Defense Leads the Rush Again

By: Jerome Cusson

With a nationally televised 51-46 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm, the Chicago Rush went into their bye week firmly in control of their division and conference.

Even though the team struggled at times, a combination of Russ Michna’s running, Travis LeTendresse’s catching, and a couple key turnovers led to their eighth victory of the season and their fourth in a row. They now have a three-and-a-half game lead over the Crush in the Central Division.

Russ Michna was not as consistent as he had been the previous three weeks, but he still went 18-32 for 184 yards and four touchdown passes. His continued ability to be a threat in the running game also managed to confuse the Tampa Bay Storm defense. He rushed for 45 yards on four carries and scored two touchdowns. With the exception of a fumble, the offensive line played yet another tremendous game.

LeTendresse was Michna’s favorite target during this game. He caught nine balls for 98 yards and seemed to be all over the field at times. The rest of the receiving core was relatively quiet, but the Rush defense certainly was not.

The Rush defense is a unit that other teams in the AFL actually have to fear. Contrary to popular belief about this league, playing good disciplined is how a team is able to win Arena Bowls. Dennison Robinson made another case for being the defensive player of the year by getting yet another interception, his eighth of the season. He also caused a fumble on special teams and made a key catch on the last onside kick of the game.

It was pretty much the usual story for the Rush as they were out-gained by the Tampa Bay Storm 296-223. The big difference was indeed the defense and in this game, the efforts of one Jonathon Ordway. Ordway has become something of a forgotten man on this team but being back in his hometown of Tampa seemed to motivate him. Ordway has returns of 21 and 44 yards to give the Rush good field position all game long.

The bye week is up next for the Rush, and it is well-deserved. They are the only team above .500 in the American Conference, a conference that is sort of like the East in the NBA, except slightly worse. Two teams have won one game and the 3-6 Grand Rapids are in control of the sixth and final playoff spot. The Rush’s next opponent are the 4-6 Los Angeles Avengers. They’re coming off a big win over the Rattlers, and should be motivated to avenge their playoff loss, which they suffered in the divisional round last year at Allstate.

For some additional thoughts on this game and every game the rest of the season, check out Jerome’s “First Take” exclusively on his NSR Blog. This week, he talks about some additional in-game notes and discusses ESPN2’s actual presentation of the game. Also check out his blog for some information on the Rush being a part of a “This is SportsCenter” commercial for ESPN.

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Jerome Cusson is a proud graduate of Columbia College Chicago. Currently, he is a freelance writer and a contributer to such websites as The Cool Kids' Table and giveawaytheending.com. Check out his NSR blog as well.

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