Grading the Rampage
Chip Burch
Thursday May 3, 2007
In college students get a mid-term grade to show how they are doing and where they need to improve.
I will do the same for the Grand Rapids Rampage, as they have played half the games on their schedule, coming up with a 2-6 record.
Here’s their mid-term grades:
Offense: C-: This is the specialty of head coach Sparky McEwen. He was the offensive coordinator of the Rampage team that won an ArenaBowl title.
But the offense is the third-worst in the league. Only the Chicago Rush and Columbus Destroyers are averaging less yards per game than Grand Rapids.
Chad Salisbury has a quarterback rating (111.2) that’s in the middle of pack among starting quarterbacks, but the offense is dead last in yards per attempt at 6.7.
The only bright spot is Timon Marshall, who is leading the team in both receptions and receiving yards on a receiving corps who has been decimated by injuries. Only he and Jerome Riley have played all eight games.
Defense: F: The second-worst defense in the league - only the Arizona Rattlers are worse - is at the league bottom in points allowed per game. They are also tied for second-worst in the league in takeaways with the Georgia Force at 11.
The defensive secondary has looked lost, as shown by having former Las Vegas Gladiators quarterback Shaun King throw 10 touchdowns in a Week 2 win and Bobby Sippio of Chicago racking up a league-high 252 yards in a Week 8 win over the Rampage.
One thing McEwen has said after games is the defensive line hasn’t been able to get pressure on the opposing quarterback. The Rampage are in the middle of the league in sacks with eight, however.
Special teams: B: On an otherwise bad team this is the one spot the Rampage can point to with pride.
Marshall is leading the league in three kickoff categories: returns (53), yards (1,266) and touchdowns (4). Along with those statistics, the Rampage are starting at their own 16 yard line on average, third best in the league.
Brian Gowins is eighth in the league in scoring by kickers (73 points) and is tied for second among regular kickers in field goal percentage (.571).
Coaching: C: McEwen is hearing calls to be fired from the Rampage fans, as he has won only 11 games in the 2 ½ years he has been the coach. Only two of those wins were on the road: The last game of the 2005 season at Chicago and the first game of this season at Colorado.
What’’s holding this grade down is Robert Smith, the defensive coordinator for the Rampage. Despite changes made in defensive personnel during the bye week in Week 6, the Rampage haven’t improved on defense, and Smith is also the director of player personnel.
Offensive coordinator Michael Baker is doing the best he can with what he has to work with. He was without Salisbury for four games after he suffered a concussion in the Colorado game, and the substitutes were 0-4 in his absence. He has lost both his former NFL receivers in Troy Edwards (hamstring/released) and Scotty Anderson (foot).
Overall grade: D: What more needs to be said about a 2-6 team that doesn’t have a winnable game on the rest of the schedule outside of the two-win Tampa Bay Storm in Week 16? The only thing that needs to be said is three of the losses have been by 11 points or less.
