ArenaBowl XXVI Preview

Wow...and just like that, we're back to Arena Bowl time again.  That means the end of Arena season for another year, and the beginning of the NFL.  But, not to get ahead of things - there's still an Arena Bowl to enjoy.  This year, there will be an extra bonus to the coverage - and that's the fact that Keller and I are actually going to be at the game.

It was all a random series of events that included me saying, "Dude...we should just drive down to Orlando. <ha-ha>" and Keller saying, "<lol> Yeah, we should."

Then we discovered that pretty much the same seats we have at Consol were available for this game and we called each other's bluff.  So...we're going.  The only thing more exciting is the fact that the match-up is between two teams we actually give a shit about:  Our division rival Philadelphia Soul and a team called the Arizona Rattlers (I might have mentioned that I'm a fan.)

The astute among you may notice that these are the same two teams that met up last year - and this is the first time that has ever happened.  So, what should we expect this time around?  Well, last year, the Rattlers came into the Arena Bowl after being narrowly beaten by the Sharks the year before, and the Soul came in with only one or two players who had ever been to the big show before.  The Ratts owned the field from the word go, Dan Raudabaugh looked like a dear in headlights, and Brackins got shut down.  By the end of the night, Arizona routed the Soul, and their media guys quickly began to regret starting this crap before the playoffs started.

This season, the Rattlers have owned the Soul, beating them in both meetings.  The Latin Laser, Nick Davila, has been money, Odie Armstrong has been rumbling into the end zone, guys like Poots are making plays, and their defense has been solid.  The only team to really threaten them was the Shock, and they put that threat to bed last week...but I'm not as confident as I should be.

First of all, the Soul got brought to Jesus last year, and I think they got woken up.  They know what they're in for and they're ready for the bright lights.  If Dirty Dan was going to get the yips, he might have gotten that out of his system a few weeks ago when he threw 5 interceptions in one game.  I just see them being a stronger team this time around.  But, it's not just them I'm worried about.

The Rattlers might be the ones getting cocky this year.  It's their third Arena Bowl in a row, they've already beaten the Soul twice this season, and they pasted them last year.  Also, they've been held up as the league's golden children all season (there was some unfounded sour grapes rumors that the league was intentionally trying to force a dynasty) and have been basically made out to not be able to lose.  Well...they can.

Aside from the fact that it is very hard to beat a team three times in a season - in this league or the outdoor one - there's also the concern behind center.  Last week, Davila took a pretty vicious hit to his throwing arm - the same arm he had surgery on during the off season.  After that, you could see that every throw was agony.  I haven't seen any word as to how bad it was or even if it's still an issue - but I know that the Rattlers are going to start him, no matter what.  If it's not 100%, that's a huge loss.  Even if it's functionally 100%, it's a weak point that could get injured again during the game.

I also have concerns given the fact that Boss Ross has been near-unstoppable this year (which isn't to say that AZ's Armstrong hasn't been - he just hasn't put up nearly the same numbers) and Brackins has been returning to form.  Also, Philly didn't have Tiger last year.  Although he was all but shut down last week, this is the stage that dancing fool was made for.

The bottom line is that the Rattlers should win this one, but their worst enemy is themselves.  If they come in like they're owed a victory, they will lose.  If Davila's arm gives out, they will probably lose.  But if they bear down, focus and play it like any other week, they can win.

Plus, Philly pulled out this crap right before the playoffs.

Stay tuned for after this weekend, when Keller and I will post a follow-up with our experiences and pictures.  Plus, look for us on TV - we'll be the idiots wearing our Power jerseys five rows up from the field.

Arena Football Update

Now that the unrestricted free agency period is about to begin in the Arena League, I wanted to take a few moments to give an update on where things stand.  In the AFL, free agency proceeds in two periods.  First, there is the exclusive period, where the teams are only allowed to talk to players that were on their roster the previous season.  This period was set to expire on Monday, however, the weather issues presented by Hurricane Sandy extended this period until the 31st.

With three teams folding (Georgia, KC and Milwaukee), things are going to be interesting.  This is both good and bad.  Bad because this is all that casual fans will hear about this league.  It just makes it seem more and more like the league is in trouble.  I beg to differ.  The league needs to reign it in a bit for a little while.  This will condense the talent pool into the remaining teams, only making them better.  This will also condense the fanbase in so (in theory) each team can get more viewers.  It can go either way, but I'm a blind optimist in this area.

Now, there hasn't been a lot of news out of the Power camp during this period, which is both unsurprising and a little disturbing.  Now that teams are allowed to sign players for more than one season, players are probably thinking a lot harder about where they want to be and giving a lot more thought to seeing where offers will be made - meaning that they'll wait for the unrestricted period to begin.  So far, we've re-signed Chris "Gingabread" LeFlore and Mike "the Joystick" Washington.  This is great news, but it's still a long way from a  complete team.

Skuttlebutt said that the Power was going to release a "big" statement Monday, but that didn't happen, probably because of the weather.  The options are limited to what this could have been, as they can only technically talk to people from their 2012 roster.  Now, I suppose they could have skirted that and been ready to announce someone as soon as open free agency began...but I don't think so.  The only player aside from the above that would have been that exciting is Superman.  (Though, I suppose, they could still be over-estimating his popularity and continued to beat the Bill Stull drum.)  So, it's not a done deal, but it's my gut feeling.

So, what can we expect in the coming phase?  More specifically, what should the Power do?

