Rematch Against the Mustangs and Monkeys Riding Dogs

When we played back in game three, the Mustangs beat us rather handily. There were a number of contributing factors involved, and unfortunately, not a lot has changed. However, now we are coming off of a "win" in the first of three division games in a row, and I hope the moral victory gives us some momentum going into this home stand.

In Coach Stingley's press conference this week, he was asked flat-out what the team can take out of the forfeit by Cleveland. He pointed out that a win is a win, and whether or not we earned it comes down to the fact that we showed up, ready to play. This is an important distinction. It was known by early afternoon that the Gladiators weren't going to play - but the Power was on the field ready to go until the game was actually called. This is a team that wants to win and wants to play. Despite the myriad of reasons why even I am disillusioned with the league right now, I think it's a strong reason to still root for the summertime black n gold.

Last time around, we were weak at QB and strong at kicker. The situation is mostly reversed now, but we're still not super strong at QB. However, they've put their confidence in Randall and let him stay as starter and build his own confidence. Coach said that Stull is almost ready to return - and might even be a backup this game - but Randall is the starter. I admire that.

Our other big weakness last time was Berry's inability to return. He's pulled off some great plays in the season since, but he's still had problems with teams who put the pressure on him. I'm expecting more of the same in this game, but still hold out hope for some of his explosive, surprising plays.

Everett was our main antagonist last time. He's a good receiver and he's a hell of a defensive player. He's good at picks, and Randall is good at throwing them. He's the main person we have to try and shut down, aside from QB Guidugli. Guidugli is solid, despite the Mustang's record.

And there's the hope. The most of the Mustangs' losses have been in games that they just couldn't close it. True, the Mustangs can't win the last minute, but the Power can't generally win the last quarter.

But hey, if nothing else, the Power's halftime show will feature monkeys, riding dogs and herding sheep. Monkeys. On dogs. Herding mother-humpin' sheep. How can you not be excited about that? If you aren't, you're not American and I have no further need to speak with you.

At anywho, if we can actually commit, Predators-31pt-comeback style, we might out last them. If we do, that's two division wins in a row and then a shot at getting the Soul to underestimate us on the road.

Blind optimism - not just for Buccos fans anymore.

Now, for the elephant in the room: The strike.

Not only did it not do any favors for the Gladiators, but it didn't do any for the league in general. My post earlier this week was actually one of the less scathing ones around the Internet. Many are flat-out calling the league a joke, and fans are running for the hills. Now, the league itself has gone on the offensive with an open letter telling their side.
Handled properly, this could have been a good chance to take the highroad, but the tone of the letter (to me, at least) did the opposite. When I read that, I see the jilted ex who says, "You know what? I've kept my mouth shut this whole time while he/she ran their mouth, but I've had enough. Let me tell you all the suffering I've done!" Frankly, I don't care. Not one. little. bit. I don't. I just want this shit over before it completely kills the league again - because I doubt it would come back.

Of note in that letter is what the NFL Network said - as I feared, they're pulling their support and airing games on delay Saturday afternoon. Now, there are some lines that can be read-between there, and none of it is good. If I had to bet, they're only airing them at all because they signed an agreement that said they would, just not when. Putting it on Saturday at three is multi-faceted "Eff you" from the Network.

First, it obviously ends the Friday night spotlight. Second, it means that fans of the teams playing can't watch them live, because the Network holds exclusive rights - so it can't be shown locally or streamed online. I usually watch the games late at night after the other streaming games finish, and even then, it's hard to avoid "spoilers." Finally, middle of the afternoon on a Saturday in the summer? Yeah, no one's watching that. It's a way of taking the most exciting game of the week, burying it at a time no one casual will catch it and get zero exposure for the league when it needs it the most.

I don't blame the Network in the least little bit - they have to protect themselves from the AFL's shenanigans. However, they did it in such a way that proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that the NFL merely tolerates the AFL, holds all the power, and will crush it like a bug if it wants.

Yeah. That's right.

Elsewhere in the league

• The "Friday" game of the week is Tampa Bay on the road against their rivals, the Orlando Predators. Too bad this is getting bumped, 'cause it's gonna be interesting. Either the Storm finally wins one on the road this season, or the Preds get to have a second win. My money is on Tampa Bay, but not 100%
• Next up is Philly at Jacksonville. Now, Jax has stepped up their game recently, but I still don't think they've got what it takes to beat the Soul.
• Cleveland hosts the Voodoo Saturday night, and it's all up to them. They're coming in after both a loss and a bye week, technically, and it all depends on where their head is. If they're ashamed of themselves for being the only forfeit in history and for how they treated their fans, they can come in and run the field. On the other hand, the strike did no favors for the Power or Predators, and this could be the beginning of their slide.
• San Antonio should be able to beat the Barnstormers this week. It's kind of a gut feeling, but it's one based on my confidence in Garcia's experience (as usual) and the beating Ratterink has been taking.
• Chicago got so utterly destroyed last week that I'm not sure how they're going to cope. Also, last time they played Georgia, they got pounded. However, they are perfect at home this season and they know they need the win - so I'm gonna call the Rush in this game.
• In the late game, Utah should have the win over Spokane, so long as they aren't too big for their britches after last week. Tommy Grady is set to achieve Roethlisberger-amounts of records this season and he's honestly better than Rowley. This game is his to lose.
• Finally, Sunday afternoon the Sabercats have their rematch against the Command. Should not be a problem unless they underestimate them.
  

