Yep, it's that time again.
So, Bill Stull dislocated his shoulder last week against the Mustangs, played too long and is now out for at least four games. Andrico Hines will start against the Barnstormers and the Power have signed a new backup QB. The Power is not saying who it is, citing a need to play it close to their chest until the ink is dry, however, the transaction page shows that they picked up Derek Cassidy. "Who?" I can hear you thinking - and that's a good question. Well, he played for the University of Rhode Island and was picked up by the Voodoo last year for 150 yards and a touchdown. There might be more, but if I have to dig that far for it, he's not much of a stand out.
So, we have our backup QB (who I actually have more faith in) starting, a seat-filler backing him up and Siegfried checking the couch cushions for Anthony Morelli's number. After hearing (unsubstantiated) rumors of him being in the building last week, I can't help but ask: Can Rowley and the front office please kiss and make up? No? Damnit.
Sadly, I find myself four paragraphs into my game preview, and I haven't talked about the game yet, but that's the way these things work sometimes. Well, we're hosting the Iowa Barnstormers, and I'm hoping that history continues to repeat itself. Last year, we lost our home opener to the Soul, and the following home game thwumped the Barnstormers. Well, we sure did lose to the Soul in our season opener...
The Barnstormers are currently in the same position that we are: Won their first game, lost their second two and have already burned a bye pretty early. However, that doesn't tell the whole story (it never does.) While Philly absorbed some key offensive weapons from Dallas, the Barnstormers have recruited some important people. Namely, they have former Philly - and before that, long-time Chicago - coach, Mike Hohensee and former Rush QB J.J. Raterink. These two are why their loss to the Rush was so tough, but also misleading.
Chicago is always a tough team (at least in the regular season) and Iowa held in there, only losing by a point in OT. The reason this gives me pause is that both coach and QB knew exactly how the team operates and what to expect. I'd have been more surprised if they got blown out. The fact is, Coach Ho is a great coach, and Raterink filled some very big shoes when he covered for the injured Michna last year.
What do we need to watch out for? Well, besides the above Raterink, last week against the Rush, Jason Simpson on special teams was getting almost 20 yards a return. As we saw with Hannah last week and Hughley the week before, this is a major trouble spot for us. Also, they made good use of the ground game last week with Rodney Filer for three touchdowns.
Any weaknesses? Well, two weeks ago against Utah, Raterink and the offense got pressured and coughed up the ball four times. (It should be noted, however, that the defense forced four of their own.) If our defense can come up the way it did against the Preds in week one, then we might be able to do something like that. If they play like the last two weeks, probably not.
On the topic of defense, there's some possible good news: The transaction page shows that the Power re-activated Josh Lay - but in the same post, it said that he was placed on reassignment. So, who knows what we'll see. It's possible that the team is thinking that it's time to reunite Lay and DeWalt on defense. It couldn't hurt.
Back to Andrico Hines. We haven't seen much of him this season, but what we've seen has been...mixed. He was out of sorts in week one, but won the game. Last week, he came in late and started with a turnover, but got into a groove that gives hope. All that's left is to see how he handles a (planned) start.
The game is Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Consol, and re-airs Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on Pittsburgh CW.
Elsewhere in the league
- Game of the week is the Tampa Bay Storm against the New Orleans Voodoo. Tampa has the better record, but the Voodoo is getting stronger and hosts this contest. I actually think they might pull it off.
- Shock at Arizona: The Shock got absolutely nut-slapped by the Sabercats last week and are coming in angry, but I don't think that will be enough to best Nick Davila and the Rattlers
- The late game is the San Antonio Talons visiting the Sabercats. As much as Garcia's my boy, I think the Cats are returning to form this year, and they brought Garcia's win streak to an end last year when they sucked.
- The Force is strong, but I think the Soul is stronger. Look for Philly to add another notch to their belt Saturday.
- The Command hasn't broken 40 points in a game yet this season, and they're playing the Rush on their home turf. The math isn't good for them.
- The Predators are also winless, and the Gladiators are coming off of two big wins. I see them winning, but it's best all around if Cleveland drops one at home this Sunday
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