Well, assuming we have Superman in addition to Joystick, we've got a start on the receiver corps.   That's it for sure.  Frankly, I think that our receivers will take care of themselves.  LeFlore was the star on defense, and we know he's back.  They say defense is underrated in this league - and, to a degree, this is true.  However, you look at teams like the Rattlers last year that had great offense and defense that stopped their opponents in their tracks.  It's important.  However, it's useless without offense.  You need to score fast and often in this league, and the Power didn't.  We had great D, but our offense couldn't get it done.

So, having said that, you're going to start screaming at me when I say that our top three concerns should be - in this order - Offensive line, Kicker, QB.  "What the hell are you talking about, Weidman?" you might be yelling.  "You said we needed offense!  Nick Davila and Tommy Grady are free agents!  At very least, how about some more receivers and some running backs?"  Calm down, hypothetical reader.  'Tis madness, but there is method to it.

I'd love to see guys like Christian Wise and Tyree Young back, but they're not crucial.  We've got some stars locked up, and frankly, the Power hasn't had a lot of trouble getting quality people out front - we've had problems getting the ball to them.  ("So, yeah!  A quarterback!"  Quiet, you.)  We've been through a lot of QBs over the last two seasons.  Why is that?  Well, aside from Rowley, we've lost every single one of them to injuries at one point or another.  This goes back to the O line.  They have not been able to offer the protection needed.  I firmly believe that most of the QBs we've had could have done a lot better if they had more time to think in the pocket, or at very least, didn't have that voice in their head screaming "OH MY FRICKIN' GOD, THEY'RE GOING TO MURDER ME!"  Case and point is Bernard Morris.  He goes to Jacksonville and makes the playoffs.

Connected to this is how the league works.  Every team pays the same amount for their players (I'm pretending that non-pay extras don't happen.)  This means that the players have to look at intangibles - especially quarterbacks.  They're going to want to go somewhere with a lot of exposure, a great fanbase and some place that won't end their career early.  Pittsburgh has none of those things right now.  Sure, the fans that show up are into it, but the following hasn't gained the traction of old-market teams like Orlando, Arizona and San Jose.  Because of this, they won't get a lot of exposure.  This leaves protection.  If we can shore up that line, we can either get someone of higher caliber, or at least let our guy play up to his ability.

As for free agents like Davila and Grady, don't get your hopes up.  Grady went to U of U and went far with the Blaze last year.  I don't see him leaving there any time soon, unless it's to the NFL.  Likewise, Davila has two Arena Bowls, one ring and his family in Arizona.  The fact that he isn't signed is probably just a matter of paperwork.

So....yeah.  That's why I think focusing on a QB is a waste of time.   Why did I pick kicker next?  I've hammered this point in over and over again - the kicker is key in the AFL.  How many games have the Power lost based on shoddy kicking?  When you score 6-7 TDs a game, a lousy kicker can swing that final score by 6-7 points.  Along with the QB carousel last year, we had  kicker hot-potato.  That needs to stop (Though, I'd like to bring the Vampire back on defense and special teams for his tackling ability.)

After all this is done, we can think about the QB situation...but only if there aren't any good receivers/backs out there.  If we're "stuck" with Hines or Stull, I can deal with it.  Like I said - they had more to offer, they just kept getting steamrollered.


Elsewhere in the league

• Now that Clint Dozel in the coach's seat, he seems to be trying to meld his dreams into reality.  When he came up east from the Vigilantes, he brought as many of his favorites with him as he could  From there, he molded the D in his image.  He and Dirty Dan are now signed for two years, so I think he's going to hold on tight to as much of his creation as he can and see if he can get that ring this year.
• Bernard Morris is returning to the Sharks.
• Kurt Rocco looks to take the Voodoo even farther this coming season.  New Orleans is one of the teams with the most activity during this period.  They seem to know what they want.
• Despite some serious ups and downs,  Steve Wasil is returning to Tampa Bay
• The Talons are getting both Fred Shaw and Robert Quiroga back

There are a lot of big names unaccounted for - Davila, Grady, Ship, Brackins, Morgan, Jones, Armstrong, etc - so once the floodgates are thrown open, anything can happen.  Stay tuned!

'We Got This,' my ass.

Another season of Arena Football is in the books, and we have our new League Champion. After 6+ weeks of bragging, strutting, posturing and assurances, the highest scoring team in Arena history had hubris bite them right in the ACL.

Coming into this game, Philly looked to be in the driver seat. Although they had a comparatively soft schedule compared to Arizona, the Soul had rolled the whole season, holding an impressive average margin of victory and scoring more than 60 points a game. Receiver depth that barely even hiccuped by the loss of Tiger Jones and a quarterback that seemed unflappable. However, it was all for naught, as Philly seemed to not show up for the Arena Bowl.

Right from the get-go, the Rattlers put the Soul on notice when they deferred and gave them the ball first...only to quickly pick it off and give them the chance to score first in both halves. Sure enough, they quickly reached the end zone and put 7 up on the board. Things just went downhill from there.

Normally, takeaways are Philly's thing. However, in this game, the Rattlers defense came up with all three of the game, leaving Davila perfect on the night. Final stats were 23/30, 266 yards , 9 touchdowns and zero picks. Dirty Dan, on the other hand, became the only QB in Arena history to throw 3 picks in a single half.

Another point of interest was the kicker, Scaccia. Last week, I expected him to be a mess due to lack of recent experience and the fact that he wasn't that great to begin with. However, he proved me wrong by drilling his kicks all night. However, he struggled a lot more in the Arena Bowl, and it cost his team.

