Normally I'm not one to bash the Rattlers, but the way they played last night made me sick. It is easy to see that the team lacks a leader. We have all these young guys on the team, with no one to look up to. When was the last time we had a player get flagged for a late hit, or when was the last time we had a player ejected from a game for that matter?
Where is our free agent that everyone speaks so highly of? He missed another game last night in case you missed it. We went out and picked up this great wide receiver who really hasn't played much, yet we have a quarterback who can't even throw a spiral.
I don't care how good of a quarterback you think you are. If you throw 3 interceptions in the first half against San Jose, you have the same amount of chances winning the game as the rattlers have getting hunkie cooper back in a uniform.
As far as defense goes, Isiah Trufant needs to change his number from #1 to #0. He has to be one of the worst db's in the league. I lost track of how many touchdowns he gave up against San Jose. Maybe we should give him some platform shoes so he can be eye to eye with the wide receiver. Maybe Coach Guy should move him into the jack linebacker position, and move Jerian James to a DB.
I am happy to say that the Rattlers actually showed some heart in the second half and hopefully they can carry that over intot the next game.
Hopefully next week I can post a topic with something positive about the game against the Dragons.
-John
Full Version: Sabercats Game
John
Being a SaberCat fan I was at the game last night. Your team definately showed some heart in the second half. the AZ defense was lit up, but it was your offense that lost the game with 6 turnovers, 4 by your QB Smoker. You have a young team and coach Guy will get you team turned around. You have a lot of young players, but their current talent level is not where it needs to be at right now (an obvious statement).
On a seperate issue, I guess a pet peeve of mine is that I do not like it when a player/team celebrates a play like they are winning the game, when actually they're losing miserably. Player A makes a first down, losing by 20 points, and celebrates after the play with a "special" dance or action movement. Why can't Player A just hustle back to the huddle. Last night both teams were doing those "Bush League" antics. The icing on the cake for me was in the second half. Your team kicks off and recovers a misplayed ball off the net and scores a TD, your team owner was in a walkway at the edge of the field and when this play occurred he jumped around doing a celebratory dance, like he had just won the Arenabowl. I understand being an owner who pays for the team should have a right to do what he wants, but there is a decorum in sports that has faded away over the years, celebrate when you win not while your losing. The AZ owner IS "Bush League" after watching his antics, no wonder you Rattler fans don't like your home game experiences...you have a "child" that owns/runs your team. GOOD LUCK with him!!!!
SaberCatFanatic
Being a SaberCat fan I was at the game last night. Your team definately showed some heart in the second half. the AZ defense was lit up, but it was your offense that lost the game with 6 turnovers, 4 by your QB Smoker. You have a young team and coach Guy will get you team turned around. You have a lot of young players, but their current talent level is not where it needs to be at right now (an obvious statement).
On a seperate issue, I guess a pet peeve of mine is that I do not like it when a player/team celebrates a play like they are winning the game, when actually they're losing miserably. Player A makes a first down, losing by 20 points, and celebrates after the play with a "special" dance or action movement. Why can't Player A just hustle back to the huddle. Last night both teams were doing those "Bush League" antics. The icing on the cake for me was in the second half. Your team kicks off and recovers a misplayed ball off the net and scores a TD, your team owner was in a walkway at the edge of the field and when this play occurred he jumped around doing a celebratory dance, like he had just won the Arenabowl. I understand being an owner who pays for the team should have a right to do what he wants, but there is a decorum in sports that has faded away over the years, celebrate when you win not while your losing. The AZ owner IS "Bush League" after watching his antics, no wonder you Rattler fans don't like your home game experiences...you have a "child" that owns/runs your team. GOOD LUCK with him!!!!
SaberCatFanatic
Jeff Smoker is not getting it done. There are plenty of QBs who can play better. Smoker may have better "NFL skills", but the bottom line is that he is inaccurate and lacks poise. He was awful against SJ.
Fez I agree with your point that Smoker is not getting the job done. Even if the Rattlers start a different QB they are going to have to protect better. It seemed like every other play the defense was in Smokers face. It was the same last week against LA. Coach Guy needs to get better play from the offensive line if not it will be a very long season.
