'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!!!"

Road Battle Against the Soul, and heading to enemy territory

There's not a lot to be said about this week's matchup. The Power has improved in the last few weeks, but not enough to make it likely that we'll beat the juggernauts from Philly. Frankly, the only chance we have is if the Soul collectively say, "Eh...we'll wait until next week to lock up the one seed in the conference. Let's put Denis the Donut Boy in to cover kick returns."

But, I'm still looking forward to this game. The Brothers Keller and I (and Brother-in-Law Tim) are heading to the Wells Fargo Center to catch the Power on the road. Now, to be honest, we planned this outing at the beginning of the season when we still had stars in our eyes and Rowley in the locker room. However, there's still some excitement for me. I've never actually gotten to see a team I root for on the road.

Now, consciously, I know that teams regularly play on the road. Half the time, to be exact. But having never experienced this, it almost feels like this is a special occasion. An exhibition game. It's not, but that's how it feels. Also, I'm not used to being in a hostile sports environment (even if Philly's probably looking at us the way we look at the Browns.) I'm also not used to rooting for a pathetic underdog without much of a traveling fanbase.

All around, this is going to be interesting. Win or (likely) lose, I'll probably also have a bit of a different outlook in my review. Go Power, and I'll be back on Monday.

Elsewhere in the league

Now that the Soul have locked up the division and a playoff spot, the post season officially begins. From here out, it gets really hard to call games, and it's still a long time until the end of the season. Some teams are going to be playing their ass off to right the ship that is their season, other teams are going to slack because it doesn't matter anymore, others will play soft to guard against injuries because they know they're most likely in and yet other teams are going to say "screw it" and just try to play spoiler against a hated rival. So, what I'm saying is...take these picks with a grain of salt.

• First up is Arizona at Milwaukee. This right here is what I'm talking about. AZ is 99.9% in the playoffs, it's just down to seeding. Without doing the math, I think they'd need to lose out and get some "help" in order to miss out. However, at 10-3 , they're tied with the Talons (and a game behind Philly in the whole league) they're in a footrace for the top spot in the National Conference. On the other hand, Milwaukee is in the hunt with basically everyone in our conference and can't afford a loss. Skill-wise, the Rattlers should win this one, but Milwaukee might want it more. I'll take AZ, but....salt.
• "Friday" game of the week is NOLA visiting ORL. This is another example of what I'm talking about. Everyone in that division except the Preds is within a game of the top spot, and Orlando has some momentum after beating a rival last week. Also, they've already been shamed on a Friday night game - they might as well take the field as the Orlando Spoilers. The Voodoo is the better team, but they still currently have a losing record. I pick them, but I have a bad, bad feeling about this. If you want to take a risk on an upset this week, this is it.
• Cleveland at Jax on Saturday night is almost impossible to call. Same record, both teams in second place in their respective divisions, playoffs still possible. However, I'm taking Jacksonville because Cleveland is on a slide, Jacksonville has a shot at their division and they're at home.
• Next we have the Talons heading down to Tampa Bay for the third Florida game. Talons are the wise choice, but there's still that pesky little road/home curse that the Storm have. I still think the Talons are going to win, because they want home field in the playoffs, and TB is just looking to get in.
• Chicago has a tougher division match on their hands than they really should. KC has been sad this season, but Chicago has struggled on the road. I'm picking the Rush because they have the better team, plain and simple - but I'm not going bet my mortgage on it.
• Georgia has a match on the road against Utah, and they need the win to keep the lead in their division. However, I've been saying all year, they're a mediocre team and their road record isn't great. They're in the lead in a weak division and Utah is seriously in the hunt in a tough one. And they're at home. Take the Blaze.
• Finally, the late game is Spokane visiting the Cats. This one's going to be brutal. Spokane's record in any other division would put them solidly in third place, and likely in second. The Cats need the win to have any chance to scoop the lead from the Talons and Rattlers. The Shock has struggled (even with a solid record) this season...but San Jose also lost to KC. However, given that they slaughtered Spokane (without Rowley) on the road earlier this season, I'll take them.
  

