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:
- Don't start a QB who's been with the team shorter than a Redbox rental and,
- 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.
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