Snakebit - Power/Rattlers review

Well, we got slaughtered, but that's not really a surprise. When I saw this game on the schedule at the beginning of the season, I pretty much assumed that this was going to be a loss for us - and that's before the Rattlers were a 15-2 (Nee, 14-2) team. Frankly, losing to the #1 team in their conference - arguably the best team in the league - is nothing to be ashamed of. Now, I get to see how many weeks in a row one blogger can say, "This loss isn't the end of the world, but we need to win out."

Frankly, we were out-classed from the word go, and turned the ball over in both of our first two possessions. This gave the Rattlers an early 14-0 lead, which is bad enough. From there, we were never able to stop them on a single drive all night. Our defense just could not penetrate their O line with any kind of regularity, and gave Devila way too much time to think. WR Jason Geathers was just everywhere and did far too much damage to us throughout - though, he was nice enough a few times to give up some yards by talking too much trash in front of the refs. Furthermore, Odie Armstrong - who appears to be some hybrid of ox and armored truck - rushed for 22 yards, requiring the entire defense to bring him down each time.

When we had the ball, their defense just tore through the Power like they weren't even there. We turned the ball over a total of four times during the game, which is bad in any game, but especially against an opponent like this. They also managed to keep Morris under 200 yards this week.

The biggest failure was the defense. Sure, Arizona's offense was incredible, but the Power D played like a bunch of rookies. They had seven pre-snap penalties/illegal defense in this game. Seven - and there were a few of the latter that I saw go uncalled. That works out to almost two a quarter that were called. That's kid stuff and is the main reason that the Power isn't going to make it far in the playoffs, even if they make it there.

The bright spot this week was our favorite wee-little receiver, Mike "the Joystick" Washington. Someone forgot to tell him that we were losing that game from the word "go." He caught three touchdowns during the game, and was phenomenal on special teams. He had 228 yards in returns alone, and even ran one back for a touchdown. He could have added another 48 yards to that total had one return not been called back. He is solid, and the rumors of him leaving for the UFL, CFL or other are starting to get pretty scary.

Lucky for us, Cleveland got even more badly dismantled on Friday night than we did. That brings it down to the last two games for both teams. If they win in Utah and we beat Philly in our final games, that means that the division goes to whoever wins next week. In some ways, this is totally awesome thing - and it will help cement our rivalry.

I said earlier that I don't see the Power going far in the playoffs. Well, I don't. I also don't expect Cleveland to go far if they make it. The fact of the matter is, we have a very weak division, and pretty much every other team that will be in the playoffs will be better. For us, that's okay - just making it to the playoffs our rookie year would be awesome.

And I'm still going to believe until and unless proven otherwise.

Elsewhere in the league

• The Gladiators were totally, and utterly destroyed by a team that has nothing to win or lose except pride. Philly made no bones about the fact that they were coming in to play spoiler, and they accomplished it. Even without Donovan Morgan, who defected to the UFL, they treated Cleveland like AZ treated us. The Gladiators came in with the league-best pass rush defense, but ended seeing how it felt to be on the receiving side. Philly sacked Rocco 7 times and even forced a safety. I do not really expect to see him next week against us. Take note, Power fans - if the Soul can do it to them, they can do it to us and tombstone our season.
• Sharks dropped a second game in a row, proving that they're taking the time to coast, or are running out of gas. This loss cemented Dallas's postseason spot.
• The Rush has now won three in a row and still winning without Russ Michna, making them dangerous when he comes back for the playoffs.
  

If the Playoffs were today
The National Conference is all but sewn up. The Rattlers have now clinched home-field advantage all the way up to, and most likely for, the Arena Bowl. With our loss, they officially beat everyone they played in the American conference.

The Rush and Vigilantes are both in, and the final wild-card is all that's left to be determined. Right now, it's looking to be the Shock, but the Blaze, Talons and even Sabercats all have a shot, and we have two weeks to figure it out.

In the American conference, things are a little more dicey. The Sharks are locked with homefield advantage, but that's it. The Force and Preds are duking it out for wildcard slots and, frankly, they're both going to get one. Then, there's our division.

If we win out, we have the division. If the Gladiators lose out, then we win the division. If we win against Cleveland and lose to Philly, I think we're still in, because we will have swept Cleveland. If we lose to Cleveland and win in Philly, Cleveland goes...Look, there's lots of permutations, and the easiest one is to win out. Let's just do that and leave the math to the league guys.