Happy Easter everyone!

Despite the holiday and the decent weather we had on this day, not everyone is feeling so festive. The Chicago Rush are not in the best of moods today. They dropped their second straight game with a 76-61 loss to the Spokane Shock. Last year the Rush won their first two season games, this year has been a completely different story.

The Rush are starting to look better on offense but their defense has been a concern thus far. They have given up 139 total points to start the season. The 2012 Chicago Rush defense was known for putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks and forcing turnovers. This year that has not been the case.

Aside from the total points, they have also given up 587 total yards. As a team, the Rush so far have been outscored 139-102. And they have been out-gained 587-550. Not the ideal way to start the season, but the Rush are still trying to put themselves back together from top to bottom.

The worst part about all of this is that they have lost two home games already. Last year the Rush lost three home games all season. And if that isn’t bad enough, both games have been conference games. Unfortunately it only gets harder from here. On Friday the Rush make their first road trip of the season when they head to San Antonio for another division game.

The Talons swept both meetings with the Rush in 2012, and the Rush struggled on the road last year. Bob McMillen’s team sported a dismal 3-6 record away from Allstate Arena last season. San Antonio is hostile territory for anyone who sets foot in the Alamodome. The Talons won the Central Division last year and are favored to do so again.

The good thing is, there still some bright spots about this Rush team. New quarterback Carson Coffman is finally starting to come into his own now. He threw for a season-high 294 yards and seven touchdowns against Spokane. “Big Play” Reggie Gray is still living up to his nickname, he caught another four touchdown passes today.

J.J. Payne is also getting involved which is something that didn’t happen last year. The Rush fullback already has 21 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the season. The new offensive line of Steve Edwards, Collin Madison, and Jeff Maddux have only allowed one sack all season.

The Rush have also been getting good performances from new receivers Rodney Wright and AFL veteran Nate Forse. It also appears that Rodney Wright could take over as the team’s full-time kick returner. He had five returns for 122 yards this afternoon, including a 43-yard return which helped to set up a touchdown.

He has 190 total return yards after just two weeks of play. Jose Martinez is also looking better on the turf. After missing his only field goal attempt and missing an extra point in the opener last week, Martinez went 7-7 on PAT’s today. He was on point. Even though the Rush offense keeps getting better, the defense is still struggling to find it’s identity.

They will to find that identity in a hurry as they have a short week ahead of them. Even though the Talons lost their season opener last week, this week was a bye week for them. And they will have a full week to prepare for the Rush. Even though it is only two weeks into the season, the Rush must put themselves into panic mode now if they are going to turn things around.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be covering the Chicago White Sox 2013 season opener from U.S. Cellular Field. First pitch will be around 3:05pm, and you can follow me on Twitter for game updates @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports

 

It’s obvious that the Rush are hungry for a victory with the way they’ve been playing Spokane thus far. The Rush got off to a hot start and so far have yet to look back. Russ Michna has 4 touchdown passes already, Terrance Turner has 2 touchdown catches, and the defense has also done it’s job. Kelvin Morris has a fumble recovery and Semaj Moody has an interception. The Rush have been controlling the game and doing their job. My only concerns for the Rush are the offensive line because Russ Michna has been hit a couple times, sacked twice, and under pressure most of the day.

My other concern is the penalties, the Rush have 8 penalties costing them 64 yards thus far. Hopefully the Rush can improve in pass protection and limit the penalties in the second half. If the Rush keep scoring on offense they should have no problems pulling this one out. You can continue to follow me on Twitter: @GabeSalgado82 Hashtag: #Q101Sports

The Rush during pre-game warmups.

The Rush are more than happy to be back home at the Allstate Arena after a disasterous road trip to Arizona and San Jose. The Rush lost both of those games are now licking their wounds with a 6-4 record. They are now two games behind the San Antonio Talons in the Central Division. The Rush are hoping to bounce back with a victory against the Spokane Shock, a team that has won 5 of their last 6. They also have two former Rush players on their team this season, Lineman Palauni Ma Sun and WR/DB Josh Ferguson. Spokane has an undefeated record against the Rush.

The Shock eliminated the Rush from the playoffs from 2010, and Rush Quarterback Russ Michna has received season ending injuries at the hands of the Spokane defense. So it will be a very physical game to say the least. And if that wasn’t enough, the Rush will be playing with heavy hearts today and have been practicing with heavy hearts all week. FB/LB Johnie Kirton who played with the Rush in 2011, passed away earlier this week. He scored the game winning touchdown when the Rush lost to San Jose last weekend. Kirton was very good friends with Rush WR/DB Reggie Gray and LB/FB Kelvin Morris.

Earlier in the week I spoke with both Reggie and Kelvin and both men are trying to keep it together after losing their friend. Kelvin Morris was teammates and roommates with Kirton back in 2010 when both men played for the Arizona Rattlers. The cause of Kirton’s death is still under investigation. Both men have dedicated today’s game to Johnie Kirton. Kelvin Morris has decided to make a season long tribute to Kirton by changing his jersey number from 11 to 37 which was Kirton’s number. Emotions have been running high all week and the Rush are very hungry and determined to get back in the win column.

So I am expecting a high energy game full of big hits and big plays. You can follow me during the game on Twitter: @GabeSalgado82 Hashtag: #Q101Sports and I will be posting my next Q101.com report at halftime.

Linemen T.J. Waktins and Jason Peters are inactive for the Rush today, as is DB/WR Reggie Sullivan. But on the positive side FB/LB Russell Monk finally joins team this season after getting injured in training camp.

Here are the starting lineups for the Rush today:

Offense:

QB: #12 Russ Michna

FB: #43 J.J. Payne

WR: #1 Reggie Gray

WR: #6 Jared Perry

WR: #2 Terrance Turner

TE: #75 Colin Madison

C: #51 Billy Eisenhardt

G: #70 C.J. Cobb

Defense:

DE: #93 Cedric McKinley

NT: #92 Darrel Campbell

DE: #95 Jeffery Fitzgerald

MLB: #56 Nekos Brown

JLB: #37 Kelvin Morris

DB: #3 Brian Lainhart

DB: # 21 Kelvyn Hemphill

DB: #8 Leslie Majors

Here is my pre-game interview with Reggie Gray: