Hall Call for Hines?

Now that Hines Ward has officially retired, it's time to think about whether or not he belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Well, at least I thought it was time to think about it, so here goes...

Three things to keep in mind right off the bat:

1. Hines is not a first ballot Hall of Famer.  That distinction belongs to players that were, without a doubt, the best player at their position in their era.  Guys like Elway, Montana, Bruce Smith, LT, Emmit Smith, Walter Payton, and the like.
2. I'm talking about an entire body of work and the stats and results are the stats and results.  It doesn't matter at this point that Ward's 1,000th catch lost three yards.  It matters that he got there through 14 seasons of stellar play and how his level of play compares with his contemporaries.
3. This blog is called Steelers N At, so I'm bound to be a little biased.

With that in mind, there are four primary things that the Hall of Fame selection committee keeps in mind when they determine whether or not a particular player makes the cut.  They are:

1. Stats compared to contemporaries. Things change between eras, which means that you can't say Hines is a shoe-in because he has more catches, yards, and touchdowns than Ray Berry or Don Maynard.  You also can't factor in the system that the player was in during their career, which hurts Ward's favorite argument that he put up big numbers playing for a running team.  Randy Moss was productive in Oakland.  So was Tim Brown.  Ward had his best individual season when Tommy Maddox was his quarterback.  He was also productive with Kent "Indestructible" Graham and Kordell Stewart.  If you're a great player, you're going to get the ball, regardless of system, circumstance, or era.
2. Pro Bowl and All-Pro nominations.  The All-Pro nominations carry more weight, because those are not open to fan voting and they consider both conferences.  If you are named to the All-Pro team, you are considered to be the best player at your position that year.  The Pro Bowl hasn't always been as much of a punch line as it is now, so it's still something important to factor in.
3. Postseason performance and results (whether they were named MVP and whether or not their team won).
4. Intangibles.  This is less of a factor, but it will give a slight boost to a player in terms of his overall score.

Stats compared to contemporaries:

This is where Ward faces his toughest challenge, since he has a number of guys in the queue ahead of them with gaudy stats and a number of guys behind him with gaudy stats.  Here are the seven comparable players that I came up with (and I'm pretty sure I missed at least one): Tim Brown, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, and Cris Carter.

Here are Ward's stats (receptions-yards-touchdowns-yards per catch): 1,000-12,083-85-12.1

Those are impressive, but look at his contemporaries:

Brown: 1,094-14,934-100-13.7
Holt: 920-13,382-74-14.5
Bruce: 1,024-15,208-91-14.9
Harrison: 1,102-14,580-128-13.2
Moss: 954-14,858-153-15.6
Owens: 1,078-15,934-153-14.8
Carter: 1,101-13,889-130-12.6

Ward is sixth in catches, last in yards and yards per reception, and seventh in touchdowns.  Not exactly shining statistics compared to his peers.  Carter has been finalist for induction the past five years and hasn't gotten in and Brown has been a finalist the past three with no luck.  That doesn't bode well for Ward, since Carter and Brown might will need to break through the gauntlet first.

Then you have the fact that Owens, Moss, and Bruce have some pretty eye-popping stats.  Moss is in and voters will probably eventually look past Owens' media circus personality -- not that Moss is exactly a choir boy -- and let him into the Hall.  Bruce is an interesting case because I was surprised by how comparable his stats were to Owens and Moss.  He's always been an overlooked player -- he put up 119-1,781-13-15.0 in 1995 and wasn't voted to the Pro Bowl -- and Hall voters might overlook him again.  Still, that's four guys ahead of Hines in the queue, to say nothing of veterans that deserve consideration like Henry Ellard.

What surprised me was that I thought Holt and Harrison would have more impressive stats.  Since neither particularly stands out, they might both need to sneak in on the veteran ballot at some point.  Harrison was, without a doubt, one of the best receivers in the league from 1999-2003, but he tailed off after that and Reggie Wayne became more of a focus on offense.

Interesting Stat: Ward, Brown, and Carter all averaged 8.3 yards per reception in their last season.  That has nothing to do with this argument, but I think it's interesting because I'm weird.

Pro Bowls and All-Pros:


Brown has the distinction of being the only player to be voted to the Pro Bowl in three different decades -- 1988, numerous times in the 1990s, and in 2001 -- and leads this list with nine total nominations.  But, even with nine Pro Bowl nods, he was never selected to the All-Pro team.  Here's how everyone stacks up (Pro Bowl, All-Pro):

Brown: 9,0
Holt: 7,1
Bruce: 4,0
Harrison: 8,3
Moss: 6,4
Owens: 6,5
Carter: 8,2
Ward: 4,0

The cases for Moss and Owens have improved and Carter and Harrison are certainly helped by this portion of their resumes.  Ward, Bruce, and Brown are all hurt by these numbers.  If they were never selected as one of the best players at their position in a given season, it becomes more difficult to crown them as one of the greatest players of all time at the position.  And that's what the Hall of Fame is all about.

Postseason statistics and results:


This is where Ward separates himself from the pack.  I had assumed that his playoff performance would be basically in line with his regular season performance, but that's not the case.  Everyone knows about the fact that he won the MVP in Super Bowl XL and that he's been to the big game three times with two wins.  But, the stats are surprising (games-receptions-touchdowns-yards per reception-SB appearances-SB wins):

Ward: 18-88-1,181-10-13.4-3-2
Brown: 12-45-581-3-12.9-1-0
Holt: 10-47-630-4-13.4-2-1
Bruce: 9-44-759-4-17.3-2-1
Harrison: 16-65-783-2-13.6-1-1
Moss: 12-47-865-10-18.4-1-0 (18-1, baby!)
Owens: 11-54-751-5-13.9-1-0
Carter: 14-63-870-8-13.8-0-0

If Holt and Bruce weren't both on the Rams team that won the Super Bowl following the 1999 season, Ward would have as many wins as all the receivers on this list combined.  He also has the only Super Bowl MVP award and leads in every category but yards per reception.

