Week 4 Preview - Power host the Talons

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Now, on to football.

If we have to have a short turn-around, we should be glad that we face the Tulsa Talons on Saturday night. I would love to just write “they suck, we're gonna win” and move on, but football (of any flavor) is not that simple.

Look, Tulsa is bad. We should have this one, but there are lingering doubts that I have after this week's match-up against the Mustangs. With our developing habit of starting strong and slacking off, coupled with Tulsa likely making us want to play soft, they could surprise us. Any given Su- er, any given extended weekend, any team can win, and remembering that is job number one for the Power this weekend.

Here are some things that Pittsburgh can watch for and exploit:

1. Kickoffs – Tulsa is weak at kicking off and they go short. Also, they are not very good at covering the return. In two out of their three games so far this season, they have averaged nearly 30 yards allowed per. This gives their opponents excellent field position on every drive and they have been making good use of it.
2. 4^th down conversions – they are very hit and miss at converting this, with slightly more misses. If our defense can step up and stop the passing game, we have a good chance to turn it over there and hopefully get good field position.
3. Weak end zone defense – I know what you’re thinking – Don’t you mean red zone or goal-line? Not really. They actually seem to fight to keep people out of the end zone, but once they’re there, they leave them wide open. We shouldn't have as much need to rely on Rue for points as there always seems to be an open receiver when Tulsa is defending the goal line.

Things to watch for and stop:

1. The passing game – I know Keller seems to feel that covering the pass is too hard, but it's still possible. Reid is mobile and when he connects, he connects big. The opening game, he threw for over 200 yards, and even in the last two butt-kickings, he's still pulled off over 100. The Power needs to cover downfield and break up those deep passes.
2. Disorganization can be a good thing (for them) – Whereas I like the fact that McCabe spreads it around, he does it with purpose. Reid takes it to a new level. There is only one player that he’s passed to in all three games (Copeland, averaging about 50 yards a game) and only two he's gone to in any two separate games. Now, I don't know if this is by design or just because they're trying to find something – anything – that works, but whatever it is, it is hard to predict and defend against. Best idea is to just bring the hammer down on him and just not give him a chance to throw.
3. Mobile quarterback – We ran into trouble with that last week, and Bobby Reid is one of top rushers in the league.

The simple fact is, Tulsa is a team in drastic need of redesign. There's a lot of difference between a team like the Mustangs who are 0-3, but tend to hang in there, and a team like the Talons, that is 0-3 and gets decisively beat. There is only one game so far this season where they have finished within less than 20 points. But, they are obviously aware of this. News came out yesterday that they’ve quietly picked up former Sabercat Rodney Wright. He brings with him twice the receptions and yards as Tulsa’s current top receiver. Will this be the secret weapon that makes the difference? Will he even play this weekend? I don’t know. He’s not listed on Tulsa’s team website on the depth chart, or even on the team. Speculation might just be the secret to making Saturday interesting.

Another of those “intangible” angles for this week is Peter Fields. If you look this 6’4”, 330lbs offensive lineman up on Tulsa’s site, you will see a big “N/A” next to the college line. Not only did Mr. Fields not play football in college, he’s not even American. This native of Great Britain moved here just to play football. A veteran of the Indoor Football League (whole other can of worms), he left after three seasons to move up to the AFL level. Interestingly enough, he signed with the Power in November. Obviously, this didn’t work out, as he’s out there protecting Bobby Reid this season. It’s always interesting to see a player with a lot of heart come into a place that seemed to say, “You’re not good enough for us.” Sometimes, they prove the sentiment right. Other times, they come in and just tear the place apart to say, “How do you like me now?”

So, without looking past them, what can we take out of this game?

First of all, a team that should be a cream puff like this is a great chance to work on fundamentals. As Keller pointed out in his review, McCabe needs some more fine-detail work. Although I am still going to chalk up at least one of those INTs to the fact that he was throwing to a non-existent end-zone corner, I totally agree that he needs work on his focus. If nothing else, this team should allow him a few extra seconds in the pocket to take a deep breath and find the right guy.

Also in the QB slot, we can think about Morelli. This might be a good time to get him a few reps and work him in as a backup. If – and it is an if – we jump out to a 30+ point lead over them like their last two opponents, I see no reason not to get him a little playing time. We lost our starter after a game and a half, and if that happens to McCabe, I don't want untested command behind center.

