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.)
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