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.
Showing posts with label Tiger Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tiger Jones. Show all posts
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Soul/Power Round Two
I'm strangely optimistic about this game. Philly hasn't won a division game yet, we've beaten them, they've made some consistent mistakes, and we looked good last week.
First off, even though the Power lost in San Jose last week, it kind of felt like a win. Cassidy took the snaps and looked confident the whole game. In fact, in the last minute of the game, it was tied up. Everything after that was a matter of risk/reward that didn't fall our way. San Jose is one of the toughest teams in the league, and the Power hung in against them and played a good, clean game.
Philly, on the other hand, very nearly lost to New Orleans at home last week. It was a sloppy, sloppy game where they never held a lead until almost the end. Also, they continued messing up in a critical area they've repeated week after week: Blowing it in the fourth with stupid mistakes. When the Power was out there, they were in the driver's seat until Dirty Dan threw a pick right at the end. When the Rattlers were out there, they were looking good until Dirty Dan tried to throw it away between the wall and the iron...and had the ricochet picked. This past week with NOLA, they actually had to burn their last time out or they would have lost by one point because the clock ran out!
I know, a Power fan ragging on a team for 4th quarter meltdowns is a bit hypocritical. However, when the Power melts down in the fourth, it's generally because they gave up in the third. Philly, on the other hand, lets sub-par teams hold in way longer than they should and/or make one truly stupid mistake late in the game that turns things around.
So we've got it made in the shade, right?
Well, no. The first catch is that Philly tends to do these things to themselves at home, not on the road. Secondly, they have a very solid team on paper - one that is pretty similar to the Arena Bowl team from last year.
As usual, Tiger Jones is going to be the aerial threat that we need to watch out for. The most annoying part is, every time he scores, he'll do an obnoxious dance (that tends to be fun to watch...) Also, we have to accept the fact that Derrick "the Boss" Ross is going to set an AFL record this week. It's going to happen. He's 7 yards shy of the all-time rushing record, and he can get that on one carry. Philly is just about the only team in the league that actually plays a running game, and they play it a lot. (Side note: The record Ross is going to beat took Bo Kelly 12 years to set - and Ross has been in the league for three. So, he's going to push it out of reach by the time he's done playing.)
One last player to note for this week is Ryan McDaniel. In many ways, he reminds me of an evil Gary Butler. He's Philly's big time hot-head. He's been playing great on offense, but at the same time, he's drawn some big-time penalties because of his short fuse. Here's where the Bully can come in - if Butler and McDaniel clash enough, they might get each other ejected, and that could be exactly what we need. Regardless, getting him to lose his cool could be that 4th quarter screw-up for this week.
Elsewhere in the League
First off, even though the Power lost in San Jose last week, it kind of felt like a win. Cassidy took the snaps and looked confident the whole game. In fact, in the last minute of the game, it was tied up. Everything after that was a matter of risk/reward that didn't fall our way. San Jose is one of the toughest teams in the league, and the Power hung in against them and played a good, clean game.
Philly, on the other hand, very nearly lost to New Orleans at home last week. It was a sloppy, sloppy game where they never held a lead until almost the end. Also, they continued messing up in a critical area they've repeated week after week: Blowing it in the fourth with stupid mistakes. When the Power was out there, they were in the driver's seat until Dirty Dan threw a pick right at the end. When the Rattlers were out there, they were looking good until Dirty Dan tried to throw it away between the wall and the iron...and had the ricochet picked. This past week with NOLA, they actually had to burn their last time out or they would have lost by one point because the clock ran out!
I know, a Power fan ragging on a team for 4th quarter meltdowns is a bit hypocritical. However, when the Power melts down in the fourth, it's generally because they gave up in the third. Philly, on the other hand, lets sub-par teams hold in way longer than they should and/or make one truly stupid mistake late in the game that turns things around.
So we've got it made in the shade, right?
Well, no. The first catch is that Philly tends to do these things to themselves at home, not on the road. Secondly, they have a very solid team on paper - one that is pretty similar to the Arena Bowl team from last year.
As usual, Tiger Jones is going to be the aerial threat that we need to watch out for. The most annoying part is, every time he scores, he'll do an obnoxious dance (that tends to be fun to watch...) Also, we have to accept the fact that Derrick "the Boss" Ross is going to set an AFL record this week. It's going to happen. He's 7 yards shy of the all-time rushing record, and he can get that on one carry. Philly is just about the only team in the league that actually plays a running game, and they play it a lot. (Side note: The record Ross is going to beat took Bo Kelly 12 years to set - and Ross has been in the league for three. So, he's going to push it out of reach by the time he's done playing.)