Let me stress again that I am not looking past this game – I am just very confident about it. However, what we cannot forget is the fact that amongst the three teams that beat Tulsa, there is only one loss. They have faced undefeated, tough teams. We might find out that we're facing a team that has just been totally outclassed by skill – and we better hope that isn't the case, because we have to play every one of those teams later.

Honestly, we lucked out as an expansion team. We ended up with a season front-loaded with weak teams. Of our upcoming matches, three of the teams are currently standing at 0-3 (the Voodoo even fired their offensive coordinator this week.) The Sharks and the Force are both going to offer challenges, but are beatable. After that, it gets tough. Real tough.

The second half of the season, we have to meet the division-leading Gladiators twice, the Vigilantes, the Rattlers, and the Sabercats. If that wasn't enough, we have rematches against rival Mustangs and Soul – two games that were decided by a total of 8 pts. The next 5 games are our chance to work out kinks, get some games in the W column and gel as a team. After that, we are in for a brutal downhill drive to the end of the season. Seriously, I cannot stress that enough. As teams look right now, I am scared of every second half game except the Blaze – and then only by comparison.

Bottom line is that the Power get through this week, then have a bye next week. Hopefully they handily take care of the Talons and have two weeks to review film and figure out new tactics. Then, we have a few more weeks of teams we can try them out on before the hammer officially comes down.

Elsewhere in the league:

1. As I suspected, the Barnstormers bounced a Czech and are starting a new kicker this week
2. Despite being winless and showing a lot of empty seats, the Mustangs have signed a three-year lease at their arena, so we might be able to count on a rivalry there
3. The NFL Network game of the week is the Sharks @ Tampa Bay. TB is off to a rough start after a coaching scandal, but they're generally a very, very good team. Also, Jacksonville's QB has now thrown for over 26 miles in his career.
4. Mustangs host the Soul on Monday night. Whoever wins gains a divisional win, so this game has repercussions down the line.

Power vs. Mustangs Review: Keller's Take

Check out Weidman's review for his breakdown of the Power's 49-47 victory over Milwaukee, as well as his thoughts on some of the other action around the AFL.

I think the team is still trying to find their identity.  I think coach Siegfried is still getting his sea legs.  I think the team was damn lucky to come out of Milwaukee with a victory and, as they say, a win's a win.  They're still sitting pretty a 2-1, tied with Philly for the division lead, so they haven't dug themselves a big hole like the 0-3 Mustangs or the 0-3 Talons (our Week 4 opponent) have.

As nice as it is to go on the road and notch one in the win column, I couldn't help but come out of this game feeling uneasy.  The game itself was a tale of two halves, was sloppily played, and unfolded at an uneven pace.  The Power owned the first half, forcing turnovers and jumping out to a 28-7 lead.  Milwaukee turned the tables in the second half, forcing a couple turnovers of their own before they were ultimately undone by their special teams.  So, I don't feel good about this game -- certainly not as good as I felt after the Week 2 drubbing of Iowa -- but I don't feel bad, either.  Like I said, I just feel uneasy.

My big issue is the fact that Siegfried may be forgetting he's coaching an Arena team.  The Power jumped out to a big lead -- just like they did against the Soul in the opener -- then they took their foot off the gas and seemed to be playing it safe in order to protect the lead.  The problem there is that the concept of a "safe lead" doesn't exist in Arena ball.  You just keep scoring until the clock runs out, then try to score some more.  They looked like they were especially playing it safe in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.  In the NFL, heading into the fourth quarter with a 15 point lead is a pretty good time to turtle up and protect the lead.  Not at all in the AFL, as we discovered last night.  Hopefully, Siegfried was also paying attention.

Then there's Kevin McCabe.  I haven't pulled a 180 on him after I fell in love with him last week, but I think that he and Siegfried need to realize and understand McCabe's limitations as a quarterback.  On both his interceptions, he looked like he was trying to be too precise, trying too hard to make the perfect throw, and really thinking too much about not screwing it up.  The result was that he screwed it up and threw two picks.  The reason is that he's just not precise enough to put the ball where only his receiver can catch it.  We take quarterback play for granted at the NFL level and fail to realize that there's only a handful of guys on the Earth that can throw to a specific spot at a high velocity on the run while being pressured.  It's not easy and physically not being able to do it results in turnovers.

