Chicago Line Overpowered by Rampage
Jeff Sims
Wednesday May 18, 2005
After a poor performance on the road, the Rush typically comes out with a chip on their shoulder and all guns blazing. This week, their guns backfired.
They appeared to have no sense of urgency as they were stopped on their first possession by a strong Grand Rapids defense. Then in one play, the defense gave up a 22-yard touchdown, as Rampage WR/LB Dialleo Burks got past the Chicago secondary and caught a perfectly thrown pass from QB Michael Bishop in the end zone.
"They were giving us a zone-man coverage," said Burks. "But they came up and pressed us. When a team comes up to press, you have to attempt to beat them."
The Rush then scored on their second drive, but then fell apart again as Raymond Philyaw fumbled a snap that was recovered by Rampage DS Dennison Robinson in the endzone for another Grand Rapids touchdown.
Chicago scored only 12 points through the first three quarters and found themselves down 38–12 going into the fourth quarter. The 51–40 final score does not truly reflect how overpowered the Rush were in this game. Philyaw was forced out of the pocket most of the time by the Rampage defensive line and was rushed (no pun intended) into throwing passes causing him to overthrow his receivers.
"Going into this week we dressed an extra lineman," said Rampage head coach Sparky McEwen. "We knew that we were going to have to get some added pressure on the quarterback and our guys did a solid job in doing that."
"Up front has been tough for us," frowned Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. "Each of our second, third, and fourth linemen are gone. We’re left with some guys that are very good, hard-nosed football players, but they are not the producers that some of our other guys (Baron, Kleinhesselink, and McCall) were. I think that has been a struggle for us."
Chicago attempted to make a late run late in the game outscoring Grand Rapids 28 –13 in the final quarter, but it was too little too late.
Credit the Kicker
Once again, the Rush were able to make a game closer than it should be with their ability to execute on special teams, specifically recovering onside kicks. They have recovered at least one per game over the last three contests.
Credit Rush K Keith Gispert for that. His ability to put the ball in the air and give his teammates a chance to recover is one of the reasons why he has lasted with a team that had previously changed kickers more than normal people change their socks.
Just this past week, Chicago resigned Gispert to a two-year contract extension keeping him with the Rush through the 2007 season.
"I hit them well enough to at least give us a 50/50 chance (at recovering)," said Gispert. "That is one of the reasons they like me here, is because I can execute the onside kick."
His field goal percentage isn’t bad either. Going into the final week of the season, Gispert is ranked second in the league with a 62.5% percentage. Not too shabby in this league.
One Last Chance
Chicago closes out the regular season next week in Nashville taking on former Rush OL/DL James Baron and the rest of Kats. The Rush defeated Nashville 45–38 back in March.
It’s pretty simple. If the Rush can win next week, they advance into the playoffs as a wild card team. If they lose, either Las Vegas or San Jose would have to lose to clinch a spot for Mike Hohensee’s team.
"Like I told the team;" said Hohensee, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We need to win this next football game."
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.
