Firebirds cling to playoff hopes(Full Story) Firebirds cling to playoff hopes
By BILL BUELL
Gazette SportswriterCOLONIE - For Albany Firebirds offensive specialist Eddie Brown, the team's precarious playoff situation is a most unwelcome one.
"It's very uncomfortable for me, because in all my years here, we were always fighting for the home-field advantage," said Brown, who arrived at Albany County Airport Sunday with the rest of the team after the Firebirds were beaten Saturday night in Arizona by the Rattlers, 77-60.
"We've never been fighting just to make the playoffs. But the guys can't fold their tent. We have to go out and work hard, and do what we have to do."
What the Firebirds have to do next Saturday night is defeat the 10-3 Iowa Barnstormers in Des Moines, something they have never done, and then they must also hope that either the Tampa Bay Storm loses to the 8-5 San Jose Sabrecats, or the Milwaukee Mustangs lose to the 2-11 Portland Forest Dragons.
The Storm and the Mustangs are both 7-6, while Saturday night's loss dropped the Firebirds to 6-7. Albany, however, has the tiebreaker edge over both Tampa Bay and Milwaukee.
"We still have a life, so as long as there's a chance, we're going to go out and work hard this week, and get ready for Iowa," said Firebirds coach Mike Dailey.
"We're playing the top two teams, on the road, the last two weeks of the season, so everybody realizes how tough it is. But you gotta believe that something great will happen. Hopefully, we can beat Iowa, and then somebody else will help us and beat either Tampa Bay or Milwaukee."
The Firebirds would have been able to control their own destiny with a win over the Rattlers Saturday night, but Arizona also had plenty of incentive.
Behind the combination of quarterback Sherdrick Bonner and wide receiver Calvin Schexnayder, the Rattlers improved to 11-2, assuring themselves of the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The offenses dominated play for much of the game, but a few costly mistakes proved to be Albany's undoing.
One mistake was quarterback Mike Pawlawski's first interception in five games, while two more miscues were committed by the Firebirds' special teams on kickoff coverage.
Near the end of the first half, and after Albany had pulled within three points midway through the final period, 63-60, the Firebirds allowed the Rattlers' Hunkie Cooper to return a kickoff inside the Albany 10, setting up two easy scores. "It was a real track meet out there, and the kind of situation where you have to play almost a perfect game to win," said Dailey. "We played well and the guys tried hard, but we made a few mistakes that were costly."
Brown said Pawlawski's interception, taken in by former Hudson Valley Community College standout Cecil Doggette off the rebound net, was a result of the short field (45 yards instead of 50) at the America West Arena, and the speed of intended receiver David McLeod.
"Mike knows that when he throws the ball to McLeod, he's got to lay it out there and let him go after it, because he's so fast," Brown explained. "I think as soon as he threw it, he knew it was trouble, because of the short field, but you can't fault the man for that. If their field is two or three yards longer, that's a touchdown.
"Hey, I thought Pawlawski had a great game, and made some great reads, and I thought the other receivers really played well. Mike Baker and Greg Hopkins stepped up, and McLeod made some great catches."
Pawlawski, the league's top-rated passer, finished with 29 completions in 41 attempts for 345 yards. He threw for six touchdowns, and was intercepted twice. Brown, despite being the focus of the Arizona defense, caught nine passes for 82 yards and three touchdowns, while Baker had seven catches for 61 yards, McLeod five catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns, and Hopkins four catches for 73 yards and one score.
The problem, according to Brown, was Albany's special teams and its defense. "Arizona is a great team, and they made us look like an average team in those areas," said Brown.
His coach agreed. "We were hurt in those two areas, and I think particularly in our kickoff coverage," said Dailey. "We played poorly in that department."
Saturday night in Des Moines, the Firebirds will have to keep their mistakes to a minimum, and try to resist the temptation to look at the scoreboard for partial scores from other games. "We have to go out and play a perfect game. We can't be worrying about what somebody else is doing," said Brown. "Our offense has to score every time we get the ball, and our defense has to make at least one or two stops."
