Heading to the Jungle - Predators rematch

Okay, yeah...we lost last week.  Badly.  Definitively.  A division loss, no less.  But, strangely, it's not that important in the grand scheme of things.  We're playing for the 4th spot in the conference.  We're not going to get the division, so Philly getting farther out in front isn't going to make them win it any more than they already are.  The teams we have to be concerned with are Cleveland, New Orleans and Orlando - which makes this week's game somehow more important than our division game last week.

Right now, the series is tied between these two teams.  The Power swept them last season, but lost hard both in their first season and earlier this year.  The acquisition of Aaron Garcia was key in starting to turn Orlando around - but they're still down at the bottom of the pack with us.  Regardless, he's one of the best in the game, and the Power will be playing on his field.

His prime receiver is T.T. Toliver, but it's really a triple threat of Toliver, Prechae Rodriguez, and Jason Geathers, accounting for almost 50 TDs on the year between them.  Last time the two teams met up, the majority of the damage (yards-wise) was Toliver, and that's pretty standard fare for him.  Rodriguez put up 3 touchdowns, and Geathers generally just made plays when needed.  Marlon Moye-Moore is also a concern in the running game (but not nearly as much as "Boss" Ross last week.  Ugh.)

As with most weeks, turnovers were an issue last time the Preds/Power met up, and there is no reason to think that it won't happen again.  Dominic Jones is Orlando's player on defense and special teams, but that's not really important - our turnover issue is more of a failing on offense than it is a success for the opponent's defense.

It's an important game in Florida and all-but-a-must-win for the Power.  Tune in Saturday to see how it plays out.

Elsewhere in the League

• Utah came up big last week against Jacksonville in the Battle of Replacement QBs.  The decision to start Jason Boltus instead of Tommy Grady turned out to be the right one.  The question is, will it be the right call again this week in a big division match-up against the Shock?
• The two big things to consider in Saturday's match between the Soul and the Barnstormers are Iowa's defense and the Soul's habit of choking at home.  I think that those two things might spell a win for Iowa.
• With Bernard Morris on IR and newly acquired Kyle Rowley taking snaps, the Sharks have been on a two-game skid, but they're still at the top of their division.  With a game against Cleveland this weekend, they should return to their winning ways and help us out.
• Chicago and Tampa Bay are tied in the standings, and both coming off losses.  Tampa is still the better team, but the Rush needs the win to stay on top of their division.
• Likewise, the Talons need a win to catch up to the Rush.  New Orleans actually got win number three last week, so I for one, will be rooting for the Talons this week.
• Every now and again, the CBS game of the week gets it right:  The game between Arizona and San Jose should be the best game this week.  Normally, in a game as unpredictable as this, I'd take the home team...but I've also been predicting a Rattlers fall for weeks now.  So I just don't know.  Watch the game, it'll be fun.

Power @ Sharks Preview

Well...here we go again.  We're into the back half of the season and that means we get to start playing good teams again.  This week, we get a rematch against the Sharks, and this time, we're in their house.  I have mixed feelings about this.  On one hand, the Sharks are still the dangerous team we faced in week #2...but on the other hand, the Power's gotten a taste of them and tends to be slightly better on the road.  Out of the last four games, the Sharks have had three losses and a win against the Preds...by three points  That's not a stunning record, so we might have a chance.

Our win last week against the Gladiators was just what the doctor ordered, but we can't make it more than it was.  Cleveland is a lousy, lousy team.   However, that game was a blast to watch, and there was actual life in Consol for the first time in more than a year.  Plus, it was a division win - so I think that, more important than the victory itself, it was a confidence builder.

So, what are we looking at this week?  Well, it's a road game, as mentioned earlier, which is good and bad, given the Power's history.  The more important part of the team's history is the fact that we've never beaten the Sharks, and we've never ended a game within 20 points of them...and that's something the team CANNOT think about.

The biggest thing that that worked against the Power in the most recent match-up was Jacksonville's defense.  They had six sacks and three picks, and that will kill you every time.  Normal suspects - Swiss cheese line and a rattled QB.  Sheffield is still throwing picks, but he seems to be settling into his role.  Also, the line is giving him more time to think.  That keeps up, we're in a better place.

Other than that, it's business as usual.  There's nothing I can say this time that I didn't say last time we played them specifically, or most weeks in general. 

A few notes:  last week, Chris LeFlore returned a huge kickoff for a TD that helped earn him Week 10 AFL MVP.  Obviously, he's getting more comfortable in his role.  Also, Twitter holds rumblings that Oderick Turner has returned, strengthening the receiver position.  (I didn't see Graves playing last week, so Turner might be filling Graves' shoes.)