Before you forsake McCabe and the Power forever, I think I should point out that there is a silver lining.  The best way to insulate McCabe from his mistakes and limitations is to not change anything.  The Power jumped out to a big lead, then they took the foot off the gas and tried to grind out a victory.  The fact that they did manage to grind out a victory is incidental and should not be a reason to try this strategy again in the future.  They need to keep doing what they're doing.  They need to keep their foot on the gas.  They need to keep scoring until the clock stops, then try to score some more.

Yet another silver lining is that it looks like they have plenty of tools on offense to accomplish that objective.  They can plow through short yardage or goal-to-go situations with Joshua Rue and Eddie Thompson.  They can dink and dunk down the field with those little slip screens and quick hitches/slants to Mike Washington and Jason Willis.  They can go vertical with Lonnell Dewalt and Jerome Mathis.  McCabe can throw every route on the passing tree.

If you add all that up, they just need to mix it up, keep it moving, and kill the bastards.  As the great John Madden said, "The team that is going to be able to score the most points is the team that's going to win this game."  Sage advice. I think the Power should follow it, especially since the defense had some issues on Monday night.

I still have a huge man-crush on Carlos Campbell and Neil Purvis, so they're excused.  Josh Lay is a good read-and-react guy, but he's not a great cover corner and he's absolutely horrible at staying with a receiver until the whistle.  He gets distracted or starts looking into the backfield and then he gets burned.  Until the NFL draft comes and goes and all the undrafted free agents hit the open market, there's not much that can be done.

At a very basic level, there's not much you can do, period, in terms of coverage.  There's too much space and too many receivers in the pattern and not enough guys to cover them.  As I mentioned in my original post about the Power, the AFL is a purer form of football than the NFL because you can't hide.  You can't cover up the fact that Lay gets distracted.  It's just him and the guy across from him.  The other side is that everyone on defense plus Weidman plus the people that read this blog knew that Eric Ward was going to feed the ball to Antione Burns a lot, but no one was able to stop him because he's too good, there's too much space, there are too many guys in the pattern to cover.  The best you can do is pressure the quarterback and force him to make mistakes.  The Power did a good job of that in the first half, but they let Ward and back-up quarterback RJ Archer break contain and run through the huge seams in the defense that were created when the defensive line overpursued.  At a basic level, there's only so much you can do to keep that from happening.  Archer and Ward are fast dudes and they'll find a way to bust out.

Therefore, score as many points as possible. 

Now, the weird thing is that the Power are just good enough in the running game and just efficient enough in the short passing game that they could string together several long, plodding drives like they had in the first quarter against the Barnstormers in Week 3, effectively playing keep-away from the other team.  They could win a lot of "low scoring" games 42-35 that way, but the trouble with that strategy is that it doesn't give you much room for error.  In Arena ball, the rules are specifically designed for random, unpredictable things to happen, so random, unpredictable things are not outliers.  The only way to adjust for those outliers is to give yourself a buffer by scoring as many points as possible.

There's an outside chance the Siegfried actually reads this -- at least a better chance than Tomlin or Bylsma reading the ol' blog -- so I wanted to make sure I hammered the point home.

PS: Coach Siegfried, if you're reading this, Jerome Mathis needs to get more involved.  That guy is crazy explosive and you need to find as many ways as possible to get the ball in his hands.  Don't just relegate him to kickoff returns and deep post routes.

Week 3 Power @Mustangs Review

Any regular readers of this blog will know that one of our mottoes is, “An ugly win is still a win,” and tonight was an ugly win. 49 points turned out to be just barely enough to best the still winless Mustangs, but that's all it was. As with many games, the last minute is where everything was decided, almost to the last second. The game started very strong, but time took its toll on the Pittsburgh Power.

They came out of the gates hard and put the pressure on. Most of the first quarter, they kept the 'Stangs off the board didn't have a drive without a score. From this start, it looked that we'd run the table all night and hand it too them definitively. However, it was not to last. McCabe played the whole game, and I think we started to get tired as the clock ran. By the end of the second half, the ball got away from him more, and the Mustangs were able to exploit that.

That being said, he continued with what I mentioned last week is his strength: Spreading the ball around. “Whatchu Talkin' 'Bout” Willis might not have put up any points or gotten the most yardage, but he was a key receiver, pulling down 8 receptions. When it came to the end zone, Mathis, Thompson, Dewalt and Zeck all put six on the board. This will continue to keep the opposing teams guessing and is something the Power should stick with.

