Power vs Predators - Playoff Preview?

Up until they got slammed this week by Georgia, it was shaping up that we'd be playing Orlando in the first round of the playoffs, making this week very interesting. Not only would it be a preview, but it would be a nationally televised one, thanks to the NFL network's weekly games, and be in Orlando - the city that maintains the highest average attendance numbers in the league.

As it stands, all of that is still true except the first-round match-up. It's still a big game, with big fans and available to a big viewing audience. Furthermore, it is still possible that things will shake out to where we meet up with them in the first round - though, not as likely if we win this week.

But, there are no guarantees in life, and neither team is assured a post-season appearance at this point. As I mentioned earlier in the week, Orlando, Pittsburgh and Cleveland are all playing for the same wildcard slot at this point, with the Force only a game ahead of us. The stakes are plenty high this weekend, and a lot rides on this game.

Being that they are on a three-game losing streak, it might be easy to say that Orlando is on a slide - but make no mistake: this is a tough, tough team. Let's look at who they lost to. The Georgia Force? So what - so did we. The Tampa Bay Storm? So what - so did we. The Jacksonville "Frickin Lasers on Their Heads" Sharks? So what - with the exception of the Rattlers and the 1972 Dolphins, so did everyone.

Half of their losses this season have been in the last three weeks against teams that also beat us. Two of those games were decided by 2 or less points. So far this season, there's only two teams they've lost to that we haven't- and that's only because we haven't played the other one yet (Yaaaaay, next week!)

My point here is, we have a team that is about as equal in standings as possible, that we need to play on their home turf, where they have insane fans. (Seriously - they actually go out and buy these sweet-as-hell Predator masks.) What's more, they have a fantastic receiver corps and play hard.

I mean, seriously - what the hell can we do? Wear lightning bolts on our heads?

As a fan, I'm looking forward to this game, and have already announced my intention to commandeer my brother-in-law's TV while I'm out in Soul country this weekend. As a Power fan, I'm feeling like I did around the 1:41 mark of the Mustangs game.

First off the bat, Nick Hill is a great QB. He averages over 300 yards every game and has a lot of options to throw to. TT Toliver, Robert Quiroga and Bobby Sippio all have over a thousand yards receiving on the season, an average of 22 TDs apiece and names that would make awesome names for a Vin Diesel character. Close on their heels is Josh Bush to fill in the (few) gaps.

This isn't a case where you have to worry about one or two of them every week - you have to worry about all of them every week. They all play, and they're all incredible. Quiroga is utilitarian and reliable. He's where he's supposed to be when Hill needs him to be there. Toliver and Sippio are both show-boaters who are unpredictable and play like DeWalt, only better. When Bush gets the ball, he runs like his ass is on fire and his balls are catching.

Long and short of it is: They're all dangerous. Given that we've not had good luck this season with containing explosive receivers, they're going to be a problem.

Also, Orlando is playing for their season, just like we are. They're going to come at us hard, and we need to give it right back. Being on the road with a rabid fan base, the crowd is going to be a bigger factor than usual. Add to this the fact that they all know they're on national TV, and this is going to be a doozy.

So, how do we win?

Here's the big issue: Orlando has a habit of starting very slowly and coming out in the second half. Pittsburgh starts strong and runs out of gas. I hope that the added pressure of the end of the season and being on TV will give the Power the juice to play four quarters. Coasting in the second half is something we cannot afford to do.

Looking at Georgia's decisive victory, we can see what it will take to get to them. In a word, that's the Defense. If we have the defense we saw last week, we can get it done. Georgia kept the pressure on Hill all game and even got a safety off of him. Taking advantage of a traditional slow Orlando start, they got ahead and then shut down the offense before it could rally. You could tell Hill was frustrated, and he started making a lot of mistakes.

Obviously, the biggest key is to see if I was right: Siegfried held Morris back last week so that he is healthy for this game. We have no chance with Wallace, but with Morris we have a shot. In an interview this week, Willis commented that, when Morris is "at the helm, we are pretty much clicking on all cylinders." Given the way the Power has performed with him behind center, I'd say that's a pretty safe statement.

When push comes to shove, this week is going to be an even match-up, with a slight edge to Orlando. Everyone has something to lose this game, and a lot to gain. Tune in this Friday night on the NFL network.

Elsewhere in the league

• The main game to be concerned with is the division match-up between Cleveland and Milwaukee. Now, I doubt the Mustangs have a shot in hell, for any number of reasons - but we can hope. An upset here would be a thing of utter beauty.
• Expect Jacksonville to just slap San Jose to the turf in their game.
• Much like the Mustangs, I don't expect much out of the Soul, but if they managed to beat the Vigilantes that would help a lot of different teams.
  

Jagr Saga

Since there is no free agency news because of the NFL lockout -- and since the Steelers never sign any free agents anyway -- I am going to chime in on the Jagr Situation.

