Mark Grieb and Perfection
Tim Ball
Monday April 25, 2005
If Ozzie Osbourne or Joe Montana owned a piece of the SaberCats, quarterback Mark Grieb and the SaberCats would be full screen on arenafootball.com every week.
Grieb was 15-15 for 331-yards and eight touchdowns on a fifty-yard field in less than four quarters and at 158.3 attained a perfect quarterback rating.
The SaberCats ran only 27-plays on offense and had six one-play drives. Against the 8-4 Colorado Crush.
Say those statistics to yourself. What Grieb accomplished against a winning team the caliber of the Crush needs to be appreciated for the moment.
Not that Colorado fans deserved what happened to them, but San Jose is the only team in the league that really can have a perfect game and Crush fans now know it’s not a head coach motivating his team but systematic reality.
Knowing the history of Colorado fans, after the shock wore off, they had to at least have appreciated what they had just seen. In fact, their own quarterback John Dutton (who took over for the injured Grieb) in ArenaBowl XVI, performed like Grieb did Friday night. Well somewhat like Grieb did Friday night.
In 2002 before he went down with a broken collarbone, Grieb had the SaberCats undefeated at 12-0. When he went out so did the perfect season as the SaberCats lost the game to the team that would feel the wrath of his teammates.
But there is still silver in the Crush’s ripped and torn lining showing a bright side. If kicker Dan Frantz would have made those two missed PAT’s it would have been 90-something rather than 80-whatever. C’mon laugh if you’re a Crush fan. It will make you feel better.
Which proves that there is still something that the SaberCats can improve on. But let’s hope for Nashville next Friday that San Jose puts off an errorless game to another day. On the other hand, the SaberCats better not take Nashville for granted. Maybe like Chicago players raining down Gatorade on Mike Hohensee, the Kats head coach is looking for his own Gatorade shower. Now we now why beating the SaberCats makes for such excitement even during the regular season.
Time out!
How did NBC un-noticed Grieb this week? Of course they did have the game between the leagues top two quarterbacks to focus on and that 17-17 tie at halftime was a nail biter.
But c’mon, a story like the one that played out in Colorado and that Grieb and the SaberCats put up 172-points in the last two games (83 of which was scored against the team whose coach was in studio). How could that get by the half-time highlights as the major story this week?
It’s a given that major newspapers and their scribbling elitist sportswriters will pay little notice to the indoor football team in their city, but the AFL on NBC should sound the trumpet for players like Grieb who turn a sweaty grinding sport into a work of art that has to be seen to be believed. Especially in a game where the quarterback pilots an offense that runs 27-plays on offense in a game won by 48-points.
Starting at QB
Mark Grieb is the epitome of consistency. Last season he earned his own ArenaBowl championship while completing 73% of his throws over the course of the entire season. And at 133.5 achieved the best quarterback rating in league history. He led the team to the semi-finals in 2003. In 2002, the SaberCats were undefeated at 12-0 when Grieb was injured and sidelined. Semi-finals in 2001 and since 2000 really belongs to last century, you look it up.
In fact, go to sanjosesabercats.com and see Grieb’s statistics for yourself. The performance in Colorado was nothing new. Grieb is the best quarterback in the AFL. It’s not his fault that San Jose scores so many rushing touchdowns like everything else they do so well.
Who is it that the AFL says is the best quarterback over the last "two" seasons? Email me the answer if you please.
And so much for giving all the credit to a long list of superstar veterans treated "special" in San Jose. Rashied Davis has not even played three full seasons and the league is still not really aware of rookies Rodney Wright or Ryan Fernandez on offense or Tremain Mack and Erin Damond on defense.
While James Roe is arguably the best receiver in the AFL, who knows what he would have done anywhere else? "Mark throws the kind of passes that make’s it easy to catch," said Roe. "He’s just quiet about himself."
That from the receiver that garnered seven touchdowns in last year’s ArenaBowl and is the equal of Grieb in reserved demeanor. And yes, Roe would be a star anywhere else.
And it is true. Grieb’s style belies a fierce competitor where winning is a matter of fact and not some rah-rah motivational speech.
In fact, the facts do speak louder than words.
And ears in Colorado (unlike in the NBC studios) are still ringing.
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
