QB’s make their case
Tony Mercado
Thursday January 19, 2006
In what was an otherwise meaningless 55-50 SaberCats scrimmage victory over Grand Rapids Tuesday, a number of bright spots named Case and Lewis surfaced that should cause Head Coach Darren Arbet both glee and pause.
Glee because his team not only has starting quarterback Mark Grieb back, but is also blessed with great insurance policies in the form of gunslingers Stoney Case and Chris Lewis. And pause because with only a few days to go before the team trims its roster to the league mandated 24, settling on the primary backup, indeed even whether the team will keep three quarterbacks, is going to be one tough decision.
"I have no clue," said Arbet, of just who would follow Grieb once the season begins Jan. 28. "They’re both good quarterbacks and I think either way we go, we can’t miss."
Neither, for that matter, did Case or Lewis, it seemed. There weren’t any official stats kept for the game, but you didn’t need a sheet to marvel at how crisp and on-target they looked after relieving Grieb, who got San Jose its first touchdown in their initial series, then sat back to watch the game unfold.
Case, a member of the Odessa High School football team featured in the movie "Friday Night Lights," played through the third quarter, tossing four touchdowns covering 24, 20, 16 and seven yards. He looked extremely comfortable in the pocket, stepping up to throw and smartly tossing away only two balls on those rare occasions when his receivers were covered.
"I had plenty of protection all day and the guys were getting open," said the six-year NFL veteran who signed with San Jose in the off-season after two years with the Tampa Bay Storm. "When you have that, you’re going to have a good day."
Lewis came into the game with 17 seconds left in the third quarter and didn’t disappoint. He played in two possessions in the fourth quarter, driving the team to a pair of scores, the last one a 40-yard pass to wide receiver Fred Coleman.
"My thing was to just go out there, be relaxed and do what I’ve been learning over these past few weeks," said the rookie who ranked in Stanford University’s Top 10 in several passing categories and spent last year with the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe. "Arena ball is a real fun game that offers a great chance to just be able to throw the ball. And as a quarterback, that’s what you want to do."
The thing I like about both these guys is that from talking with them in the tunnel after the game, I can sense their genuine excitement about playing in this league and for the opportunity before them.
Case has the experience and looks to be a potentially solid backup to Grieb. Lewis has energy, exhibits skills far beyond his youth and is eager to become a student of this new backdrop of arena football.
We’ll see after this weekend, when the final cuts are made. But it’s nice to know that the ‘Cats appear poised to continue their reputation as one high scoring machine.
Other notes:
Rediscovering the running game
Sure each quarterback threw touchdowns, but the SaberCats also made an impact on the ground, scoring three times with the run. Running the ball is something Arbet said the team wants to do more of during the regular season.
"It’s something we talked about and something we need to get better at," he said. "Last year, we lost a little of that, so we spent a lot of time in camp working on the run game. The guys did an excellent job with that tonight."
Team clicking
All of San Jose’s younger players got the chance to impress the coaching staff in the team’s only scrimmage game of the preseason.
Offensively, the ‘Cats scored a touchdown on every possession and didn’t commit a turnover, while Arbet said the defense, under new coordinator Kevin Guy, is jelling earlier than expected. Overall, the team is getting better every day, he said, with the next few days of camp expected to improve those areas that need work.
A scary moment
Paramedics stretchered Grand Rapids defensive specialist Jo Jo Polk off the filed in the third quarter and took him to Valley Medical Center after the five-year AFL veteran took a knee to the helmet while assisting on a tackle of SaberCats fullback Ja’Mar Toombs.
Polk made it to his feet after the play, then slowly dropped to his knees and onto the turf, where he lay motionless for several minutes. Alert and with movement in his arms and legs, he was strapped to a backboard for precautionary reasons and taken in for observation and tests.
Vets out of the game
The team held some veterans out of the game, including linemen Joe Jacobs, Chuck Reed, Nikia Adderson and Dan Loney, wide receiver/linebacker James Roe, wide receiver/defensive back Barry Wagner and defensive specialists Tremain Mack and Omarr Smith.
A SaberCats great returns
Retired SaberCats receiver James Hundon was in the stands to watch his former teammates compete. Before the start of the second half as the squad warmed up, he ventured onto the field to greet players and coaches before taking a seat near the bench. Hundon, one of the top receivers in the club’s history, called it a career last year due to injury.
Tony Mercado holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from San Jose State University and spent 10 years as a newspaper reporter in the Bay Area. He now works in the public relations field, but continues to enjoy writing about the local teams and the positive impact its players, coaches and dance squads have in their communities.