The timeline, in case you missed it, is as follows:

1. Jagr decided he was tired of playing overseas and declared that he was interested in a return to the NHL for one last shot at a championship.
2. He met with several teams, including the Penguins. Also met with the Red Wings, which is mildly infuriating. It's like Hossa all over again.
3. Mario Lemieux got all excited.
4. Ray Shero declared on Tuesday (6/28) that the Pens were interested and offered Jagr a one-year contract. He told the Tribune-Review that "Wednesday (6/29) is the day," for Jagr to make a decision, even though NHL free agency doesn't start until Friday, July 1st.
5. On Wednesday, Jagr got on a plane.
6. Jagr has since disappeared, to the level where he may end up gunned down by a SEAL team.

Since free agency doesn't officially kick off until tomorrow, this is probably a power grab by his agent attempting to get Jagr a better deal. Hopefully it's a smoke screen, since he also mentioned that the hated Philadelphia Flyers have also shown interest in Jagr.

Now, I wasn't all that into hockey when Jagr pouted, demanded a trade, and shook off the Pittsburgh fans and his awesome mullet for the Washington Capitals. This means that I don't bear any ill will towards #68. I do understand that there is still a healthy contingent of Pens fans that still do harbor animosity towards Jagr.

[Weidman: Interestingly enough, while Pittsburgh is all a-twitter about the possibility, it really is hard to find any buzz about it in Detroit press.]

To those people, I say get over it. Sure, he's 39, but those are hockey years. It's not like a tailback or a quarterback or even a shortstop or power forward. Gordy Howe played until he was like 85. Dwayne Roloson almost made it to the Stanley Cup Final and he's 41. He just signed a new contract with Tampa. Plus which, it's not like Jagr has just been chilling out in Eastern Europe eating Kit Kats and watching the Czech equivalent of Maury Povich for the last three years. He's been playing against a very high level of competition -- granted, not NHL level, but still very high -- since he left the league following the 2007-08 season. A number of scouts for a number of good teams took a look at what he could do and determined that he still has something left in the tank.

Also, I will never forget Game 4 of the Pens-Rangers series in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. New York was well on their way to getting swept by a far superior Penguins squad when Jagr stepped onto the ice and decided that there was no way in hell he was losing that game. He still had it then, I think he still has it now.

I still think he can score 30 goals. The Pens desperately need wingers. Odds are that Sid, Malkin, and Staal will play the bulk of the 2011-12 season. Providing that James Neal can emerge from his scoring coma, they'll have a potent offensive line-up through all four lines.

If you're thinking about the third line, the ardent pursuit of Jagr has not distracted Shero from taking care of day-to-day business. They signed Arron Asham on Tuesday and they're working diligently on hashing out a deal with Tyler Kennedy. If they keep Kennedy and add Jagr, this team could be downright scary next season.

For anyone still clinging to Jagr Hate even after my stunning rebuttal three paragraphs ago, I have one more thing to say: It's not his fault. He was used to winning. He could see the wheels coming off. The fans were starting to get fed up with the zone-trap that ended up in 0-0 ties every night. He was tired of it. He was entering his peak. The only way a hockey player can get attention is by whining like a little girl and holding his breath until the front office relents. That's uncharacteristic behavior from a hockey player, so he either gets what he wants or he's trading before he starts to tear apart the dressing room.

Finally, if I can forgive Barry Bonds and apologize to Kordell Stewart, Jagr deserves a second chance. (Editor's Note: I still HATE Eric Lindros.)

In other free agency news, there have been rumblings that Tiki Barber is interested in the Pittsburgh Steelers. These rumblings have been fueled primarily by... Tiki Barber, to the point where, if you Google "tiki barber" the first suggestion you get is, "tiki barber steelers". He wants to play for a competitive team and the Steelers are a competitive team with a lot of veteran players. Well, Tiki, I'm sorry to say... no. Emphatically. No.

Take away the fact that he's 36 and left his wife to go bang an intern. We'll just take that right off the table (after mentioning it, because it's still important). The fact remains that he's a tailback -- remember just recently when I mentioned that it wasn't bad that Jagr was older because he wasn't a tailback -- and he's well over 30. Take away that and you are still faced with the fact that he retired following the 2006 season. You know who else retired following the 2006 season? Bill Cowher. Right? Seems like a long time ago. That's because it is.

You know who else retired in 2006? My Dad. Six months after he retired, we were supposed to meet at his house on a Saturday to move some stuff. He called me and left me a message at work that Saturday, saying that he needed to push the time back and asked if that would work for me. I had been working a 9-5 job for six years at that point. This is not to say that my Dad is a feeble-minded old man. He's not. This is just making the point that, when you're out of the game, you lose things. You lose your "edge" for lack of a better word. In games played at the NFL level, you cannot afford to lose that edge. Most teams know this and Barber will discover it. On top of all that, the Steelers would really only have interest in Tiki's brother Rhonde, since he plays cornerback and they need more of those. They should be all set at running back, especially if they retain Mewelde Moore.