Power vs Soul: For pride

The last game of the season is upon us already. Seems like just yesterday that we were playing the Soul with our whole season ahead of us. It also seems like just yesterday that we lost to the Soul to start the season. Now it's time to play them again to close it.

At this point, we have beaten both other teams in our division at least once and have a better record overall than the Soul. By most accounts, the Power is the better team, but the Soul has pulled off some upsets before. Coach Ho has made it clear that they're still playing for their fans, even if their season is over. I'm not sure that the Power is up to the same standards at this point, especially on the road.

Last time they played, they made fools of the Gladiators, whom you might remember, rather handily beat us. Also, given that they've already beaten us once, I'm sure they'd love to beat us again and have a sweep to add to their record.

When they won against Cleveland, it happened because they were able to beat the Gladiators, literally, at their own game. They owned the field, destroyed Rocco and pressured him at every opportunity. If they bring it at the same level against us, then we should expect even more pressure than the Gladiators gave us last week.

Larry Brackins and Keith Stokes stepped up big time to fill the shoes vacated by the impressive Donovan Morgan, who departed for the UFL. Unfortunately, pretty much during the game last week, he announced his departure from the UFL to come back to the Soul. So...that's great for us.

The fact of the matter is, this game is on the road, and the Power have little to play for. However, winning would give the Power - if not a winning season - an even record. For psychological reasons, both for the team and for the fans, I think that this can't be discounted. Same thing goes for beating the one team left in the division we haven't beaten yet.

Tune in tonight at 7:05 on NiftyTV and catch the Power's last game until next season!

Shredded by the Talons, a post-mortem

Well, this weekend sure proved why I don't gamble. Both the Power and the Rush dropped games that they should have won, and pretty much everything I said should – had to – happen, didn't.

The Power got it handed to them at home on Saturday and the Tulsa Talons walked away with a well-deserved win to break their losing streak. It was a tale of missed opportunities, stupid penalties and vacant roster sports. It pains me to have to do it, but let's break it down.

Not to make excuses, but the Power was at a disadvantage from the word go. Only five days from their last game, this injury-plagued team had to take the field down some key players. Morris is still out for at least one more game, Mathis was out with a thigh injury, Purvis with an ankle, and “The Power Tool” DeWalt out for a mysterious, Siegfried-ain't-discussing-it suspension. Add to that the fact that the team – especially McCabe – was tired and it was a mess.

On the other side of the ball, Tulsa was angry, fired up, and anxious to get rid of that “0” on the wrong side of their win/loss column. Just coming off of their worst loss in franchise history at the hands of the Rattlers, they had something to prove. Instead of the Power keeping the pressure on them, Tulsa brought down the hammer on McCabe (and later, Morelli) forcing a brutal five turnovers during the game. A lot of the credit goes to jittery mindset by the home team, but the lion's share goes straight to Tulsa for being wherever the ball was. If they didn't pick it out of the air, they were right there to force a fumble and recover it.

The first half of the game was a total slugfest that looked like both teams were going to be trading a small amount of scores throughout the game to see who gets the last one before the clock runs out. The halftime score was just 14-14, more of an outdoor score than an indoor one. The second half, however, was all Tulsa.

They came back with 24 unanswered points, and you could just feel the air go out of the place. It was over at that point, but there was still game to be played. Somewhere around this point, I began to wonder why sports venues ever give out souvenirs that can be thrown.

Pictured here: A bad idea

In the second half, despite announcer warnings that anyone caught could face prosecution, these mini-footballs rained on the field. The fans should, frankly, be ashamed of themselves. End of digression.

For Tulsa, Bobby Reid was not the passing presence that I expected him to be, leaving the heavy lifting in the passing game to Matt Bassuener with almost 200 yards and three TD's. Copeland was again a favored target, but being held to only 58 yards on 8 receptions. Reid made his presence felt with two rushing touchdowns, however, proving that he is a mobile QB who is not afraid to go for it.

Their defense kept the Power down to only 23 total yards and completely shut Rue down with negative yards and zero touchdowns on the ground (though he did catch one in the air.) Also, there is the matter of those five turnovers that we discussed earlier.

Not everything was bad, however. Morrelli had a beautiful end-zone-to-end-zone pass on one of his early plays (the fact that it was called back on a penalty is just unfortunate.) Thompson took advantage of Tulsa's issues on kick-returns and came all the way back to their 9 yard line early in the game. Finally, Mike “The Joystick” Washington was having a great game, gaining almost 60 yards and two touchdowns. Now, those are just the official stats. There were a few great plays that were called back on penalties, but he was out there hustling the whole time.

Also, attendance of nearly 10,000 in the house at least felt good while they were into it.

What do we take away from this game?

So, we lost, and we're 2-2. Is it the end of the world? No it is not. It's still very early in the season and we have a bye next week to think about what we've done and heal up a bit. Also, one more game and we might see Morris back on the field. Siegfried has made no secret that the QB position is up for grabs to whoever wants it the most.

At the risk of being a bit appley/orangey here, but back at the beginning of last season, the Steelers said that they'd be happy to come out of the first four games 2-2 without Big Ben. Yes, they're a much better and more experienced team than the Power, but the fact remains – it's a long season and we're not in a horrible spot right now.

We have a lot of work to do before our next game against the 3-1 Sharks, though. The Power really need to figure out what they're doing at the quarterback position. For that game in particular, McCabe needs to step up or step aside. Also, they cannot continue with the slow, plodding attack. This is a fast game, and they need start acting like it. Confidence behind center will help with this.

The fact remains that we're an expansion team in a division with two strong teams, and one that we have to keep our eyes on.

Speaking of keeping eyes on stuff, per the request, I am including a picture taken in the Lexus Club before the game:

Elsewhere in the league

• Philly Soul at Milwaukee Mustangs. Full disclosure: I had something else written here when the Mustangs were down by 25 points in the first half. Once again, everyone say it with me: It ain't over until it's over. Mustangs overcame a 25 point deficit to ultimately end up on the 2-yard line, down by five, no time outs, 4^th down, 0:01 on the clock. The pass is good, and the Soul drops a division game, and the 'Stangs end their losing streak. This is great for us, because with a game up on them, it should keep us 2^nd in the division.

• The undefeated Rush were finally defeated by the still undefeated Gladiators. Cleveland is now standing alone at the top of the division.

• It's a very light week coming up, with many teams on bye. Philly is the only game that we need to be concerned with, as the rest of the division will be sitting out.

Week 4 Preview - Power host the Talons

First off, as I'm sure you've noticed, we're trying out a bit of a redesign here at Steelers N At. In addition to snazzy new colors, we've also added in a search feature, popular posts and the ability to subscribe via email. Please check them out, and enjoy!

Now, on to football.

If we have to have a short turn-around, we should be glad that we face the Tulsa Talons on Saturday night. I would love to just write “they suck, we're gonna win” and move on, but football (of any flavor) is not that simple.

Look, Tulsa is bad. We should have this one, but there are lingering doubts that I have after this week's match-up against the Mustangs. With our developing habit of starting strong and slacking off, coupled with Tulsa likely making us want to play soft, they could surprise us. Any given Su- er, any given extended weekend, any team can win, and remembering that is job number one for the Power this weekend.