Harrison's and Carter's cases are hurt here because Carter never made it to the Super Bowl and Harrison put up lackluster stats given the number of games he was in -- and the number of offensive explosions the Colts enjoyed in the early rounds of the playoffs over the years.

When it comes to Hall of Fame voting, it is a known fact that postseason splash moments can make all the difference.  Ward's edge here is hard to over-state.  One other fact that I picked up somewhere: There are only two players in NFL history with 1,000 receptions and two Super Bowl rings.  That would be Hines Ward and Jerry Rice.

Intangibles:


Here's where it gets interesting and kinda murky.  Everyone on this list has some warts, it's just that some are bigger than others.

Brown (not known as a great teammate, but no big warts)
Holt (good guy, but unspectacular and doesn't have an "it" factor)
Bruce (good guy, but unspectacular and doesn't have an "it" factor)
Harrison (may have killed a guy)
Moss (head case, not a great teammate)
Owens (head case that does sit-ups in his driveway in front of camera crews)
Carter (semi-head case and not terribly popular with the media, who hold some sway on inductees)

Ward was convicted of a DUI, but he stands out here without any major warts and some definite pluses in the Intangibles category.  He was an incredibly popular player and won Dancing With the Stars, which expands his overall appeal.  Everyone loves that, no matter how hard he got hit on a given play, he got up smiling.  He was the best blocking receiver of his generation.  That's a lot of feathers in his cap.

He was also voted the second dirtiest player in the NFL two years in a row and the crackback block rule is commonly referred to as the "Hines Ward Rule."  But, he was a hard-nosed, old-school player that could play in any era and the football purists that admire those qualities also vote for who gets inducted into the Hall of Fame.

When you break it all down, I have to say that, surprisingly, Brown and Harrison are on the bubble.  Holt will probably be viewed eventually as a very good player that wasn't good enough long enough to make the cut.  Moss and Owens are in for sure when you look at their body of work.  Bruce will probably be overlooked until he receives veteran consideration.  Carter may be in the same boat, but the queue is starting to ease up and he will probably get inducted in the next few years.

As for Hines?  All things considered, he's in.  It's going to take a while, but he certainly has the credentials for a bust in Canton.

Power Returns to Milwaukee

Short week this week, as the Power play Thursday night out in Milwaukee. Last year, we swept the woeful Mustangs and probably pissed them off good and proper. Contracts might be short in the AFL, but team memories are long.

This year, the Mustangs are no longer pushovers, however. Currently, they've scored 65 points in both of their games, and they haven't been against cream-puffs. Week one, they lost by just a touchdown to the Arena Bowl runner-up Rattlers, and last week they beat a strong Voodoo squad.

There is just so much wrong in that last paragraph that I have this running through my head.

Because of technical and scheduling issues, I have been unable to watch the 'Stangs this season, and that seems to be jinxing the situation since they're so strong. Also, since they've had a lot of turnover, it's hard to say much of anything about their players.

But, that doesn't matter.

None of their abilities make a lick of difference if we can't address the problems in our own house. We've got a lot of good going on, but we haven't fully come together as a squad yet. Yet. Stull is starting again, and that's a good thing. I think Hines might be the better QB, but we need consistency. I am not going to sit here and watch another season of QB Grab-bag. Stull needs to get confident and get steady. The team needs to learn to anticipate him and learn his style. I don't think I'm revealing any great secret to the game when I say that the QB is anchor of a successful team.

Next, holding onto the damn ball. I commented in my Philly review that it really sunk us last week. After the game, Keller and I were discussing the fact that when Rashard Mendenhall had this problem, Tomlin made him walk around with a football while everyone else tried to punch it out of his hands. He dropped it, he had to pay $100. Now, this doesn't work in the AFL, as 4 drops would mean they don't get paid this week - but the theory is still sound.

Well, wouldn't you know it, the Power agrees. According to the team page, they did exactly that. Everyone who fumbled had to walk around practice with a ball. That's fantastic. It means that they're taking it seriously.

On offense, it's really down to Stull. As long as his players hold onto the ball, it's just a matter of him getting it to them. Last week, after 4 days of practice, he lost his concentration and overthrew his players. Also, he threw it right to the opposing defense. Take turnovers and dropped passes out of the equation, and we're on good footing.

Defense just needs to do their thing. Week one, they were on it. Week two, they were outclassed. I'm sure they ran a lot of drills this week on how to deal with the Donovan Morgans of the league. Also, the one big name the Mustangs still have is Gino Guidugli. We played him last year and beat him. Although we weren't able to get at him personally, Dewalt and Lay were able to pick him off and break up plays. Knowing what he's capable of means that we can prepare for him.

Bottom line is that we can win, but it's not going to be easy. The team needs to have turned around a lot of bad habits and learned to play with each other. We do that, we can make it at least respectable.

The game streams online at Ustream.tv Thursday at 8pm, and rebroadcasts Saturday at 7:30 on the CW.

Elsewhere in the league

• Once again, the league decided to schedule a crapload of games at the same time, and this time upped the ante by putting them on a crappy night. First up on Thursday is the Talons and the Preds. Preds are having a rough start of it, but they're at home. I think they're due for a win.
• Also Thursday, the Rattlers travel to Kansas City. Take the Ratts.
• First up on Friday is the Sharks at Tampa Bay. It's going to be a close game, but I'm picking the Storm
  
• The NFL game of the week is Sabercats at the Shock. Sabercats are returning to form and will probably take this one.
• Saturday night should be a good one between the undefeated Rush and the Iowa Barnstormers. I know I'm biased, but I'm taking Chicago, but it's not going to be easy.
• After a rough start in week one, the Utah Blaze has gone undefeated the last two weeks. As good as the Voodoo are looking (for them), they're looking for their first win and are on the road. Blaze favored.
• Sunday night is a division game, and I'm sad to say, the Soul is probably going to advance to 3-0 over the Gladiators.
  

Power vs Soul Review

Sometime back around 2000, my brother in law and I watched Lost in Space on Christmas Eve. For some odd-ball reason, we did the same thing the following year. Since then, we watch it every year. My point is, I'm all about tradition, no matter how stupid. If I do something more than once, chances are, I'll keep doing it.

That being said, this whole Soul-beats-us-in-our-home-opener crap has got to stop. At least last year, it was an OT loss, not a run-away ass-whoopin like it was this year. Granted, the game started out competitive, but by the end, our personnel woes and some old Power habits reared their ugly heads.

Two things were learned that night:

1. Don't start a QB who's been with the team shorter than a Redbox rental and,
2. No matter how good an idea it sounds to be, fireworks inside are not a great plan.
   

First, to my surprise, the Power started Bill Stull, even though he'd only been back with the team for a few days. Okay, I get it - he had a great season at Pitt and started a few games for us last year, but this just seemed dumb on a number of levels. Hines has more Arena experience, for one thing. For another, he'd been in camp with the team as a backup, and then had a trial by fire in that mess of a first game. Even if Stull is going to be your go-to guy, you do not start the new guy. You especially don't start the new guy against a division opponent with a stacked offense like Philly. Really - you can stop reading this review right now if you want to, because this is where it begins and ends as far as I'm concerned.

Right off the bat, Philly put points on the board, but the Power came back quickly with two scores. One the traditional way, and then they followed it up by capitalizing on a kickoff fumble in the end zone by Hughley (about the only time he screwed up all night) and falling on it. This would be, pretty much, the only time the rest of the night the Power cleanly fell on a loose ball.

Both of these scores were only worth six, as our new kicker Wagner shanked both PATs. Now, it'd be easy to blame the kicker on both of these - and I know that my history would suggest that I would - but I don't feel it was his fault. Although they didn't think he was good enough to start, apparently Hines was good enough to hold the ball for kicks. Well, he wasn't. From where I was sitting...

Right here

...it looked like he just couldn't spot it cleanly. Both those misses were off of crooked spots. Later in the game, when Hines got into the groove, they sailed right in (except a blocked one that was run back for 2pts that I'd rather not talk about.)

The next issue was the ability hold on to the ball. Several times during the game, the Power lost possession on stupid, stupid fumbles. John Green picked Dirty Dan off and went for the end zone. He wasn't going to quite make it, and it was obvious. Conventional wisdom in a situation like this is: you're defense, not offense and don't train to hold the ball. When in doubt, fall. down. Well, Green didn't. He tried for a heroic effort for the goal line and lost it. Also, PJ Berry lost one during the game, and no one seemed to be able to just fall on it and stop.

Continuing the Power hit parade of issues was the fact that we were wholly unable to stop the Soul's offense. Granted, their offense is very, very good. However, Morgan went off all night. He put up as many yards as our top receiver (112) and capitalized with 4 TDs. Once again, Hughley exceeded an average of 25 yards a return for for a total of 127 yards. We kept Tiger Jones under control, but the other two more than made up for it. Also, we weren't able to pressure Raudabaugh, but I'm not totally sure he can be pressured. The Soul finished with a franchise high 84 points.

Finally, Bill Stull. I've made it clear that I was not wild about him starting this game, but he was looking good for a good chunk of the game, if a little unsure. At first, he relied heavily on Joystick, but was able to switch up to Randy Hymes when Philly caught on. Also, both teams made use of the running game more than you usually see. I'd mentioned in past weeks that Philly signed on Derrick Ross and that he'd make an appearance eventually. On our side, the Power deployed the massive Tyre Young to good effect. When he got the ball, he rumbled through defenders and gained yards. I miss Josh Rue from last year, but if Young stays healthy, he'll be something.

Stull late in the game was much different than Stull early. When he took the field, there were cheers everywhere. By the end, the boo-birds were out in force. He was picked 3 times. By the 4th quarter, just like Power offense of last year, he fully ran out of gas. He was tired and panicky. He seemed to forget how short Joystick is and was chucking over his head. He was throwing to empty parts of the field. Basically, he fell apart. When it started, we were still in it - had coach put Hines in then, we might have pulled it off. Instead, things went downhill fast, and it was over.

Things weren't all bad. Although PJ Berry didn't have any breakout plays and fumbled once, he was overall looking confident. Joystick was still fast and fun. Dewalt came up big on a few plays. Our ground game was pretty darn good. There are places to build from, but this game was a shame and tough loss.

A few various points and observations:

• The halftime show was an indoor fireworks display. Although I've been thoroughly spoiled by Trans-Siberian Orchestra pyro displays in the same venue, it was still kinda neat. The smokey haze that hung in the air the rest of the game was not.
• Moms are always adorable. Moqut Ruffins' (#96) mom was straight across the arena from me. How do I know? Well, it's hard to see in this picture, but the poster-board says "Mother of #96."
• 
• Power fans can suck. Not all of them, by any means, but once Stull started going downhill, some fans got rough. One guy behind me started screaming "Go home, Stull!" and "you suck, Stull," and worse things - and we were in earshot of Stull. Not only that, he was doing it while Stull was throwing. Come on, dude - don't be a douche. It was close enough to the end of the game, you should just go home, alright?
• Soul fans travel well. There was a whole section of them there Friday night, and they were loud. The brothers Keller and I will do our best when we represent at the June game. My brother-in-law will be with us, but as he's a Philadelphian, I'm not sure where his loyalties will lie.

Elsewhere in the league

Aside from the Rush game and the Power game I was at, I didn't get to watch anything else this weekend, which was greatly disappointing. Our entire division played Friday night at the same time, and the streaming option that replaced Nifty does not automatically rebroadcast the games. The other games that I tried to watch either didn't have sound, didn't have picture, or had very strange screwups. (Yes - both sides said "Jacksonville Sharks", while White Goodman and McLovin gained yardage for Shane Falco.) Yeah, so...that was great.

• Close one down in Orlando as the Preds drop their second game, and the Rush advance to 2-0.
• Like I said, the Command and the Gladiators are looking lackluster this season, and the 49-39 game sounds like it showed. Gladiators win, as expected.
  
• The Mustangs stomped the Voodoo in a game I would have loved to have seen. They are now 2 games in a row at 65 points, and lucky us, we get to play them on Thursday.
• The Force manhandled the Sharks, the new home of our Bernard Morris (though, he didn't play.)
• The upset of the week goes to the Blaze as they beat the top-ranked Sabercats who missed a field goal at the end of regulation.
  

Power Home Opener Preview

Three weeks in, and the Power finally opens the home season. Once again, it's an NFL Network Friday night game, and the whole country can see us take the field.

Hopefully everyone doesn't get fired this time.

I covered the Soul quite a bit this past weekend in their opening game. This post is going to cover some of the same ground, but put it in perspective as far as the Power goes.

As I pointed out in my last post, playing the Soul this year is going to be a lot more like playing Vigilantes last season. I realize that Clint Dozel is not the head coach, but as the offensive coordinator, he's going to have a lot of say in how an Arenaball game goes - simply because the offense is the focus. If our last game against him is any indication, we can expect this to come right down to the line and the pressure to always be on.

But hey - he can bring as much pressure as wants, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't have the players, right? Well, he does. Tiger Jones, Donovan Morgan and Jeff Hughley. I've already explained at length their skills, but it really comes down to the fact that they're highly mobile, fast and have sure hands. I've heard a lot about RB Derrick Ross, but we haven't seen him much yet this season. Finally, there's Dirty Dan at quarterback.

He's a great quarterback, and he gave us hell last year. He's accurate and he's hard to fluster in the pocket. In general, he's really, really good.

So what does that mean for the Power? To be honest, I don't know.

The Power played really well in their opener, even though there was no cohesion to the team. Of course, their opponents were in the same situation. A lot of this week is going to depend on how much they pulled it together.

The good news is, we re-signed nearly everyone from the team we had in camp. Andrico Hines was a backup, so they had time to work with him before - even if he wasn't the starter - and he did pretty well once he go into the swing of things in the opener. He's got a lot of experience, and we brought back Bill Stull as his backup this week. If he's comfortable, he should be a pretty good bet.

Our problem with receivers is simply that they're not as dynamic as Philly's, and we need them to match up as equally as possibly. Joystick and Morgan are similar in the open field - Joystick is just a lot smaller. Dewalt and Jones are similar. PJ Berry was great on returns last week, but he's no Hughley. They're all good, but I just hope that they're good enough.

If our defense is like they were last week while all discombobulated, then our edge is there. Last week, Philly's defense played a little hard and smidge dirty, but they didn't scare me that much. If LeFlore and Williams weren't just lucky last week and Lay sees the field, we might have a chance to break their receivers up a bit.

The only pure unknown is kicking. The Soul's kicker was pretty well on last week, and we still don't have one listed on the team roster. I'm sure they'll bring someone in, but who knows who or how good.

One way or another, I'm excited to get back into Consol and see a game in person. It's a lot of fun, and this year, they're opening with a huge indoor fireworks display. Throw in some nachos, and I have a hard time thinking of a better night.

...And, besides, if worse comes to worst, I'm set. Put me in, coach!

I'm ready to play!

Elsewhere in the league

• The games this week start with the Preds traveling to Chicago. Same with our game, it's tough to say what we'll see. Surprisingly, I'm pulling for the Rush.
• Friday night is stacked. Opposite our game are two other division games, which is pretty annoying. The KC Command takes on Cleveland at 7:30. Both teams really under performed in their first games, but the Command really underperformed. Cleveland favored.
• The other game is the Mustangs at the Voodoo. I really want to see this game, which is surprising when you look at both these teams last year. The Voodoo looked real good last week, and the Mustangs hung in against the Ratts. Even though they both lost their respective games, they both put up over 60 pts each. If I had to pick, I'd say the Mustangs.
• Saturday night, the Sharks host the Force in a matchup that will be...a...game. Yeah, both teams are still trying to find their identity. The Sharks started pretty slow week one, and the Force looked real lackluster against the Storm last week. We shall see.
• Finally, there is the Cats against the Blaze. Both teams are looking really good, and I'm actually going to take the Cats in this one.
  

Bye Week Spotlight: The Soul at Voodoo

I wanted to address this week's final game, as we will be playing both teams in the coming weeks and there was a lot to see in this match-up. Sunday afternoon, the Soul traveled to the Graveyard - the AFL's best-named arena, followed by the Rattlers' Snakepit and the Preds' Jungle - to start their season. Coming in, I was expecting a fairly lopsided game given the Soul's roster and the Voodoo's lack of one - but it came right down to the wire.

The Soul absorbed a fair amount of talent from the now defunct Dallas Vigilantes, including QB "Dirty" Dan Raudabaugh (yes, I'm still pushing that moniker), RB Derrick Ross and former head coach (now offensive coordinator) Clint Dozel. Returning this year is deep threat Donovan Morgan (who was gone, then back, then maybe gone, then re-signed last season) and new acquisition, Jeff Hughley from the Sharks (Note: I am so glad he's not a lineman, because I'm already mentally calling him D.L. Hughley, which is a whole other Hughley.) Also, they're rolling with some brutal defense that doesn't seem to care about such niceties as not roughing the passer or kicker.

On the other side of the field, the Voodoo were returning from a pretty crappy season, with a new head coach and mostly new players. That's "new to Arena Football" not just new to the team. There's only about 5 veterans on the team, including former Cleveland Gladiator rival, Kurt Rocco and Josh Bush (whom you might remember from my past Predator coverage.) Their strength is really in their coaching, with former Preds coach Pat O'Hara and AFL legend Tim Marcum as his assistant. With these two at the head and the performance I saw today, I expect some impressive stuff out of New Orleans this year.

