Mike Gerardi (14) cheers on Peanut Joseph as a bench player during last year's UB game. Now he will take a more active role in the winning.
"I saw every play of the Temple vs. Penn State game and the only thing Temple needed to win that game was better quaterback play. I really think if Mike Gerardi played that game, they would have beaten Penn State."
_ Doug Graber, on ESPN Plus telecast
I hadn't heard it since I used to play full court noon-time basketball at the Doylestown YMCA about 20 years ago.
We'd always call this wild guy the missing link. He was bald, big, had a beard (kind of looked like Brian Wilson of the Giants) and was muscle-bound and would camp underneath the basket and get all the rebounds.
I haven't really heard the term "missing link" again until Saturday.
The announcers on the TV during Temple's 42-0 win at Buffalo, Michael Reghi and Doug Graber, kept referring to quarterback Mike Gerardi as Temple's missing link.
I don't think he's bald, big or particularly muscle-bound so I had to page through my Merriam-Webster Dictionary to see what they were talking about.
It gives two definitions and I like the second one best:
- A theoretical primate postulated to bridge the evolutionary gap between the anthropoid apes and humans. Not in scientific use.
- Something lacking that is needed to complete a series.
Something lacking that is needed to complete a series.
That pretty much describes Mike Gerardi to me and what he means to Temple's football team.
Too many series have been left on the field and, to me, the position mostly at fault was the quarterback one.
Too many interceptions.
Too many fumbles.
Too many overthrows.
Too many left plays on the field.
Not anymore.
Gerardi threw a pair of interceptions that could be forgiven today because both were right near the hands of the wide receivers and both came after Gerardi demonstrated an ability to make positive plays with the ball.
This team has so many weapons and now, for the first time all year, I feel confident that they can be used properly.
Something had been missing all year until now.
Missing link?
If your talking about the second definition of that term, I think that's the perfect description for Mike Gerardi.