By the second half, the Soul threw caution to the wind. With Scaccia floundering, Raudabaugh unable to get things going and the Soul down 27-13, they changed tactics. They started on-siding it almost every kickoff and going for two on every touchdown. It was a bold strategy, and one that can work, but in this case didn't.

In the end, the Soul came up short, and Coach Plank goes 0-5 in Arena Bowls. On the other hand, Nick Davila got redemption for coming up short in the final seconds of last year's game. Also, the Rattlers got their first ring since 1997, after losing four appearances in the intervening years. Finally, Maurice Purify set a new AB record with seven touchdowns, putting the Ratts firmly in the winners circle.

Seriously - is there anything sadder than a pouting Jaws and two angry nuns?

So what the heck happened to the greatest team in Arena History? I really think that it just came down to nerves and inexperience. The Soul hadn't faced the crucible that the Rattlers did to get to the Arena Bowl. Instead, they faced a fairly soft schedule that allowed them to believe that they couldn't be beat when it counts. Don't get me wrong - their ability, talent, coaching and players were a step above, but they didn't have the humility that Arizona was forced to swallow this season and last. They arrived in New Orleans thinking that it was their destiny to win. When the Ratts took the ball away from them on their first play, I think it got in their heads, they lost a step and never got it back.

If Philly secured the core of this team again for next year, then I think they have a good shot of not only going back, but pulling it off. After all, losing a hard one can be just what you need to go back and take it for yourself.

Just ask Arizona.

Thank you for reading my columns this season, and I look forward to getting back to it again in the spring. In the meantime, stay tuned for ongoing NFL coverage from Mister Keller as the outdoor league kicks into gear. In the meantime, I will sit in my easy chair saying, "The field...it's too frickin' big!!!"

Playoffs Round Two Review, Arena Bowl Preview

Due to happenings with two other professional teams in town, we decided to combine this week's posts into one. Another round is in the books, and the teams for the championship are set. Let's take a look at how we got here

Sharks at Soul
In many ways, I think that the Sharks/Soul can be summed up with this picture:

Now, if you can't tell, that's a nun. On a motorcycle. With pom-poms. Driven by a guy with a cowboy hat.

I'm sorry, but if that's how your team takes the field, you more than have home field advantage - you have all the advantages. Every one of them. You, in fact, have the right to brag, "We got this." And in that, Philly was set. The Sharks were never in this game. They had the first touchdown, but everything was downhill from there. Capz shanked the extra point waaaaay right, and something seemed wrong. The ensuing kickoff looked more like a botched squib-kick than a kickoff, and then it came out - he had a pulled MCL. That was it for the quarter. By the end of the half, they'd only have 12 points to Philly's 45.

Look, I can recap the play-by-play, but it would just make everyone - including the Soul - sad. By the end of the game, they were trying to not score 100 points. These stats speak for everything: Three picks, three forced and recovered fumbles, a turnover on downs. The Philly defense barely let the Sharks on the field. Standing out on defense was our own LaRico Stevenson, who did a little bit of everything, including seven tackles and a pick six (Have I mentioned that I miss him?)

On offense, it was the Larry Brackens show. Coming into this game, he had about twenty catches on the season. By the end, he had almost half that many touchdowns. He recorded a team record 8 - a record formerly held by Captain Morgan with six last year against us.

Also interesting was the fact that Scaccia - whom I assumed would be weak compared to Capz - was practically flawless on the night, including on a field goal, which Philly rarely does. Someone was obviously practicing in the off/on season.

I don't know if it was that the Soul is really that much better than the Sharks, if Jacksonville was out of gas, or if they were just having an off night. Whatever it was, the Soul practically had a bye week to get to the championship.

Blaze at Rattlers

This was, perhaps, the best game I watched all season. This was the tie-breaker for this season between these two teams, and the team who wanted to win needed to make a statement, and the Ratts certainly did that. First drive, they scored on the back of old, reliable Odie Armstrong, rumbling in for the score, 40 yards out. On the Blaze's first possession, the Ratts snagged a quick pick six. After the Blaze got on the board, the Ratts had to settle for a field goal - a drive that would haunt them in the second half.

They were back in it on their next drive, and then their defense came up big by sacking Grady for a safety. Undeterred, the Blaze pulled off a picture-perfect onside kick to mitigate the damage. The swing came at the end of the half when they got a pick and the offense took the field. Now, the refs say that Ed Ta'amu had possession on a short pass from Grady for the score, but I have my doubts. Regardless, this put the Blaze up by two. Remember that FG? Yeah, that gave them 3 instead of 7, putting the Ratts in this position.

Most of the remainder of the game would see the Ratts unable to get back those two points and constantly pass the Blaze and then fall back again as touchdowns were exchanged. This would go on all half, setting up the old Arena axiom of, "He who has it last, has it best."

In the waning seconds of the game, the Blaze held the ball near paydirt, with a 69-67 lead. The Ratts defense came up big by holding them to 4th down and then picking Grady in the end zone with but 35 seconds left. A steady drive brought them down to their end zone with only 16 left. Davila passed to Purify and took the lead. Those two points that haunted them all game? They decided to make a statement and get them back with a successful conversion. The nine seconds left just weren't enough for the Blaze, and the Ratts won, 75-69.


Arena Bowl XXV

So, what can we expect late Friday night? A coin flip. After that, everything is just conjecture and wishful thinking. In my opinion, there are few problems with how professional football playoffs work (don't get me started on college), but one of them is separate trees for each conference. The way this works out, only the best two teams of their conference go to the championship, not necessarily the best two teams in the league. Look at it this way - what if the Soul had a bad night, and the Sharks advanced to rematch with the Ratts? Would that be the best two teams? Hell no. You only needed to watch last week's game to know that.

