David & Goliath: Cincinnati stopped by Rattlers

There always seems to be one week out of the year when the games get wacky, and the press usually calls it (after the fact) Upset Sunday. Here in week 8 of the AFL we've stumbled across this oddity. The final two teams that were undefeated, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, have fallen from the ranks. Michigan as the underdog beat Pittsburgh 7-0 in a defensive struggle.

The real shocker of the week happened in Ohio, where the suddenly resurgent Arizona Rattlers upended the once spotless Royals, more impressively doing it in the Royals home stadium. With a star quarterback who literally is injured more than he is healthy, the Rattlers nevertheless came into Cincinnati with a certain confidence about them. In recent weeks they had played much better, and what was more star QB Lamar Burton had a miraculous healing at the local tent revival in town and was able to start the game, to the surprise of everyone.

Its rare when a team wins after letting the opposition pass for over 400 yards in the game, but that is exactly what happened in Cincinnati. Leonard Smith was simply on fire passing for 409 yards and two scores, while three people on the Royals had 100 yards receiving. Arizona's passing defense has been perhaps the most suspect in the league, but nevertheless it was apparent the Rattlers made a commitment to stopping the run, which they partially succeeded in, keeping the Royals to 79 total yards on the ground. The flip side to this was the Rattler's continued success on the ground, where Running Back by committee has taken form. Despite Charles Machurek being injured, veteran Jerome stepped up to fill his slot, rushing for 7.2 ypc and 87 yards, while the team was able to grind out 199 yards on 34 carries.

Once again, and for about the fifth time this year, fragile Lamar Burton played well until being knocked out again with a leg injury in the first quarter. Due to the fine play of rookie backup Lindell, who threw for 251 yards, the Rattlers were able to pull off this upset with a backup quarterback, on the road. This was your classic David and Goliath story. It will be interesting to see if the Rattlers can carry the momentum over to next week against struggling Nashville.

With 6-1 Miami coming to town this week, it seems obvious that the Royals were looking past the 2-5 Rattlers and did not take them seriously. Head Coach Mike Branson's post game chewing out must have been a memorable one. Oh to be a fly on the wall.

Starting off the season 0-4 with an injured quarterback, the Rattlers have come back despite their troubles to post a 3-1 record since. They are well behind division leading Los Angeles, but there is nevertheless whispers beginning to surface about making the playoffs. A mere game and a half out of the final wildcard spot and momentum on their side, suddenly they've come from looking at the college boards to looking at the scoreboard again. They still have 8 games to go, and if their offensive star manages to stay halfway healthy, hey, you just never know.

In other team news, in part because of his team leading six sacks at the halfway point, the team finally got together with their best defensive lineman Jim Washington, extending his contract for another 2 years, making the total deal 3 years for 11.6 million. On a defensive line that has been criticized as too small, Washington has been a standout thus far. If Jim continues to play at this level the Rattlers will have gotten a good price for his services.

Because of his tendency in recent games to throw the pick, Head Coach Miral Billings has announced Willie Lindell will be dropped to 3rd string, and Rod "General" Barton promoted to 2nd string. Aside from the picks, Lindell has played well thus far in his rookie campaign, completing 60% of his passes, but the turnovers were just too big of a problem to ignore. If he gets the kinks out of his throw, look for him to move back into the second spot. Considering the continued problems with Lamar Burton's feet and ankles, and his propensity for getting knocked out of ballgames, this could indeed spell some serious playing time for the General.