One area that might be overlooked but needs to be addressed is the field shape. About half the league has a rounded end zone rather than the normal rectangle. Mustangs' home turf is one of them. At least two times during the game, McCabe ran into trouble passing to the “corner” of the endzone and having it bounce back into play. If there was a corner there, the receiver probably would have had a few more steps to reach the ball. This is an area that some fans gripe about and say should be a standard shape. Personally, I look at it as Arena's version of “Dome” vs “Open” fields. It's just one of those environmental issues that you learn to deal with after gaining experience.

On the ground, our prime weapon continues to be the powerful Joshua Rue, who was the only player to see the end zone more than once tonight. In a game that emphasizes throwing, his 28 yards are no mean feat – especially when since they yielded touchdowns. In the mid-field, he also gains the yards that we need and plows through defenders with a fair amount of ease.

On the other side of the ball, we still have a lot of work to do. On one hand, we kept the pressure on Ward when we could – and in fact, he took the bench and Archer came in eventually – but only while he was in the pocket. Ward – and later, Archer – are both highly mobile once they get out, and then there was no stopping them. By himself, Ward scrambled for as many yards as both of our rushers together and found the end zone for a score. The top two rushers for Milwaukee were their quarterbacks.

In the air, the Power was not able to shut down Burns, who we knew it was going to. Harrell and Elay also picked up very respectable yardage. In a yards-only game, this was all Mustangs, all the way. It's hard to cover everybody with this few people on the field, but their offense is geared towards long bombs to a few targets. Both Ward and Archer had way too much time to think and get the ball to an open target.

Both teams had some amazing goal-line stands that were more reminiscent of the NFL than Arena. While laudable, these showed a failure to keep the opposing team out of the red zone. For the Power, their stands were slightly less effective than the Mustangs, and I'd like to see that shored up a bit before moving on.

Ultimately, the game was decided by Milwaukee's mistakes, not Power triumphs. Two missed PATs kept them away from tying us. Their final kickoff was an obvious onside kick that very well could have worked – had they not gotten greedy. Milwaukee's Lindholm rushed for the ball after it had touched Power players, and intentionally kicked it forward, where the Mustangs recovered. Had it stood there, they would have been in prime scoring position – however, this is an illegal move, which gave us back the ball on the 15, followed by their coach lipping off, giving us 8 more yards. From here, it was “taking a forward knee” to run the clock out and go home.

That was too close.

What did we do right?

Early, hard pressure, passing change-ups, not being afraid to rush – these are all strengths and are shaping up to be our identity. As McCabe settles more into what looks to be his job for the foreseeable future and gets his endurance up, he needs to focus on continuing what works. Rue, barring injury, is only going to keep grinding out the short yardage and score touchdowns. Our receiving corps is varied and strong, with no signs of jealousy or showmanship at this early point.

What did we do wrong?

Did not contain the quarterbacks enough. Although the Power got the pressure on, they were not able make Milwaukee panic like they did in their first two games. Also, once Archer and Ward went mobile, the Power had no answer for it. Open field situations still need a lot of work on D. Finally, they might need to realize that iron men are nice, but if the QB is tired/rattled it might be time to sit him. The Mustangs split the duties this week and both men picked up over 100 yards.

What do we take away?

A win is a win and a loss is a loss. This was a division game, so anything that puts up a W is good. Right now, the Mustangs are winless at the bottom of the division and Cleveland is up top without a loss. Cleveland has only played twice, and neither were division games, and I honestly expect to see them pick up a loss next week. Philly is also down a game, but we're currently tied with them 1-1 in the division. It's still very early in the season, but we are off to a good start.

We also showed that we can play on the road and continue to win. I'm glad that we got that out of the way. Now, we have a short week to gear up for the Tulsa Talons, who are currently 0-3.

Elsewhere in the league

Friday night was an interesting night. The NFL Game of the Week (and the only one nationally televised) was between the winless Barnstormers and the winless defending Arena Bowl champs, the Spokane Shock. This game should have been boring as all get-out, but turned out surprisingly interesting. As we saw last week, the Barnstormers weren't much to worry about, but they pulled off a 43-42 win that they should not have. The Shock pressed hard early and took advantage of constant mistakes made by Iowa – chief among them was kicker Pitor Czech (formerly of the Steelers practice squad) going 1 – 7 on PATs. One. For. Seven. If that man is not a bounced Czech shortly, I will be surprised*. Lucky for him, a timely turnover in the end zone at the end of the 4^th kept the Shock from making up that one point they needed after falling apart in the second half.