It's a road game, but it will air at 7 on ThisTV, this Saturday, June 1st.

Elsewhere in the League

• I am just giddy this week.  Three games are airing in Pittsburgh, and Philly shifted their kickoff, so I get to watch football from 4 until after midnight.  First up is Philly hosting Arizona.  The Ratts have lost one game this season thus far, so I'm really hoping they'll do the Power a solid and take the Soul down.
• The Rush maintains their slim grip on the lead in their division as they travel to Florida to play the Preds.  My money is on the Rush.
• Statistically, the Gladiators are slightly better than the Voodoo.  But, the Voodoo is at home in the Graveyard and has lost 8 in a row...dare we hope for a double smack-down on our division rivals this week?
• Tampa travels to Iowa with hopes of getting back to their winning ways...and Iowa really needs a win as well to keep up with the Joneses in their division.  Too close to call.
• Speaking of the Joneses in that division, San Antonio plays host to the Utah Blaze at 8:30 Monday, and the Talons are sporting their fourth QB of the year - former Power thrower, Xavier Lee.  You never seem to see much of him at any one point or position.  He's a utility player who does a bit of everything, but QB is what he seems to really want to do.  I've always liked him, but I'm not sure he has what it'll take to beat Tommy Grady.
• Finally, the prime time game of the week is the Saberkitties and the Spokane Shock.  It's a division grudge match between two teams that are virtually tied and both riding a winning streak.  The Cats tend to win high-pressure games, but the Shock doesn't just lie down.  I'm just glad we all have the chance to watch this one.

Sharks at Power Preview/Blaze Post Mortem

Okay, last week was painful and ugly.  I'm not going to sugarcoat it, because that's what it was.  The Power got their collective and individual asses handed to them to the tune of 64-33, and it's exactly how we didn't need to start the season.

I say the reason we lost is that this place was allowed to be open during the game.

However, it's pretty much what I expected to happen given who we drew for the first game opponent, and what the Power did during their off-season.  The Blaze was a good team last year, and they're still a good team this year.  Grady's still a giant with a laser arm, and the rest of the team still does what they do.  It's a fact of nature, and there' nothing the Power could do about it.

It was almost a clinic on offensive lines and special teams.  When the Power lined up for the attack, they looked like football players.  When the Blaze lined up, they looked like monsters.  Grady is somewhere around 6'7", and yet, he just looks just a little taller than the guys around him.  His O line protected him beautifully, and the pocket stayed generously open, giving him more time than a player like him needs.  Because of this, he didn't have any trouble connecting with his receivers and scoring.

The Power's line, however, just collapsed on most plays just the way I feared it would.  Honestly, I liked what I saw out of Jefferson - he's mobile, pretty accurate, and - once he got tired of eating turf - isn't afraid to run for it (he rushed for almost 20 yards in the opener.)  However, he got sacked four times.  Grady got hit once, and frankly, that's only because the Blaze were getting cocky at the end.  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  I don't care if we had started Tommy Brady to their Tommy Grady - if our QB keeps getting planted 4 times a game, he's going to have a short, winless career.

The other concern I've had is Special Teams, and those were also mirror images in this game.  PJ Berry's a wild man, and he's our fan favorite star...but the Blaze had his number.  He was getting nailed inside the five yard line most of the game.  Utah, on the other hand, started with prime position on most drives.

Our defense is solid (Jackson is looking like a prime pickup.)  Joystick and Superman can still catch - these areas are not a concern.  However, they also don't matter a lick if the Power doesn't clean up the O Line and Special Teams.  I want a QB to actually stick around a whole season and not go to greener pastures.  Speaking of which...

...The Sharks return to Consol this Friday, bringing back former Power QB Bernard Morris.  Remember him?  He's that guy that everyone said was a bum and couldn't get the job done our Freshman season.  He keeps getting sacked, he can't get the ball off, he's always injured...and then he took the Sharks to the post season last year.  He's a good quarterback, and on the right team, he's done well for himself.

Also, we'll be facing Jeff Hughley, whom you might remember from his scoring drives against us with the Soul last year, and our former DL Justin Parrish.  Hughley is the main concern, as he's their Superman (the technical term is "Ironman.")  He can run, catch, tackle, return - he's the whole package.  If the Power can shut him down - at very least on returns - they'll be getting off on the right foot.  Unfortunately, they also have Jeron Harvey and Markee White to catch.  That's a problem that hopefully Jackson, LeFlore and Wise can keep contained.

Other than that, it's going to be a matter of keeping the pocket clean long enough for Jefferson to make some decisions.  Yep.  That simple.  No problem, right?

