yards and a TD on 30 carries (5.5 avg.) while Joey Harrington had a very efficient game, completing 12 of 18 throws for 169 yards, 2 TDs and no INTs. He was sacked 3 times though. "The challenge for us is to do our best to shut down the run while playing much better in coverage and forcing more incompletions and, hopefully, some INTs as well, " Ferentz said. This Goldmines team is beatable, but we can't just come out and turn the ball over and lie down for them. We have to come out aggressive and determined for this game."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (09/03/05)
By: Staff

Coming off a 26-23 win over the New York Goldmines, Assassins head coach Kirk Ferentz seemed pleased that his team was making strides toward improving and becoming a team that can contend for a championship down the road. "The guys really put together a good overall effort this week, which was badly needed," Ferentz said. "Our defense played w/ the kind of heart and emotion that we've wanted out of them all season. They kept Edgerrin James (who had 30 carries for 164 yards and a TD in the 44-7 blowout loss to the Goldmines a couple weeks ago) to just 48 yards on 10 carries though he did score once. "Our run defense put together an outstanding game, keeping NY to 70 yards rushing on 16 carries. Lional Dalton (who had a tackle, a sack, and knocked down 2 passes) led a defensive line that was stout while Karlos Dansby had another standout performance for our LB corps. He finished w/ 2 tackles, but also had 2 sacks, 2 passes defensed, one safety, and an interception. It's very impressive what Karlos has done in just 5 starts for us. We feel we have one of the strongest LB units in the entire league w/ Karlos, Jonathan Vilma, and Nick Barnett (also impressive in the win, w/ 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and an INT) all playing well this year." The team made the switch @ LOLB from Jason Babin, who has been steadily regressing over the past few weeks, to James Harrison, who had a tackle, a sack, and a pass defensed in last week's win. Of the move, Ferentz said, "James played well in his first start and he will continue in the starting role for the time being. He's a good edge rusher who also can contribute in coverage and against the run. Jason has had a bit of trouble lately, so he'll be used more in different situations and will help out on special teams as well." Babin performed well in a reduced role, finishing w/ 3 tackles and forcing 2 fumbles.

As for the offense, Ferentz said, "I thought we did a pretty good job of moving the football. Our passing game wasn't as impressive as it can be, but they did okay. Jake did make a few mistakes though (1 INT, 3 fumbles), and he needs to be more aware of that. I thought Julius Jones had another solid game before he got hurt again early in the 3rd. He finished w/ 18 carries for 85 yards and a TD, but had 16 of those carries for 76 yards and a TD in the first half alone. When he's healthy, he's as good as any back in the league. Now, he will miss next week's game, as we'll rest him to make sure he will be 100%. Jonathan Wells, who has looked better in his last few outings, will start next week for us."

When Ferentz was asked if the team morale was better after beating the team that had just blown them out by 37 two weeks prior, he said, "This game helped us immensely from the standpoint of morale. The Goldmines really took us to the woodshed a couple weeks ago, and in front of our home crowd, we were determined to give them a much better game. The defense now believes they can shut down the run, as they took out one of the top RBs in the league in Edgerrin James. The pass defense still needs work, but @ least they forced more incompletions and, more importantly, forced turnovers. These guys are capable of performing like this every week and once they realize it, I'm sure we'll see better efforts from them."

The next game for the Assassins will be a road contest against the division leading Rochester Rejects @ M&T Bank Stadium. The Rejects feature a standout RB of their own in LaDanian Tomlinson, fifth in the BZFL in rushing w/ 818 yards and 6 TDs on the year. They also feature the league's 6th rated passer in Drew Brees, so the defense will have its work cut out for it again. Of the matchup, Ferentz said, "We will face a very big challenge in the Rejects. These guys run the ball well and have a solid passing game too. We made a ton of progress in our run defense w/ this win, and we'll keep working toward getting better in that respect. Our pass defense must continue to force turnovers and put pressure on QBs. Offensively, I think if we can establish our running game early, we'll be in pretty good shape. Now, w/ Julius out for this week, that will be tougher, but we're building some confidence here, so I believe these guys will get it done."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (09/12/05)
By: Staff


