Two Week Season
Tim Ball
Saturday May 14, 2005
The SaberCats can clinch a postseason berth with a victory over the Rattlers and the Avengers beating the Gladiators. And they know it.
As players busied themselves at practice this week no one was unaware of the task at hand. A repeat trip to the ArenaBowl is not only in their hands but the team that just beat them has a hand in the process.
No matter what scenario plays out, winning two games is the only thing that matters now for any chance to make the playoffs.
"We have just one thing to do," said 6’ 8" 335-pound lineman Devin Wyman. "Lay it all on the line. We know that LA hold’s a key too but nothing changes the fact that we have to win our remaining games."
A strange place for a team that has the best winning percentage over the last five seasons, SaberCats players to a man know what lays ahead.
Rashied Davis, second overall in the AFL in total touchdowns with 38, has set the league on fire this season with several games that were simple breathtaking. But Davis knows that winning only some games doesn’t add up to a trip to the playoffs and that the regular season now is two games long. "It depends on consistency each and every play in this league," said Davis. "Our losses have one thing in common. We didn’t make plays and our opponents did. Our goal right now is to play error free football."
In the sights again
The revenge factor going into Arizona has San Jose once again in the position of the target. That field that team, when is it going to not come down to the Rattlers versus the SaberCats in this endless drama between these two teams?
Just when the rivalry was thought gone with Arizona officially out of the playoff picture, now they can keep San Jose from another trip to the ArenaBowl and join them as spectators.
Nothing would make Rattlers fans happier than to see the SaberCats weep on their field. And San Jose veterans know well the feelings of victory and triumph in Arizona.
Luckily for San Jose they have some key rookies that haven’t experienced the Snake Pit and the intensity of the games between the only two teams to every win the Western Division. Concentrating on making plays and not being caught up in the hype of the rivalry between these two teams may pay off for San Jose.
WR/DB Rodney Wright, WR/DB Ryan Fernandez and DS Tremain Mack have all garnered weekly AFL honors, and together with DS Erin Damond, linemen Jeff Ruffin and Steve Warren have all contributed this season and are promising prospects to be a factor now and years to come.
San Jose making it past the Rattlers in Arizona will be a big step forward to regaining the momentum needed for both veterans and rookies to make a run for another trip to the ArenaBowl for San Jose.
All uphill
Being the SaberCats is risky business. The Avengers players after their first ever win in San Jose didn’t seem to care about a division title as much as getting past the best team in Arena Football and a thorn in their side in getting to the next level. And beating the SaberCats for the second time this season certainly can establish them as the team to beat in the west and league wide.
Like Chicago’s win over San Jose, the hurdle that must be overcome to being recognized in the elite class is defeating teams that are on top. The Avengers were celebrating and rocking the visitor’s locker room long after the game against San Jose had ended for a reason.
The SaberCats have faced their biggest challenges this year with the loss of so many team leaders being sidelined throughout the season. Most notably are superstars OS James Hundon, DS Omarr Smith and AFL legend Barry Wagner who has missed action for the first time in years.
While finding themselves in an odd position of being back in the pack anytime during the season let alone in the playoff scenario, Wyman’s statement about "laying it all on the line" is not a matter of motivation now but is a matter of fact.
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.