For similar reasons, the Steelers should -- and probably will, if they haven't already -- say no to Plaxico Burress. Take all the "out of the action" stuff for Barber and add, "because he was in prison." Remember when Jamal Lewis went to prison? There you go. For every Michael Vick example, there are a bunch of Jamal Lewis examples. Actually, Vick is the only guy that came back from prison and was worth something. That was also in his second season. The Steelers have enough talent at receiver -- and enough holes to fill elsewhere -- that they can afford to pass on Burress.

Power vs Mustangs Review - History repeats itself

Let me start by addressing the people who left the Arena or turned off the TV with about a minute left in the game:

You idiots.

If those unfamiliar with the sport learn nothing else from this column, I hope that they learn this: It ain't over. until. it's. over.

Now, I said that my preview could have just been a reprint of the one for the first matchup, and this review could be as well - I'd just have to change a few names here and there. This game was another one where both teams were playing with their back-up quarterbacks, our defense was unable to reach their QB, Josh Rue got some critical yardage and a kicker had a lot of trouble.

Let's start with the QB situation. When I got there and saw Morris and Wallace warming up, I thought for a moment that Morris would be starting. This was not the case - my predicted worst-case scenario happened and Wallace had the lead. Since McCabe has been released, that left Morris as backup. I still think that this is because Siegfried wants him healthy for next week against the Preds - but that didn't mean I had to like it.

On paper, Wallace did not have that bad of a game. Really, he had a slightly more successful outing than Gino Guidugli for the Mustangs. However, he started sloppy as hell and only gained a bit of confidence as the game went on. His biggest error was throwing into double coverage in the end zone and getting picked off. Surprisingly, it was the first one he threw as a member of the Power.

When all is said and done, he threw for more than 250 yards, 5 TDs and only one pick. I'm more comfortable with him now as a backup than I would have been based only on last week. I really, really hope that Morris is going to be healthy to finish out the season and we won't need to lean on him, however.

On the ground, Rue made an appearance this week to pick up a few yards and some critical downs. It wasn't much, but it was nice to see him in use again. This had to have been because he worked well enough last time we met the surprisingly tough defense of the Mustangs. Regardless, Wallace chose the right points to use him.

Wallace also showed that he was settling into a rhythm once he realized that Washington and DeWalt were his go-to guys. Both came up with 2 touchdowns apiece (one super critical one for DeWalt, but we'll get to that later) and the 5th going to Irv Campbell. I say it repeatedly at the games, but it's because it's true: The Power's best two options when there's seemingly nothing on the field are the tallest guy and the shortest guy out there. Washington has magic hands that catch everything and then ducks under defenders. DeWalt is about 45 feet tall, so it can be thrown to the second deck and he'll still get it.

...even if it's the other QB. That's the best thing about Iron Men in this sport - they can make your life hell on offense, and then you realize that you still need to deal with them on defense as well. In this, DeWalt proved it by snagging and interception as part of a huge defensive effort this week.

Sure, they were still unable to reach Guidugli at all during the game, but they gave him nightmares everywhere else. DeWalt had his INT above, and early in the game, Josh Lay had an unbelievable snag that he ran all the way back. Terrence "Total Chaos" Carter blocked a field goal when he leapt in the air like some kind of angry superhero. Gary Butler acted like Gary Butler and just acted up cranky. Everyone else simply broke up plays and harried the offense at every turn.

In my head, practice this week included one hour every day where Siegfried just locked the defense in a small room and screamed at them. No words, just primal screaming. Then, he'd punch a kitten and promise to do that every day until they got their shit together after last week. Whatever it was, it worked.

The downsides of this game were penalties and kicking. On the penalty front, they committed 13 infractions that sacrificed more than 70 yards. A lot of these were stupid stuff as usual, and I've kinda given up harping on it at this point. They know it, we know it, and it's just going to take time to get rid of it.

Kicking. Ah, Paul Edinger - you give me such conflicted emotions. Before the game, I said to my wife, "Maybe I'm too hard on Edinger. Maybe I'm a hypocrite after my fanhood of Jeff Reed. Maybe I should cut him some slack." My wife agreed in that way that only wives can. That way that says both, "Well, duh," and "this really isn't important to anyone but you."

I love my wife.

So, at anywho, I go into the game with these feelings, and Edinger must have heard and decided to return balance to the universe. He went 3-6 on the night for PATs and missed a much-needed field goal at one point. Now, I do want to point out that a few of those misses were because of stupid penalties backing him up - and you could see the fury on his face. Either way, he still was not having a banner night.

Until the end when everything came together.

Later in the game, the Power was down 38-32 and the clock was ticking away. Wallace marched the team down the field and was almost there. They line up, hike the ball - and he fumbles it. Turnover with about 1:40 left. The air went out of the place and people started heading for the exits.

Stupid, stupid people.

I, of course, felt their pain and part of me wanted to follow them - but I didn't, and was rewarded, along with the other faithful. Total Chaos forced a fumble himself, and the ball was turned over again. Figuring that my heart was just too healthy at the time, Wallace wound the clock down to 7 seconds by missing two passes before he found DeWalt at the back corner. DeWalt reached those Mr Fantastic arms of his out, snagged the ball and flipped over the wall.

0:00 on the clock, 38-all, PAT still to come.

Lord have mercy, it was either Edinger or overtime.

Well, Mr. Edinger, you magnificent bastard - when it counted, you came through, and once again, we beat the Mustangs by one point. I tip my hat to you.

On many levels, this was both a sloppy game and a great game. We've never gotten to take on the Mustangs when either team was healthy, and our second-squads match up very well. I am very much looking forward to our meetings next season when maybe we can see what they really have in store for each other.

Next up, a super critical game against the Orlando Predators.

Elsewhere in the league
There was a lot of giving up and out-right whooping going on around the league this week.

• Jacksonville extended their streak to 13 wins, and continue to just crush everyone. This week, that honor was given to the Tampa Bay Storm
• Where one shall rise, another shall fall. The Sabercats extended their losing streak to six in an unholy game against the Gladiators. I guess they just couldn't cope with losing to the us, because that's where it all started. Getting beat by a hair against Arizona last week didn't help..but this week was just tough to watch. 3 interceptions and a number of fumbles lead to the 82-21 crushing that they received. Lucky us, we get to play the Gladiators again.
• The Rush had a rough start against the Barnstormers, feeling the loss of Russ Michna to IR. However, after a painful first half, they came back to win it and retain their division lead.
• The Predators did not have a good time against the Force, losing 64-34.

If the Playoffs were today

Things are getting down to the wire here. One way or another, the Rattlers and the Sharks are in - this doesn't need to be analyzed any further this week. The question in the National Conference is how are things going to shake out with Dallas and Chicago? As stated, Chicago is without their QB for the rest of the regular season, and Dallas has, technically, a better record right now. However, that's likely to be a case of who's the second and who's the third seed.

In the American conference, things are a lot less clear. Yes, the Sharks are in, but everything else is up in the air. We're in a three-way tie with Cleveland and Orlando, and the Force's win this week bumped them ahead. Pgh, Cleveland and Orlando are in a "winning out is the only way to be sure" situation. Obviously, that's not possible for both us and Cleveland, which simply put, means that one of us is going to keep the other from the playoffs.

Given how weak our division is, the wildcards are not going to come from it. First place goes to the playoffs, second place goes home with the other two teams. It's that critical. We still have Orlando, Arizona , Cleveland and Philly. Cleveland still has the Mustangs, Philly, us, and Utah.

After how they played last week, we have a chance against Orlando. We have a chance against Arizona - if they're resting their starters after clinching the division. Otherwise, no. We've beaten Cleveland once, but it was close and relied on their crappy kicking. That's going to be tough. Finally, we have Philly on the road, and they've already beaten us once.

Cleveland should roll over the Mustangs. I think the tough loss to us this week and nothing more to play for will finally take its toll on them. I doubt they have much left in the tank. Philly...who knows? They're still in the hunt and have two division games to go. Us? See above. Utah is our best hope for them to lose one - but that's going to depend on what Utah is or isn't playing for at that point.

So, there it is. Although there are ways that we could drop one and still make it, we can't count on it. Pittsburgh needs to get 4 wins to be sure to make the playoffs their first season. Cross your fingers, everyone!

Mustangs come to town for the rematch

This Saturday, we meet up with a division team for our first rematch, and anything can happen. We haven't played the Mustangs since early in the season, and we have a much better measure of both teams now. What can we expect Saturday night? Well, it might not be the slam dunk we want it to be. Last time, we only got out of Milwalkee by a point and some luck.

"Wait a minute, Weidman," I can hear some of you say, "Last time, it was only our third game, playing with our backup quarterback and a team that was still struggling to find its identity!"

Well, you're right, but give my review of the last meeting another read, because a lot of it is still relevant. Morris was out on IR last time, and we had to rely on McCabe, who only had half a game under his belt at the time. This time around, we don't know who is going to be playing. IF we're extremely lucky, it'll be Morris, in which case, things will be a lot easier. He is the undisputed stud at QB for us, but it's not automatic - if he plays, he's going to be playing hurt. I wouldn't be surprised to see him benched to save him up for the Predators next week.

Okay, so assume that Morris is benched - next in line is McCabe. If so, best case, we can expect an extremely close game that we'll be clinging to whatever we can get. Worst case, he plays like last week, and they run over us. Worst case #2 is Siegfried doesn't take the risk and puts Wallace in again. If that happens, we're doomed.

On the other side, the Mustangs started Ward, who is no longer with the team and then brought in Archer. Archer has a lot more experience now, and is still the mobile threat that he was then - that means things will be even tougher for us. He'll still be likely to hook up with Holmes, along with Damian Harrell (if he's playing - he hasn't been seen in a few weeks.) Both of these players have come a long way and can't be discounted.

Where will the ball be going on our side? Tough to say. Again, it comes back to not knowing who is behind center. If Morris is playing, it's going to Washington. If McCabe is playing, expect to see Willis get the hookup. If Wallace is playing, the gods alone know where it's going, because he sure as hell doesn't.

Rue was another key in the last game in the short yardage, but we haven't seen much of him in recent weeks. The running game is no longer our focus - probably a sign that the Power has developed into more of a traditional AFL team. In the long run, this is a good sign - but it's still taking a tool out of our kit that we used last time.

Another of our weaknesses was that we couldn't contain the mobile quarterbacks last time, and I can't say that this is much improved. Also, Archer was able to bomb a lot of them down field to uncovered receivers - we all know that this is something the Power has struggled with this season.

Finally, the game against them last time - much like our lucky win over Cleveland - was the result of missed PATs. Can we rely on that again? Maybe. But this also means that we have to rely on Edinger not Edingering the place up. I'd call it a draw.

Those of you uppity class clowns from earlier are probably now saying, "Oh, Weidman - quit your bitching! The Mustangs are still at the bottom of the division with only 4 wins, and the Power is sitting pretty at the top! They're a bad team!"

Again, you would be right. And a little obnoxious. Sit down and let me explain.

Yes, we're at the top - but it's not by much. Also, we're banged up something fierce. Making a prediction on this game relies too much on who's playing quarterback and where the holes in our defense are going to be. We just don't know at this point, and that scares me. The right combo, and we're going to walk away with this. The wrong one, and we're in trouble.

The Mustangs are also not looking at the post season at all. They're just trying to get out of the season with something to show - and a road win against the division leader could be that something.

It's really time for that intangible - the crowd. The Power management is pushing this game hard. They're bringing the concept of the White Out to the Arena this week. It's also a "family night" with special ticket packages available for cheap. They want to see that place packed and loud. If you're local and reading this, do your part: Show up and cheer them on. They will need it!

Do I think we're going to win? Yes. We should and we need it. Do I think it will be easy? Not in the least.

Go Power!

Elsewhere in the league

• Tune in Friday night to the NFL network and root on the Command to bloody the (now) hated Blaze
• The Soul is playing the Rattlers. so write in an early "L" for them.
• The Sunday afternoon game is the Rush hosting the Barnstormers. I'm excited for this, because I haven't gotten to watch my Rush in a while.
• Cleveland is playing the Sabercats Saturday. The Cats have been having a rough time of it this season, but they're perfectly capable of beating the Gladiators - so here's hoping!
  

Power Razed By the Blaze

Well, that game was downright sucktastic.

As Weidman already covered in his review of Saturday's game, there was really nothing positive to take away from the Power's "performance" on Saturday night.

They got down big early, Kevin McCabe coughed the ball up twice in the first three possessions, Chris Wallace stepped in and was thoroughly underwhelming, and the defense allowed 11 touchdown passes.

Injuries were a factor, since the Power only dressed three defensive backs for the game, Neil Purvis was hurt, and Bernard Morris didn't make the trip to Salt Lake City.  Turnovers were a factor, especially early, and they always seemed to strike when the Power were trying to gain some momentum -- not that there's ever a good time to turn the ball over.  Tackling has been an issue at times this season and, on Saturday night, the Power secondary looked like they were trying to show the world what it would be like to tackle without using your arms.  They took bad angles, were generally out of position, and didn't adjust to the fact that the Blaze were running mostly screens and quick hitches by playing closer to the line of scrimmage.  You don't lose a game by 41 points because of just one team.  It takes a village bad play to get blown out this badly.

First and foremost, some work on the fundamentals needs to be done.  The receivers and quarterback (whoever that may be this week) need to work on reading the defense at the line and making adjustments.  The Blaze showed just how effective this can be, as they switched to a more conventional drop-back offense midway through the third quarter after the Power defensive backs finally figured out that they needed to scoot up.  At that point, the secondary was so demoralized and exhausted that Tommy Grady and company were able to pick them apart fairly easily.  The defense needs to work on their recognition skills as well.  Even if the coaches didn't say anything at halftime, Josh Lay and his two counterparts should have known to step up and force the issue before things got out of hand.