Coming off their worst performance of the season, a 59-7 thumping @ the hands of the Rochester Rejects, the Erie Assassins again find themselves searching to gain a little momentum. Head coach Kirk Ferentz said that there will be changes made on both offense and defense, in order to get a better look @ a few players and, hopefully, to spark the team on to some victories. "We've really done a lot of in depth evaluating of our personnel to see if we have our top guys in. Some guys have done well for us, while others continue to struggle. This late in the season, we know the playoffs are a ridiculously long shot for us. It's never over until it's over, of course, but we have put ourselves in quite a bind."

When asked about the lineup changes planned, Ferentz said only, "You'll see when we line up this week. That's all we're willing to say @ this point." Ferentz would not elaborate.

Offensively, the Assassins were held to an awful 195 total team yards. "That is just unacceptable." Ferentz stated. "Four turnovers, only 19 and a half minutes of possession, and 62 yards on the ground won't get it done. I realize we were without Julius Jones again, but there's no excuse for finishing w/ only 62 yards rushing as a team. We're still getting solid play out of our offensive line (only 2 sacks allowed), but we need better decision making from the QB and more aggressive play from the RBs and WRs. We brought the guys we have on our roster in here because they give us good size, which we expected to help in run blocking and in implementing a power offense here. So far, this unit has underachieved. They know it, and they know they need to step it up. Same goes for our RBs. Jonathan Wells has shown flashes of potential, but he needs to come in ready to go all the time. When he wants to, he can give us some good production."

Ferentz was asked if he felt there was a need to again go the free agency route for help. The last time the Assassins brought in free agents, they were able to upgrade their kick return game w/ Antonio Chatman and added a solid NT in Lional Dalton. "The guys that are on this roster are the ones who need to get it done. It isn't going to help us to keep bringing in free agents week after week. We have some cap room, and we feel it's better to use that room to make emergency moves, as we did when we signed Lional to fill in for (injured starting NT) Kris Jenkins. I like the potential of our WR group w/ Clarence Moore, Kelley Washington, Tyrone Calico, and Brandon Lloyd all showing signs of being good receivers at times. The problem is the consistency, which is to be expected from such a young and inexperienced group."

When the focus shifted to defense, Ferentz said, "I think we now have our training video for what not to do on defense. That was about as bad an effort as I've seen. Our run defense regressed badly after a solid outing against Edgerrin James. LaDanian Tomlinson burned us for 124 yards on 23 carries, an average of 5.4 yards per rush. Unacceptable. Drew Brees completed nearly 65% of his passes (24 of 37) for 362 yards and 6 TDs. We were able to generate a bit of a pass rush (4 sacks), but no turnovers. Again, that is unacceptable. Everyone on our defense needs to do some soul searching this week, and while they're @ it, they need to bust their butts to make sure they keep a starting job."

Asked to describe the positives he saw in the game, Ferentz said only that, "we didn't sustain any injuries in this game. We were able to come out of this game w/ no new entries to the injured list, and that's the one and only positive I can give you from a 52 point massacre."

Erie's next opponent, the second of their 4 straight road games, is the New England Wookies, a team that has a 2-9 record, identical to the Assassins. Ferentz said of this game, "This will be an important game from the standpoint of momentum. We just got our tails kicked, and we need to bounce back from it. We'll be able to tell a lot about our character by the way we come out this week." The Wookies feature RB Tiki Barber, 13th in the BZFL in rushing, and Eric Moulds, 8th in receptions. QB Kerry Collins, like Assassins signal caller Jake Plummer, has struggled this year, as he is 20th in the league in passer rating (Plummer is 19th). Both of these teams need for their QB play to improve if they're to improve.

