Arena Football: San Jose SaberCats-Chicago Rush Preview

 Rosemont, IL - The defending Arena Football Champion San Jose SaberCats open their season with hopes of defending their title against the Chicago Rush at the Allstate Arena.

The game is a rematch of the 2007 American Conference Championship game. The SaberCats won that game over the Rush and then went on the win ArenaBowl XXI in New Orleans.

The SaberCats are led by QB Mark Grieb and WR James Roe. San Jose return most of the core of the team that won the ArenaBowl last year. The only real key loss from that team is WR Ben Nelson, who signed with Colorado in the offseason.

The Rush are coming into the 2008 season with a new quarterback and wide receiver combo. Gone from the 13-3 team in 2007 are QB Matt D'Orazio, who was released by the team in fear that he had career-threating back surgery, and WR Bobby Sippio, who signed with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.

Also gone is FB Bob McMillen, who retired and now is the fullback/linebackers coach for the Rush. The team signed veteran quarterback Sherdrick Bonner, who played for Arizona last year and wide receiver Damian Harrell from division rival Colorado. The team also added fullback's Dan Alexander and Matt Kinsinger.

The combination of Bonner and Harrell could be a very explosive duo. Alexander set and AFL record last year with Nashville by rushing for 41 touchdowns.

The Rush defense retains its core with Jeremy Unertl, Dennison Robinson, Jonathan Ordway, John Moyer, Joe Peters, DeJuan Alfonso, James Sadler and Demetrios Walker.

"We had the best defense in the league," Unertl said. "We held teams to the lowest number of points(719) in league history. Even more important, we lead the league in turnover margin. That's how you get more possessions."

With the defense already strong and knowing the system of Head Coach Mike Hohensee, the big question is how long will it take for the offense to learn and jell as a unit.

Make sure to catch the game on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD on Monday night at 9pm ET/6pm PT