First place was up for grabs and the Power seized it by the throat and didn't let go.
Now, the only reason the final score was 35-32 was that Cleveland missed three extra point attempts and Paul Edinger didn't miss any, but this is not a team that counts style points; they only count victories.
Once again, the team fed off the energy and determination of Coach Siegfried and made the necessary plays to close out the game. Siegfried even got a little aggressive towards the end of the first half and tried on onside kick. He took a risk. If it had worked out, he'd be a genius. I'm not going to call him an idiot just because it didn't work out. The Power were starting to gain some momentum, it was close to the end of the first half, and the Gladiators were getting the ball in the second half. If they recover the onside kick, maybe they really take over that game and blow Cleveland out. If they don't, the Gladiators weren't necessarily lighting up the scoreboard, so it was a low risk/high reward situation. But, it still took some stones to make that call and I'm happy that Siegfried went for the jugular.
Jerome Mathis came back for this game and made a huge impact on offense and special teams. With the entire Cleveland defense focusing on stopping Mike Washington, there were some very good opportunities for Mathis, Jason Willis, and Lonnell Dewalt. Joshua Rue even scored on the ground after a long drought. Once Eddie Thompson comes back, this is going to be a pretty explosive offense.
The more I see of Bernard Morris, the more I like him. He put the game away with a 40-yard scramble with under a minute to play. He then showed fantastic body control when he took a "forward knee," gaining 1 1/2 yards on two carries and keeping the clock running after Cleveland used their last timeout. The Gladiators were in full-on Holmgren mode on Morris' second carry. They were trying to let him score so they could get the ball back and the defensive line basically sprinted backwards when the ball was snapped. Morris was able to gain at least some yardage to keep the clock running, but stopped just short of the end zone, effectively tackling himself and twisting his body so that the ball didn't cross the plane. He threw some downright crappy passes and fumbled another snap, but he also ripped a great deep pass to Willis in the first half, showing off the arm strength I didn't think he had. Anthony Morelli and Kevin McCabe couldn't have made that throw and neither of could have taken that forward knee at the end of the game. This team is in good hands with Morris and their turnaround has a lot to do with the progress he's made in the last three games.
Carlos Campbell and the defense stepped up in a big way, with Campbell closing out the game by intercepting a Kurt Rocco pass in the end zone. The Gladiators aren't really an offensive juggernaut and they've been winning some ugly games themselves this season, but any time you can hold an opponent to 32 points, you have an excellent chance of winning that game.
The only issue is that the league is so up-and-down each week and it's very difficult to tell whether the defense that let up 75 points against the Vigilantes is going to rear its ugly head again. It's also difficult to tell when (and if) the offense that put up 50+ points against the SaberCats and Shock, then put up 70+ points against Dallas will be back. It's possible that the Power could continue grinding out games like the one on Saturday, especially if the defense keeps playing this well. But, it's possible that they could have another meltdown on defense.
But, it's an up-and-down league. The good news is that Siegfried has enhanced this team's mental toughness and they're extremely composed (and dangerous) in close games. I like their chances in any close game, so it could be that the rest of the season will feature a lot of nail biters, which is just fine with me. Although, really, I could use a nice blowout at this point.
No comments:
Post a Comment