Feeding Frenzy

*sigh* Don't worry, Power. The big, mean season can't hurt you anymore.

This week's loss came at the end of a long, brutal season where 5 wins was actually more than we had the right to hope for. The Power was never really in this game, so there's not a lot to talk about. Of the keys to victory that I laid out in the preview, the Power really didn't accomplish any of them.

Due to some excellent kicking on the part of the Sharks, PJ Berry didn't get many opportunities to make huge returns, and this was obvious right from the beginning. The Power didn't start farther than the 5 yard line on their first three possessions, and they never converted. The Sharks scored three touchdowns before we made our first first down. It was pretty damn obvious right from there that we weren't going to win this one.

Andrico Hines barely made it out of the first quarter before Randall got a shot. He didn't do a hell of a lot better, completing only about 50% on his passes, with 4 touchdowns and a pick. A bright part was the fact that he rushed for two, which is always fun to watch.

Defense had a pretty big breakdown in this game. They only came away with one pick and weren't able to really pressure the slippery Bernard Morris. Our offensive line is also going to get put under this header, because the whole game, the blind side didn't even seem to be in the game.

As for kicking, the less said, the better. Gates was back - probably because it just didn't matter anymore - and his kicking was weaker and less accurate this week. It was so bad that, when a National Guardsmen put one through the uprights during an on-field intermission contest, even the arena announcer said, "Sign him!"

It wasn't all bad, however. Superman put three up on the evening, which is great for him. (Hopefully no scouts were there.) On one of them, he pulled down his socks to show a second pair of Superman ones under them, complete with mini capes. Also, the Power's last score of the season was to him, with a followup two point conversion as well.

In the end, we booted it deep instead of on-siding it, and Jacksonville had the decency to run the clock, even though they had time outs remaining. There's always next season, and we can hope for the season we deserve then.

Elsewhere in the league

• It was a close but meaningless game in Cleveland, and the Gladiators actually pulled off the win against the Rush, 60-54.
• New Orleans was in control of most of their final game of the regular season, but as often happens, they beat themselves at the end with silly turnovers. 55-48 Georgia, and NOLA falls to 4th seed - so, they're still in the playoffs.
• Iowa managed to make a statement with their last game of the season, beating the Talons with a last second field goal, ending their 11 game winning streak. I guess the Talons will just have to settle for 14-4 and a #1 seed.
• KC lost to AZ, 47-22. They end the season 3-15.
• Spokane decided TB's fate Saturday, knocking them out of the playoffs, 63-53.
• Orlando salvaged one last win for the season to tie KC's record with a win over the Mustangs, 49-39.
• Finally, Philly decided that there is no such thing as a meaningless game - they wanted to prove that they were better than Tommy Grady and the Utah Blaze...and they did. 69-34.

Tune in Thursday for a full breakdown of the playoffs as the Arena League begins to wind down for the year.

Power at Barnstormers Preview

Ah, rematches. They're a chance to see if you've learned from mistakes, or in the case of a win, a chance to see if you've gotten too cocky. Either way, it's an opportunity to exorcise demons and give it another go.

The last few weeks have been a solid line of rematches, and unfortunately, they have not gone well for us. (I mean, except for the Gladiators, but that doesn't really count.) The good news is that the Barnstormers have a losing record and are pretty much out of the running for the playoffs. (Maybe not mathematically, but things would have to go very badly for several teams for it to happen.) Neither of us really have anything on the line but pride. Since they already beat us once, I'm going to stretch the definition of it a bit and say that pride's on our side.

In many ways, we're a different team than we were the last time we played, so things might turn out differently. Hines was our QB and Wagner was our kicker. Hymes was just starting out with the team, replacing a fan favorite in DeWalt. PJ Berry had been struggling in the first two games and was starting to break out. Most importantly, we had a different coach.

Stingley is still a question mark for me. He doesn't make the boneheaded calls that Siegfried did and he actually seems to have confidence in a quarterback (Randall will be starting again.) However, as can be seen in this extremely creepy conference, he still doesn't seem comfortable in the role of head coach. Another entry in the plus column is that he knows Coach Ho well. He's an unpredictable coach, but knowing him has got to dial that in a bit.

Last time we played, we lost by two touchdowns, which is A.) fairly close and B.) pretty damn good considering there were 5 turnovers. We've been averaging less than that since then (although it's still an issue) so if we can keep a lid on that, we have a better chance.

The other big problem is that the Barnstomers' defense ran all over us. The good news is that Sione Ohuafi is supposed to be back at center, which is a position our offense has been very weak at. Bad center means worse protection for Randall. Worse protection for Randall means that he gets pressured. When Randall gets pressured, he gets sacked and/or turns the ball over. I know this sounds like a DirectTV commercial, but it's the progression of events.

If we can keep the ball, force a few turnovers of our own and protect Randall, we might have a chance to get another win on our season.

Elsewhere in the league

Full disclosure - I have a feeling my picks might go about 50% this week. Just some ugly choices to make.

• Starting out is Philly at Tampa Bay. Tampa's only lost at home once, and the Soul don't need to play a single game the rest of the season if they don't want to...but I don't think they know how to lay down. Look for Philly to win and Tampa to start planning picnics in late July.
  
• Assuming it doesn't get flexed, the Game of the Week this week is Milwaukee at Cleveland in an important division game. Cleveland needs this win big time. Losing this one puts the Mustangs at the same record as them and splits the series. Both teams are still in the hunt, and this could decide their post season hopes. The Gladiators have now dropped 5 in a row, so it'd be easy to pick the Mustangs...but they're on the road, they've already lost to the Gladiators and Cleveland needs to repair their image at home and on the national stage. I'm pulling for the Mustangs because screw the Gladiators, but my gut tells me Cleveland has this.
• Arizona will secure the division with a win in Spokane and a Sabercats loss. Easy to write, hard to pull off. Rowley still has gas in the tank this season and the Rattlers can't just smile and walk away with the win. When they last played in Arizona, the Ratts barely came away with the win. I hate to pick against them, but I think Arizona will have the loss.
• Finally, an easy choice - KC loses to the Talons.
  
• The game to watch this week if you can is Jacksonville at New Orleans. Tied records separated by one head-to-head. Winner jumps ahead to the top of the division (for this week, at least.) Normally, home team would be the tie-breaker here, but there's still a stigma attached to the Voodoo at home. So, instead, I'm going with the quarterback. So long as Rocco doesn't beat himself with the stupid mistakes he makes when he gets cocky, he's better than Bernie Mo. Take the Voodoo, cautiously.
• In the crowded 8PM slot, the Chicago Rush host the San Jose Sabercats. Both teams need this win pretty badly, and both teams are known for dropping stupid games that they shouldn't. This is a case where the close call most certainly goes with the home team - the Rush haven't lost at Allstate Arena yet this season.
• Final game of the week is Sunday at 3 and should be fun spoiler-bait. The Predators came damn close to beating the Voodoo last week, and they have a shot at making things sticky for Georgia. It was a close, low-scoring game last time they played. I think I'm going to be wild and crazy and pick Orlando. Yep - gonna throw caution to the wind. I'm a wild man.
  

Visiting Enemy Territory: Power vs Soul Review

As I mentioned in my brief preview last week, I had the chance to travel to Philly this weekend to catch the Power on the road. Despite the fact that we lost (hard) it was a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing it again some time.

Approaching enemy territory.

For those of you who haven't been to Philly professional sports DMZ, Wells Fargo Center lies a subway ride away from downtown, clustered with Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field, putting everything right on top of each other. The Brothers Keller and I were lucky enough to arrive just as the first game of a Phils double-header was letting out and everyone was heading across the street to Xfinity Live to drink. Whereas my brother-in-law was being the good homer and wearing local garb, the Kellers and I stood out just a wee bit in our black n gold amid the sea of red.

Looks varied from "WTF jersey is that?" to "I don't know what that is, but black and gold means I must hate you."

After some time trying to blend in with the locals and having a few adult beverages at Victory (Pittsburgh seriously needs a setup like this place) we headed in for the game. Even though Wells Fargo only holds a couple of hundred people less than Consol, it somehow feels much more cramped. I don't know what it was - maybe the seats are smaller, maybe it's because the jumbotron is way higher or what, but it feels smaller inside. By luck of the draw, our seats were almost exactly the same as what we have every week at home (which led to a comical double-take from the highlight film crew), but the different setup put us right behind the bench.

Hi, Tomczak!

I go to every home game, but this was the first time that it really felt like my cheering shenanigans could actually be noticed by the team. When we walked down to our seats, Superman saw us and threw a salute. Cool stuff.

Now, for the game itself. I don't think any of us really expected to win, and we sure didn't - but that's more because of the strength of the Soul than weakness of the Power. This is not to say that the Power's skills didn't play a part - weak offense, poor protection of the quarterback, etc were all in play - but damn, the Soul is just a solid, solid team who has earned everything they've gotten this season.

The game got off to an inauspicious start with the Power getting stopped dead on their opening drive - but a clutch interception by "Gingabread" LeFlore on Raudabaugh's first pass of the game turned things back around. To be honest, the first half didn't get too out of control, and we actually had the right to hope. At the beginning of the second quarter, we had the lead and were slowly but surely getting the job done.

However, Philly came back with a touchdown to Brackins, a 4-and-out stop, touchdown to Morgan and then that traditional pick that we've talked about before. That one that you can look back on as the play that took the wind out of the Power's sails. Even so, the first half ended 27-13, which isn't insurmountable, but it wasn't optimal. The third was painful, but still "in there" somewhere. It wasn't until the end of the forth where it just got a bit ugly and then it was over.

I'm going to give full disclosure here. Where I was sitting, my view should have been a lot like this:

Clear, unobstructed awesome.

However, given that the delightful Soulmates actually hang out in the audience at Wells Fargo, a few times, my view was more like this:

Obstructed awesome.

It took me almost an entire quarter to realize that the guy to her left was wearing a kilt. A kilt. So, that being said, I might have missed a few details, but here are some highlights.

• Oderick Turner had a monster night this week, putting up almost identical numbers to Philly's Tiger Jones. That's fantastic. The triple threat of Jones, Hughley and "Captain" Morgan is most of what makes the Soul such a good team, and Turner should be proud to have stood with them.
• Even though Randall has protection problems with his offensive line, he still actually had some good numbers this week, putting up 60 yards more than Raudabaugh and only one more pick. To put that in perspective, Raudabaugh has solid blockers that give him a lot time to think. (He's also near-unflappable.) Much like Turner above, when put in context, it says a lot.
• In the second half, Donovan Morgan made one of those catches that belong on the highlight reel. Raudabaugh over-threw him a bit, so he had to charge through the end zone, slam into the wall and pluck the ball out of the air inches from a fan's lap. I bring this up because of something Keller's brother Erik said to me. He said that it was one of those plays that, irrespective of team, was athletic, exciting and makes people love Arena Football. He's not wrong.

Something else to mention about our little road-game adventure. On the way out, we made one rest stop between here and Philly, and I had randomly decided to wear a Power t-shirt that I'd never put on before. Turns out, this happened to be the same time and stop the Power bus chose as well. We were lucky enough to have a brief meet and greet with several members of the team including Superman himself. That was great for us, personally, but there was something for everyone there.


We chatted with a member of the Power front office who asked if we had renewed our season tickets yet. I explain to him that, to be 100% frank, we weren't sure if the team would still be here next year, so we were giving it a wait-and-see approach. His response was that Mr. Swann and Shaner are 100% committed to the team, and they will be back next season.

This is great news, because while I sat amongst nearly 10,000 crazy (and at times very...Philly) fans I happened to look up and see this:

It's blurry, but it says Arena Bowl XXII champs.

...And, dammit, I want one.

Elsewhere in the league

Given the fact that we're in the anything-can-happen phase of the season, I'm shocked that I went nearly 100% on my picks again this week.

• The Game of the Week was back on Friday night, and that was great, 'cause it meant that I got to see it. The Preds really made a run at the spoil, especially with some help from Rocco making his normal blunders. In the last minute, the Preds were up by one, but a touchdown followed by a safety sealed the deal for the Voodoo.
• Arizona didn't have much trouble against Milwaukee this week and advanced to 11-3, staying one game behind the Soul. The post-season is getting interesting.
• As I suspected, Cleveland's forfeit seems to have gotten in their head as they extended their losing streak to 5. They should be a better team than Jacksonville, and the fact that the game stayed within 7 almost the whole game proves it. Sharks win, 56-42. With the Mustangs also dropping one this week, the Gladiators remain in 2nd place in our division, but are now in the "need some help" to think about the playoffs.
• Talons definitely wanted it more, and Tampa finally dropped one at home this week. Talons remain tied with the Rattlers at 11-3, which means that the second-to-last game of the season is going to most likely have staggering implications.
• The Rush won a fairly safe game on the road against the Command, which keeps them in the running for a playoff spot. 59-41 is comfortable, but their road games are always scary.
• Once again, Tommy Grady and crew annihilated their opponent 61-38. I've talked in the past of the records that Grady is going to set this season, and you only need to look at this week. 25/28, 306 yards, 8 touchdowns and zero interceptions. I'm not saying he's the next Kurt Warner, but I'm wondering if any NFL team is eyeing him as a backup.
• Here's the one game that I missed the pick on. After getting thwumped at home earlier this season by the Cats, the Shock returned the favor with a 90-63 victory Saturday night. Re-read what I said about Grady above and realize that Rowley had a better night. 30/37, 392 yards, 12 TDs and only one interception. Take a bow, Kyle - you earned it.

Playoff Picture

Not a lot has changed since last week, except that the Rush is getting a look in and the Cats are bumped for the time being.. The Cats' loss was a blow in the standings, but they're only a half-game shy of Chicago, so it's not time to write their epitaph just yet.

Assuming neither of them royally screw the pooch, the Ratts and Talons are going to be #1 and #2 in the conference, and which one is which might very well come down to their late-season match-up. The Ratts doubled the Talons' score last time, so even if Garcia wins this round, they'll need to put up some serious points to offset that loss, all other things being equal. They also have to think about the fact that there's a very good chance they'll have to play each other again to reach the Arena Bowl.

The American Conference is just a mess. Aside from the Soul, we still can't say anything for sure - not even who is going to be in and who's going to be out (except for Pittsburgh, Orlando and KC.) The live bracket right now says Jax, Voodoo and Force, and that's as good of a guess as any. Tampa and Cleveland can both get in, but I don't think that either has got the drive to do it any more. If the Mustangs knuckle down and get some help, they might get in - but they'd need to get past Cleveland and have someone in the South nose-dive.

So, that's the weekend in review. I'll be back on Friday with the next update

Power fall to Mustangs...but only just.

This season has presented me with a varied pallet of ways to watch the Power lose - enough so that I can actually sit back and debate which way of watching them lose I prefer the most. I don't think that it's a surprise that I - if I have to watch them lose - most prefer them to lose when on the road, so that I'm already at home in my easy chair and comfy. If it's a home game and I have to schlep downtown, spend money at the bar beforehand (the extremely AFL-friendly Cafe Fifth Avenue) spend more at the game and then watch the slaughter up-close and personal, I actually prefer it when we get blown out. Why? Because I'm not sure how many 1-point-in-the-final-seconds losses my heart will take before exploding in dramatic fashion.


This week was a true heart breaker. Not just because we lost, and not just because we lost to a division rival. It was a heart breaker because the Power played so damn well and should have brought home the W on this one.


I'll admit, the game didn't look so promising after the Power's stalled opening drive that went 4-and-out and an almost immediate score by Milwaukee on the following possession. However, from there on out, it was competitive, exciting football all the way. This began with the Power returning the favor to the Mustangs by Berry running 34 yards to paydirt with a flip and a flourish over the goal line. As my wife pointed out at the time, Superman would have trouble in the NFL due to his joy of showboating (I mean this in a good way - it's always fun to see what he does when he scores.)

The next possession, the Power stopped Milwaukee dead on the far one-yard line, forcing them to "kick a field goal." (That's in quotes, because we can't say "punt" in the AFL.) Martinez wisely kicked it out of bounds, denying Superman a chance for a return and started us on the 20. Our next drive brought us our first lead (and first of two TDs to Turner) of the game, but also Boyer's first unsuccessful PAT attempt. Unfortunately, as his one legitimate miss of the night, this attempt sealed our fate.

