I hate writing previews for big games. I find it nearly impossible to remain journalistically detached from the situation and be cut and dry about it. I just want to write, “ZOMG IT’S GONNA BE AWESOME, I CAN’T WAIT” and hit “post.” However, I really can’t do that – especially for a game this big.
It’s week 13, and we’re just now meeting our division rivals, the Cleveland Gladiators, for the first time. All season, we’ve seen them be a strong team, lead our division and wonder, “can we beat them?” This week, we get to find out, and the situation could not be more picture-perfect.
It doesn’t take much looking online to see the buzz around the league about this game. After a shaky start to the season, the Power now find themselves #8 in the Coaches’ Poll, #5 in Big Ant’s power rankings, and meeting up against Cleveland for the division. As Keller said in his review of last week, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be typing those words during the 2011 season.
Last week, we maintained our momentum after the bye week, which was a relief. Now, we’re sitting at three in a row and Cleveland is coming off of a loss. Also, Cleveland is slightly weaker on the road, and we’re strengthening up at home. It’s going to be a tight match all around, but we have a slim psychological edge coming into this one.
What is it going to take to win this game?
With the way he’s been playing, I think that we have the better quarterback in Bernard Morris. He’s getting more consistent with each week, and his interception percentage is low. When he’s not rattled, he’s good, albeit unimaginative. Kurt Rocco is average at best. He’s not bad, but he’s not really that great, either. Much like Pittsburgh, he is the product of a three-man quarterback roulette situation, and is the best option that they have available. That having been said, his numbers are still better than Morris’ on the season.
So why do I say we have the edge? Morris is on a roll, and Rocco is coming off a tough loss. Last week revealed a lot of character about both of them. When Dallas started applying the pressure and pulling ahead, Morris put his head down and charged. He didn’t get rattled; he kept his focus and ground out a hard-fought win. Rocco, on the other hand, let Arizona get to him and started making a lot of mistakes late in the game. Where Morris dug deep, Rocco fell apart. Couple that with a road game and a lot of pressure from a high-stakes game, and I think he’ll lose a step.
Is that going to be enough? Hell no. Football is a team sport, and no matter what the media tries to convince us, the quarterback isn’t the only factor in a game. The two guys behind center are going to be important, but they’ll be worthless if their team doesn’t pull their part.
On offense, I’m still strangely comfortable with Morris going to the shortest freakin’ receiver ever on most of his plays. I’m comfortable because it has been working. If Joystick can put another 5 TDs on the board this week, I’m A-OK with that. Since everyone’s going to be watching him, though, I’d feel a lot more confident if Morris would remember that Willis is out there. Cleveland’s defense is solid, and we’re going to need options for when they figure us out (assuming that the plan isn’t already, “murder the wee little man.”)
For Cleveland, the story is going to be all Robert Redd and Troy Bergeron (sorry, I read that and see “Robert Redford and Tom Bergeron,” and expect it to be a new reality show hosting duo.) These two are responsible for the majority of Cleveland’s scores this season, so it’s not going to be any surprise when the ball goes to them.
Which brings us to our main key to victory this week: Our defense getting it together.
They came up big when it mattered last week, and they were huge against the Cats…but they still leave a lot to be desired. As Keller said, Campbell stunk the place up last week. Also, Butler got booted for fighting, and DeWalt was actually kind of quiet. The tactic against Dallas seemed to be “Let them wear themselves out scoring so that we can win when they get tired.” Winning a game like we did last week is like letting a prize-fighter punch you in the face until his hand gets tired – and is about as effective in the long-term. Had Dallas not gotten a bit cocky at the end of the game, we probably wouldn’t have won it.
We know where the ball is going, so we know who to cover. It’s not an automatic “cover and they shall not receive” situation, but the pressure needs to be on. Last week, every Dallas receiver was wide open with no coverage. It reminded me all too much of the game against the Shock when Greg Orton had time to fix a sandwich after catching the ball before anyone was in the same time zone as him.
And really, this has been a problem much of the season. Our D is very streaky. There are some games where they could join hands, dig in their heels and stop the Coors Light train if it came roaring out of the tunnel onto the field. Then, the very next week, they’d be running around the field, confused by the bright lights and loud noises. Hopefully, last week got it out of their system and this week they’ll come up huge.
Bottom line: First place in the division is within our grasp if we build on our strengths, learn from our mistakes, and take it one down at a time. The offense can keep doing what it’s doing if the defense can keep Cleveland off the board (and strip the ball a few times, please.) I know that Keller would like Siegfried to open the playbook and reenact the last 15 minutes of The Longest Yard, but I’d rather he not get too risky this week. There’s too much on the line, and the Power need to go out there and win. Doesn’t need to be fancy, doesn’t need to be pretty – it just needs to be done.
ZOMG IT’S GONNA BE AWESOME, I CAN’T WAIT
Elsewhere in the league
- The NFL Game of the Week is Jacksonville versus New Orleans. Expect to see the Sharks extend their streak to 10, unless the Voodoo pulls another baffling upset like they did against Cleveland earlier this year.
- Whereas we’re squaring off against Cleveland this week, the other half of our division is meeting up Friday night. While still a few games behind Pittsburgh and Cleveland, a win for Philly this week will bring them closer to whoever loses our game. This could make for a tight race in a weak division as the season wears on.
- The Rush is playing an afternoon game this week, making it a lot easier to catch two games Saturday.
- In the West, Saturday will be a group-therapy session as the last two teams that we beat – Dallas and San Jose – will meet up and see which one can end their 3+ game losing streak.
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