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (09/17/05)
By: Staff


Coming off a hard fought 14-10 win over the New England Wookies, their first win on the road this season, the Erie Assassins are confident that they are starting to head in the right direction. After a 1-8 start in the first half of the year, the Assassins have won 2 of their last 3 games and are working on building their identity both on offense and defense. The offense continues to be more run oriented, as Julius Jones rushed for 88 yards on 29 carries. It seems the strategy is to keep the games close by running the ball often, giving the defense more of a chance to rest and become a factor in the games' outcome.

Last week, head coach Kirk Ferentz alluded to changes that were going to be made in the lineup, and we saw some changes on the field this week. Perhaps the most surprising of these changes was the move to put Byron Leftwich back in as the starting quarterback, after a turnover-laden 0-5 start to the season led to his benching in favor of Jake Plummer. Ferentz said of the move, "We decided, after a lot of discussion, that we wanted to start building toward our future and that we were going to take those steps now. Byron is our QB for the long haul, and so even though he did have a rough go of it to start the season, we had to put him in to see how he had adjusted. It's way too early to say he's ready to dominate, but we were all encouraged by his performance this week." Leftwich had a very efficient game, completing 13 of 19 passes for 130 yards and a TD, while not being sacked and not throwing any INTs. He had a passer rating of 105.2 for the game.

The team also got back LT Jonathan Ogden from injury, solidifying their O line, which gave up 0 sacks for the third time this season. "Getting Jonathan back was something we needed. This line has done a tremendous job this season in pass protection (Erie QBs have been sacked a mere 16 times this season, among the best in the BZFL) and has really gotten better in terms of opening holes in the running game as the season has worn on. I'm particularly happy to be able to move Bryant McKinnie back to the RT position, as we've had a lot of success running off the right side w/ Bryant and (starting RG) Kendyl Jacox working hard to spring the running game."

Defensively, the Assassins did not allow a 100 yard rusher, but did have 2 backs have solid games as Thomas Jones rushed for 92 yards on 17 carries (a 5.4 ypc average) and Tiki Barber had 89 yards on 21 carries (4.2 ypc) and a TD. "Our run defense is still not consistent enough to the point where myself and (Defensive Coordinator) coach (Al) Golden want it to be. Lional Dalton has done a solid job of filling in for Kris Jenkins while he's on injured reserve, but we still need to do better against the outside run. (LE) Randy Starks was better this week (had 4 tackles and 2 stuffs), but has to be reliable every week. (RE) Anthony Weaver had a solid game w/ 10 tackles and a stuff, but even he knows we need more from this trio up front. The good thing is that we have seen improvement in this area, so there is hope. These guys have been working very hard in the past few weeks to improve our run defense, including extra workout and film sessions. It's starting to pay off, but again, we need the effort on a weekly basis." The Assassins also got solid play from the linebackers, as Jonathan Vilma contributed a sack, a stuff, and 6 tackles to the cause while Karlos Dansby, who has looked tremendous over the past few games, tailed off a bit w/ only one QB pressure to go w/ 2 tackles, but was in the face of Wookies QB Kerry Collins often, forcing quicker throws for shorter distances (the Wookies finished w/ just 171 yards passing). Of the pass defense, Ferentz noted, "We did make a few changes defensively, and I think we got better overall play out of the secondary because of it. We made the move to start Andre Woolfolk at the opposite corner instead of Quentin Jammer, and he had a solid outing. Also, we moved Bob Sanders to the starting strong safety position, and that seemed to work out well for us. Sanders did a good job up near the line of scrimmage making big hits and even helping in the pass rush, but he also was solid in coverage too. I also like what we saw out of our other 2 starters in the secondary, CB Dunta Robinson and FS Sean Taylor. Both players had INTs in the game, w/ Taylor's 15 yard INT return for a TD being the game winner. We've been stressing the need for more turnovers lately, and these guys stepped up big. Dunta had a nice INT late in the game that killed the Wookies' final drive and allowed us to seal the victory. If we can continue to generate turnovers and get our pass rush going, this defense will continue to improve and get strong."