Here are some things that Pittsburgh can watch for and exploit:

1. Kickoffs – Tulsa is weak at kicking off and they go short. Also, they are not very good at covering the return. In two out of their three games so far this season, they have averaged nearly 30 yards allowed per. This gives their opponents excellent field position on every drive and they have been making good use of it.
2. 4^th down conversions – they are very hit and miss at converting this, with slightly more misses. If our defense can step up and stop the passing game, we have a good chance to turn it over there and hopefully get good field position.
3. Weak end zone defense – I know what you’re thinking – Don’t you mean red zone or goal-line? Not really. They actually seem to fight to keep people out of the end zone, but once they’re there, they leave them wide open. We shouldn't have as much need to rely on Rue for points as there always seems to be an open receiver when Tulsa is defending the goal line.

Things to watch for and stop:

1. The passing game – I know Keller seems to feel that covering the pass is too hard, but it's still possible. Reid is mobile and when he connects, he connects big. The opening game, he threw for over 200 yards, and even in the last two butt-kickings, he's still pulled off over 100. The Power needs to cover downfield and break up those deep passes.
2. Disorganization can be a good thing (for them) – Whereas I like the fact that McCabe spreads it around, he does it with purpose. Reid takes it to a new level. There is only one player that he’s passed to in all three games (Copeland, averaging about 50 yards a game) and only two he's gone to in any two separate games. Now, I don't know if this is by design or just because they're trying to find something – anything – that works, but whatever it is, it is hard to predict and defend against. Best idea is to just bring the hammer down on him and just not give him a chance to throw.
3. Mobile quarterback – We ran into trouble with that last week, and Bobby Reid is one of top rushers in the league.

The simple fact is, Tulsa is a team in drastic need of redesign. There's a lot of difference between a team like the Mustangs who are 0-3, but tend to hang in there, and a team like the Talons, that is 0-3 and gets decisively beat. There is only one game so far this season where they have finished within less than 20 points. But, they are obviously aware of this. News came out yesterday that they’ve quietly picked up former Sabercat Rodney Wright. He brings with him twice the receptions and yards as Tulsa’s current top receiver. Will this be the secret weapon that makes the difference? Will he even play this weekend? I don’t know. He’s not listed on Tulsa’s team website on the depth chart, or even on the team. Speculation might just be the secret to making Saturday interesting.

Another of those “intangible” angles for this week is Peter Fields. If you look this 6’4”, 330lbs offensive lineman up on Tulsa’s site, you will see a big “N/A” next to the college line. Not only did Mr. Fields not play football in college, he’s not even American. This native of Great Britain moved here just to play football. A veteran of the Indoor Football League (whole other can of worms), he left after three seasons to move up to the AFL level. Interestingly enough, he signed with the Power in November. Obviously, this didn’t work out, as he’s out there protecting Bobby Reid this season. It’s always interesting to see a player with a lot of heart come into a place that seemed to say, “You’re not good enough for us.” Sometimes, they prove the sentiment right. Other times, they come in and just tear the place apart to say, “How do you like me now?”

So, without looking past them, what can we take out of this game?

First of all, a team that should be a cream puff like this is a great chance to work on fundamentals. As Keller pointed out in his review, McCabe needs some more fine-detail work. Although I am still going to chalk up at least one of those INTs to the fact that he was throwing to a non-existent end-zone corner, I totally agree that he needs work on his focus. If nothing else, this team should allow him a few extra seconds in the pocket to take a deep breath and find the right guy.

Also in the QB slot, we can think about Morelli. This might be a good time to get him a few reps and work him in as a backup. If – and it is an if – we jump out to a 30+ point lead over them like their last two opponents, I see no reason not to get him a little playing time. We lost our starter after a game and a half, and if that happens to McCabe, I don't want untested command behind center.

Let me stress again that I am not looking past this game – I am just very confident about it. However, what we cannot forget is the fact that amongst the three teams that beat Tulsa, there is only one loss. They have faced undefeated, tough teams. We might find out that we're facing a team that has just been totally outclassed by skill – and we better hope that isn't the case, because we have to play every one of those teams later.

