Sabercats at Power: Final home game

Pretty much, it's all over but the crying at this point.  Technically, the Power is still playoff eligible, but we would need to win out and have the Predators lose out.  Not gonna happen, but we can dream.

If nothing else, this weekend will be one last chance to see the Power play at home for the season and -- win or lose -- Sabercats games are fun.  Defying all logic, we've always matched up very well against them, despite them being way out of our league.  The games are generally close, and we've been capable of winning against them.

So, we should just sit back, relax, and watch some football.  It's going to be a short and sweet post, but that's because everything's been said before.  Next week, we'll have a better idea of the playoffs and we can get back to it.

The Sabercats are led by one Russ Michna, known primarily as being the long-time QB of the Chicago Rush and looking just like Keller's brother.  I'm still not sure why Chicago decided to part ways with him, but their loss has been San Jose's gain.  Once they kicked Aaron Garcia all the way back to Florida, Michna turned their offense around.  He's accurate and mobile, with the experience that makes him hard to rattle.

Our offense really hasn't been the same since Jason Willis left, and unfortunately, his return is going to be on the wrong side of the line.  He already has 31 TDs with the Cats, and I'm sure he'll rack up a few more this weekend.

On defense are Clevan Thomas who is an interception machine and Ken Fontenette, who is a tackling machine.  Also, his last name always makes me think that it's the word for the soft spot on a baby's head.  I need help, seriously.

Last week in Cleveland, the Power should have won.  The refs even did everything they could to give us the game, and we still frittered it away.  It was pretty sad.  That kind of play will not stack up against the Sabercats, however, I really think that it's more because the Power have already packed it in for the season.  The record they've had the last two seasons would demoralize anyone, and these guys are only human.  I just hope that they can pull it together one more time for the paying home crowd - especially since the game will be nationally televised.

Elsewhere in the League

• Utah has nothing left except to play spoiler.  Philly clinches the number one seed in our conference with a win (and a Shock win) this weekend.
• Iowa is just about out of this if they lose, and the Preds have buffer space.  Given that they have more to play for, the Barnstormers might pull this off - but my money's on the Preds
• Spokane travels to Jacksonville this week and it could go either way
• Cleveland's out if they lose this week, and I'm fairly sure that the Rush can accomplish that objective.
• Tampa pretty much just needs to beat the Talons to get a postseason spot, and they've historically been pretty good when their back is against the wall.
• Finally, there's NOLA at AZ....which is a freebie for the Ratts.

Hit the Road, Jack

This week, the Power head back out on the road, Keller and I follow them again, and several players get the boot.  It's action-packed, and I haven't even gotten to the part where I talk about Chickie's and Pete's Crabfries.

I mean, just look at them.  LOOK AT THEM!

Let's start with what we will be facing when we meet up with the Soul for the first time this season.  At 3-3, they're not quite the powerhouse they were last season...but that doesn't mean they're not decisively at the top of our division.  Part of their slide this year is due to the loss of Tiger Jones, Captain Morgan, and few others.  However, they've kept stars like Dirty Dan Raudabaugh, Derrick Ross and LaRico Stevenson (seriously, I miss that guy.)

Dirty Dan continues to be the red-headed menace that he's always been.  This season, he's on the right side of a 32/6 touchdown vs interception ratio.  He has good protection, thinks well on his feet, and is mobile.  He is the prime threat, and there's no two ways about it.

On the receiving side, Larry Brackins - stud of the last Arena Bowl -is still around and doing his thing, but definitely in more of a supporting role.  The heavy lifting is being done by Anthony Jones, and that dude is a monster, with 775 yards and 14 TDs in just six games this season.

While he's the threat in the air, Derrick Ross is most assuredly a threat on the ground in a league that doesn't use infantry very often.  His 14 TDs on the ground is a pretty good stat for a fullback for a season.  In just a third of a season, it's phenomenal. 

On the other side of the ball, LaRico Stevenson and Joe Goosby are twin terrors, putting up respectable numbers in sacks, turnovers, and tackles.  Given the continuing situation with our offensive line, these are the two that scare me the most.  Add to that the fact that Stevenson can return...


In typical Power fashion, it's time to replace some QBs and swap out kickers.  Czajkowski who, while formidable in Words With Friends, has been struggling.  He was let go, while Baker and Wolford have been placed on IR.  This makes room for a new kicker, a new receiver, and QB Steven Sheffield.  If that name sounds familiar, it's because we had originally signed him to a 3-year contract in November.  That's good.  It means he was someone the Power thought was worth locking in.  He was Garcia's backup, after all.  On the other hand, he didn't play for us because he didn't show up. That's bad.  But it was for family reasons.  That's...none of our business, really.

I'm just not super stoked about the situation.  Quarterback drama has become our bread and butter.  Last week, we brought back Derrick Cassidy - architect of the killer comeback against the Preds last year - to fill in while Shane Austin is out with an injury.  However, not only did they only use him for one or two plays, but Jefferson kept running back on the field like he was going to play whether coach liked it or not.  I have no frickin' clue what the situation really was, but best case it's that everyone was confused and worst case, it was that Coach Sting has no control over Jefferson.  Neither is good.

So, what's going to happen is, the Power, Keller, and myself are going to drive to Philly, the Power are going to figure some stuff out while we drink some beers, and then I'm gonna eat a cheesesteak and some crabfries while I enjoy some football and Soulmate cheerleaders.

LOOK AT THEM!