Philly started the game looking like they were just going to crush the Voodoo after putting up two rather quick scores, but the Voodoo got in it and they went back and forth the rest of the game. The Voodoo missed a key PAT, and they spent most of the game staying one point behind. Even though they capitalized on a turnover in the second, the Soul were able to make up the ground and finish it out one point ahead at the end (63 - 62) due to a missed field goal by New Orleans.

When we face the Voodoo in a few weeks, they're going to be a tougher than we've dealt with in the past, despite their lack of experience. Kurt Rocco was fairly solid in Cleveland, and he has matured a lot. With the help of some top-flight coaching and some solid, solid receivers in Josh Bush and Quorey Payne, they have a lot of potential. When Bush had less on the day of these two and still got almost 100 yards in the indoor game, we're seeing solid performance.

Rocco is strong in the passing game and this week went 25/29 for 314 yards 6 TDs. On the other hand, they are not afraid of the rushing game, putting up almost 50 yards on the ground and three TDs. Were it not for their kicking woes and some standout performances from Philly, this game is a win in most situations.

Next week, we face the Philly Soul once again in our home opener and. they. scare me. Seriously. Dirty Dan is a great QB who took the Vigilantes to the postseason last year. Today, he went 23 for 30, 310 yards, 7 TDs and no interceptions. He also has some phenomenal targets in Tiger Jones, Donovan Morgan and Jeff Hughley. All three of them are good at getting open down field and making catches. Both Hughley and Jones had receptions of 29 yards or more in this game and it only took three receivers for Dirty Dan to break the 300 yard barrier.

Morgan was viewed to be good enough to get picked up by the UFL last season, but it only took about a week for him to make it back to this league, whether he didn't like it or didn't work out, and that's the AFL's gain. He "only" had 86 yards receiving today, caught 2 touchdowns and also rushed for another 24 yards. He's highly mobile and can move in the open field.

Hughley is the big threat. As a receiver, he's deadly. Last year under the great Aaron Garcia, he had almost 1200 yards and 22 touchdowns. Today, he already tacked up almost 100 yards and two TDs as a receiver. He was also the only kick returner for Philly, and he averaged 26.5 yards on 10 returns and ran one aaaaaaall the way back for a score. Seriously, I don't want him coming into the Consol next week.

Finally - and this is is just based on their first game of the season - the Soul has got some brutal defensive players. There were several unsportsmanlike calls for Philly today, include a late, hard hit on Rocco, and hard hit to the kicker's leg. I hope they get that under control before they risk our players next week.

So, two weeks in, and we already have a good idea what we're going to be facing in three out of our next five games.

Elsewhere in the league

• Right now, Philly is at the top of the division with 1 win and more points than us. Next week will show only one of the four of us with 2 wins.
• Milwaukee put up a good fight against Arizona, but lost by a touchdown
• The Kansas City Command started out strong against the Garcia-less Sharks Friday night, but just got throttled in the second half. Looks like the Sharks might still be a tough contender.
• Utah lost this week, leaving both them and the Blaze 1-1.
• Speaking of Garcia, the Talons lost a close one to the Shock 63-60.
• The Game of the Week on the NFL network wasn't boring, but it wasn't that exciting either. Tampa Bay started out strong, and the Force did their best to catch up. 50-47 Tampa.
  

Power Recap and AFL State of the Union

I'm going to get to a recap of the game, I promise, but there are unfortunately much bigger issues that need to be addressed before I do.

Okay, first off, remember all that awesome stuff I said about Kyle Rowley and the future of the Pittsburgh Power? Yeah, forget about that. Not happening. For those of you that didn't tune into the game Friday night, a whole can of worms was opened. Depending on who you listen to, the players were planning to strike at kickoff (Rowley says it was an empty threat) and the league preemptively fired everyone at the pre-game dinner. Then, they planned to play the game with scrubs and replacements.

Eventually, everyone except Rowley and our kicker were re-signed, with some even making it onto the field during the game. The team seems to be holding Rowley responsible, and there have been some pretty harsh things said about him. Rowley got the chance to tell his side of the story in an interview, but of course, that's not getting nearly the exposure.

The center of the issue is one of pay. Everyone who follows the league knows - and I mentioned last week - that the pay is rather pathetic in this league. The players union wants substantially better benefits and pay, and I understand that. On KDKA the other night, Lynn Swann himself even voiced his understanding of the issue. On the other side of the coin, I also know that the pay scale is a by-product of what the powers-that-be had to do to bring the league back after it took a season off. I've often heard that they fully intended to pay more as the league became more viable. I also understand that. Both are good points, and unfortunately, both are mainly mutually exclusive.

What I don't understand is how this whole situation has been handled. Whether or not Rowley was the ringleader, he was hung out to dry over this. In his words, he was trying to stand with the players, and one way or another, they abandoned him and left him holding the bag. They had their reasons - mainly that they didn't want to lose their jobs - but it still sucks for him.

Also, the league did as much as they could to quash the news rather than deal with it head-on. There are accusations on Facebook that they deleted posts about it on their page, they didn't really release anything official about it until yesterday, and their whole comment on it after the game Friday was "After a long, tumultuous day of roster transactions..." (The Power also released a level-headed statement of their own.) On top of all that, most accounts say that players were only rehired if they renounced their unions - which defeats the whole purpose of them having one.

I hear sports guys all the time complaining about the "Twittersphere" and "Facebook journalism" that allows misinformation to spread at the speed of light while they have to take their time checking facts. It's not a great situation for them, but it is the situation that they have. With a league that has such minimal coverage as this, it's even worse. In the absence of anything official, all we had to go on for a few days was rumor. The league should have gotten out in front of this right from the beginning to get their side out. Now they look like bad guys and the sport itself is a punchline.

They say that any coverage is good coverage, but the last few days have tested that. For the first time since their season opener last year, the Power is actually being talked about during the TV sports report and by radio personalities. Unfortunately, they're only talking about the mass firing, and not about the rehires. Randy Baumann of the DVE Morning Show in particular has latched onto this like a popular kid mercilessly mocking the kid who accidentally burped in a quiet classroom and never letting it go. I've talked to several people who seem to think that either A.) the league itself is now defunct or at least B.) the Power is all over but the crying.

Arena Football is still alive and more-or-less well. The Power is still around, and has only lost a quarterback and a kicker. After last season, is that really that different than business as usual when it comes right down to it? No. So, buck up, put on your big boy pants and cheer on a local sports team that's really getting the short end of the stick here. It's only our poor luck that this happened - whichever two teams played that first game were going to be made an example of, and we just happened to draw that schedule.



Now, the game. Remember that? We played a game Friday night and we won the damn thing decisively with replacements, a rattled QB and no kicker! I don't know about you, but that makes me pretty happy over here.

I'm going to ignore the sour grapes the Predators have been putting out there about a gentleman's agreement about the number of starters each team was going to use instead of replacements. It was a chaotic scene, and not only did the right hand not know what the left was doing, it didn't seem to even know the left was there.

The first quarter was an anomaly in the Arena League in that there wasn't a point scored. This was mainly because no one knew what was going on, and no one had played with each other before. Hell, Kyle Israel started the game in the Preds locker room and finished the evening wearing black and gold!

In the second quarter, original starters began to return to the field and things got a bit more normal. (Plus, I started to breathe again and stopped thinking the sky was falling.) Overall, it was tough to judge the team as a whole based on this game, but there were a number of things about players that I can.

First off, the King is dead, long live the King: Andrico Hines looks to be the heir-apparent now that Kyle has left the building never to return. He looked shaky as all get-out during the game, but the end result looked a lot better in retrospect. The game book isn't out there yet, so I unfortunately can't break down too many specifics, but his overall stats were nice. Averaging almost 15 yards a completion, he threw for a total of 266 yards and 6 touchdowns and no interceptions. When you take into account the fact that he was dealing with unfamiliar receivers and the additional fact that games like this favor the defense, it's downright impressive.

Although DeWalt didn't get his hands on the ball, our other Iron Man, PJ Berry really showed his stuff Friday. He had 52 yards plus a TD on offense, broke up a few plays on defense and averaged 12 yards a return on special teams. Is it any wonder he won Iron Man of the Year last season with the Voodoo?

Mike Washington. Mike "the Joystick" Washington.

Man, it is so good to have him still on the team. 166 yards and 4 TDs, he returned to the field in explosive fashion. The fact that the only Orlando receiver to see the end zone was also named Washington just made it seem like Joystick was everywhere at once. A few replays even looked like they sped up the film when he turned on the jets.

Two other players to take note of are Bryan Williams and Chris "Dodgeball" LeFlore (I'm gonna make that one stick if it kills me.) Both of these defensive players made a splash Friday night, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do against a team of starters. Leflore was in on a lot of plays and also managed a turnover in there. Williams was dominating. Several of his hits were both vicious and completely legal - the sweet spot for the position. By the end of the game, you could tell the Preds were designing plays to avoid him (which left them with LeFlore...)

Finally, I'm not too worried about the kicker situation right now. Without one Friday, both teams just went for 2, and the Power had pretty good luck with that. Maybe we should make that "our thing."

We have a bye next week, which means that we can get everything evened out before our home opener against the Soul.

Elsewhere in the league

Verdict on Ustream: it has potential, but everyone seemed to be having issues this weekend, so I didn't get to watch as much as I wanted to. The Talons game was stuttering too much to attempt to watch, the Rush game had no sound, and the Rattlers game just completely cut out. Everyone is promising to do better next week, so we shall see.

• The Talons hosted the Blaze at their new San Antonio location, and proved that Garcia is still the man. 350ish yards and 8 TDs sealed the deal for his new team.
• Although there was no sound, Russ Michna sure looked great in the Rush's opener against the Storm. Hooking back up with veteran Reggie Grey, he destroyed Tampa 70-48
• If there was a game that had me weeping because of technical issues with ustream, it was this one. Watching the live scoring back-and-forth between these two bitter rivals told me that it must have been GREAT to watch. The Ratts lost a nail-biter, 71-70 in OT
• Good news! Philly and the Mustangs haven't played yet and the Gladiators lost. We're #1 in the division!
• Finally, Coach Ho got the job done with his new team in Iowa. Barnstormers win in OT.
  

The Power Returns! Season Intro and Opening Night Preview

It's that time again, folks: Arena Football season is once again upon us.

After a long winter full of nothing much exciting (aside from the Steelers, Pens, player news/fears for both, and some very bad predictions on my part) it is time once again to get some use out of the Consol Energy Center and see some football!

For those of you new to Arena Football in general and my posts in particular, let me lay things out in a nutshell: Arena Football is similar to the outdoor game we all know and love in that there are two teams in helmets and pads where one is offense and one is defense at any given time. The offense moves the ball down field by throwing or carrying it, and then scores by crossing a line or kicking it through the uprights. The other team attempts to stop them through subtle and nuanced measures that amount to running into each other as hard as they can. The two teams then change sides and continue for 60 minutes with a break in the middle so that the spectators can get beer.

The difference with the indoor game is that it is played on a field half the size with no sidelines and smaller uprights. The clock rarely stops and the emphasis is on scoring. Offense is king, the ball is rarely carried and the players are barely paid. In this form, you have a game played by a combination people who are either just playing for the love of the game, or are desperate as all hell to get into the NFL. The result is a fast-paced, high-scoring game that requires a different strategy than the outdoor one, full of a different kind of excitement and passion on the field.

There - now you know more than 90% of the people out there when asked, "explain the Arena Football League to me." For a more detailed breakdown, see the Pittsburgh Power's page.

Now back to the topic at hand which is - YEAH, BUDDY! IT'S TIME FOR ARENA FOOTBALL AGAIN!

Once again, the Power get the honor of opening the season for the whole league on a Friday night NFL Network broadcast. This year, it's a road game, but it's still awesome that we're first out of the gate. We must have picked up a decent following last year, because between the NFL Network and the CW, all but two games will be broadcast on TV this year. Four of them will be seen nationally on the NFL Network. Although it's handy that every game in the league last year was broadcast online through NiftyTV, I'm glad that I won't have to monkey around with that as much for the home team.

The first post of the season is always difficult, because it's hard to make predictions. The way the AFL works is that players are only under one year contracts, and most are paid a couple of hundred bucks a game. Because of this, there is massive turnover each season, and a team can be a completely different group of guys each season. As such, you can really only go on what you know about veterans, what the local support for a team is, and the coaches. Don't get me wrong, that can mean a lot - but just look at the Sabercats last year. Historically great team, total crap most of 2011.

That being said, we have an exciting game lined up this week. Once again, we travel to Orlando to play the Predators in the Friday night spotlight. This did not work out well for us late last season, but honestly, it was one of the best-played games the Power had all season. The Preds have insane fans and always have, their arena is generally packed, and national games are always more intense. I expect this outing to be no different.

Like I said, it's tough to say what will happen the first outing with a team each year. We have some old faces returning and some new ones we can only guess about. Here's what I can say based on our game last year:

On the Power side, Josh Lay was clutch on defense, LaRico Stevenson was big in pass coverage, Total Chaos showed some stuff, DeWalt, Joystick, and Campbell were key on offense, but were outshone by DJ Hall and, last but not least, even Edinger went 6-8 on PATs. It was a standout game, but we ran out of gas in the second half and we continued to be plagued by our QB woes.

On the Preds side, the show was run by TT Toliver, Josh Bush and Robert Quiroga on offense with Bobby Sippio putting up yards. Coach O'Hara continued his history of risky calls by putting in Collin Drafts at QB instead of his starter, and Chris Dubalt teamed up with kicker Mark Lewis twice in a frickin' row to recover off the uprights for a score on a kickoff.

How does that stack up this year? Well, Coach O'Hara is gone, as is Bush, Quiroga and Dubalt. On our side, we've lost Hall, Campbell and Total Chaos - the latter of these to none other than the Orlando Predators!

Our core is still there. DeWalt returns as our Iron Man, playing both offense and defense. Unless he somehow lost his magic in the last few months, he's still going to be a play-maker. Tall, accurate and quick, he's a sure target in the end zone and never afraid to flip backwards over the boards to make a catch. Also, he's tall enough to smack down passes and a receiver so he knows what to do if he intercepts it.

Mike "Joystick" Washington is also back. The pint-sized terror is primed to get back out there and do what he does best - namely, squeak through holes and run 15 yards in the blink of an eye. From what I understand, Mike still has NFL aspirations and plays like he's trying to prove it.

Finally, Josh Lay and LaRico Stevenson are still listed on our roster to cause trouble on defense and, for better or worse, I don't have Edinger to kick around any more.

We have two big unknowns going into this game: Kyle Rowley and the Power's ability to protect the QB. Last year, we had a constant carousel of quarterbacks the whole season. We had at least 4 men fill that role, and I'm having trouble remembering if any of them played 4 games in a row. Part of this was because we had guys without much Arena experience who weren't prepared for how fast the game moves and held the ball too long. They also weren't ready for short passes and quicker defenders. The other problem was that there was seemingly no one blocking for them. They all spent more time on their backs and on IR than they did on the field.

This year, the Power needs to cut that shit out, because we have a QB worth protecting. Kyle Rowley joins us, and his resume (or at least his Wiki entry) reads like a "Here I am, try to stop me" statement. He's the only QB to win the championship in both arena leagues, has been voted MVP, and just all around knows how to win.

Come at me, bro!

Now, I'm not saying that he's suddenly going to solve all our problems, but he's a big key to it. Our weak spot all of last season was mainly at QB, be it consistency, skill, or just coverage. The first two, Rowley's got. He's also played all over the place for a number of years, so he's use to adapting to new teams, coaches and players. As long as the rest of the Power can keep him from getting broken, we're in good gosh-darned shape.

Now for the Predators. One of the only constants generally in this league is coaching. Whole rosters can change, but the same decision makers are up front. Last season, O'Hara lost some key games and for one reason or another, he and the Predators decided to part ways. It's okay, he landed on his feet with the Voodoo, and it should be interesting. So, what can we expect from new head coach Bret Munsey? Tough to say. He's been out of this league for a few years, but when he last coached, it was for the Arena Bowl champion 2008 Soul. That bodes well for Orlando.

Also, although they've lost some key receivers, but retained the total threat of fan-favorite TT Toliver. They picked up former Pittsburgh favorite Terrance "Total Chaos" Carter on defense. Furthermore, Collin Drafts is still backing up the starting QB. This QB is Trevor Harris, who used to back up none other than 2011 Arena Bowl runner-up Nick Devila. He's also worked out with both the J'Ville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills. That's a good resume.

Finally, we gotta worry about that damn Mark Lewis on kickoffs.

So, where does that leave us? Several of the key ingredients of last season for both teams are in the game along with some very powerful wildcards. If both teams play like they did last year, and the Power can protect Rowley and Rowley gels with the team, I think they can win. We have more team veterans in key offensive positions. As this is an offense-driven game, that means a lot. However, if the Power gets up to old tricks of not protecting the QB and running out of gas in the second half, they're sunk.

The game airs at 8:30 on the NFL Network.

Elsewhere in the league

The Power isn't the only game in town this weekend. There's a lot more football to watch. This season, it looks like Nifty is out, and ustream is in. I haven't used it yet, but it advertises in-browser viewing as well as iPhone/Android apps. Sounds fantastic, and a huge improvement over Nifty.

• Saturday @4, the Blaze visits the recently moved San Antonio Talons. The Blaze is generally entertaining, but I'm more interested in the Talons. They are the new home for Arena Bowl Champ Aaron Garcia, the Pred's Robert Quiroga, and our own Jason "Watchu Talkin' Bout" Willis. They're going to be dangerous.
• Obviously I'm all about the Storm/Rush game at 8:00. Nick Hill, formerly of the Preds, is heading up the Storm, while my boy Russ Michna returns to the field with receivers Gray and Hall.
• The Rattlers and Sabercats meet up at 10:30. Even when the Cats stunk last year, these teams meeting up was still something to behold. They're one of the biggest rivalries of the league, and the games are always brutal, showcasing what AFL is all about.
• Monday night is mainly interesting to see how our rivals the Gladiators do in one game, and how former Soul coach Hohensee and former Rush QB JJ Raterink do in the other.

Enjoy the season, everyone! I'll be back next week with the recap.


Also, don't forget that there's a comments section right down there. Let me know you're out there

The Mike Wallace Situation

I already had two posts called "The _____ _____ Situation" and I tried to come up with a snappy title for this one.  I thought about, "Should the Steelers Sign Mike Wallace?" and, "Will the Steelers Sign Mike Wallace?" but then I realized that those would make for short, unrewarding posts.  The answers to those questions are, "Of course" and "I have no idea" and that's about all I know on those subjects.

Wallace is the best receiver on the team, one of the best receivers in the league, he's only 25, and he's lightning fast.  He's the second most important player they have on offense after Ben Roethlisberger.  They certainly should sign him, the question is whether or not they'll be able to.

As to whether or not they'll be able to, I have no idea.  Three weeks ago, when the Steelers were $25 million over the salary cap, I didn't think there was a chance in hell.  Now that they've restructured some contracts and they're $10 million under the cap, I think they have better than a 50/50 shot.  Wallace may very well be able to get more money playing for a different team, but he's unlikely to sign with an organization that's as stable and consistently competitive that also has a top five quarterback.  Plus which, football players are creatures of routine and habit.  They'd prefer to stay with the devil they know versus the devil they don't, even if all things (i.e. money) aren't equal.

That gives the Steelers the inside track to sign Wallace, but the clock is ticking and the deadline is March 13th, when free agency begins.

The Steelers decided not to franchise Wallace and I think that's the right call.  If they franchised Wallace, then every team in the league would've backed off.  If they weren't able to reach a longterm deal with him -- and the franchise tag sometimes brings out animosity in players, most times leads to a longterm deal, but you never know -- then they would be in the same situation next year.  Not only would they need to go through the same process with Wallace, they'd also have to deal with impending restricted free agent Antonio Brown.  With the way they've restructured contracts and managed the salary cap the last few years, their cap situation is going to get worse before it gets better.  Even if, as expected, the cap jumps significantly in 2013, everyone else in the league will also have lots of extra money to spend.

By placing a first round tender on Wallace, the Steelers can continue to negotiate in good faith and allow the market to determine his price if they don't get a deal struck by the 13th.  That gives them flexibility, but it also gives other teams the opportunity to come in the back door and steal Wallace away.

Any team that signs Wallace would need to offer him a contract that is heavily front-loaded and would pay roster bonuses in the first year of the deal, making it so that the Steelers couldn't match the offer without cutting more players.  They could also offer more than the Steelers think Wallace is worth, but I have no idea what that number is.  Any team that signs him would also need to give the Steelers a first round pick in this year's draft.  A front-loaded, rich contract and a first round pick is a steep price to pay for any player.  Are there any teams that would be willing to pay that price?

At first blush, I didn't think so.  Then I read this article by Bill Barnwell at Grantland.  Barnwell wrote that from an agent's perspective with an obvious bias towards selling Wallace's good qualities while attempting to hide -- or neglecting to mention -- his bad attributes.  But, you have to admit that the man has some good points.  Especially when compared to Santonio Holmes (signed a five year, $45 million contract last year), Wallace looks like a sure thing.  You take a risk signing any free agent, but Wallace's upside, talent, and production level at this early point in his career seems to justify the risk.

The two teams in most desperate need of receiver are the hated Ravens and 49ers.  I'm sure Baltimore would love nothing more than to take a big weapon from their rivals, but they tend to build through the draft and wouldn't be likely to sacrifice that pick.  The same goes for the 49ers.  Also, both teams could explore the unrestricted market, which has plenty of big names with no draft pick compensation linked to them.  This is not to say that Wallace isn't worth it, he's just not worth the added compensation of the first round pick, given the fact that a number of unrestricted options would represent a significant improvement for either of these teams.  Also, neither of these teams is deep enough at the position that simply adding Wallace would upgrade their offense across the board.

If there's a team the Steelers need to fear, it's a team that could see a huge benefit by adding Wallace, has plenty of cap space, and has a first round pick to spare.  That leaves the Bengals and the Patriots.  Both teams have at least $20 million in cap space -- Cincinnati has a reported $60 million worth of room and the new CBA says that Mike Brown needs to spend that money -- and both teams have a reason to hurt the Steelers.  New England would have a pretty explosive offense with Brady, Welker, Gronkowski, Hernandez, and Wallace and they have a spare first round pick that the Saints traded them last year for the rights to draft Mark Ingram.  Even Mike Brown would open up his check book at the thought of the Mighty Ginger throwing to two Pro Bowl receivers under the age of 26 and they have a spare first round pick from the Raiders courtesy of the Carson Palmer trade.  A first round pick is not something that teams tend to throw around, but a spare pick gives them something to mitigate their risk.

The bottom line is that Wallace will draw interest if he hits the open market.  How much that interest will translate to in terms of dollars remains to be seen, as well as what the Steelers ceiling is in terms of what they're willing to pay when faced with other offers.  They can eliminate a lot of variables and questions if they lock up Wallace before the 13th, but whether or not they will is still up in the air.