I just hope the jackass with a big head isn't sitting in front of me again

Elsewhere in the League
The bright point in our loss is that we weren't alone.  Since both Philly and Cleveland lost, it's a three-way tie in our division.  The downside is that Philly still looks like a contender.  They stumbled a bit in the second half in their rematch against the Rattlers, but it was a much cleaner game than the Arena Bowl.  Arizona is already looking scary good.


Cleveland got throttled by the Shock almost as badly as we did by Utah...so, we should at least be able to match up against the Gladiators.


The Talons kept the game close against the Cats and Garcia (Who now has 1200 career TDs.)  The beginning of the game didn't look like that was going to happen when the Cats jumped out 20-0, but then the Talons came roaring back, only to lose by a hair.

This week:

• Hopefully the Ratts will slap the Blaze down for us Friday.  Judging by the two teams' performances last week, it should be a slugfest.
• Game of the week is NOLA hosting the Barnstormers.  Both teams won their openers and play good, classic football.  They're well matched and not full of showboaters.  It's the kind of game I love to watch.
• Sunday is Spokane and the Rush.  If nothing else, it doesn't feel like Sunday without the Rush.

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 Razed By the Blaze

Well, that game was downright sucktastic.

As Weidman already covered in his review of Saturday's game, there was really nothing positive to take away from the Power's "performance" on Saturday night.

They got down big early, Kevin McCabe coughed the ball up twice in the first three possessions, Chris Wallace stepped in and was thoroughly underwhelming, and the defense allowed 11 touchdown passes.

Injuries were a factor, since the Power only dressed three defensive backs for the game, Neil Purvis was hurt, and Bernard Morris didn't make the trip to Salt Lake City.  Turnovers were a factor, especially early, and they always seemed to strike when the Power were trying to gain some momentum -- not that there's ever a good time to turn the ball over.  Tackling has been an issue at times this season and, on Saturday night, the Power secondary looked like they were trying to show the world what it would be like to tackle without using your arms.  They took bad angles, were generally out of position, and didn't adjust to the fact that the Blaze were running mostly screens and quick hitches by playing closer to the line of scrimmage.  You don't lose a game by 41 points because of just one team.  It takes a village bad play to get blown out this badly.

First and foremost, some work on the fundamentals needs to be done.  The receivers and quarterback (whoever that may be this week) need to work on reading the defense at the line and making adjustments.  The Blaze showed just how effective this can be, as they switched to a more conventional drop-back offense midway through the third quarter after the Power defensive backs finally figured out that they needed to scoot up.  At that point, the secondary was so demoralized and exhausted that Tommy Grady and company were able to pick them apart fairly easily.  The defense needs to work on their recognition skills as well.  Even if the coaches didn't say anything at halftime, Josh Lay and his two counterparts should have known to step up and force the issue before things got out of hand.

At this level, in theory, guys should know how to tackle.  It's like how you can't teach a receiver how to catch by the time he's a pro.  If he catches the ball with his body, he's been catching the ball with his body for about 20 years and there's no way to un-teach it.  You can give him some pointers, try to get him headed in the right direction, but two decades of muscle memory are not changed easily.  Gary Butler is the best tackler on the team by far.  He can give the other guys on the team a crash course and talk about how he approaches it.  He's often brought as a fourth rusher, so the coaches can have him drop back and roam a bit, which will help contain any kind of short passing attack.  And, ultimately, Lonnell Dewalt needs to understand that he should learn how to tackle, since he's going to be playing a lot more defense for the balance of the season.  His current strategy of diving at the feet of the ball carrier is not sustainable.  He did have one solid tackle earlier this year and it was on a crucial goal line stand -- Dewalt is definitely a clutch player with an acute sense of "the moment" -- but one solid tackle in six games isn't a ratio that's going to get these guys to the playoffs.  In addition, Royce Adams -- one of the stars of the secondary -- signed a contract with a UFL team, so he's probably not coming back.  Someone needs to fill his shoes, which will not be an easy task.

Wallace is not the answer at quarterback.  I know that he didn't even have a full week of practice before being thrown into the action on Saturday, but he was horrible.  I re-watched the second half of the game and I could tell that his timing with the receivers was off.  That's understandable, given the fact that he didn't have much of an opportunity to work on it, but timing is usually off by a couple of steps or a few yards.  Wallace was, very frequently, five yards behind a receiver and ten feet over the receiver's head.  At one point in the fourth quarter, announcer Edmund Nelson commented that, "The fans have got a lot of balls tonight."  I'm just going to leave that there.