The next matchup for the Assassins will be the Ebenezer Norsemen, a team that has good offensive balance and a defense that features a strong pass rush. Ferentz said of the game, "This game will test where we are as a team. If we really are heading in the right direction, we'll be okay. I think it will be critical for us to establish our running game early, so that we can then work the play action passing game and keep the Norsemen off balance. Defensively, we'll have a tough time stopping RB Domanick Davis and QB Brian Griese. When these guys are both on, it's hard to stop this team. If we can generate good pressure on Griese, I think we can have some success. Our line MUST come through in stopping their running game. If we can do that like we did in our rematch w/ the NY Goldmines when we limited Edgerrin James to 48 yards rushing, then we'll be in a better position to possibly get a win. We must play hard, limit our turnovers, and continue the improvements we've had over the past few weeks."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (09/24/05)
By: Staff


The Erie Assassins are in very low spirits after a humiliating 34-0 loss to the Ebenezer Norsemen this week. Head Coach Kirk Ferentz blasted his team for "another lackluster effort. Some of the personnel that we've relied on the most, such as the offensive line, just plain stunk this week. If we can't get Julius (Jones) off to a good start, then we're severely limited in what we can do. The play action pass is just not going to work w/out a running game, and that was surely the case today." He was especially critical of his offensive line, calling their effort "putrid. This is truly one of the best offensive lines in the BZFL, and they just mailed this one in. Giving up 6 sacks while our RB struggled to average just 2.9 yards per rush? Horrible game for our guys up front."

Ferentz' tough words have not been lost on the players, either. Nick Barnett, starting RILB and one of the team's most respected players, said, "Man, this was a pathetic game for us. We have the potential to beat the crap out of these teams, but we keep on making the same mistakes. Now, we're having guys just playing half a** out there. I guess there's a bunch of guys who are in a hurry to get to the golf course and are just mailing these last few games in. Well, they'd better quit and go find another team to latch onto, 'cause we're not having that here. We've got five more games to go, and you better believe this team is going to show more over the last five weeks than we did in this game."

Defensively, the Assassins allowed another 100 yard rushing performance, this time from Domanick Davis, who ran 22 times for 103 yards (a 4.7 avg). They also allowed QB Brian Griese to have an outstanding game, completing 16 of 18 for 287 yards and 3 TDs. Griese was sacked twice and picked off once, but for the most part, shredded the Erie defense. Of his much maligned secondary, Ferentz said, "These guys are going to have to learn to work together in terms of the pass coverage. We've had a lot of turnover this year in the secondary's personnel, and I think we've found a decent combination w/ Bob Sanders @ SS, Sean Taylor @ FS, and Dunta Robinson and Andre Woolfolk manning the corners. This is a young group that will have to continue to develop, both as individuals and as one unit. We won't be tinkering w/ the lineup much for the rest of the season, so they're going to have to work harder to play their way out of this."

Ferentz did respond to a question about whether the offense needed to be opened up a bit to see what Leftwich can do. He said, "The offense is what you see: we want to run the football so that we can get the play action pass going from that. There's not a lot of tricks and gimmicks in our system. We won't do a lot of 4 and 5 wide sets, not that we're closed minded to the idea, it's just that we feel we have the personnel to work the power offense. Now, this year has been a struggle to get the passing game going, but we fully intend to see what our young guys can do, and then look to the offseason to make any changes we feel are necessary. I am encouraged by Leftwich's virtually error-free manner of playing in the last couple games. This is something we hope to build on. We'll get him limiting the turnovers for now, then we'll work on getting the ball downfield more often."