However, this year, the best two teams in the league are meeting for the big game. The Soul are there by virtue of just rolling over everything in their path. They had a misstep in their first game of the season, but from there established a path of destruction through the American Conference that couldn't be stopped. A great quarterback with a corps of receivers so deep that they once put a backup in who was barely over five foot and still dominated. Tiger Jones even got picked up by the Eagles, and the Soul moved through that loss with barely a hiccup.

The Rattlers, on the other hand, rose to the top through a Darwinian battle for supremacy that saw a conference battle - not just a division one - for seeding that went down to the last week of the season. Nick Davila and crew held some gas in the tank in the unimportant games and put the pedal down when they needed to. A number of this crew went to the big game last year, and they obviously had the drive to go again. They don't have the stand-out, NFL bait that the Soul does, but they have a solid, reliable offense that works well together to get results and a defense to be reckoned with.

Friday night is going to be brutal. Can the Rattlers bring home a win like the days of old and banish last year's heartbreaking loss, or will they ever be the bride's maid? Do the Soul, in fact, "got this," or will hubris finally catch up with them? The truth is, I don't know.

My gut says that the Soul is going to pull this out, as I've been saying for months (but I'll be rooting for the Ratts.) They are a more explosive team, their offense is deadly and their defense is frightening. The Rattlers have a powerful team in their own right, and I can't underestimate the "been there, done that" factor, but I just think that the Soul has more weapons in their arsenal. The big factor is going to be nerves. Dirty Dan has been fairly unflappable this season, but Championships - especially on the road - get in people's heads their first time out. Also, I just can't shake the feeling that they've been swaggering to broadly for the last six weeks or so (See: The Patriot's "19-0.")

Plus, they don't get to bring the nuns and motorcycles to New Orleans.

Playoffs, Round Two Preview

Time for the Semi-Final round of this year's Arena League playoffs. I sucked hard at calling last week's games, but frankly, that's what happens when the 8 best teams in the league take the field in a do-or-die situation. Anything can happen.

Of course, that means this week will be even worse.

Sharks at Soul
This game will be the tale of two teams - on both sides of the ball. It's all going to depend on who shows up. The Sharks have been up and down all season, and have some glaring weakness. There's the fact that Morris screws up under pressure and they are Power-like in their inability to play four quarters. A number of times this season, they've blown huge leads in the fourth to lose. Even last week they did that, but held on long enough for a miracle kick by Capz.

On the plus side, they've put together a late season winning streak to get them to the penultimate game. Bernie Mo has only been picked twice in recent memory and has done a good job of holding on to the ball. Furthermore, the Sharks boast the second and third best rushers in a pass-happy league - one of which is none other than Mo himself. And then there's Capz. The fact is, they have the weapons if they know how to use them.

The Soul, on the other hand, have been a nearly unstoppable juggernaut this year, but they played a sloppy, sloppy game last week. Penalties, poor execution and lackluster performance kept the Voodoo in the game way longer than they should have been. They've also lost their kicker Remy Hamilton to a groin injury, which is never good.

Of course, they're still the Soul. While the Sharks have rusher #2 and #3, Philly's got #1 in Derrick Ross. They also still have Captain Morgan and Jeff Hughley. They also have one of the best turnover defenses in the league.

So how will it shake out? We'll start with kicking, because it may be big. For the Sharks, Capozzoli is money. We know that. He's clutch at PATs, FG and most importantly, kickoffs. If he can drill the latter under the cross-bar (like he did to us) he can stick the Soul with crappy field position. Taking Hughley's returns out of the equation would be a major coup. Granted, Dirty Dan can get them out of that situation - but why spot them 15-20 yards if you don't have to?

For the Soul, losing Hamilton last week was ugly. They don't have a backup and even had LaRico Stevenson kicking off, and it showed. It gave the Voodoo a lot of ground to work with. Well, that couldn't continue, so rumors this week had them looking at one Massimo Scaccia. Rumors were close, because they went with his brother Fabrizio. Now, if we can all stop sniggering at the unlikeliness of these names, let's look at his ability. He kicked for a season and change for the Rattlers, but he kinda sucked at field goals and hasn't played in a year. No, the Soul don't go for many FGs, but that's still a hole. Also, he's rusty as all get out. Giving Terrance Smith a chance to return will result in the reverse of what I said above.

Regular on-field stuff is fairly straight forward. The Soul is the better team and should run all over the Sharks. Raudabaugh is one of the elites, and his arm is accurate. He also has all the play-makers he's had all season. Their defense is brutal against most teams, and could prove awfully deadly against Bernie Mo. Furthermore, the Soul isn't a team a team to run out of gas against in the late game.

Bottom line is that the Soul should win this one assuming they don't play sloppy. The thing is, I can't shake the feeling after last week that their constant "We Got This" posts on their FaceBook page are going to amount to hubris.

This game airs Friday night on the NFL network.

Blaze at Rattlers

The above game is going to prove easy to call next to this one.

Had the Ratts beat them twice, I would say with confidence after last week that they'd lose the third match-up. However, they've split the series so far. Strangely enough, the Ratts win was on the road, and they picked Grady a whopping four times. At home, they got thwumped (and picked twice.)

For the second week in a row, the Blaze's victory hopes hinge on defense. Last week, they and the Talons fought each other to a standstill, and that decided the game. Two top-flight quarterbacks were shut down on their respective sides of the ball. There's no reason to believe that the Blaze can't do it again this week, and if the Ratts want to win, they've already seen that this is what they will have to do.

The Blaze has, at times, let Grady take a beating, and not a little of it came at the hands of the Rattlers. They shored up their line a bit in the second match-up, but the fact is, the Ratts know how to get to him. Arizona's offensive line on the other hand, only allowed nine sacks in the regular season. Therefore, the Blaze has their work cut out for them. Their better chance is to go for the picks, which Davila is prone to. He takes risks, and they backfire sometimes. Also, I've noticed that AZ has a thing for onside kicks. They're good at recovering them, but if the Blaze return team is ready for them, they can pick up a few extra possessions.

If the defense just pounds themselves silly, and the O line holds, these two QBs should be able cut loose. The league released their first and second All-Arena lineups this week. While the Soul have but two players on there and the Sharks none, the Blaze and Rattlers account for a total of seven players on these lists. Because of that, I predict a higher score than the Blaze put up last week in this one. I will be rooting for the Ratts, but I have a feeling that the Blaze might pull this one off. They played just too hard last week, while the Ratts played their regular explosive game. The "have to" didn't seem to be there.

That's right, I'm back

So, that being said, I really don't know on this one. I called both these teams to lose last week, and neither did. Therefore, I hesitate to bet against either one here. I am, however, restating the fact that I think the Blaze can take it and go face the Soul in Arena Bowl XXV.

So, look forward to the Sharks and Rattlers heading to NOLA next week for a rematch.

This game airs Saturday at ten with full play-by-play coverage on www.cox7.com

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.
  

Pittsburgh Power 2012 Update

Hey, it's never too early to be thinking about the Power's next season. Well, for me anyway. Either way, I wanted to give a bit of a State of the Arena Union update now that the 2012 schedule has been announced. That, coupled with some big changes around the league, make for some exciting news.

Here's the schedule, according to the Power website:

3/9 @Orlando Predators (NFL Network)

3/23 Philadelphia Soul (NFL Network)

3/29 @Milwaukee Mustangs

4/6 Iowa Barnstormers

4/14 Orlando Predators

4/20 @New Orleans VooDoo

4/28 Cleveland Gladiators

5/5 Georgia Force

5/12 @San Antonio Talons

5/19 Kansas City Command

6/3 @Arizona Rattlers

6/8 @Cleveland Gladiators (NFL Network)

6/16 Milwaukee Mustangs

6/24 @Philadelphia Soul

6/30 @Iowa Barnstormers

7/7 Tampa Bay Storm

7/14 @Georgia Force

7/20 Jacksonville Sharks (NFL Network)

Oooooookay! There's a lot to cover here, but I'll get to the schedule in a moment. First, I'd like to talk about the team itself. The Power is shaping up in exciting ways already, and they're still recruiting for the season. As things stand right now, QB Morris is out, whereas "Joystick" Washington, "Powertool" Dewalt, Anthony DeGrate and back-up QB Bill Stull have all been resigned. Washington and DeWalt are both key, as they were our star play-makers last year, and I was very concerned that we were going to lose one or both of them to other teams - or leagues.

What about the quarterback situation? That's the big question. Last season, we had four players fill that position, and Morris was the best of them - and that's not saying much. Coach Siegfried has stressed that consistency at this position is a major goal for this season, and he's committed to that in a big way. First off, as mentioned above, Bill Stull is back. He looked good in the one game he played for us last year, and I think that he'll make a solid backup. The big news is our starter.

The Power has stolen big shot Kyle Rowley away from the Spokane Shock, and I couldn't be more excited. In 2008, he was the offensive player of the year, and in 2010, he lead the Shock to an Arena Bowl win and took home the MVP title. This is huge. He's a great player, has a lot of experience and already has an Arena Bowl victory under his belt. Morris was never an Arena QB by the shear fact that he lacked experience. Games were lost because of this inexperience and lack of confidence. Having a true veteran behind center could be that one drop that makes the whole solution gel.

My concerns right now are people who haven't been confirmed for next season. No word yet on defensive stand-outs Josh Lay, Terrance "Total Chaos" Carter or Gary "Da Bully" Butler. It's no secret that our defense struggled at times last year, but these guys are all dynamic players with a lot to offer, and I think that they'd come back with a renewed focus and united force. Now, if we can't get them all, then I'd hope they get prioritized in the order I put them here.

So, how about the season? There are some theories that I can put forth, but a lot is still up in the air. Keller commented to me the other day that he doesn't like the year-to-year contracts in the league, as it makes it hard to hate on the same people long-term. Now, he has a point, but I like the fact that anything can happen any season. This year will be no exception.

It's obvious that Pittsburgh already has a following that the league recognizes as they have a whopping four games on the NFL Network this year - with two of them being in the first three weeks. I talked at length last season of the home team embracing that we've given them, and it seems that others are noticing.

Last year, the league took it easy on this expansion team's early season, but that is not the case this year. First of all, we need to face the Preds twice in the first five games, and that's not good at all. After parting ways with Coach O'Hara at the end of the season, they've aggressively started pursuing top talent. Given that they have the consistently largest fanbase in the league, that shouldn't be difficult. Also, they resigned TT Toliver. Nuff Said.

Things are going to be turned on their head in our division as well. The only good news is that Kurt Rocco has left the hated Gladiators to see if he can help turn the Voodoo around - under Coach O'Hara down in New Orleans, where the Arena Bowl will be played this year. We still have to play them, but only once - and that's good, because they might actually be something to watch this year...from a distance.