One last player to note for this week is Ryan McDaniel. In many ways, he reminds me of an evil Gary Butler. He's Philly's big time hot-head. He's been playing great on offense, but at the same time, he's drawn some big-time penalties because of his short fuse. Here's where the Bully can come in - if Butler and McDaniel clash enough, they might get each other ejected, and that could be exactly what we need. Regardless, getting him to lose his cool could be that 4th quarter screw-up for this week.
Elsewhere in the League
- First up is Cleveland at Orlando. Really, this game can't work out badly for us - merely "good" and "better." Obviously, we want Cleveland to lose, on principle and because they're in our division. But, if they happen to win, Orlando losing is good as well. Even if we lose, whichever of those teams win can only tie our record, and we have more division wins than Cleveland. Right now, 4th place in the conference is a playoff spot, and we're still on pace for that.
- I don't have nearly as much to say about Tampa Bay at NOLA. They're gonna beat the Voodoo, and that's good for us - the Voodoo is the other team we need to stay at a worse record than us to get into the playoffs.
- Likewise, San Jose shouldn't have much trouble against the Barnstormers.
- The match-up between Spokane and Arizona is being touted as a preview of the division championship. It might be - regardless, it's going to be a great match-up. I'm not going to feel comfortable until the Ratts lose again. I mean, they can beat the Shock, but they've won 8 in a row and are still due for a stumble.
- The main thing San Antonio's meeting with the Chicago Rush has going for it is that it's a division match. They're pretty evenly matched, and I'm going to give a slight edge to the Talons.
- I'm still baffled that Utah has had such a crappy season. I honestly haven't watched enough of their games to really get a feel for why, but the fact is, things haven't gone their way. Jacksonville, on the other hand, is in it to win it.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Visiting Enemy Territory: Power vs Soul Review
As I mentioned in my brief preview last week, I had the chance to travel to Philly this weekend to catch the Power on the road. Despite the fact that we lost (hard) it was a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing it again some time.
Approaching enemy territory.
For those of you who haven't been to Philly professional sports DMZ, Wells Fargo Center lies a subway ride away from downtown, clustered with Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field, putting everything right on top of each other. The Brothers Keller and I were lucky enough to arrive just as the first game of a Phils double-header was letting out and everyone was heading across the street to Xfinity Live to drink. Whereas my brother-in-law was being the good homer and wearing local garb, the Kellers and I stood out just a wee bit in our black n gold amid the sea of red.
Looks varied from "WTF jersey is that?" to "I don't know what that is, but black and gold means I must hate you."
After some time trying to blend in with the locals and having a few adult beverages at Victory (Pittsburgh seriously needs a setup like this place) we headed in for the game. Even though Wells Fargo only holds a couple of hundred people less than Consol, it somehow feels much more cramped. I don't know what it was - maybe the seats are smaller, maybe it's because the jumbotron is way higher or what, but it feels smaller inside. By luck of the draw, our seats were almost exactly the same as what we have every week at home (which led to a comical double-take from the highlight film crew), but the different setup put us right behind the bench.
Hi, Tomczak!
I go to every home game, but this was the first time that it really felt like my cheering shenanigans could actually be noticed by the team. When we walked down to our seats, Superman saw us and threw a salute. Cool stuff.
Now, for the game itself. I don't think any of us really expected to win, and we sure didn't - but that's more because of the strength of the Soul than weakness of the Power. This is not to say that the Power's skills didn't play a part - weak offense, poor protection of the quarterback, etc were all in play - but damn, the Soul is just a solid, solid team who has earned everything they've gotten this season.
The game got off to an inauspicious start with the Power getting stopped dead on their opening drive - but a clutch interception by "Gingabread" LeFlore on Raudabaugh's first pass of the game turned things back around. To be honest, the first half didn't get too out of control, and we actually had the right to hope. At the beginning of the second quarter, we had the lead and were slowly but surely getting the job done.
However, Philly came back with a touchdown to Brackins, a 4-and-out stop, touchdown to Morgan and then that traditional pick that we've talked about before. That one that you can look back on as the play that took the wind out of the Power's sails. Even so, the first half ended 27-13, which isn't insurmountable, but it wasn't optimal. The third was painful, but still "in there" somewhere. It wasn't until the end of the forth where it just got a bit ugly and then it was over.
I'm going to give full disclosure here. Where I was sitting, my view should have been a lot like this:
Clear, unobstructed awesome.