The icing on the cake for me was in the second half. Your team kicks off and recovers a misplayed ball off the net and scores a TD, your team owner was in a walkway at the edge of the field and when this play occurred he jumped around doing a celebratory dance, like he had just won the Arenabowl. I understand being an owner who pays for the team should have a right to do what he wants, but there is a decorum in sports that has faded away over the years, celebrate when you win not while your losing. The AZ owner IS "Bush League" after watching his antics, no wonder you Rattler fans don't like your home game experiences...you have a "child" that owns/runs your team. GOOD LUCK with him!!!!
SaberCatFanatic
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I just want to clarify that Brett "The Snake" Bouchy is NOT the "owner" of the Rattlers. That title actually belongs to a very admirable fellow by the name of Bobby Hernreich, a gentleman named Will Meris, and one Todd Boren (see http://www.azrattlers.com/team/ownership/ ). Mr. Bushleague is the "Managing Partner", expense trimmer, and media face of the Rattlers.
SaberCatFanatic
[/quote]
I just want to clarify that Brett "The Snake" Bouchy is NOT the "owner" of the Rattlers. That title actually belongs to a very admirable fellow by the name of Bobby Hernreich, a gentleman named Will Meris, and one Todd Boren (see http://www.azrattlers.com/team/ownership/ ). Mr. Bushleague is the "Managing Partner", expense trimmer, and media face of the Rattlers.
Just so you all get the facts straight. Brett Bouchy was NOT at the game in San Jose. Something came up and he could not attend. The only owner that I am aware that attended, and did sit a few rows from the field, and across the isle from Peanut, was Bobby Hernreich.
I would have to agree, going nuts being down two or three touchdowns doesn't make alot of sense. But of course, being as bad as this team is, any TD might warrant going nuts.
big john
I would have to agree, going nuts being down two or three touchdowns doesn't make alot of sense. But of course, being as bad as this team is, any TD might warrant going nuts.
big john
I don't typically complain about the officiating, but it was ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE in the San Jose game. Not just calls going against the Rattlers, calls going against the SaberCats as well. It was freaking PATHETIC. It's a shame the game wasn't on TV because some of the calls and non-calls were unbelievable. A couple of blatant officiating errors from my observations at HP Pavilion:
*On the Rattlers' first possession, Smoker draws one of their linemen way offsides with a hard count. He's so far offsides, he almost makes contact with one of our linemen, and there's no call.
*Later in the first half, Derrick White is flagged for illegal defense for being more than 5 yards downfield when Grieb clearly pump-faked on the play. When a quarterback pump-fakes, I believe all rules go out the window and the LB can roam anywhere he wants. Either the officials didn't notice the very obvious pump fake or they just didn't call it.
*In the second half, San Jose had 3rd and 1. The referee spotted the ball, then one of San Jose's players purposely kicked it about a yard forward, past the first-down marker. San Jose huddled, broke the huddle and went to the line of scrimmage, ready to start the play. Only then did officials notice the ball had been moved, and they moved it back to the original spot.
*On San Jose's first scoring drive of the fourth quarter, Grieb is credited with a 21-yard completion to Saintil to the Rattlers 1. It looked like Saintil was bobbling the ball as he collided with Rattlers DBs and the side wall. They showed a replay, and not only was he bobbling the ball, he flat out dropped the ball at the end of the play. Officials ruled he had possession and that the ground caused the fumble.
*On another San Jose scoring drive in the fourth quarter, Grieb throws a 25-yard strike to Geathers in the exact same spot were Saintil fumbled. Geathers clearly has possession and comes down with the ball over the yellow goal line that runs along the side board. Replays showed that most of Geathers' body was even in the end zone. Officials ruled him out at the Rattlers 1.
*On the Rattlers' last touchdown, Atnaf Harris goes streaking down the sideline. A San Jose DB completely slows him and has an entire handful of his jersey. No flag is thrown, and Harris still manages to catch the ball and run in for a TD.
*In the final minute of the game, Grieb completes a pass to Geathers on third down. Geathers is driven out of bounds against the side board, short of the first down. The San Jose timekeepers don't stop the clock like they should, and the officials don't stop the clock, so the Rattlers have to call a timeout. Only after Kevin Guy runs on the field and protests his case do the officials realize their mistake and give the Rattlers their timeout back.
Arena Football League officiating has been terrible at best the past couple of seasons, and this was the icing on the cake. It's like the AFL is just a pit stop for officials trying to make the jump to the NFL or they're college officials just trying to make money on the side. They could care less whether they botch calls and the implications they have on teams who care about winning games.