Elsewhere in the League

• Tampa at San Jose is mainly interesting to me because we're playing Tampa next week.  Both teams are looking strong right now, but being in different divisions, there's not a lot riding on this one.
• Chicago at Cleveland.  You know what?  This game is pretty important.  (Just bear with me for a second on this one.)  Playoff spots go to division leaders, then the next two best records.  Right now, Philly and Jacksonville are leading their respective divisions.  Tampa Bay is coming up on the Sharks hard.  That leaves a spot open.  NOLA, Cleveland, Orlando and Pittsburgh are all tied at 1-5.  If we can't get the wins honestly, I'll take our rivals losing.  So....Go Rush.
• NOLA at Iowa.  See above.  Go 'Stormers
• Utah at Arizona:  The Blaze is still at the bottom of a strong division and need every win.  I really don't know how to call this game.  Blaze is better than their record and the Ratts need to lose occasionally.   But I don't think they will this week.
• Sharks are on the road in San Antonio, and they will most likely rack up another win.
• Orlando at Spokane.  This will show whether or not the Preds beating us was a fluke or if Garcia is going to make them the real deal.

Predators at Power Preview

Hello Sports Gods, it's me, Weidman.  I realize that you're probably already busy with hockey playoffs and all, but if you're going to be around Consol - and I think the first playoff game the other night proved that you are - could you just throw the Power a bone?  There is one team in the entire league with a worse record than us, and that's the Preds.  Please don't let us be their first win.

Right now, the Power holds the all time series edge...but at 2-1 it's not that impressive, really.  However, after last season's sweep and the 31 point comeback game (that the Power marketing team refuses to let us forget) the Predators are the closest thing that we have to an actual, factual rival.  As such, I'm really looking forward to Saturday, even if it scares me to my core.

After Orlando's absolute thwumping at the hands of the Rattlers last week, there have been some (rumored) changes on their team.  Nothing has been officially said as of yet, but the smart money is on Orlando releasing QB Kyle Rowley due to poor performance and a run-in with the law.  Sadly, this isn't a new occurrence for players on their team, however, they don't seem to be standing for it.  They have acquired aging gunslinger Aaron Garcia as a last-ditch effort to save their season - and their money.

In San Jose, his issue seemed to be clashing with the head office over who was - literally - calling the shots.  I don't see that being a problem in Orlando.  They're gonna let him do whatever he wants.

Because they have such an abysmal record (Note: we have one win, so our record is just "sad") there aren't a lot of things that we have to be watching out for.  The main thing is Garcia himself.  If he can get in the groove, we're in trouble.  If not...we can take them.  For my money, the biggest play last week was when Chris Terrel knocked Nick Hill the f%@# out.

Seriously - it had to look something like this to him

The fact that he still completed the touchdown should have no bearing on how awesome it was. 

Aaron Garcia is probably my favorite player of all time, he's old (for football) and he deserves respect - but if our D can take him down, I'm all for it.

As for our QB situation, it seems like they're sticking with what they're used to.  All I've read says that JJ's getting the start again this week.  I'm sure that, after his performance last week, a lot of people would like to see Shane Austin get the start.  Admittedly, he was looking pretty good, but then, he's a completely different QB.  Where Jefferson goes for the targeted assault, Austin likes to get mobile and throw it where he may.  It worked pretty well against the Talons, but they weren't expecting it.  Whichever QB they go with, protection is still the issue.  While I'm saying that we need to nail Garcia, some blogger in Orlando is writing the same thing about our guy.

The prime thing working against the Predators this season is the same thing working against us - penalties.  They are giving a up a lot of yardage and so are we.  Whichever team manages to control those will ultimately control the game.

That means:  Get down there, get a ticket and get loud.

Elsewhere in the League

• This week starts out with a division match between Iowa and San Antonio.  The two teams are pretty evenly matched, but my money's on Iowa.
• Topping their respective divisions, Chicago and Philly will duke it out Saturday night.  Neither team really looks like a division leader at this point, to be honest, but the Rush has the better record.  Take that for what you will
• The TV game this week is Tampa Bay vs NOLA.  If it weren't a bitter rival match, it would be set up to be a snoozefest given how poorly the Voodoo is playing this season.  But, these two teams always bring their A game against each other.  Plus - bonus Chris Farley the Coach. (I never get sick of that.)
• As usual, only the West Division could have a top-vs-bottom match-up that might still be worth watching.  The Blaze had been on a slide since destroying us in week one, up until they destroyed Cleveland in their last game.  The Shock have only lost one game so far, but the Blaze is anything but a pushover.
• When Cleveland heads to San Jose, about the only thing I see coming from that game is more padding for us in the division standings.  Cleveland is just bad.
• Finally, the game I most want to see is the one that airs the same time as the Power game:  Arizona at Jacksonville.  The Arena Bowl between these two a few years ago was epic, and right now, both are looking like their old selves again.  This game should be awesome.

Talons at Power Preview

"OK, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it's called 'two in a row'. And if we win again tomorrow, it's called a 'winning streak'... It has happened before!"

-Lou Brown, Major League II

Okay, so - I forgot to write a preview last week until it was too late.  I'm hoping that wasn't the lucky omen that helped the Power win their first game of the season, because I remembered this week.  Our boys traveled to the Big Easy and won a hard-fought battle against the Voodoo.  The game went the distance, they played a full four quarters and they brought home the "W."  Does this mean their problems are solved?

