I'VE HAD SEASON TICKETS DAMN NEAR FROM THE FIRST GAME, BUT IN ALL THAT TIME WHAT I WITNESSED TONIGHT WAS BY FAR THE MOST EMBARRASSING INDIVIDUALS TO WEAR THE ARIZONA RATTLER UNIFORM.

I MAY BE REACHING (BUT I'M SURE NOT VERY FAR), BUT YOU CAN HEAR THE COACHING STAFF TELL THE PLAYERS TO "RELAX YOU'RE IN, DON'T GET HURT"... HEY IF YOUR GOING TO THROW THE GAME, JUST STAND AROUND AND DO NOTHING, OH WAIT THAT'S WHAT THEY DID IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

I KNOW A DOZEN OR SO SEASON FANS ALL OVER 50 YRS OF AGE WHO COULD HAVE PLAYED BETTER THAN THE PISS POOR PERFORMANCE THAT WAS DISPLAYED ON THE TURF.

I CHALLANGE ANY PLAYER, COACH OR OWNER TO EXPLAIN HOW WE GO FROM WINNING THE WAY THAT THEY "HAD" DONE IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS TO THE HALF-A, ATTITUDE THESE "PLAYERS" CAME OUT ONTO THE FIELD WITH IN THIS GAME..

OF COURSE YOU SHOULD REALIZE THIS VERY TEAM IS ONE THAT WE CAN FACE IN THE PLAYOFFS, OR DID THE COACHING STAFF FORGET THAT FACT ALSO???

YOU WANT ME TO RENEW MY TICKETS FOR WHAT? IS THIS WHAT WE SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE NEXT YEAR?

THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THIS LIST/FORUM HAS MY E-MAIL ADDR AND HAS MY PERMISSION TO GIVE IT TO ANY PLAYER/COACH OR THE OWNER TO CONTACT ME DIRECTLY AND ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THIS ONE

WHAT WE HAVE ON THIS TEAM AS "PLAYERS" GOT ME TO DO SOMETHING I HAVE NEVER DONE IN ALL THEY YEARS I'VE SUPPORTED THIS TEAM. I AM SO ASHAMED OF WHAT WAS DISPLAYED ON NATIONAL TELEVISION (AGAIN) THAT I LEFT THE "THROW THE GAME AWAY" BEFORE THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER. OH IF NOTHING ELSE, WE'VE PROVIDED COLORADO A NICE EGO BOOST/CONFIDENCE BUILDER GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS AND IT'S GOING TO INTERESTING TO SAY THE LEAST SHOULD WE FACE THEM IN THE FIRST ROUND.

I TRIED TO TONE IT DOWN SO THE ADMINISTRATOR MIGHT ALLOW THIS TO BE PUBLISHED, BUT OH THE VERBAGE I WANTED TO USE....

Are you kinding me?
this just brings us one step closer to:

Utah-last week of season-rival(White,stole half the rattler players)
Utah-first round playoff-rival(see above)
San Jose-second round-rival(historical team rival)
Chicago-conference title-rival(bonner)
Then on to ArenaBowl

A dream playoff line coming to life.

We needed colorado to win tonight to keep the dream alive,
Utah needs to be helped to the 6 spot,
We need colorado to beat KC, very do-able, and
Los Angeles (win&in) to beat TB (already out)

Hmm... that doesn't sound like a bad idea, but what about the ArenaBowl itself, do we stand a chance against Philly if they make it that far?

Okay, Cinderella lived in a castle too... but the castle isn't in Phoenix!

Watching a RATTLERS team go all the way at this point is just that, a fairy tale dream, and please, the next time when you have those drugs... it's polite to share!

My son and I have been talking about the team as a whole, I won't get into specific players.... but as he mentioned this team DOES NOT have the "KILLER INSTINCT" it once had.

The last game I think we saw it in Arizona was the playoff game when Bonner threw the ball off the net to Horner to score the needed touchdown to advance. I think that instinct died shortly afterwards.

When this game was true ironman football and you played both ways, they played with the intensity level of a winner, you can count on one hand with fingers left over the number of players on this team that could play IRONMAN football.

You put THIS team on national television and like a bad poker hand they fold. The game is 4 quarters, you can't dig a hole and then play catch up the remainder of the game and expect because you got close to be called a good team.. A GOOD team doesn't let themselves get into the hole in the first place.

Kshetland
You were probably one of the fans that left in the 3rd Quarter of the game. The Rattlers played as if they didn't care about getting injured the last few minutes of the game in case you missed it.

You need to get over living in the past. Yeah it's fun to talk about the good old days when it seemed like the Rattlers would never lose a home game, but times change and so do the players. We have one of the youngest squads in the league and of course its gonna show.

"The last game I think we saw it in Arizona was the playoff game when Bonner threw the ball off the net to Horner to score the needed touchdown to advance. I think that instinct died shortly afterwards."
You must be an idiot for saying this. Correct me if I'm wrong Rattlers fans, but if I may recall we did make it to the Arenabowl that year, the year after that, and wait the year after that too. You can't make it to 3 consecutive arenabowls if you don't have a "killer instinct."

It's people like you that come onto this message board and really piss me off. You say that you are a loyal fan, but you give no constructive feedback. Did the Rattlers need to win last night? No. Did they show a lot of heart and determination the last 3 minutes of the 4th quarter? You better believe it. I think it was actually a good thing in a way that the Rattlers found themselves down 35-7. Our new qb had never really been in a situation like that, and the way he kept playing showed a lot about his character. As far as the Utah game is concerned I would be scared if I was them.