Mustangs Get Revenge.

Three games in, and the Power already finds itself in a deep, deep hole. Now with Philly (somehow) falling to the Gladiators, everyone in our division has won a divisional game except us - we've lost two. We now find ourselves among the five teams that are 1-2 or worse.

I know that there are still 15 games left for the season, but the point needs to be made that the Power is already at a come-to-Jesus point. The team needs to look closely at their tactics, training and game-planning if they want to stop this slide. This week wasn't just a loss, it was another drubbing (63-40), and that needs to stop now.

Thursday night, we traveled back to Milwaukee to battle a team that is greatly changed over the one that we beat twice last season. Bill Stull was our starter, and he was shaky from the beginning. Before he was pulled, he only went 13/31 with a lost fumble and a pick. Now, it came out later that he dislocated his shoulder in the 1st half and tried to fight through it, but the fact remains that he didn't seem to have much confidence before that.

In the 3rd quarter, he was slammed into the boards and finally had to bow out to Andrico Hines. Hines' first drive was after Milwaukee's Marcuss Everett fumbled right around the goal line. I'm sure I wasn't alone in thinking, "Okay! Fresh QB, played well week one - maybe the game turns around here!" Not so. Everett redeemed himself by perfectly picking Hines' first pass and running it in. He ended the night with two picks, a fumble recovery and a touchdown.

After that auspicious start, Hines actually looked pretty good the rest of the game. 10/16, 124 yards and a touchdown. Not too shabby. Also, considering that the game had thoroughly spiraled out of control at that point, it is also impressive that he maintained a sense of optimism. With a dislocated shoulder, I'm thinking that it's likely that Stull sits next week, giving Hines another chance against the Barnstormers.

Washington, Hymes and Berry were all pretty much shut down this week. Some of that was because of our QB situation, but a lot of it was because of the Mustangs' solid defense - especially Everett. On the subject of Berry...I just don't know. He was Iron Man of the Year last year, and was very good - but so far, I just haven't seen it. Offense is one thing, but we brought him in to handle returns, and they haven't been that impressive yet. This week, he averaged only about 14 yards a return, but that average was skewed by one 25 yarder. (To be fair, he had a 58 yard return-for-score that was called back on a hold.) I'm not saying that he's bad, but only that he's the main non-QB position that I know the Power can improve at. Here's hoping he steps up soon.

The stand-out star of the evening was Tyree Young. I love watching this guy play. It's easy to invoke the name of Bettis in this town, but this guy rolls like The Bus himself. 41 yards and two TDs this week, he out rushed all of Milwaukee's players combined. The only player who rushed for more TDs than him in the game that night was Gino Guidugli, and that's because he's one of those crazy QBs who can move when he needs to. One more comparison: Young rushed for only three less yards than WR Jared Jenkins, whom the Power said ahead of this game that they had to prepare for.

Finally, I really like our kicker Wagner. After those two poor spots by Hines last week, Wagner has been money every time. I have a feeling that's going to be important going forward.

What do we take away from this game? I know I had a bummer of an opening to this post, but we really are only three games in. There's a lot of football left to play, and we can hope our division rivals screw up along the way while we find our sea legs. This game was a brutal follow-up to our loss to Philly, but hopefully we can move past it.

Besides - we were the first team this season to hold the Mustangs to less than 65 points. I'll take the the victories where I can find them.

Elsewhere in the league

• Orlando starts 0-3 as they lose at home to Garcia and the Talons. It's nice to know someone's in a deeper hole than us, but Colin Drafts is still looking good, and the team really is playing well together - and they're going to want our blood in a few weeks.
• Arizona destroyed the Command in a why-even-show-up game, 56-28.
• Jacksonville/Tampa Bay - I could write a whole post on just the last quarter of this game. After exchanging scores the whole game, it came down to the wire. Former Power QB Bernard Morris had the start, and was up to his old tricks of holding the ball too long when he shouldn't, and then couldn't hold onto it when he should. Then Terrance Smith ran for a Sharks touchdown - but started dancing before the end zone! The ball got stripped, and he luckily held onto it, but this stupid, stupid, stupid play left 4 seconds on the clock for a Tampa Hail Mary. Stephen Wasil bombed it end zone to end zone and missed - but the Sharks committed an intentional foul in the end zone. Normally, this would be a 10-yard penalty and another shot, but since it was determined to be intentional, Tampa got the ball at the one-yard line. The score was a gimmie, and it ended with Tampa 71, Jax 69.
• Sabercats annihilated the Shock 69-35. Of note, San Jose coach Darren Arbet earned my respect in this game. The play was to fall on the one yard line and run the clock out - But Mark Lewis ran it in. Arbet chewed him out for running up the score, and I respect that.
• Chicago struggled heavily in PATs (or more specifically, the snaps right before them) but managed to get the money kick in OT to remain the only undefeated team in the league - 62-61.
• New Orleans remained strong this week, and finally have a win over the Blaze to show for it.
• Why, oh why did I not watch the Philly/Cleveland game? Why? It was a long day of yard work, Game of Thrones was on and I was tired. I just couldn't get it up for football tonight, and I didn't really need to see Dirty Dan and his boys roll over another division team. However, somehow the game ended with the Gladiators on the right side of 68-62 score.