No.  They're still sloppy and have their problems on the offensive line, but they're getting better.  Also, the Voodoo are struggling this season - but a win's a win.  This is largely a symbolic victory.  It wasn't in our division and the majority of Power fans probably didn't even see it since it just aired online....but they won and on the road no less.  The team knows it and they can go into this week strong and not feeling like it's futile.

Hopefully, this meeting won't be as disastrous as it was when we went to their house last year.   Honestly, I don't think that's possible.  Even if it were, they no longer have Willis and Garcia, so those are two big factors taken off the field.  The main weapons that we have to contend with are Jomo Wilson and Dwayne Eley Jr.  Shut them down and things will be a lot easier.

Honestly, the Talons are looking pretty beatable right now.  Their record is the same as ours (1-3) and they've had a change-up at QB.  Last week, they brought in Nick Hill (previously of the Storm.)  Although he's a really good QB, he seemed very confused against the Rattlers last week and the Talons got crushed.  That could easily just be because he had new guy jitters and the Rattlers are still awesome.  However, if he hasn't gotten it together by this week, our defense has a prime opportunity to go pick-crazy again.

I think the Power has just about used up their home-field goodwill in regards to losses.  They need to start stacking up wins, and it needs to happen this week.

Elsewhere in the League

• GotW: Tampa at Spokane.  This one is tough to call.  Tampa doesn't look great, but they don't look terrible, either.  Spokane is one of the only undefeated teams left and this just might be the week they underestimate their opponent.
• On the opposite end of the scale are the hapless Orlando Predators.  I'm still sad to see them struggling like this, but at least we have a better record than someone.  They're winless and have to play the Ratts this week.  They're gonna owe some people money this year...
• I'm looking for the Voodoo to get a critical win this week when they host the struggling Sabercats who ask the question, "Is Garcia washed up?"  Their signing of accountant Russ Michna to a two-year contract seems to say "yes."  Garcia hasn't been able to gel with the San Jose offense's play calling scheme, and it looks like they've decided to move on.  I don't think Michna really expected to come back to the league, and I'm betting that he's going to have a lot of rust to knock off this week.
• The other undefeated team is the Jacksonville Sharks, who travel to the City of Brotherly Love Saturday.  The Soul have gotten pretty roughed up so far this season, but they're really strong at home.  Like the Shock, I'm not sure that the Sharks will make it through this week perfect.
• I can't believe I'm saying this, but after coming up huge against Philly last week and the Blaze only beating us so far...I might actually have to take the Gladiators at home against Utah.
• Finally, the first game of the week is Chicago at Iowa in a rematch of week one.  Wanna know how this game between two bitter rivals is gonna play out?  Flip a coin.

Talons Strike, Draw Blood

It was no great surprise that the Pittsburgh Power lost Saturday night. What is surprising is how badly they were beaten when they statistically played so well, save for a few key and devastating areas.

Randall's performance (with an exception to be mentioned later) was pretty impressive. He made almost twice as many attempts as Garcia and threw for around 120 yards more. He also went the night pick-free. Great for him in specific, and pretty darn good for a QB in this league in general.

Receiving was respectable, with our third-best in terms of yardage (Joystick) only 3 yards shy of the Talons top performer (Wilson.) Superman had a monster night with 188 yards in the air and 148 yards on returns. We even out-rushed them, though neither numbers weren't that impressive.

Even the defense wasn't having a bad night. The opening drive, they actually held the Talons to a field goal. During the rest of the game, they came up big on a few third and fourth down plays and sacked Garcia twice.

So, with everything coming up Pittsburgh, why did we lose 68-52?

Fumbles, sacks, special teams, dumb calls and kicking. Yes, I realize kicking falls under the umbrella of special teams - it was just so fucking bad that it has to be mentioned.

Randall flat-out fumbled one, got stripped another time and Joystick dropped another one. I don't know what's going on, but we have had a serious problem with that this season. Also, it isn't just the fumbles themselves - it's the falling on the damn ball part. Hell, we forced three fumbles ourselves, but failed to recover a single one of them. That's 6 lost balls in this game, and the Talons came up with all of them.

Our offensive line just could not protect Randall in this game, either. Besides the stripping, Randall got put on his back 7 times during the game for a loss of almost 40 yards. That's no good. We can't instill confidence in a QB if he knows he's going to get beat.

Now to address the disgraceful performance on special teams, which will include the kicking and dumb calls. The Talons had pretty free run of the field on returns. Three different players fielded the ball and racked up a cumulative 99 yards and two touchdowns.

As for kicking - and it's tempting to give them a pass on the fact that they're on their third kicker in three weeks - the Power did not make a single PAT during the game. Siegfried finally said to hell with it and started going for two on every touchdown. Now, he probably should have done that last week as well and I'm not going to fault him for it. However, it's a sucky, sucky situation to be in.

The cherry on the sundae was the fact that we attempted 3 onside kicks. I'm not a coach. I can't say when there's no other choice. I can say that there's about a 14% success rate in the AFL with them (citation be damned) and to succeed, you need an accurate kicker and great ability to dive on the ball. You need a kicker that can get it at least ten yards, hit an opposing player hard enough (or awkwardly enough) that it bounces off them at some weird angle, and then have special teams guys that can track that odd bounce and dive on it like a live grenade in the middle of a mass baptism where all the grandparents are war heroes.