It could be that he'll improve considerably after a full week as the number one guy.  It could be that he'll have more success against the Mustangs.  To Utah's credit, their secondary did an amazing job in coverage.  (As an aside, the Blaze played extremely well.  It was partly that the Power laid a giant egg and partly that Utah played extremely well, as you don't win by 41 points because of just one thing, either.)  It could be that he's a completely different guy against Milwaukee.  It's possible.  I just think that it's highly unlikely and I can't wait for Morris to come back.  I caught the first half of the game on the radio, so I didn't see McCabe play.  As I understand it, he was worse than Wallace, which I find hard to believe, but I trust Weidman's judgement.

Since Cleveland lost, the biggest development in this game was that Morris has gone from, "He's back?  Ah, crap!" to, "He's hurt?  Ah, crap!" in a hurry.  He's the guy to run this offense and he's the guy that's going to lead this team into the playoffs.  If he's out for a long period of time -- especially if he goes on injured reserve again -- then the Power's chances at the postseason go with him.

The good news -- not a silver lining, just good news -- is that this abomination is now behind us and we can focus on next week.  The AFL is a week-to-week league and last week's blowout loss only counts as one in the "L" column.

The Power need to focus on the next game on the schedule.  As they say in the tow truck business, a wreck is something you leave behind you.  They need to continue to keep pace with/distance themselves from the Cleveland Gladiators.  With only two divisions in each conference, winning your division is Priority Number One.

I think Coach Siegfried will get this team back on track and we'll see a better brand of Power football against the Mustangs this coming Saturday.

Power Goes Out in a Blaze of Non-Glory

Ouch. Where to even start? Recently, I said that the Power had little to be ashamed of in their tough loss to the Storm, but I can't say that this week. This was, perhaps, the Power's worst performance all season, and it's hard to take anything good out of it. The defense seemed to not even make the trip out to SLC, the offense's biggest names barely made an appearance, fumbles were aplenty, and our starting line's injury report is starting to look like a Pyrrhic after-battle report.

To say that we were blown out in our 81-40 loss is an understatement, and I hope the Power spend every waking moment this week watching film to figure out A.) where they went wrong and B.) how they can fix it.

To start it out, there are the injuries. On the defense, both Purvis and Stevenson were out with injuries, leaving holes in important spots. Behind center, the merry carousel of broken quarterbacks continued with Morris being out after being injured in Tampa last week.

McCabe started the game, but only made it three possessions. He hasn't played since the beginning of April, and it showed. Two out of his three drives ended in fumbles that were taken straight in for TDs, and those were sadly not the last of the game. Siegfried pulled him at that point - whether it was because getting sacked two times injured him, or because he was just a mess is unclear - and yet another new QB was put in. Since Morrelli is no longer with the team, we were left with Chris Wallace - a QB that we picked up earlier this week.

His inexperience was both obvious and understandable - but that doesn't mean that we have to like it. He only went 19 for 39 in this game, and never figured out quite who to throw to. Mathis, Washington and Fulton were all left with less than 70 yards each. All-in-all, he passed to six different people for only 4 touchdowns. If there was a bright side, it was that he didn't throw a single interception...of course, neither did the Blaze, but that's neither here nor there.

Next, the fumbles. God, those were brutal. Besides the two that McCabe coughed up early on, Wallace, Mathis and Washington each had one, two of which lead to immediate touchdowns. Now, when Keller was watching the game, it was his feeling that Washington's forward fumble was intentional - that it was done because he knew he wasn't going to make it, and hoped to recover in the end zone. That might be true, but given the shoddy play all game, I have a hard time believing that. Anything's possible, though.

On defense, there wasn't any huge mistakes, but there wasn't much of anything at all to write home about. They kept the rushing game down to almost non-existence, but they allowed over 300 yards in the air and 11 touchdowns. Tommy Grady is good, but there's still no excuse for that. The defense just didn't put any pressure at all on the Blaze offense.

In the downs game, it wasn't even a contest. The Power only managed to convert one of six third downs, and a single 4th down. The Blaze, on the other hand was five for five on 3rds, and never had to worry about converting a 4th. This goes back to both our offense and defense just not being effective.

If there is anything good that can be taken out of this game, it was our returns. In six kickoff returns, the Power managed to rack up over a hundred yards. Mathis accounted for 78 of those by himself, proving once again how good it is to have him back.

It is extremely lucky for the Power that the Football Gods were smiling on us. Somehow - who the hell knows how - Cleveland lost on Sunday. This leaves us still tied with them, holding the tie-breaker and first in the division. We have a stay of execution for another week. This is a stay that the Power had better be down on their knees screaming their thanks for - because they should have lost the lead this weekend.