At this level, in theory, guys should know how to tackle.  It's like how you can't teach a receiver how to catch by the time he's a pro.  If he catches the ball with his body, he's been catching the ball with his body for about 20 years and there's no way to un-teach it.  You can give him some pointers, try to get him headed in the right direction, but two decades of muscle memory are not changed easily.  Gary Butler is the best tackler on the team by far.  He can give the other guys on the team a crash course and talk about how he approaches it.  He's often brought as a fourth rusher, so the coaches can have him drop back and roam a bit, which will help contain any kind of short passing attack.  And, ultimately, Lonnell Dewalt needs to understand that he should learn how to tackle, since he's going to be playing a lot more defense for the balance of the season.  His current strategy of diving at the feet of the ball carrier is not sustainable.  He did have one solid tackle earlier this year and it was on a crucial goal line stand -- Dewalt is definitely a clutch player with an acute sense of "the moment" -- but one solid tackle in six games isn't a ratio that's going to get these guys to the playoffs.  In addition, Royce Adams -- one of the stars of the secondary -- signed a contract with a UFL team, so he's probably not coming back.  Someone needs to fill his shoes, which will not be an easy task.

Wallace is not the answer at quarterback.  I know that he didn't even have a full week of practice before being thrown into the action on Saturday, but he was horrible.  I re-watched the second half of the game and I could tell that his timing with the receivers was off.  That's understandable, given the fact that he didn't have much of an opportunity to work on it, but timing is usually off by a couple of steps or a few yards.  Wallace was, very frequently, five yards behind a receiver and ten feet over the receiver's head.  At one point in the fourth quarter, announcer Edmund Nelson commented that, "The fans have got a lot of balls tonight."  I'm just going to leave that there.

It could be that he'll improve considerably after a full week as the number one guy.  It could be that he'll have more success against the Mustangs.  To Utah's credit, their secondary did an amazing job in coverage.  (As an aside, the Blaze played extremely well.  It was partly that the Power laid a giant egg and partly that Utah played extremely well, as you don't win by 41 points because of just one thing, either.)  It could be that he's a completely different guy against Milwaukee.  It's possible.  I just think that it's highly unlikely and I can't wait for Morris to come back.  I caught the first half of the game on the radio, so I didn't see McCabe play.  As I understand it, he was worse than Wallace, which I find hard to believe, but I trust Weidman's judgement.

Since Cleveland lost, the biggest development in this game was that Morris has gone from, "He's back?  Ah, crap!" to, "He's hurt?  Ah, crap!" in a hurry.  He's the guy to run this offense and he's the guy that's going to lead this team into the playoffs.  If he's out for a long period of time -- especially if he goes on injured reserve again -- then the Power's chances at the postseason go with him.

The good news -- not a silver lining, just good news -- is that this abomination is now behind us and we can focus on next week.  The AFL is a week-to-week league and last week's blowout loss only counts as one in the "L" column.

The Power need to focus on the next game on the schedule.  As they say in the tow truck business, a wreck is something you leave behind you.  They need to continue to keep pace with/distance themselves from the Cleveland Gladiators.  With only two divisions in each conference, winning your division is Priority Number One.

I think Coach Siegfried will get this team back on track and we'll see a better brand of Power football against the Mustangs this coming Saturday.

Power Goes Out in a Blaze of Non-Glory

Ouch. Where to even start? Recently, I said that the Power had little to be ashamed of in their tough loss to the Storm, but I can't say that this week. This was, perhaps, the Power's worst performance all season, and it's hard to take anything good out of it. The defense seemed to not even make the trip out to SLC, the offense's biggest names barely made an appearance, fumbles were aplenty, and our starting line's injury report is starting to look like a Pyrrhic after-battle report.

To say that we were blown out in our 81-40 loss is an understatement, and I hope the Power spend every waking moment this week watching film to figure out A.) where they went wrong and B.) how they can fix it.

To start it out, there are the injuries. On the defense, both Purvis and Stevenson were out with injuries, leaving holes in important spots. Behind center, the merry carousel of broken quarterbacks continued with Morris being out after being injured in Tampa last week.

McCabe started the game, but only made it three possessions. He hasn't played since the beginning of April, and it showed. Two out of his three drives ended in fumbles that were taken straight in for TDs, and those were sadly not the last of the game. Siegfried pulled him at that point - whether it was because getting sacked two times injured him, or because he was just a mess is unclear - and yet another new QB was put in. Since Morrelli is no longer with the team, we were left with Chris Wallace - a QB that we picked up earlier this week.

His inexperience was both obvious and understandable - but that doesn't mean that we have to like it. He only went 19 for 39 in this game, and never figured out quite who to throw to. Mathis, Washington and Fulton were all left with less than 70 yards each. All-in-all, he passed to six different people for only 4 touchdowns. If there was a bright side, it was that he didn't throw a single interception...of course, neither did the Blaze, but that's neither here nor there.

