Rush Roster is a Rollercoaster
Jeff Sims
Saturday May 6, 2006
If you’re a player for the Rush, how long will you be around to enjoy it?
After starting the season at 4-6, looking like a team that just could not put the total package together, the Rush coaching staff decided to make some changes. Wow! Did they ever make some changes!
The first steep drop was the release of WR/LB Cornelius White, who at the time was leading the team in receptions and touchdowns.
"As a head coach you often have to make difficult decisions and this was a very difficult one because Cornelius did some good things for us this year," said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. "At 4-6 those decisions get even tougher, but we felt like we needed to do a couple things to give the team a spark."
Around the first corner fast and furious prior to week 11 was the release of DS Tony Lukins, WR/DB Buchie Ibeh "disappears" onto the injured reserve list, WR/DB Woody Dantzler moves up from the practice squad, and they claim WR/DB Brian Sump off of waivers from Los Angeles.
The result was a loss in Philadelphia to the Soul. So it was back to the drawing board.
At the big loop, the Rush pulls off a shocker and claim OS Bobby Sippio off of waivers from Tampa Bay. The Rush used their future considerations portion of a pre-season trade with Kansas City in order to obtain Sippio. At the time, Sippio was eighth in the league in scoring.
‘He gives us an athletic advantage on the football field," Hohensee said of Sippio. "He still does not know our offense and I still don’t think we have mastered how to use him yet and find out what his capabilities are."
Also during that week, the Rush signed DS Marvin Taylor for a second stint with the team (he played for the Rush in 2002 and 2003), waived QB Asad Abdul-Khaliq (who has since returned to the Rush practice squad), placed DS Todd Howard on injured reserve, and decided to give QB Michael Bishop the reigns for a week.
That didn’t work either as the Rush got annihilated in Arizona. So what comes next?
The funny part is, this team still has a chance at a playoff spot!!!
Climbing up the next hill, QB Matt D’Orazio takes the ball back and puts on a show with Sippio as the Rush defeated Las Vegas rather convincingly 67-47.
D’Orazio threw for eight touchdowns and Sippio broke the Rush single game record for touchdown receptions in a game with six.
Okay, now this ride is looking pretty good as Rush fans really had something to get excited about after this performance and hey, the Rush still have a playoff spot.
But the moves still aren’t done! Around the next turn comes the release of Rush kicker Keith Gispert. After a sub-par game against Las Vegas, Gispert was waived in favor of the guy who had filled in for him earlier in the season, Dan Frantz.
Frantz did not look to good against Georgia the following week. But don’t worry, neither did anybody else! D’Orazio gets injured early on and Michael Bishop cannot run this offense in his place as the Force pounds the Rush 55-20.
Michael Bishop just is not the answer for the Rush!
But this ride is not over yet! Around the turn this week comes the release of OS C.J. Johnson, who played a major part in the team’s success last season and the return of Abdul-Khaliq to the active roster.
Is this team looking to win now or set it’s roster up for next season?
Rush General Manager Mike Polisky stated that the team is definitely looking to win now. "We still have a playoff spot and once the playoffs start, everyone starts even again. We think we have set ourselves up to be a legitimate threat in the playoffs."
It is a lot to ask and a tough uphill climb to prepare a group like this that has not played together all season. The expectations seem a bit high, but the Rush coaching staff thinks it can bring this team to that level. But they also know that it won’t be easy.
"It’s hard work," says Hohensee. "It’s extra meetings, it’s a little ‘Rah Rah’ here and there, it’s putting up with little mistakes a little bit more than you normally would. You have to be more tolerant so the guys keep pushing and wanting to learn and not just saying I’m going to get yelled at for messing up."
"Obviously the season hasn’t been exactly the way we wanted, but we are still in the hunt for the playoffs," said D’Orazio. "If we make the playoffs, everyone is 0 – 0 and we have some good weapons now to make some noise."
The Rush will have to prove that are better than the bottom part of the American Conference to make the playoffs as they face the Utah Blaze at the Allstate Arena on Saturday and then close out the regular season in Grand Rapids.
Hold on to your seats and strap yourselves in Rush fans; the end of this ride could end up being quite interesting.
Team Notes
Rush head coach Mike Hoehensee gained his 100th career victory against Las Vegas. He is now third in total wins in league history behind Tim Marcum and the coach he faces this Saturday, Danny White.
The Rush have signed DS Jeremy Unertl and new OS Bobby Sippio through the 2008 season. Since joining the Rush, Unertl has seven interceptions, the most by a Rush player since Dameon Porter put up 10 in 2002. In two games, Sippio has 15 receptions for 307 yards and 9 touchdowns. Yeah…he’s a keeper!
This season, Etu Molden has broken team records for career receptions, career receiving yards, career receiving touchdowns and career total touchdowns. All of these records were previously held by Antonio Chatman, who now plays in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals.
After giving up a total of 13 sacks combined over the past two seasons, the Rush offensive line has allowed 24 sacks through 14 games this season. No wonder Matt D’Orazio likes to run!
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.