Weekly Q&A with Storm's head coach

In his weekly Q&A, Chicago Storm head coach Steve Morris discusses the team's defense against first-place Detroit and an upcoming games against Baltimore and New Jersey.

Q. The Storm defense held a potent Detroit offense at bay Friday. Anything in particular stand out as to the success of shutting the Ignition down (9-2)?

A. It was not necessarily our defensive pressure, but our offensive possession and ball movement that led to some goals. In the third quarter, they attacked us, but we came up with some huge blocks and big saves. They were playing from behind, and we defended well behind the ball.

Q. One person who specifically has come up with some huge blocks and also contributes well offensively is Fabinho. Talk about his play and his versatility.

A. Fabinho is a talented player when he's focused. We have to make sure we do our job to get him to play at a high level. He's got great skills. He's also shown recently that he has some durability. We're very pleased with his play, and we need to continue to get more from him.

Q. For a 6-foot defenseman, is there sort of a hidden quickness to him? Because in 1-on-1 situations, he seems to handle his own.

A. He's very sharp in his movement. He's crisp, and he moves his feet quickly. But he'd be the first to tell you that if he's running in a straight line, he's not the fastest player in the league.

Q. Fabinho provided a big three-point goal that cut Milwaukee's lead to 12-9 on Sunday. Was the team's ability to come back from a tough start kind of the silver lining of that match?

A. It was a positive to be able to fight our way back. We showed some moxie in the second half. Plus, many of our younger guys stepped up. But we have to open a game better than we did, and our veterans have to will the team to bring them the drive. We addressed that at practice this week.

Q. You're at Baltimore on Friday, and the Blast seem to be on a bit of a hot streak, especially coming off a win against Milwaukee and shutting out the Wave's Greg Howes. Why are they doing better?

A. The bottom line is they're healthy. It's not always about the X's and O's. They have gotten healthy. They have (forward Adauto) Neto healthy (coming back from a right foot injury) and they're playing well again. It's definitely a big boost for them.

Q. With Saturday's match against New Jersey, another team right on the Storm's heels, do you look at this as a pivotal weekend in terms of staying in the upper half of the playoff picture?

A. We're not thinking about the final six (playoff spots) right now. We're more worried about establishing ourselves, and we hope to duplicate what happened last season, which is to play hot at the right time. If we do that, then we'll go far.

Q. The league had its college draft Tuesday. Summarize the Storm's five picks and your impression of the athletes you chose.

A. I think the biggest thing was we drafted some good athletes and some big boys. If you look at our team right now, we're good, but we're also small. So by adding some youth with the experience we have, we will have some athleticism, some size and speed.

This interview was conducted by Storm media relations director Charlie Corr.