*I wanted to make that joke last week. I'm glad I waited.

Also on Friday night was the undefeated Sabercats at the undefeated Rush. This is the game that I wanted on national television, but was denied. Possibly the two consistently best teams in the league, this was a match-up worth seeing. The Sabercats are looking really good and we need to play them this season. This scares me. On the other hand, the Rush continue to look even better. Although they were hit many times with both encroachment and offsides penalties throughout the game, they were able to bring it home 54-41. Quarterback Russ Michna managed to make something out of nothing twice and gain 38 yards for two touchdowns. Remember: He actually has a day job as well, and this was a Friday night game.

So that's that for Week 3. Again, it's a short week before our next home game – which means it's a short week for me to get a preview together for you.

Penguins Down the Stretch

My brother e-mailed me earlier this week and basically asked: "Since the Pens are locked into the 4/5 match-up and so are the Lightning, how do you think we match up against Tampa?"

First of all, we'll find out how the Pens stack up vs. the Lightning next Thursday, March 31st.  Secondly, I don't think they're necessarily "locked in" to a particular seed.  They have a 16 point lead on the #9 seed with eight games to play, which means they have all but clinched a postseason bid.   They have a five point lead on fifth-seeded Tampa and a date with the Lightning in a little under a week, so they can create some separation there.

The interesting thing here is the fact that they're only four point behind Philly and the Flyers only have one game in hand.  They beat the Flyers last night on the road and have another chance to gain at least one point on Philly next Tuesday.

The Pens face only two playoff teams in their next eight games: Philly and Tampa.  The other six games are all non-playoff teams, including two against Florida (14th-best team in the conference) and two games against Da Devil.  Philly faces four playoff teams (Boston, Buffalo, Pens, Rangers), but they also have Ottawa on the schedule and two games against the Islanders.

If I had to bet on it, I would say the Pens are going to be the fourth seed, but I really do think they have a solid chance at winning the division.  Winning the division would not guarantee them the #1 seed, though, since the Capitals are playing great hockey right now and are only two points behind Philly in the race for the top seed.  Washington has clinched a playoff spot, though, and they've started resting Ovechkin to get him healthy for the playoffs, so it's very possible that whoever wins the Atlantic Division is the top-seeded team.

This has been a strange season from start to finish and I can't help but think the Pens have another surprise in store.

They started out kinda slow, had a players only meeting after only 11 games, got super red hot and looked unstoppable, then Staal comes back, they lose the Winter Classic in an uneven game against a team that was on the ropes and roared back for the season (Capitals have clinched a playoff spot and should be the #2 seed).  Then everyone gets hurt.  The team slumps with Baby Penguins masquerading as real Penguins.  Then everyone starts to come together, Shero makes a couple of fantastic trades, guys start coming back, suddenly it looks like they might make a deep Cup run without Crosby.  

All of that was just leading up to this past week.  Then the Rangers game happened on Sunday, which was a humiliating and demoralizing loss.  Cooke get suspended.  Then we come out firing against the Red Wings (they’re still a really good team).  Sure, they needed a shootout to win, but it’s just been a rollercoaster, with last night's shoot out win on the road over the division-leading Flyers serving as the cherry on top.  Or the loop in the Thunderbolt.  Or whatever completes that analogy.

I think Bylsma might have another rabbit up his sleeve.  With the closing schedule and the fact that they’re only four points back of the Flyers, with a game left against them at Console… I dunno.  Stranger things have happened.  A lot.  Mostly this season.  To the Penguins.

It's too early to say that this team is "locked in" for anything.  I think we need to follow the sage advice of John Connor, who said, "There is no fate but what we make for ourselves."  Perhaps those inspirational words will bolster the Pens to a division title in the next two weeks.

Power vs Mustangs Preview - Monday Night Football, Arena Style

******UPDATE******

According to the Power's press release, Morris is out of action and has been moved to IR. McCabe would be my bet for the start, with the newly re-signed Morrelli backing him up. So, it looks like I'll get my wish to see how McCabe handles starting responsibility.

********************

Hey, Power fans – Weidman here to put some more “N'At” in “Steelers N'At.” Today, we're going to look at our upcoming first road game against the Milwaukee Iro- Mustangs.