Honestly, we lucked out as an expansion team. We ended up with a season front-loaded with weak teams. Of our upcoming matches, three of the teams are currently standing at 0-3 (the Voodoo even fired their offensive coordinator this week.) The Sharks and the Force are both going to offer challenges, but are beatable. After that, it gets tough. Real tough.

The second half of the season, we have to meet the division-leading Gladiators twice, the Vigilantes, the Rattlers, and the Sabercats. If that wasn't enough, we have rematches against rival Mustangs and Soul – two games that were decided by a total of 8 pts. The next 5 games are our chance to work out kinks, get some games in the W column and gel as a team. After that, we are in for a brutal downhill drive to the end of the season. Seriously, I cannot stress that enough. As teams look right now, I am scared of every second half game except the Blaze – and then only by comparison.

Bottom line is that the Power get through this week, then have a bye next week. Hopefully they handily take care of the Talons and have two weeks to review film and figure out new tactics. Then, we have a few more weeks of teams we can try them out on before the hammer officially comes down.

Elsewhere in the league:

1. As I suspected, the Barnstormers bounced a Czech and are starting a new kicker this week
2. Despite being winless and showing a lot of empty seats, the Mustangs have signed a three-year lease at their arena, so we might be able to count on a rivalry there
3. The NFL Network game of the week is the Sharks @ Tampa Bay. TB is off to a rough start after a coaching scandal, but they're generally a very, very good team. Also, Jacksonville's QB has now thrown for over 26 miles in his career.
4. Mustangs host the Soul on Monday night. Whoever wins gains a divisional win, so this game has repercussions down the line.

Week 3 Power @Mustangs Review

Any regular readers of this blog will know that one of our mottoes is, “An ugly win is still a win,” and tonight was an ugly win. 49 points turned out to be just barely enough to best the still winless Mustangs, but that's all it was. As with many games, the last minute is where everything was decided, almost to the last second. The game started very strong, but time took its toll on the Pittsburgh Power.

They came out of the gates hard and put the pressure on. Most of the first quarter, they kept the 'Stangs off the board didn't have a drive without a score. From this start, it looked that we'd run the table all night and hand it too them definitively. However, it was not to last. McCabe played the whole game, and I think we started to get tired as the clock ran. By the end of the second half, the ball got away from him more, and the Mustangs were able to exploit that.

That being said, he continued with what I mentioned last week is his strength: Spreading the ball around. “Whatchu Talkin' 'Bout” Willis might not have put up any points or gotten the most yardage, but he was a key receiver, pulling down 8 receptions. When it came to the end zone, Mathis, Thompson, Dewalt and Zeck all put six on the board. This will continue to keep the opposing teams guessing and is something the Power should stick with.

One area that might be overlooked but needs to be addressed is the field shape. About half the league has a rounded end zone rather than the normal rectangle. Mustangs' home turf is one of them. At least two times during the game, McCabe ran into trouble passing to the “corner” of the endzone and having it bounce back into play. If there was a corner there, the receiver probably would have had a few more steps to reach the ball. This is an area that some fans gripe about and say should be a standard shape. Personally, I look at it as Arena's version of “Dome” vs “Open” fields. It's just one of those environmental issues that you learn to deal with after gaining experience.

On the ground, our prime weapon continues to be the powerful Joshua Rue, who was the only player to see the end zone more than once tonight. In a game that emphasizes throwing, his 28 yards are no mean feat – especially when since they yielded touchdowns. In the mid-field, he also gains the yards that we need and plows through defenders with a fair amount of ease.

On the other side of the ball, we still have a lot of work to do. On one hand, we kept the pressure on Ward when we could – and in fact, he took the bench and Archer came in eventually – but only while he was in the pocket. Ward – and later, Archer – are both highly mobile once they get out, and then there was no stopping them. By himself, Ward scrambled for as many yards as both of our rushers together and found the end zone for a score. The top two rushers for Milwaukee were their quarterbacks.