While we picked up Rowley, Philly answered with "Dirty" Dan Raudabaugh (Yes, I'm gonna push the nickname 'til it sticks) from the Dallas Vigilantes. If you remember, we only beat Dallas by one point last year, and they went to the playoffs. Now we have to play him twice this season, and that's not good.

The Milwaukee and Cleveland camps have been comparatively quiet thus far, but it's still early. The Mustangs aren't historically great, so until something changes, I'm not going to worry too much. Right now, Cleveland is less scary than Philly, but they're officially a bitter rival and both teams are always going to get it up for each other.

Other things of note are the Barnstormers, Rattlers and Sharks. The Ratts went to the Arena Bowl last year, have won several before and will always be dangerous. I'm not looking forward to getting whooped on by them again. The Barnstormers were middling last year, but now they have Coach Ho, formerly of Philly and Chicago. He's a better coach than Philly showed last year, and I think he can make a dangerous team out of Iowa - and we have to play them twice.

Finally, we end the season against the defending champs, the Jacksonville Sharks. On the up side, they won't have Garcia anymore. He's decided to play one more season, but not with the Sharks. He wants to coach, so he'd like to play somewhere he can hope to lead in future years. (He will be offered a chance at a one-day contract to retire a Shark.) I think that this is a great move for him. Few can challenge his experience, and he'll be a great asset. Unlike the Favres of the world, he's coming back for "just one more" for the right reasons that shouldn't tarnish his legacy if it goes sideways.

****Update****

It looks like the San Antonio Talons picked up Garcia and Robert Quiroga (formerly of the Predators.) This, coupled with a flurry of other signings they've made this month means that we're going to have a really tough game in May.

*****

On the down side with the Sharks, they've signed Florida State star Chris Leak to augment former Steeler hopeful, Omar Jacobs (remember him?) Whether either one of them will measure up to Garcia is yet to be seen, but it's a scary combo.

So, that's the run-down. A lot of news about the upcoming season has already come out, but there's still a lot more to come. There's still a long time (and a lot of NFL action) to go before March, and a lot can still happen. More details to come when I have them.

Go Power, Go Pens and Go Steelers!

Power vs. Vigilantes Review: Keller's Take

First of all... wow.  Saturday's game is proof that arena football is exciting and unpredictable and that more people should watch it.  General admission tickets are only $15 and there are always tickets available on game day.  The Power play the Cleveland Gladiators on Saturday, June 4th for first place in the division.  Come out and see for yourself.  Now that I got the plug out of the way, on with the review.

I actually needed to read Weidman's review of the game before I wrap my brain around it enough to comment.  For starters, the following things happened on Saturday night:

1. The final score was 76-75.
2. Bernard Morris started out slow (9-for-19), but finished strong, with 25 completions in 40 attempts for 280 yards and seven touchdowns, adding in a 27-yard rushing touchdown for flavor.  He was also the worst quarterback on the field by far.  Dallas quarterback Dan Raudabaugh had 433 yards passing and more touchdown passes (ten) than incompletions (eight).  He was an unstoppable force in this game, but, fortunately, so was the Power offense.
3. A total of 69 points (insert joke here) were scored in the fourth quarter, with five touchdowns coming in the final minute.  Five touchdowns -- and a failed field goal attempt -- in one minute of football.
4. There were so many swings in momentum that, at some point in the fourth quarter, I stopped keeping track of the exact score and only focused on whether the Power were up by seven or tied.
5. The Power held the ball for over 35 minutes and the Vigilantes still managed to put up 75 points.

I was still buzzing about the game when I woke up the next morning.  It could just be that the wife makes an ungodly strong cup of coffee, but I'll go with the excitement of the game carrying over.

This was a huge road win against a very talented Dallas team.  With Cleveland losing to Arizona, that puts the Power at 6-4 and tied for first place in the division.  Heading into the season, I really didn't think I'd be able to type those words at any point.  After the first few games, I felt pretty confident that I wouldn't be able to type them during the 2011 season.

When Morris re-gained the starting job, I described him as being "capable."  Now that he's more comfortable with the offense and has gained the confidence to take off and run with the ball instead of holding onto it too long, I'd say he's moved into the realm of "solid."  He has Mike Washington on his side and Washington is an electric playmaker.  Washington gives the offense that "one guy" that the defense is focused on stopping, which makes everyone around him better.  Once Eddie Thompson and Jerome Mathis come back from injured reserve, we could be looking at a great offense and Morris might have a cast around him that is talented enough to raise him to the level of "very good."  But, having seen Mark Grieb play a couple of weeks ago and having witnessed the clinic that Raudabaugh put on Saturday night, I think that Morris will ultimately fall short of greatness.

With a great offense and an excellent defense -- one of the big reasons the Power let up 75 points was that Carlos Campbell had an absolutely atrocious game, but I have a feeling that he'll bounce back against the Gladiators and so will the rest of the defense -- this team has the potential to do well.  Do I think they'll go on a run and finish the season at 14-4?  No.  Do I see a trip to the Arena Bowl in their future?  I do not.  I think they're a great team and they'll most likely get to the playoffs, but they don't have the talent to go all the way.  But, I also thought this about the 2008 and 2010 versions of the Steelers, so what do I know?  There are two elite teams in the league: Arizona and Chicago.  There is one dominant force: Jacksonville.  Aside from that, you have a bunch of talented, hard-working clubs that will try their best but ultimately fall short.