Asked to list the positives from this game, Ferentz took a long pause, after which, he said, "I just gave you one." After a few laughs, Ferentz expanded on that by saying, "Seriously though, we again kept ourselves healthy, which is a plus as it allows our starters to gain more experience playing together. We also did get another interception (by Sean Taylor, his 2nd of the year, tying him w/ Robinson for the team lead), which I guess means that our pass coverage guys are working harder to get into better position and are being more aggressive out there. The challenge for them is to now bring it all together and make our secondary one that teams will respect. We've got a ways to go before that happens."

Next up for the Assassins is their final road game of the season against the Los Angeles Aztecs, a team that is tied w/ Atlanta and the LA Playas for the 2nd best record in the league @ 10-3. The team features the running of Fred Taylor (6th in the BZFL w/ 1,038 rushing yards) and the passing of Billy Volek (currently the league's 8th ranked passer). They also feature one of the league's top defenses, so this will be an incredibly tough game for the Assassins to win. "We have to come into this game w/ a better frame of mind than we did this week. We were an uninspired bunch, and it showed. This team is one of the very best in the league, and it would be a huge momentum builder for us to pull off the upset", Ferentz said. Considering Erie now is ranked dead last in the league in both offense AND defense, calling their efforts 'uninspired' is putting it mildly.

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (10/01/05)
By: Staff


After suffering a loss in their final road game of the season, a 30-20 setback to the LA Aztecs, the Erie Assassins are looking forward to their 4 game home stand to end the season. They hope to continue to work on developing the power running game and to turn things around on defense, where the run defense has been poor all season while the pass coverage and pass rush have been pretty solid. Head Coach Kirk Ferentz said of the loss to the Aztecs, "Man, this was a tough one. We started off pretty bad, as usual, but we fought our way back due to a solid effort on the ground from Julius Jones (23 carries for 99 yards and a TD) and by limiting the mistakes (0 sacks allowed, only 7 penalties for 38 yards...but 2 INTs) for the most part. Byron did throw a couple of picks that hurt us, but overall, he is starting to get a feel for what we want to do and has made better decisions in there. What we need now is for the backs and receivers to step up and give us more than they have. This week, we did get a decent game from Brandon Lloyd (5 catches for 131 yards), but he must become more of a factor in the red zone (0 TDs). Once he starts coming up w/ the TDs, then he'll really be a weapon for us. For now, he's doing a good job of getting open deep on occasion, but we need more from him, and from the others. Kelley Washington is also improving, but we need for him to be a much more reliable receiver, especially on third downs. The offense still needs work, but I am encouraged by the development of guys like Washington, (starting TE Ben)Troupe, and Lloyd. We're getting there. The next step is for them to become consistent, so that we can add a few wrinkles to the game plan to really open things up for us."

Defensively, the Assassins were status quo: another week, another 100 yard rusher. This week, it was Fred Taylor shredding the Erie defense for 192 yards on 25 carries (a whopping 7.7 yard per rush average) and a TD. "Another poor outing for our defensive front." Ferentz said. "It's not enough to put pressure on the QB if we're going to let everyone run on us. This late in the season, we're not making any wholesale changes. We feel this is the best group we have in there, and they are going to have to play their way out of this. For some reason, it just isn't coming together in terms of run defense. We have good guys in there in Jonathan Vilma, Nick Barnett, Lional Dalton, Randy Starks, and Anthony Weaver, and they've done well in rushing the passer, but the run defense just isn't there. This is a young group, to be sure, but they all know they can do better than this." Ferentz did have some good things to say about his pass defense, "The guys in the secondary did a nice job today, getting in Kurt Warner's face so that he didn't have all day to pick us apart. Dunta Robinson had an INT while Vilma was all over the place in coverage, coming up w/ a stuff and knocking down a pass in addition to his 7 tackles and a sack. That's what we envisioned from him when we made him our #2 overall selection in the free agent draft. I'm just glad our young guys seem to be coming along @ the right time, toward the end of this season going into the offseason. It gives us a lot of reason to be optimistic about turning things around in a hurry."