I say "legitimate," because this was Boyer's one real miss that he can't blame on anyone else. Through the course of the rest of the game, he'd have two PATs blocked, but that's more of a credit to the Milwaukee defense than it is a failing on his part. However, long-time readers of this column (Hi mom!) know that one missed PAT can change everything in the AFL, and it certainly did in this game.

For the rest of the first and most of the second, things were exciting, but not overly noteworthy. Both teams did their thing and played good football. It was as the half wound down that things really got exciting. With around 5 minutes left, Berry made a TD reception that no one - including him - knows how the eff it happened.

Photo from the Power FB page.

What you can't see in this frozen moment of time is that before making this, Berry turned to look over his shoulder, tripped, fell, and the ball landed right in his hands as he slid into the end zone. The fact that Boyer's PAT on this one got blocked detracted nothing from this amazing moment.

An onside kick was attempted by the Power, and it didn't go so well as the Mustangs got the ball and scored. They answered with their own onside kick that they recovered - only to have Guidugli get stripped in the end zone for a safety (take that blocked PAT!) So, the only logical call for the Mustangs now was to try another onside kick (this was sarcasm, BTW) which "Hands" Hymes snagged and ran in, bringing the score to 34-27. Undeterred, Guidugli led his Mustangs down the field on his next possession, only to be picked by John Green.

Here is another point where I feel the Power might have lost an opportunity, but I can see why they did it. There were 14 seconds left in the half, and Milwaukee was going to start the second half with the ball - so they wanted to end with it. So, the plays were obviously designed to run time off the clock rather than just get in for the score. I get that. Unfortunately, the Mustangs had our number and didn't let us get much done, and we settled for a FG instead of a TD. At the time, it didn't seem like a big deal.

The Mustangs had calmed down a little bit after halftime and wasn't going for the crazy stuff any more - they seemed to just knuckle down for the rest of the fight. Their first drive ended efficiently in a touchdown scramble by Guidugli to get them back on the board. Our responding drive looked in jeopardy when an unsportsmanlike call against Berry (someone got lippy, so he chucked the ball in his face) left us at 3rd and 12 at midfield. No worries, as Randall completed to Joystick for the TD.

Although LeFlore intercepted Guidugli on the next drive, the Power were once again unable to get the TD, and in fact, this time they were just shut down on the drive and weren't able to capitalize. This was a running theme. Our first possession in the fourth, we also had to settle for a field goal. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm super glad that we have a kicker that can make FGs. That's worlds above some other kickers we've had this year.

Things went right down to the wire in this one. When it was down to it late in the game, Randall ran one in to bring it to 60-55. Then -and I don't know why more people aren't talking about this (including the AFL itself) - fans in the arena were treated to something special. For the PAT, the ball was snapped straight to Boyer. It looked for a moment that he was trying to find someone open to go for two. After all, that's the only thing he can do, right?

Wrong.

See, there's a very, very rarely used rule in professional football where you can dropkick an extra point. Doug Flutie pulled one off in 2006, 'cause the Pats were going to lose, the game meant nothing and he wanted to end his career on something special (They say Belichick's heart grew three sizes that day.) In the AFL, you're allowed to drop kick a PAT for 2, or a field goal for 4. Boyer was known in other leagues for pulling this off, and it was part of the reason Siegfried picked him up. Now, some sources say that it hasn't been done successfully since 1997, but that's untrue as Taylor Rowan pulled it off last season, but the fact is, it is very, very rare, and this brought us to 62-55.

This is where the heart breaks. In the final seconds of the game, Milwaukee scored and then followed with a successful two point conversion the traditional way. So many times this season, that's how they were beaten, and I'm sure it felt good to be on the other side of it. There was some anger on the following kickoff with 0:03 on the clock, because the refs said Berry touched the ball. From what I saw on the field and on the video, he in no way did, but that probably didn't change anything. They'd have had time for one play, and the odds were against them. Doesn't change the fact that it hurt a lot to lose by so little.

What do we take out of this game? Well, this is the Power team that I wish we'd had all season. They played hard for a full 4 quarters, tried some unconventional plays, played solid defense. Hell, Randall even went pick-free this week. Our defense held the Mustangs to 3rd down 8 times, and kept them from converting four of them. Of the 4th downs, we officially stopped one and forced them to kick on another. They also picked Guidugli twice and put him on his back several times. Our offense was on target and back to focusing on a few choice receivers, none of whom turned the ball over. Boyer only missed one kick and was clutch everywhere else (except the two blocks.)

There were only two main areas of concern, really (and when we're out of playoff contention, is it really a concern anymore?) One was the O-line. Randall got sacked, hurried and pressured way too much in this game. We have never been able to protect the QB, and I'd kinda hoped having a defensive guy as coach, this might get worked on more. The other main problem was capitalizing on turnovers. Twice in this game, we settled for a FG or less after a pick. Had either of those been a TD, we would have won this one.

All-in-all, it was a great effort for the Power, it was finally fun to watch again, and in the end, they just fell slightly short.

Next week, a special report from inside enemy territory as we take on the Soul.

Elsewhere in the league

• The NFL game of the week aired on delay this week. Hopefully now that the powers that be and the union reached terms, the NFL Network will give us another chance. With them having rights to playoff games, I don't want to see them delayed. The main thing to take away from this game is that Tampa Bay officially can't win on the road as they fell to the Predators in the War on I-4. I also need to point out that the Preds will be missing the playoffs for the first time after 19 years straight. To put that in perspective, their fans have been used to the Preds being awesome as long as we've been used to the Pirates sucking.
  
• Philly decisively (62-27) won over the Sharks, clinching the division and a playoff berth. From here on out, they're in "eh, whatever" mode as they try to stay healthy and just play for home field advantage. With 11 wins at this point, it would take some really bad luck for them to not get it.
• Looks like Cleveland got bit by the strike curse, as the Voodoo beat them at home Saturday, 54-42.
• My confidence in Garcia and crew was well-placed as they got the W over Iowa and tied themselves up with the Rattlers. The race is on for home field in that conference also.
• As expected, the Rush beat Georgia, and they were able to exorcise some demons while they did it. Final score was almost as lopsided as their loss to the Blaze, 62-27.
• Utah almost dropped a should-win against Spokane, but pulled it off in the last minutes of the game Saturday. 58-55, final.
• The one shocker this week - and Keller was all, "Oh, I was going to pick that as an upset special this week" - was that the KC Command actually beat the Sabercats, and by a good margin, too. Final score was 57-41.

If the Playoffs Were Today

That time again, already, where we look ahead to playoff season. The picture is pretty clear right now, with only a few questions of who will make it and where they'll rank.

Right now, in the American Conference, as stated earlier, Philly is in the driver's seat with New Orleans as their first match-up, while the Force and Sharks face off in the other half. Philly's going to stay right where they are, and probably take top seed, if hubris doesn't get them. The rest is going to be a run-off. Georgia sits at 7-7, but NOLA, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Cleveland all sit at 6-7, with Milwaukee only one game behind that. I'm not feeling confident in Cleveland but Milwaukee has a slightly harder schedule in their last five games. If either of them makes a stand for the playoffs, then their head-to-head in a few weeks will be key, and Cleveland already has one win.

I'm all but calling TB out of this, as they have two road games down the stretch, and have to play Philly and San Antonio at home, plus a division match-up with the Voodoo. NOLA has two division games here at the end, which are going to be huge, and the hardest other game will be the Sabercats. I think that the Voodoo has a good chance to take at least 2nd place in the division. The Sharks have a very easy end of the season, as they play all three teams that struck this year, and only have games against the Voodoo and Milwaukee to worry about. It's between them and Jax for second place, and they have the easier road. Finally, Georgia only has four games left with a critical late-season bye, plus games against the Preds and Power at home. The division is (surprisingly, given the early season) theirs if they don't screw up.

In the National Conference, things are still very exciting. The Rattlers hold the top spot, but are tied with the Talons at 10-3. They have a tough road for the end of the season, and will really have to work to keep it. They might close their season against the Command, but before that, they have the Talons, the Blaze, the Shock and the Mustangs - all teams trying for the playoffs (and the Mustangs are up first, so they'll play when they still have hope) and three of them are in direct competition with the Ratts. It's going to be ugly, ugly, ugly down the stretch for them, and they're going to be looking to win out.

The Talons, for their part, really are just going to be worrying about the Rush and the Rattlers. Iowa, KC and TB aren't going to really be scary for them, and this might actually get them the 1 seed if they run the board. I honestly didn't see that coming. The Cats are somewhat in the middle with 4 games left against the Shock, Rush, Voodoo and Barnstormers. I still think that they can go all the way to the Arena Bowl if they make it to the playoffs, but competition is steep, and they've dropped some games recently that they really shouldn't have. It's crazy that a 9-5 record isn't guaranteeing them a post-season spot yet.

The Blaze only have one division game left, and that's against the Ratts. I think their schedule isn't easy, but it's not hard either with games against the Force, Soul and Gladiators to round it out. The Rush is right behind them at 8-5, but they have three out of five games on the road to close out (where they've struggled this season) and have to play the Cats and Talons at home. I hate to say it, but I don't think that my Rush are going to see the post season this year.

So, that's the picture as it stands right now. Obviously, this is going to change week-to-week the rest of the way. Just because the Power don't have a chance doesn't mean that there's not a lot of other exciting things going on. PLAYOFFS!!!

Yes, the Power Outage Continues

I only missed one pick this week, and unfortunately, it was not in the Power/Rattlers game.

Things actually started out much better than I could have expected. Less than 30 seconds into the game, Nick Davila connected with his first pass for a touchdown, but the Power answered right away with a score of their own. The first quarter remained low-scoring, and by the beginning of the 2nd, we were tied up again at 14-14 after a rumbling drive to the end zone by Tyree Young.

The Ratts brought it to 21-14 before our troubles began. In the 2nd quarter, we had a disastrous "drive" that left us 4-and-out, turning it over on downs on our own 2 yard line. Obviously, it didn't take the Ratts long to score with field position like that. The Power kept it competitive by scoring again with Hymes and Tyree, holding the Ratts to a touchdown and field goal and leaving us 38-28 at the half. Honestly, against a team like the Rattlers, that's almost as good as a win right there.

It didn't take long in the second half for it to happen. Actually, it only took until the second play of the 2nd have for "it" to happen. What was "it"? The turnover that completely kills us. We have to have one every game, and it happened on a pass intended for Joystick that Marquis Floyd came up with instead. When that happens to the Power, you can feel the wind go out of their sails.

To their credit, they fought all the way. The most infuriating play of the game was when Boyd pulled off an onside kick that took a lucky bounce, allowing Williams to run all the way to the 1-yard line. Why was that bad? Because Tyree Young was offsides and it all got called back and given to AZ - along with a half the distance penalty to go with it. Now, the Ratts were nice enough to fumble and give it back to us, but it still made me want to punch babies.

In the end, we came within seven with two minutes left in the game and "it" happened again, sealing our fate. Rattlers 55, Power 45.

