This year, on Easter Sunday, The Shock were out to put up a big number again and they had no problem doing it.

 

The Rush gave up 48 points to the Shock in the first half, which is the second highest total in a half in team history, en route to giving up another 76 total points in the Allstate Arena as the Shock won handily 76-61.

 

For the second week straight, the Rush defense had difficulty stopping the opposing offense. The Shock went a perfect 11 for 11 on their offensive possessions with each ending in a touchdown. They were going for 12, but time expired.

 

The Chicago defense has now given up 139 points in its first two games of the season. Well over the 58 points per game they gave up last season when they ranked 13^th in the league. This is definitely not a positive sign for a team that has always taken pride in its defensive ability.

 

“On our defensive line, we can’t just have one guy getting pressure all the time,” said Rush head coach Bob McMillen. “It needs to be all three of them. We will go back to practice this week and continue to work with those guys. If not, then we will find someone else that can get there. We can’t keep saying don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic. We’re not panicking right now, but if we continue to play the way we have the first two weeks, then panic is eventually going to start settling in. And then we are going to have to make moves that we don’t want to make. We don’t want to do that because we think that we have the right bunch of guys that we can win with.”

 

Shock quarterback Erick Meyer had a very strong game completing 26 of 34 pass attempts for 314 yards and seven touchdowns. Spokane is now a perfect 21 of 21 to start the season on offense. All of their possessions have led to touchdowns.

 

“We are just coming together on offense,” Meyer said after the game. “The offensive line has been great. I haven’t been sacked in two games. They are doing a tremendous job up front. The big guys we have running routes are making some great plays as well. Every one of them goes in motion, can catch the ball, and run great routes. It makes my job a lot easier when you see a one-on-one and can just throw it up there and watch these guys make plays.”

 

Tennell lit up the Allstate Arena scoreboard again as well. He finished the afternoon with 10 receptions for 118 yards and three scores. Wide receiver Jeffrey Solomon also contributed six receptions for 95 yards.

 

The secondary for the Chicago Rush, hyped to be one of the best groups that the team has ever had, has not lived up to the big name and big play potential that it had going into the start of the season.

 

What is the most concerning is the defense’s ability to complete stops. In the first two games, they have given up long plays on third and fourth downs (Spokane was 2-2 on Sunday) and have allowed the opposition to continue drives that looked like they were going to stall.

 

“We just have to figure out what pieces need to go where,” McMillen said.  “It’s not just our defense. We also gave up two touchdowns on special teams. We have to get better all around.”

 

What has gotten better from week one was the team’s offense. After putting up 43 points in week one, the offense was vastly improved and put up an impressive 61 points, a total that in most weeks would result in a victory.

 

Quarterback Carson Coffman looked improved from week one. Playing from behind again for the second week in a row, Coffman appeared more relaxed and confident in the team’s ability to score points. He completed 25 of 39 passes for 294 yards, seven touchdowns, and no interceptions.

 

“I felt a lot more comfortable,” Coffman stated. “In week one, you just wonder if we are going to click together. There were a lot of mistakes that we had to correct. Coming into this week I knew that I can play this game and that it’s not as hard as it seems.”

 

Rush fullback JJ Payne had two rushing touchdowns on the afternoon and also felt that the offense took a step in the right direction.

 

“As an offensive unit we got to sit back and scout ourselves (after the first week),” Payne said. “From the offensive coordinator (on down), we all got to do a self evaluation and see how we could help ourselves be more successful. We tried to take advantage of that and I thought we did a good job of (mixing it up).”

 

No need to fret yet Rush fans. Yes, the team is 0-2 to start the season which is not a good thing.

 

But the last time the Rush started 0-2 was the 2006 season when they went on to win the ArenaBowl. And that was in a 16 game season.

 

 

During a play in the third quarter of the game, Rush QB Carson Coffman backed up into his end zone to throw a pass. He received a heavy pass rush from the Shock defensive line. He remained in the pocket and took a hit as his arm moved forward. The play was ruled as an incomplete pass. Spokane head coach Andy Olson challenged the play as both he and his players believed the play should have been called a safety. The officials went back and reviewed the play. After almost eight minutes the officiating crew came back and ruled that the play was ruled as an incomplete pass and was not subject to be reviewed. WOW!!

 

 

I am not going to beat this into the ground, but it does need to be mentioned. The announced attendance for the game was 3,108 (I don’t think that is even close). This is the smallest crowd to attend a home game in Rush history. Prior to yesterday, the smallest regular season crowd was 5,854 which occurred last season on April 7^th against Kansas City. Overall, the smallest crowd was the 2011 playoff game against the Dallas Vigilantes. The announced crowd for that game was 4,489.

 

New Rush wide receiver Jared Jenkins, mack linebacker Tyus Jackson, and offensive lineman Ryan O’Neill were all inactive for Sunday’s game.

 

The Rush have released back-up quarterback Zach Fraser and signed Danny Southwick to compete with current quarterback Carson Coffman. Southwick played part of the 2011 season with the Tampa Bay Storm and was the back-up last season to Mark Grieb in San Jose.

Jeff has been writing for ArenaFan.com since 2004. Originally from New York, Jeff has been living in the Chicago area for the past ten years and is an avid football fanatic. He holds a BA in communications from Hofstra University in New York and a sports management certificate from Loyola University in Chicago.