Seriously, AFL – If you want people to follow the sport, make it easier on them by keeping the same names for a couple of seasons. I'm going to hop up on my cyber soap box for a second and get this off my chest. It's hard enough to build team identity when rosters change every season, but when you also keep changing names...well, it can make even a die-hard throw up their hands. Now, in this particular case, the Mustangs are just reviving their original franchise, so maybe we can give them a pass.

We won't need to worry about that happening. Cleveland has our old name. They can keep it. It's tainted now.

Back to the matter at hand. As stated, this is our first road game. Only time will tell if the Pittsburgh road warrior mentality is in the water, or simply indoctrinated in people with “Rooney” on their paychecks. It's not going to be easy for a new team traveling across the country, a time zone over for the first time. They're also going to be facing their first game without an enthusiastic home crowd. Even the top-of-the-line pros in the NFL have trouble with this – it's no small consideration.

What can we expect out of the Mustangs? I've watched both games they've played this season – first against the Rush, and second against the Arizona Rattlers – and I can't say that I'm impressed.

Their opener was a 49-41 loss to the Rush, which didn't reflect the plays on the field. The 'Stangs looked sloppy and the Rush seemed in charge the whole game. The Mustang's Ward was only 26 for 45 in the air (but did pull off 249 yards) and their rushing game was uninspiring. However, I could look past it. Much like our first week and the Barnstormers last week, it was a revamped team's first game. Also, the Rush are a top-tier team and not to be dismissed. Plus, they only lost by 8.

This week, they went up against another strong team in the Arizona Rattlers and fared even worse. Ward still only pulled off about 50% of his attempts and the team picked up an additional 15 yards rushing. The ground attack did yield 3 of their 4 touchdowns, but that's about it. Final was 62-31 Rattlers.

Where did it all fall apart? In short, everywhere. Ward threw two beautiful passes to the opposing team. The defense missed a lot of their assignments. Ward was totally unprotected. Penalties were constant for them. It was just mess. If this game was the true Mustangs, it's not going to be pretty on Monday night for them against the Power.

That being said – every season is new. We only have a sample-size of two right now and the Mustangs have played two good teams. What we will need to do is exploit their weaknesses.

1. Cover Holmes and Burns. They haven't been necessarily the top receivers, but Ward likes them both. He's thrown three picks already this year, and since we know where the ball is likely going, the Power has a chance to take them away. Plus, I just can't cope with hearing “Ward completes to Holmes.” It screws with my head.

2. Be prepared for it to go long. Ward has low completions but a lot of yards. That's because he likes to air it out. Combine with #1, and we really know where to be.

3. Keep. The. Pressure. On. Especially this past week, the Mustangs proved that they cannot protect their QB. He got sacked a lot, let up a safety (yeah, kinda like Morris...) and he panics in the pocket.

Ward is the key. He doesn't seem to take the bench and plays whole games. Even if we pressure him enough to get pulled, we're going to see him replaced by a QB who hasn't had much field time – it'll be the same situation, but amped up. If the Power can own the defense, the offense we've showed so far this season will take care of itself.

Is there anything to be concerned about? Yes. The 'Stangs are playing at home, are angry at 0-2, and the new upstarts on the block are coming into their house. Before things totally fell apart this week, they had one last burst where they started hammering the Rattlers and pulled off two sacks in a row. Also, they kept the score competitive against a tough team in week one. We can win this one, but we can't write it off.

Off-topic thoughts:

This being an away game, it will not be aired on TV here. You can either catch it on 93.7 The Fan, or watch it streaming on NiFTy TV (details at www.arenafootball.com). I know it's a pain, but we should not downplay it. (Sorry, let me pull out that there soap box again.) Thankfully, Milwaukee tends to air their games locally, so the feed should be decent.

Watching the Rattlers game this week was painful. There doesn't seem to be enough of a fan base there to air them, so they were left with just the booth feed. What I mean by that is there was no on-screen score, lots of arena music cues, kiss-cams and no running commentary aside from the end of plays. Honestly, you never realize how important those idiot bobble-heads in the booth are until they're not there.

We have a loyal sports fan base here and it is our duty to make use of it. Phoenix is a sports town. They have football, baseball, college and pro football, hockey, Fiesta Bowls...it's a sports town. Yet, the arena had a lot of empty seats and no TV coverage (I assume.) In the first half – hand to God, I am not making this up – a dude on a Harley rode on the field with a delightful Sidewinders dance team member on the back to hand-deliver a full rib dinner to one lucky fan.

Hand to God.

Motorcycle delivered dancing girl with a plate of ribs. During the game. And there were empty seats. If that wasn't a sign that this league needs the support of every single fan, I don't know what is. So, Monday night, turn on the radio, hook up your laptop to your TV – do what you need to catch this game and show your support.

Go Power, and I'll be back next week with a recap

Power vs. Barnstormers Review: Keller's Take

Again, Weidman already beat me to the punch with a strong review of Saturday night's game, but I figured I'd throw out a few thoughts anyway.

1. It's really amazing the things you pick up when you're as close to the action as we are.  We're four rows back in Section 104, so we can not only hear the players swearing at each other and the refs, we can pick up on the little things that get lost when you're sitting in the nosebleed section at an NFL game (or even when you have good seats, but the field is still 40 yards from the stands).  I noticed that Brad Banks has a noodle arm and couldn't break a pane of glass from five yards out.  I also noticed that he got happy feet really quickly.  In addition, I saw that Todd Blythe of the Barnstormers is a massive dude, but still quick, which explains why the Power couldn't stop him.
2. The other thing I noticed was that defensive back Carlos Campbell is a good player.  Well, he's aggressive and he's a solid cover guy, but he doesn't like to tackle.  Still, he's a good player.  He's classified as just a defensive back -- they don't have the cornerback or safety positions in the AFL -- so I was wrong to call him a safety in my last post.  If you're an NFL fan, though, and you've been following the game your whole life, it's tough to not classify him as a safety.  He covers the motion receiver and he usually starts about ten yards off the line of scrimmage.  In the game against the Soul, he showcased some major stones when he ran up to the line and challenged the motion receiver at the snap, trying to chuck the receiver off the route.  This is a ballsy move for two reasons: One, the receiver is probably bigger than you and could knock you down, considering he has a head of steam; and, Two, if he gets past you or you miss your chuck, he's long gone and it's an easy score.  The thing is that, every time Campbell whiffed when he tried to jam Iowa receiver Jesse Schmidt, he just let the receiver go and concentrated on defending receivers that were running short routes.  That spoke to the fact that Campbell didn't respect Banks' deep arm and I saw the Barnstormers safety doing the same thing when Bernard Morris was in the game.
3. Which brings us to Morris.  I mentioned previously that I didn't think he threw a good long ball and it's possible that Iowa used that summation as a scouting report.  From what I've heard, Morris left the game because of an arm injury, but I think it's safe to say that the offense was more effective with Kevin McCabe behind center.  McCabe's first pass was a laser -- or at least a laser by Morris' standards -- to Jerome Mathis that traveled 35 yards in the air.  I'm not sure if McCabe was trying to make a statement with that throw, but I think he gets the start against the Mustangs.  I feel as though he earned it, even though fan favorite Joshua Rue was voted the game's most valuable player.  I'm thinking McCabe keeps the starting job unless he really starts to flounder or gets hurt.  If nothing else, Morris is an excellent back-up.
4. Speaking of Mathis, I forgot that he was a talented receiver.  I always remembered him as a special teams guy who was better at covering kicks -- so good, in fact, that he was voted to the Pro Bowl when he played for the Texans -- and returning kicks than he was as a receiver.  Maybe he is much better at returning and covering kicks than he is as a receiver, but he's still a damn good receiver.  With him, The Joystick, Whatchu Talkin' About Willis, and Dewalt, that's a fine group of wideouts.  Hopefully, McCabe can keep spreading the love.  And I didn't even mention Irving Campbell.
5. The defense looked sharp, forcing three turnovers, and the secondary was much improved.  I think the addition of Josh Lay at cornerback was a huge upgrade.  I'm not sure where he was in the first game, but he stepped up in Week 2.  Sure, he dropped an interception, but he also caught one.  The man has better hands than Ike Taylor!  Though, to be clear, Taylor would dominate in Arena Ball, possibly as a two-way player, since he played tailback in college.  
6. But, don't start thinking about that championship parade through downtown just yet.  The Power still lost to the Soul, who got crushed by Chicago on Friday night.  As Weidman pointed out, Iowa did plenty to help the Power's cause, so maybe the Barnstormers aren't the best yardstick to measure the talent of this team. 

Still, winning feels better than losing and that was a nice win on Saturday night.