Kshetland before you think about posting another message you should probably research what you are about to say, before you say it. If your too lazy to research it ask me, I'm full of Rattlers stats and knowledge.

-John

Bonner threw the ball off the net to Chris Horn. The last name is Horn, not Horner.

John....

although I won't sink to name calling or insinuations, you do point out that yes we did get into the arena bowl...but if you truly believe the killer instinct was alive in those teams, did they finish the job and bring home the trophy??? so much for killer instinct.

As for this being a young squad, your absolutely correct on that point. Players need to learn to tackle instead of giving the extra 10 or 12 yards just to push the opposing player into the wall and think that's good enough. They don't need to be constantly turning to look at the bench to see what they're suppose to be doing. Williams and Joseph are probably seeing a chiropractor for neck pains.

There is a major difference in determination and desperation, which is what appears to have happened last night...( I haven't watched the tape) I've sat through some crappy games until the end over the years, but watching this team lay down on the field the way they did was as an absolute embarassment to the fans who have supported them throughout the years.

What it comes down to is I don't have a problem being pissed off at the team when they play like crap or praise them when they do well. It appears you may just want to see the pollyana side of the team and look for the positive. Who knows, you may be correct... they dug a hole so huge that even with the help of a front loader they couldn't get out of it, maybe it did serve as a wake up call to the players and the coaching staff.

Regardless, we still support the team... and even if I don't post regularly as some do, that doesn't demean my being a fan or the right to post an opinion on this list.

Rattlersninthman, where were you last night???? Man, we missed you. Hope all is well and just hoping you were up in the corporate booth or something????

I lose no sleep thinking of the Rattlers. As long as Coach Guy is at the helm, our ship will float. Our players are as solid as most teams in the league. You don't win 8 games without being a team to respect.

Unfortunate bounces of the ball here and there cost us dearly. But the Rattlers did not quit and we still had a chance in the end. That's all you can ask, especially since the Crush had everything to play for and even dirty at times.

big john

I was wondering why we didn't take advantage of the carry over personal foul penalty on the Crush and do an on-side kick (either late in the 3rd qtr. or early 4th qtr.), worst case senario if the ball makes it to the 10 yard line, the Crush end up with the ball on the 20 with the carry over penalty from the Rattlers' TD. With the kicker missing those earlier FG's, that would have been a great idea IMO.

I don't think the Rattlers through the game, but they may be thinking about the playoffs.

You will see the real Rattlers when they beat Utah, San Jose and Chicago in the Arena Bowl.

GO RATTS! THere are too many fair weather fans on this board!

I don't consider myself a fair weather fan - I don't think a fair weather fan would have survived the last two seasons. But these last two games have really made me wonder. How can a team play so well in the second half and not even show up in the first quarter? After the Colorado game, I expected our Rattlers to come out and kick some serious ass in the first quarter of the Blaze game. If anyone has a feeling for what's going on with this team, I'd love to hear it. "Throwing the game" and "Don't bother trying, we're already in the playoffs" don't sound like reasonable explanations to me - I can't imagine that anyone in the Rattlers organization would intentionally let the Blaze win just so they could make the playoffs.

With a 3-5 record at home, I think we're lucky to have pulled Grand Rapids next Monday.

It has a lot to do with Smoker. They are holding him back for the playoffs. He needs to get healthy.


As soon as he came in, we outscored them by a long shot. Sauk is not a serious option.

Hey Ambient do you know that for a fact that they have been holding Smoker out or is that just what you think is going on. If that is the fact then I am encouraged, If not Smoker is our only hope. I think based on his performace on Sat night He looks pretty good. Grand Rapids is no push over by any means. We did beat them the first time around, but when their QB is on they seem to really roll up the score. I think our D can shut them down again like before, Let us all just hope we can get on a roll and stay there throught the Arena Bwol. NOw Let the Fun Begin.

I'm a big fan of Smoker's, and he looked pretty healthy to me on Saturday. Hopefully the offensive line can keep him that way through the playoffs.

Gilbert_Fan. I share your concerns when it comes to this team in the first half, especially the last couple of games. They need to come out from the beginning with the intesity. This team has shown they can play with the best of them, yet play down to the worst of them as well. The defense needs to come out from the beginning flying to the ball making big hits. When they do this turnovers do occur. As for the offense they need to start off quickly in this next game. The Rattlers only beat Grand Rapids by four the last time. The defense came up big on the final series. If the offense turns the ball over early it could be a long night next Monday. I expect a great game from the Rattlers, anything less and it could be an early exit.

I do not know for a fact, but there is such a huge difference between Sauk and Smoker. Smoker zips the ball in there, Sauk throws lots of butterflys and guys get hit hard because of the exposure or the defense jumps the route.

There is no comparison...

With Sauk 0-24
With Smoker 48-35

The entire attitude of the team changed.

If Sauk starts on Monday, I will be very surprised.

Ambient, I agree with your assessment of the QB'S. My concern is there were games this year where Smoker looked very good then other games where he played terrible. Mostly due to the fact he threw some really bad interceptions instead of throwing the ball away. Smoker needs to stay poised and if the pressure is on and no one is open he needs to throw the ball away instead of trying to force it which normally results in an interception.

Ratt Mike,

I agree with you, but Smoker needs playing time to feel comfortable. He gets better when he starts a few games in a row.

Did you see all of the dropped balls when Sauk was in the game? I think it had a lot to do with the QB trying float them in.

When Smoker came in, he was throwing rockets, and he made Burley look a lot better.

I like it when they dump it underneath to Burley... he can make people miss and he does not drop many balls. The guy is a stud.