Now, before I say something bad about the guy, let me say this: I think that Coach Siegfried has done a tremendous job thus far.  He has taken an expansion team that isn't incredibly talented and has struggled staying healthy at quarterback and willed them to a 6-4 record.  He has a ton of mental fortitude and determination and that has rubbed off on his players.  Now for the bad part: I think his mental fortitude makes him downright stubborn and too conservative.

I agree with Weidman's assessment of Dallas coach Clint Doelzel's decision to go for two (seriously, read his post, that's right on the money).  That was a dumb move and it will probably come back to haunt Doelzel.

I'm not saying I want Siegfried to be wildly aggressive, but he does need to go in for the fatality more often.  For example, he continued to kick away in the final minute of Saturday's game.  Conventional NFL wisdom says that's the smart move.  Make your opponent fight their way down the field and earn whatever points they get.  Conventional AFL wisdom says to onside kick, especially if your defense is gassed and couldn't stop their grandmother from catching a 30-yard touchdown pass.  If the kick succeeds, then you retain possession and get to play keep-away for a bit.  If the kick fails, then you get the ball back faster.  This turned into a shootout and Siegfried kept his gun holstered.  They continue to play conservative on offense and defense.  The past two games, the offensive game plan has been plodding and possession oriented for the most part and they have played some very lax prevent defense in the final seconds holding a lead.

I still believe in Coach Siegfried and I still think he's the man for the job.  I also see a little too much Cowher and Shottenheimer in him and that makes me uneasy now that I have an eye towards the playoffs.  But, the playoffs are still a long ways away and are certainly not assured at this point, so we might as well enjoy the ride.  

So... 151 points in one game.  Five touchdowns in the final minute.  If nothing else, it will be entertaining.

Gunfight in Dallas. Vigilantes and Power review

What. A. Game.

Wow. Words almost can't express how amazing the game was Saturday night – easily the most exciting game of the year. Frankly, after three in a row, if the Power isn't careful, people might mistake them for a top-tier team.

In another stunning upset, the Power handed Dallas their first loss of the season at home in an old-West, no-holds-barred, dirt-street, high-noon shootout that went the full four quarters. Dallas came in with a relentless, nearly flawless aerial attack that, frankly, the Power was completely unprepared for. In response, Morris and company kept their cool remarkably well and methodically answered every punch they took – even if it took a lot longer to accomplish each time. For the first time this season, Pittsburgh broke the 60-point barrier, with the final score being over 150 points total.

This was by no means an easy game, and that is what made it so exciting. There was only one point in the game where either team led by more than 7 points, as nearly every touchdown and PAT (or miss there-of) was matched by the other team. For a time, Dallas lead by 14, but the Power came clawing back to regain the lead.

The real excitement – more so than usual – came in the last minute of the game, which saw five touchdowns scored. Late in the forth, Dallas made its first two of what I consider their three major mistakes of the game. Dallas scored and tied the game up at 55, at which point, their offense did their impression of a bobsled team in the end zone to celebrate, costing them 10 yards on the end of the next kick return. Following this, their kicker booted it past the nets and out of the end zone, placing the ball on the 20 yard line – plus the ten from the previous penalty, giving the Power amazing field position, which they took advantage of.

On the surface, this was just a quick score for the Power, and not much different than the rest of the game. Looking deeper, it was a major psychological victory for them. At this point in the game, Pittsburgh was getting tired, worn down and running out of gas. For every long drive for a score that the Power had, Dallas would come right back on the next one and score in one or two plays. Pittsburgh was holding their own, but at a cost. With this quick score, you could see the weight lifted from their collective shoulders, coupled with some indignant anger at the show-boating that the Vigilantes were displaying over one touchdown.

It turned the tide.

After a few more exchanges of points, it came down to a real nail-biter and the the third mistake. With ten seconds left, Dallas decided to go for 2. Now, a lot of people will argue with me over this being a mistake, but I just frankly don't often agree with them. Maybe this is because I'm not a “Go big or go home” kinda guy. I'm more of a “Go home a winner and look at my face in the mirror the next day” kinda guy. I could count the number of situations where I feel going for two is the right call on one hand, and still be able to thumb a ride. If you're down by two and it's the only way to catch up, so be it – otherwise, go for the tie and take your chances in overtime, especially since Arena Ball gives both teams a possession.

But, I'm not a coach, and Clint Dolezel knows the game a hell of a lot better than I do – it just didn't pan out for him this time. First attempt, Dallas got hit with a false start and had to do it over. Second attempt, they missed, but Pittsburgh interfered on the pass. Third attempt, the pass failed.

You didn't need to be Nostradamus to see the onside kick coming. Dallas recovered it, and I thought I was going to watch this game slip away. The Power hadn't pulled off many stops in this game, and Dallas had scored in less than nine seconds several times in the game already – but the Power D came up big and forced the field-goal attempt. The failed field-goal attempt.

Game over.

This was a game that, on paper, we should not have won. Dirty Dan Raudabaugh was money this whole game. 28 for 36 with well over 400 yards and ten passing touchdowns on the game, along with two rushing. Anthony Jones had almost as many yards receiving as the Power had as a team. Between those two, and DeAndrew Rubin, our defense just plain didn't have an answer for them. There was almost zero coverage on them to begin with, and even less once Gary Butler got himself bounced from the game late in the 2^nd.