Next, the fumbles. God, those were brutal. Besides the two that McCabe coughed up early on, Wallace, Mathis and Washington each had one, two of which lead to immediate touchdowns. Now, when Keller was watching the game, it was his feeling that Washington's forward fumble was intentional - that it was done because he knew he wasn't going to make it, and hoped to recover in the end zone. That might be true, but given the shoddy play all game, I have a hard time believing that. Anything's possible, though.

On defense, there wasn't any huge mistakes, but there wasn't much of anything at all to write home about. They kept the rushing game down to almost non-existence, but they allowed over 300 yards in the air and 11 touchdowns. Tommy Grady is good, but there's still no excuse for that. The defense just didn't put any pressure at all on the Blaze offense.

In the downs game, it wasn't even a contest. The Power only managed to convert one of six third downs, and a single 4th down. The Blaze, on the other hand was five for five on 3rds, and never had to worry about converting a 4th. This goes back to both our offense and defense just not being effective.

If there is anything good that can be taken out of this game, it was our returns. In six kickoff returns, the Power managed to rack up over a hundred yards. Mathis accounted for 78 of those by himself, proving once again how good it is to have him back.

It is extremely lucky for the Power that the Football Gods were smiling on us. Somehow - who the hell knows how - Cleveland lost on Sunday. This leaves us still tied with them, holding the tie-breaker and first in the division. We have a stay of execution for another week. This is a stay that the Power had better be down on their knees screaming their thanks for - because they should have lost the lead this weekend.

The Power needs to start winning again, and start doing so now. As said in the past, Cleveland has a pretty easy schedule, and we still have at least one game left that I know we're going to lose. I'd really rather not be in a position where our next game against Cleveland decides the division again.

All other things aside, the Power needs to get healthy. Chris Siegfried was quoted as saying, "The injuries have made it a less-than-fun season and have added to the stress level." It's nice to see that Coach Siegfried has a gift for understatement. To have any shot at - and in - the playoffs, we can't just keep throwing player names in a hat and pulling out who's going to start each week.

Next week, we play the Mustangs again, marking the first time we've played a team a second time. They, literally, have nothing left to play for and will be out to take us down, just because it'll be fun for them. We handled them handily back at the beginning of the season, and hopefully will again.

But not if we play like we did this week.

Elsewhere in the league

• After a first half that was shaping up to be a blow-out, the Preds rallied to make it a game. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't enough, and they lost to their hated rivals. Hell of a game, though.
• Not surprisingly, the Mustangs got slapped by the Sharks, who have now extended their winning record to a staggering twelve.
• Arizona locked up their division with a tight win over their rivals, the Sabercats.
• Philly dropped another game when they hosted the Talons, widening the gap in the wild-card race
• Again, Cleveland lost, which is the greatest gift the Power could receive.

If the Playoffs Were Today

• As stated, Arizona locked up their division, guaranteeing them a playoff berth. At this point, they'd be playing Tulsa, which shouldn't be much of a challenge for them.
• It's still, despite a loss for Chicago this week, shaping up to be a match against Dallas in the first round. Nothing new to report.
• In our conference, the Sharks would be meeting up with Georgia in the first round. I still don't think anyone's beating Jacksonville this year
• By the grace of God, we're still in it, and still matched up with Orlando. The way both teams played this week, it'd be a battle of who wants it more, and who screws up less. Right now, that looks to be Orlando that would walk away with it. (If nothing else, it'd make the second round entertaining against the Sharks.)
  

Power Goes to Utah. Power vs Blaze Preview.

A while back, I had mentioned that out of three games, we had two that we should win – even though we lost one of them – this is the third game. Despite their 5-7 record and stupid name, the Blaze is not going to be an easy game.

First off, QB Tommy Grady is actually one of the best in the league. He has a shot at breaking several single-season records this year, he's just had a bad string of luck so far. He throws fast, deep and accurately – not a trait that the Power has been historically good at dealing with.

On the flip-side, he has thrown a number of interceptions recently. Obviously, this means that DeWalt and Campbell need to be on their toes. With the way they put points up quickly, this is a must. Additionally, defense is critical against their special teams as Chris Bocage is very good at returning kickoffs for points.

On our side of the ball, as long as Morris keeps his cool, he should be able to get the job done. The Blaze is another one of those teams that relies on putting up lots of point to cope with the number they let up. Currently, they are averaging more than 60 points allowed per game, and they let up a staggering eighty-one points in Tulsa last week.

Obviously, while we're looking to pick them off, the Power needs to keep that from happening to themselves. Multiple turn-overs last week in Dallas were what put the game out of reach for them, and is not something that can be shaken off in Utah. As soon as the Blaze gets any kind of lead, I fear the game will be out of reach for us.

Both teams have a lot riding on this game. Since Cleveland won last week and we lost, we have to win this week to keep them at bay. I know I've said that, but it bares repeating. At this point, the only reprieve we get is them losing – and they have a soft schedule. I realize that we're not going to win out, but we need to play every game as if we need to.

Utah is in a worse position. Currently, they need to win this week to have even a shred of hope of securing the last wild-card slot in that conference. After losing three in a row, and getting thwumped by Tulsa last week, they are going to be in do-or-die mode. We had hoped last week that Tampa would be rolling over, but they proved that's not something we can count on. We need to play as if we're expecting Utah to come out shooting and not let up until the final whistle blows.

Elsewhere in the league

• Don't expect the Mustangs to gain any ground in the division, unless they have the biggest upset since David clocked Goliath when they meet up with the Sharks in Jacksonville.
• The Soul have a good chance against Tulsa Friday night, continuing to be a threat.
• Sunday afternoon, Cleveland will be facing off against the Command, a game they will most likely win.
• Friday night, the game of the week on the NFL Network is the Predators vs the Storm. This is the Steelers/Ravens of the AFL. As much as I'd like the Storm to lose, I'm going to have to root for them this week. If they can gain ground on Orlando, they have a shot at the playoffs – and I'd much rather face them than the Preds in the first round.

The Storm was Over-Powering

The good news is that we’re still #1 in the division. The bad news is, we lost this weekend. The worse news is that we’re only #1 because we beat Cleveland in the head-to-head last week. Another loss, and we’re back to second fiddle.

The Power played hard in this game, and only came up 7 points short. As I had said in my preview, Tampa Bay is backed into a corner and fighting for their season – we should be ready for anything. It was just our bad luck that Zbydniewski had the game of his life on Saturday. Had that not been the case, we probably would have walked away with the win.

Things started out really well when Carlos Campbell made an interception on the Storm’s first drive. This set Pittsburgh up to get on the board first, and get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, from there the scores just kept getting traded back and forth.

As is my general rule, the back-and-forth is all well and good until a team doesn’t score on a drive. It might not be instantaneous, but I’ve found that this is the team that’s usually going to lose. This was true in this case, as Pittsburgh went four and out early in the second, changing it from “Pitt scores, Tampa catches up” to, “Tampa scores, Pitt catches up.”

When Tampa’s kicker missed a PAT late in the second, it looked like we might have a gift handed to us, but my boy Edinger evened that up himself later in the game. The scoring exchanges continued throughout the second half, with both teams going all out, but in the end, Tampa squeaked through with that extra 7 pts to put this one to bed.

Yes, it was a loss, and yes, it will make things a lot more interesting for our season – in the macro sense, this was a hard loss to swallow, and one that will probably come back to haunt us.

In the micro sense, there was a lot that the Power can come away from this game happy with. Campbell’s huge interception started the game off right, Joystick had over a hundred yards and three touchdowns, and Morris threw for 335 yards. Also, Mathis had a huge night this week, further proving that it’s great to have him back. He had 195 yards and three touchdowns on the night, as well as returning his first kickoff for a score this year.

It might be easy to point to the defense and say that they didn’t get the job done this week. After all, had they stepped it up, Tampa wouldn’t have scored as much, right? Not necessarily. As I said earlier, Zbydniewski had the game of his life this week. He was 24-34 with only one interception, and threw for career highs in both yardage and touchdowns (372/8.) I’m really not sure that there was much more that we could have done against someone that fired up and ready to go.

On the other side of the ball, their defense played us just as hard. We were only able to convert 4 of 7 3^rd downs and 1 of 3 4^th downs. Also, as I feared, they got to Morris with a critical sack. They kept us contained, and that was that. This is a team that’s used to winning and saw their season slipping away – they beat us, fair and square.

Next up, the Utah Blaze.

Elsewhere in the league

• Jacksonville extends their streak to 11, by squeaking a close one by Orlando – 68-67
  
  
• Cleveland won, which sucks. Our records are now tied, with only our matchup last week keeping us in the lead. We can hope they lose next week to the Command but, well, the Mustangs beat them by 20 pts this week…
  
  
• The Friday-night spotlight was a real shocker this week. I wasn’t expecting much out of Philly and Spokane, but it was actually a really exciting game. The Shock scored on their first drive, onside kicked it and recovered, which they took to the house again. After that trickery on the second drive of the game, they did it again! This time, they missed the PAT, but the fact is: they had 20pts on the board before Philly even had a chance to touch the ball! What followed was an explosive slugfest that was exciting to watch.

If the playoffs were today

• The National Conference would be mostly the same as last week, trading Spokane for Utah. I still pick Arizona in the first round, along with Chicago. Chicago is still a question-mark with their ability to choke in the post-season
  
  
• The American Conference would now see Cleveland matched with Orlando, in which I’d pick Orlando by a hair. We’d be matched with Jacksonville, to which I don’t think it even needs to be said how hard we’d be beat.