Bishop Unable to Carry Rampage to Win
Neal Ruhl
Tuesday March 15, 2005
The Rush were able to overcome another standout day by Rampage Quarterback Michael Bishop, who was 15-31, for 235 yards and five touchdowns. Bishop also ran for 28 yards and another score to even further his lead for the league rushing title. Bishop should also get serious run for the league MVP honors at the end of the season.
"We’re proud to have him here." Said Rampage head coach Sparky McEwen. "He’s progressing nicely and playing better."
The knock on Bishop has been that he is sometimes inaccurate with his passes and that he makes the decision to run a little bit too quickly.
"He has to remember that he is a quarterback first and a runner second." Said McEwen. "He will last a lot longer here in this league by making plays with his arm rather than with his feet."
Some Rampage teammates say that he already is among the elite players in the Arena League. "I feel that right now he is the best player in this league." Said Rampage WR/DB Josh Bush, who had four catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns. "He’s only going to get better as he goes along."
Bishop himself tries to not take all the talk about him too seriously. "I try to just go out there and have fun all the time." Said Bishop who has as many 20+ yard rushes this season as the rest of the League combined.
Bishop and the Rampage must bounce back from the loss quickly however as Grand Rapids must travel to San Jose to take on the SaberCats Friday night at 10:30. The game can be seen locally on Fox Sports Net.
ON THE RAMPAGE
Rampage OS Chris Jackson missed Sunday’s contest with the Rush due to back pain…Arena League officials had their usual bad day on Sundays as two flags were thrown for no reason apparently, and a couple of interference calls had to be made by the official on the opposite side of the field.
Neal Ruhl lives in the Metro Detroit Area where he has covered the Detroit Lions as well as the Motor City Bowl.