The Assassins now begin their 4 game home stand to end the season w/ a contest against the Rochester Rejects, who beat Erie by a 59-7 score in their first meeting. "That was an embarrassing effort from our defense, as LaDanian Tomlinson had over 100 yards while Drew Brees scorched us for 362 yards and 6 TDs," Ferentz said. "We hope to do better this time. It should help that Julius is back running the ball well for us. We're going to hope that we can get him going early and do some play action passing off of that. If we do that, we can make this a manageable game and maybe even score the upset."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (10/08/05)
By: Staff


The Erie Assassins' home stand began w/ a very tough 7-3 loss to the Rochester Rejects, a team that beat the Assassins by a 59-7 score just a few weeks earlier. LaDanian Tomlinson again proved to be too much for the Erie defense, piling up 134 yards on 29 carries and scoring a TD. He also caught 5 passes for 40 yards for the Rejects. Head Coach Kirk Ferentz was disappointed in coming away w/ a loss, but praised the defensive effort of his team. "The Rejects came out and had a nice, balanced game plan that worked for them in terms of yards (220 passing/133 rushing), but we kept them out of the end zone this time, giving our team a chance @ a win. Our offense just couldn't capitalize this time, as Byron Leftwich really strugled this week (12 of 26 for 82 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT). Our inability to generate any kind of a passing game, plus another injury to Julius Jones (who finished w/ 8 rushes for 42 yards in the game's first 8 minutes) curtailed any kind of offensive scoring punch. Luckily, Julius should be okay for next week. We just kept him out of the rest of this game as a safeguard. The doctors have said Julius had no major damage and they'll monitor him over the next couple of days just to be sure, but they fully expect him to be ready for Saturday's game."

Ferentz did have some nice things to say about the way the defense kept the game's scoring low and gave the team a shot @ a win. "We had some guys just step up and play hard this week. Karlos Dansby had a nice game w/ 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and a pass breakup. Bryan Scott, who lost his starting job to Bob Sanders (out due to injury for the next 2 games), filled in nicely w/ 16 tackles and one pass defensed. Another guy who is getting progressively better is Andre Woolfolk. He did well w/ 4 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovered. In addition to those guys, we got good efforts from Anthony Weaver, Nick Barnett, and Dunta Robinson also. It would've been better had we been able to control Tomlinson's running, but I was very happy to see them work so hard to keep the game close after what they did to us last time."

W/ a short week to prepare, the Assassins' next game is against the Tampa Bay Tarpons, a team that features playmaking receiver Torry Holt and RB Deuce McAllister. This will be a tough matchup for Erie's pass defense. "Now we'll see just how well we can defend the pass." Ferentz said. "This team throws the ball well, and we must be ready for them. Also, we must try to slow down McAllister too. They're not one dimensional, so we have to work hard to get a win here. If we can slow them down in terms of running the ball and if Julius can get going, we have a shot."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (10/08/05)
By: Staff


The Erie Assassins fought hard, but lost down the stretch to the Tampa Bay Tarpons by a 24-10 score. The Tarpons scored two touchdowns in the game's final 11 minutes after the Assassins had tied the game @ 10 w/ a 37 yard David Akers FG. Of the loss, head coach Kirk Ferentz said, "We just couldn't move the ball. Our passing game just couldn't come up w/ the big plays we needed on a consistent basis, and it killed us. We hit on a couple nice plays w/ Clarence Moore and Brandon Lloyd, but they were few and far between. (Offensive Coordinator) Ken O' Keefe and I know that we have much work to do to get our passing game going the way it should be, which will take the pressure off of Julius Jones and the running game to constantly produce for us."


Speaking of Jones, he had a spectacular game, finishing w/ 128 yards and a TD on 27 carries and looking like the stud RB the Assassins envisioned when they drafted him. "Julius gave us a fantastic effort running the ball. He put us in manageable 2nd and 3rd downs for most of the day, but we just couldn't capitalize on his efforts. Once we get more out of our passing game, and w/ Julius running this way, we'll have an offense that is tough to stop."

