The most important thing the Minnesota Monsters secured Saturday night was not the No. 3 seed or the right to host an Arena Football One playoff game. It was proof that a first-year AF1 team, tested by inconsistency, roster movement and several avoidable losses, has developed an identity strong enough to survive its imperfections — and perhaps carry it much further than anyone expected.
The Monsters did not play a complete game in their 56-42 victory over the Washington Wolfpack at Amsoil Arena. Ja’Vonte Johnson completed only 14 of 37 passes. Washington quarterback Andrew McBride accounted for six touchdowns. There were missed throws, stalled possessions and enough uneven stretches to remind everyone that Minnesota remains a work in progress.
There also were seven Monsters touchdowns, another timely defensive performance and a team that responded whenever Washington threatened to make the game uncomfortable.
Johnson threw four touchdown passes. Jarvai Flowers caught six passes for 99 yards and three touchdowns. Defensive lineman Claude Davis became Minnesota’s short-yardage hammer, carrying eight times for 16 yards and three touchdowns. The Monsters won their second consecutive game, improved to 7-4 and guaranteed themselves a home game in the opening round of the playoffs.
They are winning without pretending they have mastered everything required to win a championship. That might be their greatest strength.
“It’s big, being a first-year program, just putting it all together as a team,” Davis said. “It’s a good thing to see us rolling finally.”
Minnesota’s season has required patience. The Monsters have experienced roster turnover, injuries and difficult losses. They surrendered games they believed they should have won and spent much of the season trying to determine which players and combinations gave them their best chance.
Any of that could have divided a new team. Instead, the Monsters stayed together long enough to become dangerous.
“That’s the biggest thing, man,” Davis said. “We stayed together as a team through everything we’ve been through this season. We never gave up on each other, and we continue to fight as a team. So that’s the biggest thing for me.”
The defense has carried Minnesota through difficult stretches, but Davis refused to turn the team’s progress into an offense-versus-defense discussion. He described something more important than statistics: shared accountability.
“We pick our brothers up when they slack, and they pick us up when we slack,” Davis said. “So it’s really a team effort, for sure.”
That belief is being reinforced by Willie Howard, the former NFL linebacker recently named the Monsters’ senior consultant. Howard provides strategic guidance, organizational support and mentorship as Minnesota prepares for the playoffs.
Howard is a Stanford graduate who was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft. He later participated in the Vikings’ Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship under former coach Mike Tice. Howard currently serves as activities director at Robbinsdale Cooper High School after spending 15 seasons as the school’s head football coach.
His experience extends well beyond football. Howard has served as a principal, worked as a realtor and holds a general contractor’s license. He understands that enthusiasm might launch something, but only a strong foundation can sustain it.
“When you build something, you have to build with an amazing foundation, and that’s what they have — a great foundation,” Howard said. “For Jacob (Monsters owner Jacob Lambert) to ask me to consult and bring some leadership from all my years of coaching football and playing in the NFL and playing at a high level in college, it’s being able to be a mentor for the coaching staff and the administration team.”
Lambert did not ask Howard to rebuild a broken organization. He asked him to help strengthen one that had already established its direction.
“We’ve already got a foundation,” Howard said. “Can you help us now to make this even that much more a level and a standard of excellence?”
Howard saw encouraging evidence Saturday. He watched coaches, ownership and players approach the Washington game as though the playoffs had already begun. The No. 3 seed mattered, but the immediate goal remained simpler.
“It was a good game,” Howard said. “It was good energy, good positive energy. And just watching the coaches and the ownership really come together and putting in front of our players what the prize is and understanding when you hear the coaches talk about 1-0, the goal is 1-0.”
That mentality will matter more than Minnesota’s seed once the playoffs begin. Nashville and Albany have earned first-round byes and established themselves as the league’s top two teams. Minnesota has not been as consistently dominant, but postseason football does not award points for regular-season reputation. It asks a team to survive one game.
Howard also understands that the AF1 carries responsibilities beyond winning. Most of its players are still chasing something. They need film, exposure and an opportunity to demonstrate that they can play professionally. Some hope to reach the Canadian Football League or United Football League. Others remain determined to earn an NFL opportunity.
