Feel the Force

Oooooooookay...so...here we go. Took me a while to get around to writing this. There really isn't a lot to say until the Power turns things around. While I toyed around with various ways of saying, "We need to win, or else," I took a look at what happened last time we played the Georgia Force. It was almost exactly one year ago today that we played them, and lost.

Now there are some interesting things that we can take from this game. When we lost to them last year, that put us at 3-4, which is actually only one game ahead of where we are right now. After that, we were still able to go on a serious roll and end up in playoff contention. That possibility still exists for us this year with some lucky breaks - it really does. Cleveland isn't playing this weekend, but Milwaukee is playing Philly. So long as Philly doesn't screw us, that will drop the Mustangs down to a tie with us (if we win.)

Now, last year we were on a run for first place and that's not going to be an option this year. However, the South division is a lot weaker this season, and that's our hope.

We know what to expect from the Power. Aside from mentioning that Randall is getting the start, not much to say. How about the Force?

Well, at quarterback, they have RJ Archer, who is someone we prepared to face in Milwaukee, but didn't because Guidugli got the start. Hopefully we still have the tape on Archer, but it is what it is. On the receiving side, they still have CJ Johnson and Larry Shipp and they're still favorite targets. They're good, but it's a bonus that we've played them before. They're a known quantity. Last time, they were able to put a combined total of 170 yards and 4 touchdowns on us, and I hope that we can keep them down.

Last week when they were playing the Rattlers, every. single. time. the announcers talked about their schedule, they repeated,

"Next week they travel to Pittsburgh."
"Beatable team."
"Yep. Beatable team."

That stung, but we can't deny that it's true. Thankfully, they eventually admitted that the Force has been streaky as hell this year. They hosted the undefeated Rush and beat them. Soundly. Yet, the very next week, they rolled into Orlando, all full of swagger...and handed them their first win of the season. They've also beaten Cleveland yet lost to Tampa - my point is, when they play a tough team, they can knuckle down and beat them. When they play a weak team, they get cocky and lose. That is our chance.

The main thing that we have to watch out for is their defense. Even if they have a losing schedule right now, they've made big stops in their games. They put up some huge stops against even Arizona, and we haven't performed well in those situations this year.

We lost the "easy" road to a playoff berth last week, but if we roll like last year and start putting up some wins, and the rest of the division helps us out by losing some important ones, we have a chance. At this point, I hope Philly wins everything except our next match. Any time Philly loses now, it dilutes and averages out the rest of our division. The division title is theirs, and we need them to win it as decisively as possible. So...root for Philly, is what I'm saying.

Ouch. I don't like saying that.

Elsewhere in the league

Okay...no pressure after my perfect run last week. I'm not even going to try this week, because there's too many games that could go either way. In other words, there are a lot of games worth watching this week.

• NFL Game this week is the Voodoo visiting Jacksonville. Voodoo needs the win to stay at the top of their division. The Sharks have put some serious points up and lost some close games. Basically, they're the Florida version of us. Smart money is on NOLA, but Jax is hungry enough to pull it off.
• At 9, Spokane squares off against rival Utah. Both teams are on a winning streak, and Spokane sits at the bottom of their division. The Shock lost their first game with Rowley by 4 points, and have won since. On the other hand, Tommy Grady is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league. This one is just too damn close to call. I'll give the home team (who also has the better record) the edge here, but not by much. If I'm home, I'll be watching this one, and you should, too.
• Saturday night, Milwaukee plays Philly at home. As stated above, it's better all around if Philly wins, and they should win without a problem, but I've got a very bad feeling about this one. Still taking Philly, though.
• Predators at the Storm. The Storm should have this one because, well, the Predators...however, they've been playing pretty weak recently, even when they've won. Last week against the KC Command, they had a score like the outdoor league most of the way through the second quarter. They should have steamrolled that team, and it took way too long to get going. Take Tampa, but don't be shocked with an upset.
• Talons at Command. Okay, Talon should win this one. Why? Because its the Command. Also, because the Talons have literally been winning every other game this season, and this week is supposed to be a win. Now, we better hope that they break said pattern - because we play them next.
  
• San Jose at Arizona. Oh boy, this one better get rebroadcast. I'll be dahn at Consol, of course and will miss the first half of this....but, as always, Cats vs Rats is fun to watch. These two teams are tied for first in the West, and last time they met, the Cats won by a single point. I'll give the Rats a 1-point edge at home. That's it.
• Final game for the week is Iowa at the Rush. Please re-read the above and change Cats to Barnstormers and Rats to Rush. Seriously. Every single thing I said in the last post holds true for this game.