However, given that the delightful Soulmates actually hang out in the audience at Wells Fargo, a few times, my view was more like this:
Obstructed awesome.
It took me almost an entire quarter to realize that the guy to her left was wearing a kilt. A kilt. So, that being said, I might have missed a few details, but here are some highlights.
We chatted with a member of the Power front office who asked if we had renewed our season tickets yet. I explain to him that, to be 100% frank, we weren't sure if the team would still be here next year, so we were giving it a wait-and-see approach. His response was that Mr. Swann and Shaner are 100% committed to the team, and they will be back next season.
This is great news, because while I sat amongst nearly 10,000 crazy (and at times very...Philly) fans I happened to look up and see this:
Given the fact that we're in the anything-can-happen phase of the season, I'm shocked that I went nearly 100% on my picks again this week.
Not a lot has changed since last week, except that the Rush is getting a look in and the Cats are bumped for the time being.. The Cats' loss was a blow in the standings, but they're only a half-game shy of Chicago, so it's not time to write their epitaph just yet.
Assuming neither of them royally screw the pooch, the Ratts and Talons are going to be #1 and #2 in the conference, and which one is which might very well come down to their late-season match-up. The Ratts doubled the Talons' score last time, so even if Garcia wins this round, they'll need to put up some serious points to offset that loss, all other things being equal. They also have to think about the fact that there's a very good chance they'll have to play each other again to reach the Arena Bowl.
The American Conference is just a mess. Aside from the Soul, we still can't say anything for sure - not even who is going to be in and who's going to be out (except for Pittsburgh, Orlando and KC.) The live bracket right now says Jax, Voodoo and Force, and that's as good of a guess as any. Tampa and Cleveland can both get in, but I don't think that either has got the drive to do it any more. If the Mustangs knuckle down and get some help, they might get in - but they'd need to get past Cleveland and have someone in the South nose-dive.
So, that's the weekend in review. I'll be back on Friday with the next update
Approaching enemy territory.For those of you who haven't been to Philly professional sports DMZ, Wells Fargo Center lies a subway ride away from downtown, clustered with Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field, putting everything right on top of each other. The Brothers Keller and I were lucky enough to arrive just as the first game of a Phils double-header was letting out and everyone was heading across the street to Xfinity Live to drink. Whereas my brother-in-law was being the good homer and wearing local garb, the Kellers and I stood out just a wee bit in our black n gold amid the sea of red.
Looks varied from "WTF jersey is that?" to "I don't know what that is, but black and gold means I must hate you."
After some time trying to blend in with the locals and having a few adult beverages at Victory (Pittsburgh seriously needs a setup like this place) we headed in for the game. Even though Wells Fargo only holds a couple of hundred people less than Consol, it somehow feels much more cramped. I don't know what it was - maybe the seats are smaller, maybe it's because the jumbotron is way higher or what, but it feels smaller inside. By luck of the draw, our seats were almost exactly the same as what we have every week at home (which led to a comical double-take from the highlight film crew), but the different setup put us right behind the bench.
Hi, Tomczak!I go to every home game, but this was the first time that it really felt like my cheering shenanigans could actually be noticed by the team. When we walked down to our seats, Superman saw us and threw a salute. Cool stuff.
Now, for the game itself. I don't think any of us really expected to win, and we sure didn't - but that's more because of the strength of the Soul than weakness of the Power. This is not to say that the Power's skills didn't play a part - weak offense, poor protection of the quarterback, etc were all in play - but damn, the Soul is just a solid, solid team who has earned everything they've gotten this season.
The game got off to an inauspicious start with the Power getting stopped dead on their opening drive - but a clutch interception by "Gingabread" LeFlore on Raudabaugh's first pass of the game turned things back around. To be honest, the first half didn't get too out of control, and we actually had the right to hope. At the beginning of the second quarter, we had the lead and were slowly but surely getting the job done.
However, Philly came back with a touchdown to Brackins, a 4-and-out stop, touchdown to Morgan and then that traditional pick that we've talked about before. That one that you can look back on as the play that took the wind out of the Power's sails. Even so, the first half ended 27-13, which isn't insurmountable, but it wasn't optimal. The third was painful, but still "in there" somewhere. It wasn't until the end of the forth where it just got a bit ugly and then it was over.
I'm going to give full disclosure here. Where I was sitting, my view should have been a lot like this:
Clear, unobstructed awesome.However, given that the delightful Soulmates actually hang out in the audience at Wells Fargo, a few times, my view was more like this:
Obstructed awesome.It took me almost an entire quarter to realize that the guy to her left was wearing a kilt. A kilt. So, that being said, I might have missed a few details, but here are some highlights.
