Deep in his heart, Willis Marshall of the Colorado Crush still cares about the Grand Rapids Rampage, the team that gave him his start in the Arena Football League.
Without those three years, he might not have been the MVP in the ArenaBowl last season.
“Yeah, I still have a little love for Grand Rapids,” Marshall said. “But no Sunday love. If they want some Sunday love, they better go to church first.”
About the time most churches close their doors Sunday, doors at the Pepsi Center will open for a game between the Rampage and the defending ArenaBowl champions. As a leading authority on Grand Rapids, Marshall thinks he knows what to expect.
“It’s going to be another physical game,” he said. “They’re a good defensive team.
“Their record (2-3) is not indicative of how they’re playing right now,” the Crush’s star receiver/linebacker said. “They’re really playing pretty well. They had a rough start on offense, but they switched quarterbacks and it looks like they found the guy they’re going to go with the rest of the season.”
Grand Rapids opened the season with Jose Davis, who backed up Colorado’s John Dutton last season. But after two straight losses, the Rampage gave the starting job to Chad Salisbury.
“Maybe it was just bad timing for Jose,” Marshall said. “But it looks like they’re going with the other guy now, and more importantly, their defense is playing really well.
“And as we all know around here, defense is what wins championships.”
A defense that limited Philadelphia to 10 second-half points and 98 yards last Sunday got the Crush its fourth victory. And Marshall, who scored the tying touchdown, was probably a bigger contributor on defense.
“He’s just what we coaches would say is a football player,” Crush coach Mike Dailey said. “They’re all football players, but he’s one of those guys that has those intangibles that make him a complete player – the toughness, the durability, the desire, the savvy, the competitiveness. All those things.”
Naturally, those are the things that make Marshall such a valuable two-way player.
“I tell everybody I’m a defensive player playing offense,” Marshall said. “I’d rather deliver the hit than receive it, but I just want to be out there for every snap.”
To beat the Rampage, “the main thing we’ve got to do is score every time on offense,” Marshall said. “If we can score every time on offense we’ll win, because I know our defense is going to get us a couple of stops. ”
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
Crush/Today
Who: Grand Rapids Rampage (2-3) vs. Colorado Crush (4-1)
What: Arena Football League game
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Pepsi Center
TV/Radio: None/KHOW630