Going to his defense, Ferentz noted, "Our run defense continues to struggle, as we gave up 113 yards and a TD to Deuce McAllister on the ground. We have to do better in this area. (Defensive line coach) Tommy Brasher has a lot of work to do to get these guys ready to stuff the run. The efforts are there, but for some reason, we can't get everyone on the same page. Randy Starks did look a bit better than the past few games, but he still had minimal stats. We also got a pretty decent game from DT Lional Dalton, but again, we need for our entire defensive front to be on the same page to be successful. It can't happen w/ a bunch of individual efforts out there."

Ferentz did single out the secondary also. "Our guys had a Jeckyl and Hyde type game. We were successful in getting them off the field on 3rd downs (the Tarpons finished just 1 of 8 in that category), but Tarpons QB Matt Hasselbeck also completed 19 of 30 passes for 238 yards and 2 TDs also for a 110.1 QB rating on the game. Bryan Scott did another decent job of filling in for injured starter Bob Sanders @ SS, but overall, this wasn't a shining moment for these guys, and they know it. I expect them to perform better in our next game."

The next game for Erie is a home rematch against the New England Wookies. "We beat these guys on their field the first time out (by a 14-10 score), but that doesn't mean a thing now. This is a game we could easily lose, especially if we don't shore up that run defense. We need a much better effort from the secondary also. Offensively, we have to do a better job of getting consistency out of the passing game. We've seen some good things, but not nearly enough of it. If we're going to take the step to become a contender, we have to give our running game more support than what we're doing."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (10/10/05)
By: Staff


Assassins head coach Kirk Ferentz was not happy after his team's 23-15 loss tonight to the New England Wookies. "This was another disappointing game for our team," Ferentz said. "The defense kept us in this game, but we just couldn't generate enough offense to win it. The Wookies were able to shut down our running game for the most part, as Julius Jones had just 78 yards (and a TD) on 21 carries. Again, we could not effectively throw the football well enough to establish the balance we need to be successful. This is something we will have to improve on, and fast, if we want to win."

While the Assassins did not turn the ball over in this game, QB Byron Leftwich wasn't able to get the passing game going either. He finished w/ 147 yards on 14 of 26 passing for a rating of 70.5 for the game. "Byron was careful in not turning the ball over, so that was good," Ferentz noted, "but we need to get a lot more out of our passing game. Guys like Brandon Lloyd and Clarence Moore have shown that they can get open down the field, while Kelley Washington and Ben Troupe have made some nice catches all year to keep drives going. We've also had very good pass protection from our line all year, so there's no excuse for us not being able to throw the ball better than we have been so far. (Offensive Coordinator) Ken O' Keefe and I will have to go back to the lab to get this passing game in order."

Ferentz was also upset @ the way the Wookies were able to control the clock against the Assassins. "They kept the ball for over 37 minutes of this game, which is just unacceptable. Our defense must do a better job of getting teams off the field. The part that really makes the time of possessin a head scratcher was the fact that the Wookies only converted 2 of 10 third downs on the game. Tiki Barber had 111 yards and 2 TDs on just 18 carries (a very impressive 6.2 yard per rush average), which allowed them to chew up so much time on us. Once again, our run defense just couldn't get it done. It's really disappointing because we've done a pretty good job all season of stopping teams on third downs, rushing the passer (3rd best in the BZFL in sacks), and controlling our opponents' passing game (6th best pass defense in the BZFL), but the run defense has been our Achilles' heel all year long. (Defensive Coordinator) Al Golden and the defensive coaching staff will be working hard to get us in the correct scheme so that our players can do better against the run. I don't think personnel is the problem there, as Randy Starks, Lional Dalton, Kris Jenkins, and Anthony Weaver have done a pretty good job this year, and our inside LBs, Jonathan Vilma and Nick Barnett, have been one of the strengths of our defense. We will get this corrected."