In the air, the Power was not able to shut down Burns, who we knew it was going to. Harrell and Elay also picked up very respectable yardage. In a yards-only game, this was all Mustangs, all the way. It's hard to cover everybody with this few people on the field, but their offense is geared towards long bombs to a few targets. Both Ward and Archer had way too much time to think and get the ball to an open target.

Both teams had some amazing goal-line stands that were more reminiscent of the NFL than Arena. While laudable, these showed a failure to keep the opposing team out of the red zone. For the Power, their stands were slightly less effective than the Mustangs, and I'd like to see that shored up a bit before moving on.

Ultimately, the game was decided by Milwaukee's mistakes, not Power triumphs. Two missed PATs kept them away from tying us. Their final kickoff was an obvious onside kick that very well could have worked – had they not gotten greedy. Milwaukee's Lindholm rushed for the ball after it had touched Power players, and intentionally kicked it forward, where the Mustangs recovered. Had it stood there, they would have been in prime scoring position – however, this is an illegal move, which gave us back the ball on the 15, followed by their coach lipping off, giving us 8 more yards. From here, it was “taking a forward knee” to run the clock out and go home.

That was too close.

What did we do right?

Early, hard pressure, passing change-ups, not being afraid to rush – these are all strengths and are shaping up to be our identity. As McCabe settles more into what looks to be his job for the foreseeable future and gets his endurance up, he needs to focus on continuing what works. Rue, barring injury, is only going to keep grinding out the short yardage and score touchdowns. Our receiving corps is varied and strong, with no signs of jealousy or showmanship at this early point.

What did we do wrong?

Did not contain the quarterbacks enough. Although the Power got the pressure on, they were not able make Milwaukee panic like they did in their first two games. Also, once Archer and Ward went mobile, the Power had no answer for it. Open field situations still need a lot of work on D. Finally, they might need to realize that iron men are nice, but if the QB is tired/rattled it might be time to sit him. The Mustangs split the duties this week and both men picked up over 100 yards.

What do we take away?

A win is a win and a loss is a loss. This was a division game, so anything that puts up a W is good. Right now, the Mustangs are winless at the bottom of the division and Cleveland is up top without a loss. Cleveland has only played twice, and neither were division games, and I honestly expect to see them pick up a loss next week. Philly is also down a game, but we're currently tied with them 1-1 in the division. It's still very early in the season, but we are off to a good start.

We also showed that we can play on the road and continue to win. I'm glad that we got that out of the way. Now, we have a short week to gear up for the Tulsa Talons, who are currently 0-3.

Elsewhere in the league

Friday night was an interesting night. The NFL Game of the Week (and the only one nationally televised) was between the winless Barnstormers and the winless defending Arena Bowl champs, the Spokane Shock. This game should have been boring as all get-out, but turned out surprisingly interesting. As we saw last week, the Barnstormers weren't much to worry about, but they pulled off a 43-42 win that they should not have. The Shock pressed hard early and took advantage of constant mistakes made by Iowa – chief among them was kicker Pitor Czech (formerly of the Steelers practice squad) going 1 – 7 on PATs. One. For. Seven. If that man is not a bounced Czech shortly, I will be surprised*. Lucky for him, a timely turnover in the end zone at the end of the 4^th kept the Shock from making up that one point they needed after falling apart in the second half.

*I wanted to make that joke last week. I'm glad I waited.

Also on Friday night was the undefeated Sabercats at the undefeated Rush. This is the game that I wanted on national television, but was denied. Possibly the two consistently best teams in the league, this was a match-up worth seeing. The Sabercats are looking really good and we need to play them this season. This scares me. On the other hand, the Rush continue to look even better. Although they were hit many times with both encroachment and offsides penalties throughout the game, they were able to bring it home 54-41. Quarterback Russ Michna managed to make something out of nothing twice and gain 38 yards for two touchdowns. Remember: He actually has a day job as well, and this was a Friday night game.

So that's that for Week 3. Again, it's a short week before our next home game – which means it's a short week for me to get a preview together for you.