What won this game was perseverance. The Power kept struggling against the clock and scoreboard, no matter how much Dallas was putting up, and kept their cool. Also, the pairing of Morris and Mike Washington has been officially cemented as the clutch combo on this team. Joystick hauled in four and ran for a fifth in this game, as well as a very respectable 184 yards.

I think this game really brought Pittsburgh to the spotlight in the league, and we're going to start hearing some talk of being contenders. This marks a three-in-a-row streak that would have been unthinkable at the beginning of the season. Even more importantly, with Cleveland losing in the Snake Pit, we are now – please brace yourselves – tied for first place in the division.

First. Place.

Remember last week when I was talking about Pittsburgh being in a possible position to ruin Cleveland's day? Well, next Saturday is that positional day. We'll see the first match-up (at home, no less) against our rivals down the road in a game that will decide who will be in sole possession of first place in the division.

No pressure.

Elsewhere in the league

• Just a reminder – Cleveland lost a tough one against the Rattlers, leaving us tied with them for first place.
• The Sabercats dropped their forth in a row, lowering them to bottom half of their division.
• The Sharks continued their march of death across the league by winning their ninth game in a row. I'd say that the playoffs are all but written in stone for them.

Over the hump and back to football

Greetings, all. Due to some circumstances beyond my control, I was unavailable for any football viewing this past weekend, as well as being unable to write a column. It worked out that it was a bye-week, then.

We now find ourselves at the half-way point of the season, with the Power in a surprisingly respectable position for an expansion team. While some teams like the Rush and the Sharks are already talking playoff locks, other teams like the Gladiators actually have to say, “...but Pittsburgh is in a position to screw that up.” This is because we are second in the division, and we still have two games to play against them. If we somehow manage to take the pair, things will be solidly shaken up.

If the playoffs were held today, assuming the same 8-team system the AFL did last year (4 divisional leaders, 4 wild cards), we'd see Cleveland and Jacksonville heading up our conference with Pittsburgh and Orlando making up the wildcards. In the National, it would be the Rattlers, Rush, Dallas and Utah. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but in this case we'd be saying, “Well, it's an honor just to be nominated...”

However, 5-4 is a good place to be at this point, and not one I'd expect. Only 8 teams have a winning record right now, and we're one of them. We haven't gotten here easily, of course, because we've had a lot of growing pains along the way. Procedural errors still plague us, and our quarterback situation is still anything but stable. Now, we enter the hardest chunk of the season.

From here on out, we only have 3 home games left, with the Gladiators and Rattlers making up two of them. Other than that, it's all road, and all really tough teams. Dallas, twice against Cleveland, the Preds, the Rattlers and a rematch against a crappy team who already beat us.

If I had to pick, though, I'm glad it's the second half of the season that this happened. This way, we had time at home and weaker opponents to work the kinks out – and we needed it. We're in a good place right now. A winning record, a team that's gelling and a huge win over San Jose. I'm a little concerned about the fact that we went into the bye right after it, as I would have preferred to keep the momentum, but you can't have everything.

The Power can't even pretend to be a lock for anything right now, but we can dream. If we take the lessons learned the first half of the season and apply it to the big boys – coupled with the fact that we're pretty good on the road – we might pull it off.

The first step is Dallas this Saturday at 8:30, on the road.

Right now, they're only one game better than us, but are undefeated on their home turf. They're also really, really good. Unlike us, they are set at quarterback with “Dirty” Dan Raudabaugh (My nickname. Western history. Google it, or watch Young Guns II) who is the only recorded QB for them this season. This right here tells us that he is tough, resilient and isn't going to give up. Pressuring him will be difficult at best.

On the ground, it's all behind Derrick Ross, who has averaged more than 2 touchdowns a game thus far this season. We didn't do that well against the run last game against the Cats, so this is something that we're going to have to watch for.

Finally, Dallas is one of those teams with defined receivers that they don't stray from often. Jones, Rubin and Fields are the go-to guys for the Vigilantes, they all average at least 12 yards a catch and have 48 touchdowns among them.

By the numbers, they're pretty even between what they score each game and what they allow, with the edge towards scoring. Much like with the Cats, the Power is going to need to get the attack on early and get a lead as fast as they can if they want to get out of this while avoiding a slugfest. Before the last game, I wouldn't have had great faith in this, but now I'm thinking that this is something that we can do.

Rushing, they run the board. Generally, they out-rush their opponents 2-1, so I'm not thinking that this is going to be a game for Rue. That's okay, because we're getting our passing game into solid gear. Another 2-1 stat is their sacking ability, which is really scary, given that I don't want to see Morris broken again.

Bottom line is that we need to keep on keepin' on. This is a tough team without a lot of easy-to-exploit weaknesses. They also haven't lost at home yet. Now is not the time to get fancy – the Power needs to stick with what has been working the last few games and just try to bring the hammer down fast and hard on Dallas.

After all – this is the first game of the rest of their season.

Elsewhere in the league

• The NFL Game of the Week is the Blaze vs Barnstormers. Iowa has pretty much nothing to play for at this point, being nearly dead-last in the league, and the Blaze is looking for a playoff berth. However, I generally find the 'Stormers fun to watch.
• Barnstormers aren't last in the league, but the Voodoo is, and this Friday, they meet the Soul, who are only a game ahead of them. Given the option, the NFL game is the much better option.
• After the Power finishes up, switch your NiFTy feed over to the Rattlers channel to catch what I'd say is the best game of the week: Cleveland travels to the Snake Pit for a brawl that should be lots of fun to watch.
• Because you were all so patient with me not posting last week, here's a blurry picture the Sparks were nice enough to pose for: