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SaberCats Continue To Search For That “Perfect Game” “We have three more shots at this thing to tune up…” --Quarterback Mark Grieb By Barbara Mason 5/25/08
Once again the San Jose defense had made the big plays that spelled success for the team. Both Clevan Thomas and Marquis Floyd had interceptions. Colorado stumbled on third downs only able to convert twice. Thomas was responsible for 4 breakups and Floyd had two. Former SaberCat quarterback John Dutton began to crumble under the pressure in the fourth quarter as the San Jose defense brought everything they had. Although happy with the win, Coach Darren Arbet is still looking for more. “We are getting closer to where we need to be. Right now we’ve just got to get better. We’ve got a big game in LA coming up and the guys understand that,” he said after the game. “We’ve got to continue to lead in our division to finish this thing off,” he said. He did not reference anything in particular in regards to where he would like to see improvement. He just indicated improvement offensively, defensively and on special teams. There was a fumble on a kickoff return and a couple of untimely penalties that could have changed the entire complexion of the game and in fact came very close to doing that very thing. “It wasn’t a perfect game,” said Arbet. “I thing that’s what you are always looking for is that perfect game and we haven’t played that yet.” With a number of early hiccups for the team well behind them, they come into game after game with solid performances and continue to take care of business when they need to. “It’s not how you start the season, it’s how you finish and where you finish, said Arbet. “We’re nowhere close to where we did to be right now but we’re making progress.”
The San Jose receiving core was right on task as Rodney Wright turned in 133 yards and 3 scores, Cleannord Saintil with 3 strikes and veteran James Roe with 3 touchdowns. As the team veteran, Roe takes a licking and keeps on ticking coming into the league as a solid Timex and now performing at the Rolex level. When asked what Sunday mornings are now like physically, he laughed. “Like I always say, I thank God for giving me the strength. On Sunday it’s always tough but the win always make it a lot better. I get into the weight room and kind of lift the aches and stuff off and I’m ready by Tuesday.” He gave a lot of credit to the defense for this win. “We’ve got a lot of veteran corners who have been doing this for awhile, Clevan Thomas, Omarr Smith and Marquis Floyd. Those are some real good defensive backs. I have to go against them everyday and so I know how these receivers on the other teams feel. We know that if we slip up (the offense), they’ve got our backs so that makes it easy for us,” he said. Next for the SaberCats will be the division rival Los Angeles Avengers as San Jose searches for yet another title. With three games left before the playoffs in a five week time frame there still remains a lot to accomplish as the team and Coach Darren Arbet continue in search of that “perfect game.”
Game Notes: |
Saturday
night the San Jose SaberCats took on the Colorado Crush in a bid for their
ninth straight playoff berth. This game had particular significance in
that it was the first meeting against former SaberCat and receiver
extraordinaire Ben Nelson. Although Nelson did have some measure of
success with 2 touchdowns and 79 yards, he was no match for the pounding
that he took at the hands of the San Jose defense. This game was tight
right down to late in the fourth quarter when the SaberCats Marquis Floyd
intercepted the ball in the end zone running it back 48 yards to the
Colorado 9. With 3:01 left in the game San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb
finished off the Crush finding ace veteran receiver James Roe in the end
zone for the touchdown and the 59-42 win.
With
another great performance quarterback Mark Grieb continues to amaze with 8
touchdowns, 271 yards completing 23 of 30 passes. While he did look a bit
tentative in the first quarter, that all dissipated as the game
progressed. He stood tall in the pocket unflappable thanks to the front
line that always does a great job for him. “I think we are making less
assignment errors,” said Grieb. “Guys know where they are suppose to be
and that’s made a big difference for us. We’ve been playing well up front
and anytime you play well up front and there’s time to throw the ball you
are going to do well.” He gave a lot of credit to his defense and their
ability to make key stops at critical times in the game. “In the second
half, they just wear people out and end up making key stops. It was a
tight game and they just got them (Colorado offense) off the field and so
that was big for us, he said.” He is well aware that they have clinched
another playoff berth, however, his sites are set on the three remaining
games. “We have three more shots at this thing to tune up and get ready
for the playoffs. We have to make sure we stay really sharp.” 