Here's Danny White having problems with referee BILL ATHAN:
Not pictured from Saturday's crew is umpire MATT JORDAN, referee KAVIN MCGRATH, line judge RUSTY BAYNES and back judge GREG WILSON. If you see any of these officials at a future Rattlers game, please remind them how bad they bungled Saturday's game in San Jose.
-Peanut
*On the Rattlers' first possession, Smoker draws one of their linemen way offsides with a hard count. He's so far offsides, he almost makes contact with one of our linemen, and there's no call.
*Later in the first half, Derrick White is flagged for illegal defense for being more than 5 yards downfield when Grieb clearly pump-faked on the play. When a quarterback pump-fakes, I believe all rules go out the window and the LB can roam anywhere he wants. Either the officials didn't notice the very obvious pump fake or they just didn't call it.
*In the second half, San Jose had 3rd and 1. The referee spotted the ball, then one of San Jose's players purposely kicked it about a yard forward, past the first-down marker. San Jose huddled, broke the huddle and went to the line of scrimmage, ready to start the play. Only then did officials notice the ball had been moved, and they moved it back to the original spot.
*On San Jose's first scoring drive of the fourth quarter, Grieb is credited with a 21-yard completion to Saintil to the Rattlers 1. It looked like Saintil was bobbling the ball as he collided with Rattlers DBs and the side wall. They showed a replay, and not only was he bobbling the ball, he flat out dropped the ball at the end of the play. Officials ruled he had possession and that the ground caused the fumble.
*On another San Jose scoring drive in the fourth quarter, Grieb throws a 25-yard strike to Geathers in the exact same spot were Saintil fumbled. Geathers clearly has possession and comes down with the ball over the yellow goal line that runs along the side board. Replays showed that most of Geathers' body was even in the end zone. Officials ruled him out at the Rattlers 1.
*On the Rattlers' last touchdown, Atnaf Harris goes streaking down the sideline. A San Jose DB completely slows him and has an entire handful of his jersey. No flag is thrown, and Harris still manages to catch the ball and run in for a TD.
*In the final minute of the game, Grieb completes a pass to Geathers on third down. Geathers is driven out of bounds against the side board, short of the first down. The San Jose timekeepers don't stop the clock like they should, and the officials don't stop the clock, so the Rattlers have to call a timeout. Only after Kevin Guy runs on the field and protests his case do the officials realize their mistake and give the Rattlers their timeout back.
Arena Football League officiating has been terrible at best the past couple of seasons, and this was the icing on the cake. It's like the AFL is just a pit stop for officials trying to make the jump to the NFL or they're college officials just trying to make money on the side. They could care less whether they botch calls and the implications they have on teams who care about winning games.
Here's Danny White having problems with referee BILL ATHAN:
Not pictured from Saturday's crew is umpire MATT JORDAN, referee KAVIN MCGRATH, line judge RUSTY BAYNES and back judge GREG WILSON. If you see any of these officials at a future Rattlers game, please remind them how bad they bungled Saturday's game in San Jose.
-Peanut
Peanut:
A very well thought out post. Although I may disagree with your opinion, but its not important. You do an excellent job at point out the poor quality of the officiating crew.......how about the quality play of your team? Do 6 turnovers rank as poor? Just wondering........
SaberCatFanatic
A very well thought out post. Although I may disagree with your opinion, but its not important. You do an excellent job at point out the poor quality of the officiating crew.......how about the quality play of your team? Do 6 turnovers rank as poor? Just wondering........
SaberCatFanatic
Ok and the next time I get pulled over I'll tell the cop "Hey Pig, don't you have anything better to do???"
Not pictured from Saturday's crew is umpire MATT JORDAN, referee KAVIN MCGRATH, line judge RUSTY BAYNES and back judge GREG WILSON. If you see any of these officials at a future Rattlers game, please remind them how bad they bungled Saturday's game in San Jose.
-Peanut
[/quote]
Not pictured from Saturday's crew is umpire MATT JORDAN, referee KAVIN MCGRATH, line judge RUSTY BAYNES and back judge GREG WILSON. If you see any of these officials at a future Rattlers game, please remind them how bad they bungled Saturday's game in San Jose.
-Peanut
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