Arena football gives them a stage, but it also exposes weaknesses quickly. The field is smaller. Passing windows close almost immediately. Receivers must make catches near or over the wall. Quarterbacks cannot hold the ball while waiting for routes to develop. A player can make a spectacular catch and wipe it away with an undisciplined penalty.
“Football is football,” Howard said. “It’s about competition, it’s about development, it’s about discipline, it’s about accountability.”
Talent alone is not enough. Howard believes the Monsters must identify players capable of performing at a high level without sacrificing the character necessary to build a sustainable organization.
“When they’re evaluating players, it’s not about who can catch the football the best, because you might catch a football and then afterward you’ve got an attitude about you that causes a 15-yard penalty, and now that’s a negative play for you,” Howard said. “We’re going to also find the ones that have high character and continue to grow on the foundation that was set.”
The AF1’s television exposure gives players current film against professional competition. Howard believes a player willing to make a catch over the wall and absorb the collision is demonstrating the toughness scouts expect at higher levels.
“If this creates an opportunity for a young man to be able to get a shot on Sundays, that’s what the goal is,” Howard said. “And that’s what Jacob’s goal is — to be able to provide opportunities.”
Howard’s own playing days are finished, but his responsibility is not. He can teach younger players what professional organizations demand and how preparation must change when football becomes a job.
“Perfect practice makes perfect,” Howard said. “We’re going to set that standard.”
Johnson is among the players still working to reach that standard. His season has included spectacular stretches and costly mistakes, sometimes within the same game. He has been forced to learn that success in one version of football does not guarantee immediate mastery of another.
Rather than hide from that reality, Johnson acknowledged it.
“Me personally, I'm having a rough year,” he said. “It obviously didn’t go how I wanted, but it’s going to finish how we want it to finish. That’s the plan. It’s been the plan, and we never got swayed away from it.”
His performance against Washington reflected his season. Johnson completed fewer than 38% of his passes and threw an interception, but four of his 14 completions produced touchdowns. He kept attacking, connected with Flowers for three scores and did enough to help the Monsters secure the third seed.
Johnson is learning that the arena game demands anticipation as much as arm strength. A quarterback must know where the ball belongs before a receiver completes his route. Waiting for someone to become visibly open often means waiting too long.
“It’s just a different style of football,” Johnson said. “As far as holding the ball, the ball has got to be out of your hand quicker. I’m learning. I’m picking it up. Obviously, I’m going to learn. I’m going to work harder than everybody, so I’m going to figure it out no matter what.”
Johnson studies Nashville’s Tyler Kulka, Albany quarterbacks Joshua Kulka and Sam Castronova, and Michigan’s Malik Henry. He watches how they throw to spots, identify matchups and deliver the ball without unnecessary hesitation.
“I try to get better however I can, no matter who I’ve got to watch,” Johnson said. “We’ve got really good quarterbacks in this league. I haven’t been here before. Now I’m here, and I’m not going to be left behind.”
Johnson’s honesty matters. He knows he has not yet become the quarterback he intends to be. He also believes the Monsters have not become the team they intend to be.
“We still haven’t played a complete game,” he said. “We’re still getting better. That’s the thing. It’s not like we’re at our peak. We still have a lot to get better at, and we will get better.”
Minnesota will complete the regular season against Beaumont on Saturday night at Amsoil Arena. A Monsters victory will eliminate the Renegades and bring Washington back to Duluth for the opening round. A Beaumont victory will give the Renegades the final playoff berth and produce an immediate rematch at Amsoil Arena.
I asked Davis whether the AF1 playoffs belonged to Nashville and Albany or whether Minnesota had forced its way into a larger group of legitimate contenders. He did not offer a ranking, calculate odds or make an argument based on records.
He offered a warning.
“I just know we’re rolling,” Davis said. “So we’re going to be scary in two weeks. I can promise you that.”
The Monsters have secured third place without believing they have reached their ceiling. They are learning how to win before learning how to play a complete game.
That can be frustrating during the regular season. It can become frightening in the playoffs.
eMail Howie at Duluth@aol.com