The Assassins were able to get a little more from the kicking game, as David Akers connected on 2 of 3 FGs on the day. "I thought David did very well when called upon," Ferentz said, "and that's all we can ask of him. I think he's been frustrated as we all have that we haven't been in the position to give him more scoring opportunities, but he's been clutch in the few times we've needed him."

The Assassins will now get ready for their final game of the season, a rematch against the Philadelphia Bushwhackers, who beat the Assassins @ Lincoln Financial Field in Week 3 by a 24-10 score. Ferentz said that, "a lot of the guys have been vocal about wanting to finish strong in this one, so we'll see what happens. I think the effort will definitely be there; it's just a matter of executing well, developing continuity offensively and defensively, and limiting our mistakes, which we've been better @ toward the end of the season here." Again, Erie will have to try to figure out how to slow down RB Ahman Green (13 carries, 134 yards, 2 TDs in first meeting) and QB Aaron Brooks (17 of 25 passing for 195 yards, 1 TD, no INTs and a 104.6 passer rating). "The guys say they want to play well in this finale, so I look for a win here," Ferentz said. "We know we can beat this team if we run the ball well and our defense keeps the game close. It won't be easy, but it can be done."

[R. Rich]

Re: Dossier: The Magazine Of The Erie Assassins

Notes From Kirk Ferentz Press Conference (10/11/05)
By: Staff


In the final game of the season, the Erie Assassins lost again to the Philadelphia Bushwhackers by a 31-17 score. The Assassins' passing game couldn't do enough to get them the win while the running game was controlled by Philadelphia. Head coach Kirk Ferentz said of the loss, "This was another tough one to take. We again had no success in stopping Ahman Green (108 yards and 2 TDs on just 17 carries-a 6.4 yard per rush average) or Aaron Brooks (24 of 36 for 316 yards, 2 TDs w/ 2 INTs for an 89.6 passer rating) on the day. Offensively, we tried to emphasize the pass a bit more, and had little success in that respect. We were just unable to come up w/ the effort we wanted to have for this game."

Julius Jones finished w/ 24 carries for just 70 yards and a TD, a measly 2.9 yard per rush average. "We couldn't effectively run the football all day," Ferentz said. "The Bushwhackers were able to get us off the field when they had to (6 for 17 on 3rd downs; 28:07 time of possession for the game). They had an answer to anything we attempted to do today." Kelley Washington had 5 receptions for 45 yards and Brandon Lloyd had 4 for 39 yards to lead the Assassins' passing game.

Defensively, the Assassins had a lackluster game, as they were unsuccessful in stopping Brooks for throwing for over 300 yards and couldn't keep Green under 100 yards rushing. Ferentz noted that, "While it was nice to see a more active Randy Starks (3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hurry, 2 stuffs), we again didn't see enough from the defensive front as a unit. Starks, Lional Dalton, Anthony Weaver, and the LBs need to be on the same page, and today they weren't. We were able to get 4 sacks in the game (2 from LB Nick Barnett), but overall, this was a pretty bad effort from these guys."

The Assassins' secondary wasn't much better, as Brooks was able to hit his receivers regularly, especially Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton, who each had 100 yard receiving games today. Ferentz said of the effort, "I was disappointed. I thought that these guys would come out ready, and they didn't. Andre Woolfolk did have 7 tackles, 2 passes defensed, and an INT, and Sean Taylor contributed 2 tackles, 1 pass defensed, and an INT, but it wasn't enough to stop the Bushwhackers from being able to throw the ball on us. For a team that came into this game w/ the 6th best pass defense in the league, this effort stunk."

Now comes the offseason for Erie, and there will be some very tough decisions to make for this team. One of the tougher ones will be what to do w/ DT Kris Jenkins. Jenkins' play was not to the level it usually is, and the Assassins signed DT Lional Dalton once Jenkins was put on IR, and Dalton performed fairly well. When asked about whether Jenkins will be back next year, Ferentz said, "There aren't any plans to either trade or release Kris. He is scheduled to return to us next year."