Bishop has come full circle with Rampage
Chip Burch
Thursday March 22, 2007
Michael Bishop is back to starting for the Grand Rapids Rampage.
It’s a familiar role. He started 15 games of the 2005 season for the Rampage, setting a couple of team records along the way.
Now he’’s starting for the Rampage Friday against Utah. He’s starting somewhat by default; the Rampage released Matt Sauk Monday and re-signed Mark Radlinski as his backup. No. 1 quarterback Chad Salisbury is still on injured reserve.
“I feel pretty good.,” Bishop said Wednesday. “I feel comfortable with the receiving corps and I'm ready to get the ball into the hands of my teammates.”
Rampage coach Sparky McEwen said the experience Bishop had with the Rampage is a big benefit.
“He’s had his most success here,” McEwen said. “After he ended his last stint here he performed quite well. I think with the experience he’s had he can only do more.”
Bishop followed his time in Grand Rapids with a stop in Chicago, where he was a backup to Matt D’Orazio. Bishop was pressed into kicking duties for the 2006 opener at Colorado when the kicker was injured in pre-game warm-ups. Bishop played in six games for the Rush, completing 60.4 percent of his passes for 623 yards and 10 touchdowns.
In Grand Rapids in 2005 he set Arena Football League records for rushing yards in a game, becoming the first player in AFL history to rush for 100 yards, and for rushing yards in a season with 459 yards in 15 games. He started in Week 2 in place of Nick Browder, who was benched by McEwen after a Week 1 loss to Arizona.
All that experience is helpful, Bishop noted.
“It's a big plus,” Bishop said. “With me, when I came in here the majority of the offense is still the same. Any time you come into a situation you know is the same it can help out.”
Neither Bishop nor McEwen would speculate on whether Bishop can win the starting job away from Salisbury if he played well against Utah.
“At this point I'm just focused on doing my job and getting a victory,” Bishop said. “I'll leave it to the coaching staff. I can't focus on what will happen after the game.”
“The most important thing is we need to get through (Friday),” McEwen said. “Our focus is to put Michael Bishop in the game and we’ll get to that scenario.”
McEwen has high expectations for Bishop.
“I expect him to do more” than he did in 2005,” he said. ““There’s got to be a natural progression to get better. Our expectations are to win the game. If he does what we expect and not press he’ll be fine.”
The former Heisman Trophy runnerup out of Kansas State thinks he will be fine.
“I came in last Wednesday (March 14) so I had a couple of days to work with the guys,” he said. “As long as they're in the right spot I know where the ball's going. If everyone's in the right place and I make the right read and they catch the ball it should be good.”
