Germaine, Rattlers Break Streak, Set Sights on San Jose
Patrick Daly
Saturday April 2, 2005
"It feels really, really good," said Rattlers QB Joe Germaine. "We’ve been so close it seems the last few weeks and just came up short. We’ve been working really hard to try to rebound and show some pride, so it was a good feeling."
Even with the win, nothing came easy for a Rattlers team that lost its previous three games by a total of 10 points. In a game that went back and forth most of the night until Arizona ran off 20 straight points, the Rattlers helped their own cause by holding Nashville scoreless in the opening and closing frames.
"It’s always a dogfight," said Germaine. "If you look at the games they’ve been in, they’ve been close games, too. They had about the same record as us, and they’ve been in a lot of their games. We were able to get some breaks and our defense was able to get some big stops. They didn’t score in the first quarter or the fourth quarter, so that’s pretty big."
With QB Sherdrick Bonner ailing, Germaine has been thrust into the spotlight once again. Germaine took the reigns for the second time this season when Bonner went down with an injury against the Las Vegas Gladiators two week ago. Since taking over, Germaine has responded with 12 touchdowns, no interceptions and a better than 70% completion percentage.
"It’s kind of tough, but being a backup that’s the kind of job you take upon yourself," said Germaine. "You have to be ready for anything. If a guy gets hurt and misses some time you’ve got to be ready to step in, whenever that is. That’s the hand that I’m dealt."
The Rattlers now have an extremely tough opponent up next in the San Jose SaberCats as they try to turn the win over Nashville into the start of a winning streak. The SaberCats got off to a rough start of their own, getting out of the gate at 1-3 before running off four impressive wins that have made San Jose a likely candidate for another ArenaBowl appearance.
"They are one of the more talented teams in this league," said Germaine. "It’s at their home place and we definitely have a tough opponent. We’re working hard and hopefully we go in there and play a solid game and give it our best shot."
With the way this season has gone for the Rattlers, this game is less about rivalries and a chance at redemption for two recent ArenaBowl losses, including last year’s 69-62 outcome, and more about simply getting another win. While the 2-7 record may not be promising, the Rattlers are three games out of the final wild card spot in the American Conference with seven games to play, which still gives them a shot at the postseason. That means the playoffs have already begun for Arizona and they need to win their next game to move on.
"We’re at the point now where every game is a playoff game," said Germaine. "If we’re going to have any opportunity to make the postseason we have to win out. That’s the attitude here. But to do that, we have to take it one game at a time."
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