The Power needs to start winning again, and start doing so now. As said in the past, Cleveland has a pretty easy schedule, and we still have at least one game left that I know we're going to lose. I'd really rather not be in a position where our next game against Cleveland decides the division again.

All other things aside, the Power needs to get healthy. Chris Siegfried was quoted as saying, "The injuries have made it a less-than-fun season and have added to the stress level." It's nice to see that Coach Siegfried has a gift for understatement. To have any shot at - and in - the playoffs, we can't just keep throwing player names in a hat and pulling out who's going to start each week.

Next week, we play the Mustangs again, marking the first time we've played a team a second time. They, literally, have nothing left to play for and will be out to take us down, just because it'll be fun for them. We handled them handily back at the beginning of the season, and hopefully will again.

But not if we play like we did this week.

Elsewhere in the league

• After a first half that was shaping up to be a blow-out, the Preds rallied to make it a game. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't enough, and they lost to their hated rivals. Hell of a game, though.
• Not surprisingly, the Mustangs got slapped by the Sharks, who have now extended their winning record to a staggering twelve.
• Arizona locked up their division with a tight win over their rivals, the Sabercats.
• Philly dropped another game when they hosted the Talons, widening the gap in the wild-card race
• Again, Cleveland lost, which is the greatest gift the Power could receive.

If the Playoffs Were Today

• As stated, Arizona locked up their division, guaranteeing them a playoff berth. At this point, they'd be playing Tulsa, which shouldn't be much of a challenge for them.
• It's still, despite a loss for Chicago this week, shaping up to be a match against Dallas in the first round. Nothing new to report.
• In our conference, the Sharks would be meeting up with Georgia in the first round. I still don't think anyone's beating Jacksonville this year
• By the grace of God, we're still in it, and still matched up with Orlando. The way both teams played this week, it'd be a battle of who wants it more, and who screws up less. Right now, that looks to be Orlando that would walk away with it. (If nothing else, it'd make the second round entertaining against the Sharks.)
  

Power Goes to Utah. Power vs Blaze Preview.

A while back, I had mentioned that out of three games, we had two that we should win – even though we lost one of them – this is the third game. Despite their 5-7 record and stupid name, the Blaze is not going to be an easy game.

First off, QB Tommy Grady is actually one of the best in the league. He has a shot at breaking several single-season records this year, he's just had a bad string of luck so far. He throws fast, deep and accurately – not a trait that the Power has been historically good at dealing with.

On the flip-side, he has thrown a number of interceptions recently. Obviously, this means that DeWalt and Campbell need to be on their toes. With the way they put points up quickly, this is a must. Additionally, defense is critical against their special teams as Chris Bocage is very good at returning kickoffs for points.

On our side of the ball, as long as Morris keeps his cool, he should be able to get the job done. The Blaze is another one of those teams that relies on putting up lots of point to cope with the number they let up. Currently, they are averaging more than 60 points allowed per game, and they let up a staggering eighty-one points in Tulsa last week.

Obviously, while we're looking to pick them off, the Power needs to keep that from happening to themselves. Multiple turn-overs last week in Dallas were what put the game out of reach for them, and is not something that can be shaken off in Utah. As soon as the Blaze gets any kind of lead, I fear the game will be out of reach for us.

Both teams have a lot riding on this game. Since Cleveland won last week and we lost, we have to win this week to keep them at bay. I know I've said that, but it bares repeating. At this point, the only reprieve we get is them losing – and they have a soft schedule. I realize that we're not going to win out, but we need to play every game as if we need to.

Utah is in a worse position. Currently, they need to win this week to have even a shred of hope of securing the last wild-card slot in that conference. After losing three in a row, and getting thwumped by Tulsa last week, they are going to be in do-or-die mode. We had hoped last week that Tampa would be rolling over, but they proved that's not something we can count on. We need to play as if we're expecting Utah to come out shooting and not let up until the final whistle blows.

Elsewhere in the league

• Don't expect the Mustangs to gain any ground in the division, unless they have the biggest upset since David clocked Goliath when they meet up with the Sharks in Jacksonville.
• The Soul have a good chance against Tulsa Friday night, continuing to be a threat.
• Sunday afternoon, Cleveland will be facing off against the Command, a game they will most likely win.
• Friday night, the game of the week on the NFL Network is the Predators vs the Storm. This is the Steelers/Ravens of the AFL. As much as I'd like the Storm to lose, I'm going to have to root for them this week. If they can gain ground on Orlando, they have a shot at the playoffs – and I'd much rather face them than the Preds in the first round.