- Oderick Turner had a monster night this week, putting up almost identical numbers to Philly's Tiger Jones. That's fantastic. The triple threat of Jones, Hughley and "Captain" Morgan is most of what makes the Soul such a good team, and Turner should be proud to have stood with them.
- Even though Randall has protection problems with his offensive line, he still actually had some good numbers this week, putting up 60 yards more than Raudabaugh and only one more pick. To put that in perspective, Raudabaugh has solid blockers that give him a lot time to think. (He's also near-unflappable.) Much like Turner above, when put in context, it says a lot.
- In the second half, Donovan Morgan made one of those catches that belong on the highlight reel. Raudabaugh over-threw him a bit, so he had to charge through the end zone, slam into the wall and pluck the ball out of the air inches from a fan's lap. I bring this up because of something Keller's brother Erik said to me. He said that it was one of those plays that, irrespective of team, was athletic, exciting and makes people love Arena Football. He's not wrong.
We chatted with a member of the Power front office who asked if we had renewed our season tickets yet. I explain to him that, to be 100% frank, we weren't sure if the team would still be here next year, so we were giving it a wait-and-see approach. His response was that Mr. Swann and Shaner are 100% committed to the team, and they will be back next season.
This is great news, because while I sat amongst nearly 10,000 crazy (and at times very...Philly) fans I happened to look up and see this:
It's blurry, but it says Arena Bowl XXII champs.
...And, dammit, I want one.Elsewhere in the league
Given the fact that we're in the anything-can-happen phase of the season, I'm shocked that I went nearly 100% on my picks again this week.
- The Game of the Week was back on Friday night, and that was great, 'cause it meant that I got to see it. The Preds really made a run at the spoil, especially with some help from Rocco making his normal blunders. In the last minute, the Preds were up by one, but a touchdown followed by a safety sealed the deal for the Voodoo.
- Arizona didn't have much trouble against Milwaukee this week and advanced to 11-3, staying one game behind the Soul. The post-season is getting interesting.
- As I suspected, Cleveland's forfeit seems to have gotten in their head as they extended their losing streak to 5. They should be a better team than Jacksonville, and the fact that the game stayed within 7 almost the whole game proves it. Sharks win, 56-42. With the Mustangs also dropping one this week, the Gladiators remain in 2nd place in our division, but are now in the "need some help" to think about the playoffs.
- Talons definitely wanted it more, and Tampa finally dropped one at home this week. Talons remain tied with the Rattlers at 11-3, which means that the second-to-last game of the season is going to most likely have staggering implications.
- The Rush won a fairly safe game on the road against the Command, which keeps them in the running for a playoff spot. 59-41 is comfortable, but their road games are always scary.
- Once again, Tommy Grady and crew annihilated their opponent 61-38. I've talked in the past of the records that Grady is going to set this season, and you only need to look at this week. 25/28, 306 yards, 8 touchdowns and zero interceptions. I'm not saying he's the next Kurt Warner, but I'm wondering if any NFL team is eyeing him as a backup.
- Here's the one game that I missed the pick on. After getting thwumped at home earlier this season by the Cats, the Shock returned the favor with a 90-63 victory Saturday night. Re-read what I said about Grady above and realize that Rowley had a better night. 30/37, 392 yards, 12 TDs and only one interception. Take a bow, Kyle - you earned it.
Playoff Picture
Not a lot has changed since last week, except that the Rush is getting a look in and the Cats are bumped for the time being.. The Cats' loss was a blow in the standings, but they're only a half-game shy of Chicago, so it's not time to write their epitaph just yet.
Assuming neither of them royally screw the pooch, the Ratts and Talons are going to be #1 and #2 in the conference, and which one is which might very well come down to their late-season match-up. The Ratts doubled the Talons' score last time, so even if Garcia wins this round, they'll need to put up some serious points to offset that loss, all other things being equal. They also have to think about the fact that there's a very good chance they'll have to play each other again to reach the Arena Bowl.
The American Conference is just a mess. Aside from the Soul, we still can't say anything for sure - not even who is going to be in and who's going to be out (except for Pittsburgh, Orlando and KC.) The live bracket right now says Jax, Voodoo and Force, and that's as good of a guess as any. Tampa and Cleveland can both get in, but I don't think that either has got the drive to do it any more. If the Mustangs knuckle down and get some help, they might get in - but they'd need to get past Cleveland and have someone in the South nose-dive.
So, that's the weekend in review. I'll be back on Friday with the next update
Sunday, March 18, 2012
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.
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.
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