What do we take out of this? Well, yet another loss, that's for sure. However, once again, the Power lost with style. They played hard against a team that we were almost certainly going to lose to anyway. Stingley didn't make any overly stupid calls, Randall threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns, and no one let themselves get stripped and/or fumble. That's all really good. The line didn't protect Randall very well, and the Rattlers spotted us a lot by being disjointed and "off" for most of the first three quarters - but that is what it is. We played well and can be proud of it.

But it was still a loss.

Elsewhere in the League

Like I said earlier, I was only off by one pick this week. Still wish Keller would sack up and do a pick 'em in this league so I could win some of my money back.

• I really wanted to watch Cleveland at Iowa, but my Power went out Friday night, and this was the one game of the week I couldn't stream to my cell. Regardless, even without my concern rays, the Barnstormers came out on top.
• The stands were fairly empty down at Gwinnett Center Saturday night when the Force hosted the Voodoo, so there weren't a lot of people there to watch them get soundly beaten. When the Voodoo scored early, intercepted and scored again, it was obvious it wouldn't be a pretty night, and it wasn't. 57-35, Voodoo
• Tampa Bay against the Sharks was a lot more fun than I was expecting it to be, and it stayed competitive all the way through. Several times while watching Bernard Morris, I kinda missed having him as our QB (until he fumbled, that is.) The game started out a runaway with the Sharks going up 20-0 pretty quickly. Coach Ewart decided to switch horses and put Nick Hill - recently released from the Packers - into the game. Had he made that choice at the beginning of the game, things might have been much different, but alas, TB remains winless on the road, 71-61.
• Philly was not a very good host to Orlando, embarrassing them in front of all the other guests at the party. Seeing how fast they surpassed the 70 point mark, I thought that they were going to make a run on that elusive 100 point game. However, they held back in the second half and just let the game play out. Final score: 79-48, Soul.
• My one missed pick of the week was because no one in the world saw San Jose losing to Milwaukee. Mark Grieb played like Mark Grieb, throwing for 435 yards, 10 touchdowns and no INTs...unfortunately, fumbles that were allowed to be run in, penalties, poor defense and all-around sloppy play allowed the Mustangs to have this one firmly in hand from the beginning of the game. It ended 81-68, Mustangs
• In the final game of the weekend, it was proven once again that when great QBs match up, it comes down to who blinks first. After a rocky start, Russ Michna went on to be nearly perfect in this game. He ended 32/38, 412 yards, 9 touchdowns and no INTs. Rowley got picked twice (and, to be fair, Chicago is known for take-aways) and this one ended as I figured - the Rush victorious 73-62

We're reaching that time where the playoff picture is starting to come into focus. In our division, it's Philly's to lose, with them being three games ahead of the Gladiators and five games ahead of the Mustangs. They just need to maintain, and the worst that can probably happen is to get a wildcard if they really screw up down the stretch.

The South Division is going to come down to the wire for everyone but the Predators. Right now, the other teams are 6-5, 6-6, 6-6 and 5-6. The top two spots are Jacksonville and Tampa Bay, and they've split their series this year - hell, if Tampa had been successful on their last push and gone for two, they could have made their loss 71-69. This would have been the same as their win over Jax earlier in the season, bringing them to a coin flip if they end with tied records.


In the Central Division, the Talons aren't quite as comfortable as the Soul is in ours, but a two game lead over the Rush has got to be feeling pretty good. The way they stack up against the West, I think it's going to be first-or-nothing in their division. As such, the Rush need to play catchup if they want to make the post season. They've already lost to the Talons once this season, so it will be tough.

Ah, the West division. The "worst" team in this division has almost the same record as the top team in the South. (6-4 vs 6-5.) With the win totals being 9, 8, 7, 6, it's not as tight as the South division, but it is still highly competitive. I wouldn't be surprised to see the top three teams all go to the playoffs this year. This bodes very well for the Cats, as they've swept the Ratts this year, split with the Blaze and won once against the Shock thus far.

Talons Strike, Draw Blood

It was no great surprise that the Pittsburgh Power lost Saturday night. What is surprising is how badly they were beaten when they statistically played so well, save for a few key and devastating areas.

Randall's performance (with an exception to be mentioned later) was pretty impressive. He made almost twice as many attempts as Garcia and threw for around 120 yards more. He also went the night pick-free. Great for him in specific, and pretty darn good for a QB in this league in general.

Receiving was respectable, with our third-best in terms of yardage (Joystick) only 3 yards shy of the Talons top performer (Wilson.) Superman had a monster night with 188 yards in the air and 148 yards on returns. We even out-rushed them, though neither numbers weren't that impressive.

Even the defense wasn't having a bad night. The opening drive, they actually held the Talons to a field goal. During the rest of the game, they came up big on a few third and fourth down plays and sacked Garcia twice.

So, with everything coming up Pittsburgh, why did we lose 68-52?

Fumbles, sacks, special teams, dumb calls and kicking. Yes, I realize kicking falls under the umbrella of special teams - it was just so fucking bad that it has to be mentioned.

Randall flat-out fumbled one, got stripped another time and Joystick dropped another one. I don't know what's going on, but we have had a serious problem with that this season. Also, it isn't just the fumbles themselves - it's the falling on the damn ball part. Hell, we forced three fumbles ourselves, but failed to recover a single one of them. That's 6 lost balls in this game, and the Talons came up with all of them.

Our offensive line just could not protect Randall in this game, either. Besides the stripping, Randall got put on his back 7 times during the game for a loss of almost 40 yards. That's no good. We can't instill confidence in a QB if he knows he's going to get beat.

Now to address the disgraceful performance on special teams, which will include the kicking and dumb calls. The Talons had pretty free run of the field on returns. Three different players fielded the ball and racked up a cumulative 99 yards and two touchdowns.

As for kicking - and it's tempting to give them a pass on the fact that they're on their third kicker in three weeks - the Power did not make a single PAT during the game. Siegfried finally said to hell with it and started going for two on every touchdown. Now, he probably should have done that last week as well and I'm not going to fault him for it. However, it's a sucky, sucky situation to be in.

The cherry on the sundae was the fact that we attempted 3 onside kicks. I'm not a coach. I can't say when there's no other choice. I can say that there's about a 14% success rate in the AFL with them (citation be damned) and to succeed, you need an accurate kicker and great ability to dive on the ball. You need a kicker that can get it at least ten yards, hit an opposing player hard enough (or awkwardly enough) that it bounces off them at some weird angle, and then have special teams guys that can track that odd bounce and dive on it like a live grenade in the middle of a mass baptism where all the grandparents are war heroes.

To sum up: You need accurate kicking, surprise, good special teams and the ability to cover a loose ball. Go re-read everything I just wrote above and consider how mind-numbingly stupid that plan is. We lost by two touchdowns - and one of those was a return off of an onside kick. Let that marinate until next week when we play the worst team in the league and risk some serious embarrassment.

Elsewhere in the League

• I was unable to watch the NFL game of the week, which is unfortunate, given the division implications. However, the Gladiators were able to hold off the Mustangs.
• The Blaze and the Sabercats faced off in a brutal rivalry game that was - as I suspected - a lot of fun to watch. At 70-59, the Sabercats' victory was decisive, but hardly an easy win. Regardless, they stand alone at the top of their division, and continue to support my theory that they and the Soul will have a rematch at the end of the season.
• NOLA lost, but they hardly laid down for the Shock, 68-62
• Tampa Bay lost the top spot in their division again this week and sit a half game behind the Georgia Force after losing a tight one to the same. 44-41
• Philly had no trouble defeating the Sharks 56-38.
• No upset out in Iowa, as the Barnstormers tromp on the (still) winless KC Command, 62-42.
• Last game of the week was the Chicago Rush visiting the Arizona Rattlers. As I suspected, the Rush's glaring procedural errors were no match for the solid team out in the desert. Final score, 77-43.
  

Time to Trim Some Talons

I might as well skip to the chase: We're going to lose this week.

There is the hope that such a bold statement will humor both the Football Gods and the Vegas Oracles and cause them to make a fool of me, but I doubt it. We've lost too many games against teams that we should have beaten to really have much hope against the San Antonio Talons.

Led by Aaron Garcia, the fourth greatest Arena QB in history, the Talons are currently sitting on a 5-3 record. The three games they've lost have been against the Shock, Sabercats and the Rattlers - and at least two of them have the right to dream of going to the Arena Bowl (and, the last three Arena Bowls have featured one of those three teams.) Also, we're playing them on the road.

So, yeah - it's an uphill battle, to be sure.

Garcia has been in the league for 18 years and holds almost every record he can hold. Last year, he became the first QB (in any league) to pass 1,000 TDs. The main thing that we have to accept about him is that he cannot be pressured in the pocket and he's not afraid to throw it long. Now, the silver lining here is that I said we can't pressure him. He can be hurried, he can be sacked and he can be picked. These are all symptoms of extremely experienced quarterbacks. They've seen it all (and Garcia has) and they think, "I can hold this for a few more second- OH CRAP!" or "Sure, what the heck - I can make this pass..."

The games that the Talons have lost this year are ones where they were on the wrong side of the turnover battle or where Garcia got beat up. The former of these, we know we can do. The latter we can do better than we have been, so hopefully this is the week we do. When he played for the Sharks last here, he beat us by 25 points, but whatever.

Garcia has four mean targets in former Preds star Robert "I made the right choice" Quiroga, Jomo Wilson, Carl more and his favorite, our own Jason "Whatchu Talkin' Bout/JWill" Willis. They're good. That's all that can be said. Willis is his favorite target, and we know him. That's our advantage. Also - even if it didn't work out last year - Siegfried used to be one of Garcia's coaches. This is something that needs to be exploited.

On our side, Randall will be starting again so, say what you will, it's a bit of consistency. Also, I'm glad "Vampire" Kramer gave me something to write about last week, 'cause he's already gone again. Wagner's on league suspension now, so we'll have another unblooded kicker starting for us. So that's....great. We'll see how it shakes out.

In the meantime, my favorite mutt will continue her voodoo-doll antics with her favorite toy, Garcia.

It was relevant when he played for the Sharks.

Elsewhere in the League

• The NFL Game of the Week really is, as far as I'm concerned. Cleveland travels to Milwaukee in a great division matchup. I'm feeling the Mustangs in this game.
• The battle for number one in west division continues in San Jose for the late game Friday. The Utah Blaze is looking to settle things with the Sabercats, and this one is going to be close. The Cats might not have a lot left in the tank after their brutal battle against the Rattlers last week, and the Blaze might be able to pick up the win and the lead in the division.
• The Voodoo have had a slight fall from grace in the past few weeks, and they'll be looking to get back in the hunt in the late, late game against the Shock. Rowley has had some trouble, but I think he'll prevail this week.
• Another battle for the top slot kicks off Saturday night between the Storm and the Force. Not only because they beat us last week, but because the Storm hasn't been that impressive, I pick the Force.
• Philly will get right back on the horse against Jacksonville and get back to their winning ways
• The Barnstormers have lost three in a row against tough opponents and I know they want to beat someone up bad. Lucky for them, they're hosting the KC Command. If you're the type that likes to play the long odds for an upset (and bets on AFL games), this is the one.
  
• Finally, late Saturday, the Rattlers host my boys from Chicago. The Rush have just been playing way too sloppy (even though they tend to win) to be able to beat a team like the Rattlers on the road, that many timezones away.
  

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.
  

Another Quarterback, Another Loss

Look, I've tried to keep my personal feelings about Coach Siegfried's choices at quarterback rather restrained, as he is privy to information that I'm not. However, I don't think I can bite my tongue any longer on this topic. Saturday night, he made the "surprise" decision to start Bryan Randall at QB. I say "surprise," because it stuck with Coach's running process: Start a QB for a few games, then go to the next guy to change things up if the games aren't going perfectly. Before walking into the arena, I had a fear that this very thing would happen.

This is not to say that he wasn't doing a fairly good job. In fact, the game started beautifully, with him marching the team down to score, then "Gingabread" LeFlore made a perfect interception from Cleveland's John Dutton and we went right back to score. On those two drives, the worst thing that happened was that Randall couldn't seem to keep both shoes on. However, things went downhill fairly quickly after that.

Although Randall threw for over 300 yards on the night, he also threw two picks. He should actually be fairly pleased with this, because there were 4-5 other ones that should have been picks. He had great moves in the pocket and was able to get out of a lot of trouble there throughout the game. He also wasn't afraid to air it out. Unfortunately, he was so focused on his own receivers, he seemed utterly blind to the 2-3 defenders that were around them.

He also suffered the same issues that every other new QB has had with the Power: Not knowing the routes, not realizing that Joystick is 5'8" and generally just not being worked into the offense yet. The one advantage that all of our new QBs have is actually not knowing their receivers. They don't have a favorite yet, so they spread it around and keep the defense guessing.

So, now to the main issue: Too much confidence during a game, not enough between them.

I realize that both Stull and Hines were injured when they were relieved, but they're still a symptom of the disease. The disease is the simple fact that we lost Rowley, and he was who the Power hung their whole season on. This is an exaggerated version of what happened last year when we lost Bernard Morris early in the season. I don't know if it's that Coach panics, if it's because he never gains confidence in his backups, or if he always wants to try the next best thing in order to hopefully find the spark that sets the powder keg off.

Hines did well enough in the opening game, but when the time came to sign a backup, the Power regained Bill Stull. Because he played a few games for us last season and might have been better on paper, he became the starter in Hines' place. Rather than stick with the guy who already won a game against ugly odds, they went with "experience." I don't agree, but I can see the logic.

When we got shellacked against Philly, Stull played the whole game. Again, I can see the logic, because he'd just gotten in the lineup after being on the team for a few days and he needed to get into the swing. However, the next week in Milwaukee, he was still struggling and played way too long, especially since he was hurt enough to go on IR. I would have pulled him before things got that bad and put back in Hines. Not replace him in the lineup, just give him a break. Instead, they kept him in until he was beyond use.

The change from Hines to Cassidy two games later was more organic - Hines got hurt, Cassidy came in and he began to find his footing. However, the "spark" still didn't seem to be there, so once again, Coach puts in yet another QB this week who doesn't know his way around, he struggled, we lost.

We need to pick a QB and stick with him. At this point, it might be too late. We've dug ourselves into a deep hole that we're only going to get out of with help (thank you for losing this week, Mustangs.) So, Cassidy, Randall - pick one and let him go to town and grow into a QB. Even with year-to-year contracts, we might get someone we can line up behind for next season. However, next week Bill Stull will be eligible to return from IR if he's feeling up to it and I will bet dollars to donuts that Siegfried will put him right back in because he's their starter and he's back.

If that doesn't work out, we'll have Hines back two weeks after that. Once again, anyone know what Anthony Morelli's up to these days?

I haven't said much about the actual game itself, and I apologize. Are defense played very well, but just couldn't quite put up enough stops. The usual suspects were there and in action (although, Joystick had a bit of trouble holding onto the ball) and the ingredients were there. Sure, we had little answer for Robert Redd on returns, and we just could not for the life of us stop Domini Goodman (come on, Gingabread- LeFlore? Goodman? The Dodgeball references are writing themselves!) but the fact is, we had no center. No heart. For the second season in a row, we have no anchor in the position of QB, and that tells more of the story than anyone else on the field. We haven't had anyone that's truly awful at the position, but have just never been able to give anyone the time to develop.

Until that happens, we just cannot excel.

Elsewhere in the league

• Due more to poor clock management and going for a touchdown instead of a field goal than individual performance at QB, Chicago lost to the Talons by one point. It was a great back and forth game that Chicago should not have lost, but I predicted they would.
• Unsurprisingly, Spokane beat Jacksonville by a comfortable, but not overwhelming amount.
• Philly continued their bloodthirsty march through the AFL this week, and the Preds fall once more.
• Utah at Milwaukee was a close game, but as mentioned, the Blaze can't afford to drop any. They won a by a hair at 61-58.
• I called this one as well, except that I thought it would be close. It was not. Not at all. Sabercats storm some barns of their own, 76-33
• Coming into Sunday, AZ saw that Utah and San Jose weren't going to give an inch in the division, so they absolutely schooled Georgia, 60-27. Unrelenting offense and a safety-inducing defense made it so Georgia never had a chance - but despite the score, Georgia played some very impressive defense. They got thwumped, but they still made the Rats work for it.
• I didn't want to hold the column just for the a Monday night game that even I'm unlikely to watch. Unless the Command actually manages to pull an upset and win for the first time this season, I went 100% on my picks this week. Suck it, Keller - maybe we need to put money on this league.