To sum up: You need accurate kicking, surprise, good special teams and the ability to cover a loose ball. Go re-read everything I just wrote above and consider how mind-numbingly stupid that plan is. We lost by two touchdowns - and one of those was a return off of an onside kick. Let that marinate until next week when we play the worst team in the league and risk some serious embarrassment.

Elsewhere in the League

• I was unable to watch the NFL game of the week, which is unfortunate, given the division implications. However, the Gladiators were able to hold off the Mustangs.
• The Blaze and the Sabercats faced off in a brutal rivalry game that was - as I suspected - a lot of fun to watch. At 70-59, the Sabercats' victory was decisive, but hardly an easy win. Regardless, they stand alone at the top of their division, and continue to support my theory that they and the Soul will have a rematch at the end of the season.
• NOLA lost, but they hardly laid down for the Shock, 68-62
• Tampa Bay lost the top spot in their division again this week and sit a half game behind the Georgia Force after losing a tight one to the same. 44-41
• Philly had no trouble defeating the Sharks 56-38.
• No upset out in Iowa, as the Barnstormers tromp on the (still) winless KC Command, 62-42.
• Last game of the week was the Chicago Rush visiting the Arizona Rattlers. As I suspected, the Rush's glaring procedural errors were no match for the solid team out in the desert. Final score, 77-43.
  

Time to Trim Some Talons

I might as well skip to the chase: We're going to lose this week.

There is the hope that such a bold statement will humor both the Football Gods and the Vegas Oracles and cause them to make a fool of me, but I doubt it. We've lost too many games against teams that we should have beaten to really have much hope against the San Antonio Talons.

Led by Aaron Garcia, the fourth greatest Arena QB in history, the Talons are currently sitting on a 5-3 record. The three games they've lost have been against the Shock, Sabercats and the Rattlers - and at least two of them have the right to dream of going to the Arena Bowl (and, the last three Arena Bowls have featured one of those three teams.) Also, we're playing them on the road.

So, yeah - it's an uphill battle, to be sure.

Garcia has been in the league for 18 years and holds almost every record he can hold. Last year, he became the first QB (in any league) to pass 1,000 TDs. The main thing that we have to accept about him is that he cannot be pressured in the pocket and he's not afraid to throw it long. Now, the silver lining here is that I said we can't pressure him. He can be hurried, he can be sacked and he can be picked. These are all symptoms of extremely experienced quarterbacks. They've seen it all (and Garcia has) and they think, "I can hold this for a few more second- OH CRAP!" or "Sure, what the heck - I can make this pass..."

The games that the Talons have lost this year are ones where they were on the wrong side of the turnover battle or where Garcia got beat up. The former of these, we know we can do. The latter we can do better than we have been, so hopefully this is the week we do. When he played for the Sharks last here, he beat us by 25 points, but whatever.

Garcia has four mean targets in former Preds star Robert "I made the right choice" Quiroga, Jomo Wilson, Carl more and his favorite, our own Jason "Whatchu Talkin' Bout/JWill" Willis. They're good. That's all that can be said. Willis is his favorite target, and we know him. That's our advantage. Also - even if it didn't work out last year - Siegfried used to be one of Garcia's coaches. This is something that needs to be exploited.

On our side, Randall will be starting again so, say what you will, it's a bit of consistency. Also, I'm glad "Vampire" Kramer gave me something to write about last week, 'cause he's already gone again. Wagner's on league suspension now, so we'll have another unblooded kicker starting for us. So that's....great. We'll see how it shakes out.

In the meantime, my favorite mutt will continue her voodoo-doll antics with her favorite toy, Garcia.

It was relevant when he played for the Sharks.

Elsewhere in the League

• The NFL Game of the Week really is, as far as I'm concerned. Cleveland travels to Milwaukee in a great division matchup. I'm feeling the Mustangs in this game.
• The battle for number one in west division continues in San Jose for the late game Friday. The Utah Blaze is looking to settle things with the Sabercats, and this one is going to be close. The Cats might not have a lot left in the tank after their brutal battle against the Rattlers last week, and the Blaze might be able to pick up the win and the lead in the division.
• The Voodoo have had a slight fall from grace in the past few weeks, and they'll be looking to get back in the hunt in the late, late game against the Shock. Rowley has had some trouble, but I think he'll prevail this week.
• Another battle for the top slot kicks off Saturday night between the Storm and the Force. Not only because they beat us last week, but because the Storm hasn't been that impressive, I pick the Force.
• Philly will get right back on the horse against Jacksonville and get back to their winning ways
• The Barnstormers have lost three in a row against tough opponents and I know they want to beat someone up bad. Lucky for them, they're hosting the KC Command. If you're the type that likes to play the long odds for an upset (and bets on AFL games), this is the one.
  
• Finally, late Saturday, the Rattlers host my boys from Chicago. The Rush have just been playing way too sloppy (even though they tend to win) to be able to beat a team like the Rattlers on the road, that many timezones away.
  

Arena Bowl XXIV Results - One for the ages

The Arena season is officially over, and it went out with a roar, not a whimper.

This game was billed as a match-up between the to biggest powerhouses in the league, in what promised to be a no-holds barred, knock-down, drag-out, high-scoring slugfest - and it was, in every possible way. This was the highest-scoring Arena Bowl in history, with a combined total 143 points, with the margin of victory of only 3 points.

Coming into this game, I was worried about a few things. For one, I didn't think that Jacksonville's defense was up to the task. Jacksonville did not turn out to be at a disadvantage here, as the defenses were very evenly matched. Although both teams were successful on third downs (5/7 both ways), neither was able to convert a forth down. Only the other hand, both teams were five for six in red zone attempts. So, neither was that impressive when it comes down to it - just matched. However, Jacksonville was able to force several fumbles and snag the game's one pick. The fact of the matter is, Garcia was able to counter Arizona's strong defense, while at the same time, his team was able to pull out the big plays.

The other major thing - and this was the major, major one - was Garcia's age, how much he, and, by extension the rest of the team - had left in the tank. Ultimately, it was proven that the answer was "enough." He came out of the gate firing, and completed 12/14 passing attempts. The opening half saw the Sharks put up 32 points to Arizona's 35 - the difference coming because of missed PATs. The third quarter - as is very common in this league - was slow for both teams. The difference is that Garcia started looking tired at this point. He went on a run of incomplete passes (that really effected his overall numbers for the game) and I started to worry that this was it; age was catching up with him.

I was wrong.

Jacksonville ended up putting up 35 points in the forth - an Arena Bowl record - with 3 scores coming in the final 90 seconds. Arizona put up 28 themselves, but it wasn't enough. With only 2 seconds left in the game, Garcia fired one at the end zone, connecting with Jeron Harvey and putting this beast to bed.

I don't want to take anything away from Nick Davila of Arizona. His nearly 340 yards, 8 touchdowns and only one interception is a credit to him and his team. Add in another 2 rushing, and you have the recipe for success. Against any other quarterback, that would have enough to absolutely crush the opponent. It as just his bad luck to play Jacksonville this year. Garcia clocked over 400 yards, no interceptions, was nearly perfect if you ignore that third-quarter slump, and helped the team score 10 touchdowns.

The list of records set in this game is far long too recount here and can be found elsewhere on the web, but there's some that I'd like to address for Mr. Garcia. His passing yards are a league record in the Arena Bowl, and his career passing yards are also a league record. The same can be said for the total touchdowns of the game and career. His attempts and completions in this game are second only to one Kurt "Greatest Show on Turf" Warner. This is a very important fact, as Warner was announced as an AFL Hall of Fame inductee at half time (sure to be one of the few to be in for both the AFL and NFL someday.)

After the final whistle, seeing Garcia standing on the field with his three kids - his eldest daughter crying at his side - one couldn't help but assume that this was it. With 17 years in the league, crossing the big 4-0 barrier, well over 1000 touchdowns, yards few can hope to touch and now - finally - that illusive title ring, what does he have left to prove? Despite the shameful booing of the Arizona fans (the downside of championships being played with home-field advantage) no one could ever take that glorious moment away from him, and I'd be surprised to see him come back next season.

So, that's it for 2011. It was a great season with a lot of great games, made even better that we had a home team to root for. In just a few weeks, we're back to regular season "real" football. Watching a bit of the preseason this weekend, I can't help but get my late-summer reminder that the NFL is somehow less intimate, less about the fun. The high stakes seriousness of it is what makes it awesome, but it's always nice to have a few months of a game that can be viewed as just that - a game.

Thank you all for reading for these last 21 weeks, and I hope you'll come back again next year. Now, say tuned for the "n'at" to step back for the Steelers and Mr. Keller's coverage.

Conference Game Reviews and Arena Bowl XXIV Preview

Another week is in the books, and the Arena Bowl teams are set. This week gave us odd times, but good football. Both games in the Conference Finals were very entertaining and prove that Friday night is going to be fun as hell.

National Conference Final

Arizona hosted the Chicago rush Friday night at way-too-damn-late o'clock. The game had a rocky start for both teams, so much so that I actually wondered if there was something wrong with the balls. Both teams fumbled the ball on their first drive, and even my wife said, “Really? These are the good teams?” However, both teams redeemed themselves by scoring in short order – Chicago in impressive fashion when Jason Simpson returned a kickoff 56 yards.
 

Things were relatively even the rest of the first half with Arizona going into the locker-room with a 9-point lead. The 3^rd quarter is where everything changed when the Rattlers put up 13 and shut the Rush out.

However, this is where Arizona showed their weakness of overconfidence. You could tell by the end of the third that they were starting to lay back and take it easy. Problem is, Chicago didn't feel the same way.

The forth quarter saw the Rush put up 29 points to Arizona's 13 – the highest scoring quarter for either team. At the end of the half, Chicago was only down 6 points and had the ball with seconds left on the clock. Everyone in the world – including those not even interested in this sport – could see the on-side kick coming. 

Thing is, Chicago didn't. Surprising everyone, including the return team, Chicago kicked it deep. With no one there, the Rush charged down the field and attempted to recover in the end zone. A player from both teams fell on it, and the call was so close that it had to be reviewed – Rattlers ball. Game over.

Both teams gave it their best, and the score was close, but the fact of the matter is that Arizona played a much better game. The only reason things ended up as close as they did was because the Rattlers slacked off in the third. 

For one thing, their defense was incredible this game and mostly shut Raterink down. I realize that “shut down” is operative here, as he had 187 yards and three touchdowns. But, considering Chicago turned the ball over five times during the game and didn't score for a whole quarter, they were well shut down.

The pairing of Nick Davila and Jason Geathers was the true story on the field. Davila put up huge numbers with a 50% completion ratio, over 280 yards and a whopping 7 touchdowns. Geathers caught the ball 10 times for 150 yards and 4 TD's. They were just an unholy force and proved that Rats were the team that deserves to play Friday night.

American Conference Final

Monday night in prime-time, the Jacksonville Sharks hosted the Georgia Force in a game that was more competitive than I'd expected it to be. Where-as the National game had less than 7,000 people in attendance and seemed like less, Jacksonville had over 10K and seemed like more. The crowd was fired up, and it showed. At least two plays went against the Sharks because of fan interference – including one where a guy in the front row of the end zone assaulted the returner from Georgia.
 

Look, I'm all about fanhood, and I'm all about getting into it – but some things go too far. Had this guy been wearing a Sharks jersey, he would have gotten called for a personal foul, holding and a facemask. Leave the rough-housing to the guys making $400 a game, mkay? End of digression.

Early on, the Sharks lost their center – who has started every game in the two years the Jacksonville has had a team – and you could see that it threw Garcia off, but they recovered well. Unlike in the National game, there was no clear-cut dominating team in this game. Offense ruled the night, and the score climbed steadily. It took until the third quarter before either team managed a stop when Jacksonville got a turnover on downs to take the ball away from Georgia. The closest that Georgia came to a stop was when they forced a 36 yard field goal attempt late in the 4^th. The kick was about as perfect as possible.

As this was a story of offense, the main characters were the quarterbacks, which were about as even as possible. Both men put up 313 yards and 8 touchdowns and got sacked once. Darnel Kennedy of Georgia was the only one to fire an interception (which actually lost the game for him) and had slightly more attempts with less completions. However, this is fairly elementary, as the numbers were otherwise too close to call.

The stud receivers in this game were Maurice Purify (GA) and Jeff Hugely (JAX). Both had over 150 yards and 3 touchdowns. In this game, both QB's were more likely to spread it around than to have one “go-to” guy, so their receivers were both three deep and gave flexibility.

Neither team in this game slacked off, and both played a full four. Honestly, whichever team won would have equally deserved to represent their conference in the Arena Bowl. In the end, however, the Jacksonville Sharks pulled it out with an interception with only 14 seconds left on the clock. Final score, 64-55 Sharks.

Arena Bowl XXIV

So, there it is: As I called weeks ago, the Arena Bowl this year will see Jacksonville facing off against Arizona. This is going to be a story of age and experience, with different versions going to each team.

Jacksonville is reaching the big game in only their second season in existence. This is an impressive feat, and one that was well-earned with their early-to-mid season records. However, before this, the farthest they'd made it was the divisional round last year where they lost. Arizona, on the other hand, has been to six Arena Bowls and won two of them in their storied career.

In a sport where year-to-year a team can change 100%, does this really matter? Yes it does. Having been there puts a different mindset in a team, even if the players themselves haven't been. Having gone several times and won a few increases this. Think about it this way: The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost two out of their last four Super Bowls, however, the money is generally on them, either in Vegas or simply in popular opinion. Why? Because they'd already won four. Guys that were in grade school or not even born during those games were being given the benefit of the doubt because of the careers of guys that would be comfortably watching their games from ESPN's studio. It might not make a lot of sense, but the psychological edge goes to the team with the history.

Age is a bit more murky. Nick Davila is 26 and in his third year in the league. Aaron Garcia is 40 and has been in the league a staggering 17 years. Experience is without a doubt in his favor, that can't be argued – but age isn't. This season, Jacksonville, in stunning fashion, went on a 13-game winning streak, just owning the league...but as the season went on, the strain became evident. Although they've been doing very well in the playoffs, the Sharks dropped 3 out of their last 5 games. Monday night, Garcia was just looking tired during the game and I wonder how much is left in the tank. Davila, on the other hand, has lead the Rattlers on a steady, win-more-than-you-lose season that was nothing if not consistent. This consistency speaks to an endurance that is going to be critical when they play the 21^st game of the season this week.

Everything else is a catchall kind of category that doesn't favor the Sharks. For one thing, Arizona is at home, which is an obvious advantage. Jacksonville will be facing a multi-hour time change, many miles from home in unfamiliar territory. Add to that the fact that the Rattlers will have had two extra days of rest, and there is an unfair lopsidedness to this. Furthermore, in addition to the things stated above, the QB/Receiver combo of Davila/Geathers is much, much more dominating than Garcia/best man open. Granted, Garcia shows a flexibility that will be very important when his team only really needs to target one guy – but AZ just has a powerhouse there. 

Finally, Arizona is a much more complete team. Their defense is as solid as their offense, and Jacksonville just doesn't play a lot of defense.

Look, I'm rooting for the Sharks. I love a story, and this one is all about an aging gunslinger coming back for “just one more season” who wants a ring to cap off an unbelievable, record-setting, hall-of-fame-earning season. The problem is, Arizona is a more complete, longer-running team with the better all around package. If Garcia and crew wants to pull this off, he's going to have to dig deep-down inside and find his “have-to.”

Gary Busey frowns on my obscure reference

Tune in Friday for one last game of Arena Ball for the season to see who takes it all home. This bad boy will be nationally broadcast on the NFL network and should be a lot of fun.

The Force was too strong

As it is one of the unofficial "Star Wars Days" today, I might as well stick with the punny headline - and May the fourth be with you

The worst part of being out of town, missing a game live, having to wait until Tuesday to catch the rerun online only to be greeted with a tough loss. So, grab a drink, take a deep breath and sit back while I launch into my normal “it's not as bad as it seems” speech - but first:

It's kind of as bad as it seems.

On the obvious front, we dropped another one, putting us below .500 again. Even if there are a lot of teams in this position, it's not ever a good spot to be in. With that tough second half of the season rapidly approaching, we need every single win that we can get. This was a winnable game that we just weren't able to put to bed.

Things started out pretty strong in the first quarter, but, as per usual, once the opposing team started putting up points on them, the Power panicked and fell apart. In a little bit, I'll talk about what they did right, but as is always the case, everything you do right can be washed away by turnovers, and those happened too much in this game.

Morelli came into this game perfect as a starter with no interceptions, but he made up for lost time. He totaled three interceptions and a lost fumble in this game, which absolutely sunk us. These came off of panicked throws that resulted in blown routes and ended in tears. Worst of these was in the second half and the Power was attempting to stage a comeback with an onside kick. Power recovered it cleanly, only to have Morelli give it back on the first play of the drive.

Edinger continued to be a mediocre-at-best kicker who cost us some key points, which included two missed extra points and a shanked 38-yard-fieldgoal. Missing at that distance is almost excusable, but when the points matter as much as they did here, he should be able to come through. At two-for-six on the season in field goal attempts, he's proving to be a big hole in our attack.

Finally, we allowed three of their players to rack up more than 260 yards. The Power had 6 receivers on the books in this game and didn't manage to reach that. Also, those three guys put up 8 TD's. There was just no stopping them in the air.

Now that you're all on the ledge:

Well, it's not as bad as it seems.

Sure, we dropped one, but our division didn't change at all this week. Everyone else won, but Philly and Milwaukee are far enough behind that their wins didn't help them. Cleveland is still far enough ahead of us that one game isn't going to make a difference.

For another thing, the rushing game took advantage of the weaknesses I pointed out in the Force. The Power racked up an impressive 101 yards to the Force's 2. I would like to repeat that: 101yards to 2. That is a great game on the ground for any team.

Branching from that are two other great things about this game, and those are Morelli and Rue. Morelli was still confident in his own mobility this game – but really needs to learn to slide – earning to the top rushing spot with 42 yards. Rue returned to the scene in this game, averaging 3.8 yards on 9 carries with a touchdown. As I was hoping, they saw the weakness on the run and decided to give the Rue-train another trip down the tracks - and to great effect.

In the air, Willis continued to be Morelli's favorite target this week, with a respectable 79 yards and a touchdown. These two continue to gel and should continue to be a tandem to watch out for in the league.

A new face this week was Craig Fulton on special teams. He amassed 131 return yards, as well as showing up for offense to run a fairly successful reverse and a touchdown. He was all over the place on a lot of plays, and I hope to see him utilized more.

A final highlight note for the offense was Xavier Lee. Officially listed as the backup quarterback (Morris didn't even make the trip, which might be telling us something), Lee was a very effective “where the hell did that come from” weapon. He was on the board with a receiving TD, a couple of rushing TD's and even a few passes late in the game. While he's the third stringer at QB and can't expect to be kept in that capacity, it is an almost foregone conclusion that he will be kept for utility purposes.

Another so-so showing was that, even though we couldn't stop their passing game, we at least made an attempt to contain it. Before things fell apart, the Power did a fairly good job of getting in Purify's way on the field, keeping him to second place on their team in yards. It's not anything to write home about, but it should be commended.

The bottom line:

We can't rely on Philly and Milwaukee to keep screwing up to get us into the playoffs. I will take it any way we can get it, but being in second place because the rest of our division sucks is not good. Also, with us having an evil schedule coming up, who knows what's going to happen. If we start tanking and Coach Ho gets his act together out in Philly, we could be screwed.

In the meantime, we're continuing to grow as a team and learning what works. Morelli and Willis are syncing their moves, Lee is a surprise gadget guy, and Rue might still have a few tricks up his sleeve. Time will tell, and we have the right to be hopeful.

Elsewhere in the league

• The formerly unstoppable Rattlers were finally stopped by the Shock, who gave them their first loss by one point.
• Every other team in our division won this week, but again, it didn’t change the standings at all.
• Aaron Garcia had his game jersey and ball sent to Canton after Saturday’s win over the Predators. This honor was bestowed because of his god-like achievement of making his 1000^th touchdown pass – a feat not matched by any other professional football-player in the AFL or NFL.

Power Weekend Review/Easter Week Preview Extravaganza

With a very short week for the Power, we will be combining the review and preview into one post.

Let me start by making two things clear:

1. It wasn’t as bad as it might seem this weekend and
2. I’m never calling a sure-thing game again.

Power/Sharks Recap

Yes, the Power lost another heart-breaker at home Saturday night, but the game honestly unfolded just about as I suspected, and I think that they accomplished some of the objectives that I’d hoped they would.

From the start, the odds were horrendously stacked against them. On our side of the ball, we had a shaky and fairly inexperienced QB. On their side, they had the AFL’s all-time leading passer, totaling more than 26 miles in his long, 17-year history. Experienced team/expansion team. The list goes on.

In my preview, I tried to prepare us for a loss without being blunt about it – but it was my assumption heading into this week. As I had said, I hoped to see us working on team cohesion as well as getting Morelli some confidence behind center, since he might be there awhile, and honestly, I think that we accomplished that.

The game started with a back-and-forth, call-and-response style of scoring. As I said to the spare Mr. Keller attending the game with me, the bad thing about games like that is that usually the team that breaks the pattern first loses. Sure enough, late in the second quarter, the Power broke the pattern.

Up until then, Morelli was looking far, far more confident behind center than I think he has all season. On paper, he had a fantastic game where he held his own against a great quarterback. His completion percentage wasn’t the best, but he threw 290 yards for 5 touchdowns, no interceptions – Garcia only collected 7 more yards and the same number of touchdowns (according to the Arena league’s post-game stats page.)

He seemed a lot less afraid to throw this week. He made 36 attempts, and completed 20 of them. Again, not fantastic, but the yards still added up. He also got a 42 yarder to Willis and a 45 yarder to DeWalt – both for touchdowns. I’m still not super-psyched to have Morelli as our QB, but I’m a lot less worried than I was going into this week.

So, if he was so great, where did it go wrong? Like a lot of games, there were a lot of causes, but in this one, I can pinpoint the exact moment where the team checked out. After that great back-and-forth opening series, there was one drive late in the 2^nd where nothing went right for Pittsburgh.

Mathis made a 12-yard return that got called back to the 4 because of a holding call. First pass was incomplete, but Rue was holding – back to the two. Three more incompletes, and then Morelli got lost. Two delay of game calls in a row ensued as he tried to figure out what was going on, and they backed up to the 1. Another incomplete turned the ball over on downs.

This was the first drive that they didn’t score, and they turned it over to Jacksonville on the one-yard line (Note: there is no punting in Arena Football) and let them score. After another set of disjointed downs (one completion in four), Jax had it back and closed out the half with a field-goal. There were bursts of energy in the second half, but the fight was out of them. Even though they almost doubled their score before the end, it was no match for Aaron Garcia and his Sharks.

As I mentioned earlier, on paper Garcia and Morelli had very similar games and the same is also true of the receiving corps. The differences that changed the game were in the spots that the Sharks were able to complete and we failed. Both teams had three 4th-down attempts. Jacksonville converted all three, Power converted none. Jacksonville sacked Morelli 4 times; Power didn’t manage to get to Garcia at all. Jacksonville was 10-10 in the redzone. The Power was 50%.

Morelli and the rest still have a lot to work on moving forward, that much is obvious. For one thing, they were having trouble with the concept of “If it doesn’t work, try something else.” Case and point, on the ill-fated “drive” that took us out of the game, 3 of the 4 passes before the delay-of-game calls were short to Washington on the outside. Now, we can question the wisdom of throwing shortest man on the team three times while balancing on your own goal line all day, but the crux of the matter is that they shouldn’t have run any play that many times in quick succession if it wasn’t working. I assume that we all know the definition of insanity?

Morelli is getting more confident, but he still needs to work on it. I’m not sure if people just need to stop him on the street and tell him he’s awesome, or if Coach Siegfried needs to do some team-building trust exercises or what, but something’s got to happen. I’m not holding my breath that we’re going to see Morris again, and McCabe is gone for the forseeable. This might be our starter, whether we like it or not.

In the Tampa Bay game Friday night, Coach Dave Ewart made a comment about a mistake his QB made that was something to the effect of, “Well, the great thing about young guys is that they forget quickly.” Morelli needs to work on forgetting. Yeah, that drive was a total cluster, but it shouldn’t have been the end of the game. He took his finger off the button at that moment, and never managed to get it back on again.

If he can keep his focus and if the defense can, maybe, hold on to a few of the balls thrown right to them by opposing QBs, I think we’ll be in good shape. The receivers are there, Rue is standing by to lumber where he needs to go, and Morelli can throw the bombs when he’s feeling good.

Yes, we lost this week – but with a lot of help from around the league, we stayed definitively in second place in the division. We have another short week this week as we gear up to travel to New Orleans on Thursday for a little Easter Weekend football.

Power at New Orleans

Boy, I’d really like to say that this will be an easy week. Coming into this past weekend, the Voodoo were at the bottom of the Arena League –winless, directionless and hapless. Even firing their offensive coordinator early and bringing in former QB Raymond Philyaw to replace him didn’t seem to be making much of a difference. Forgetting what the winless Mustangs did to the Soul, and what the winless Talons did to us, I called the game against the Gladiators to be a solid loss.

Is it a crime to be wrong?

The Gladiators were one of the only remaining undefeated teams in the league, and the unchallenged leaders in our division. The Voodoo, frankly, seemed unsure how to play football. Could there have been any doubt how that game would end up? Yet, somehow, some way, they beat Cleveland 34-33. On the road. I didn’t get to see the game as it was on while I was in the Consol watching our Pittsburgh Power, so I am just going to go with the assumption that this was a hoax, a fix or a hallucination and move on.

But you know what? I’m glad they won. Now I don’t need to sit here and think about the fact that they’re due for a win, and worry about a repeat of the game against the Talons. Now, I can just look at the two teams on their own.

The Voodoo lost their first two games but kept it competitive, then entered a two game slide with the Sharks and Force that saw them get kicked around good and proper. This woke them up to make a big stand and beat an undefeated team this past weekend.

They obviously have their issues – beating Cleveland or not, they still lost every other game this season – and not much in the way of stand-out players. Their one win was a game where the total score was only two points higher than what Jacksonville scored by themselves against us.

I’m honestly not sure what to expect after Saturday. On one hand, they might be fired up after this huge win and use it as their launching point for the season. On the other hand, it might have been luck, or it might make them cocky and sloppy when they return to the Graveyard to play this week. (This is one of those sentences that I really don’t think came out the way that I’d hoped it would…)

Just like last week, I’m more concerned about our team than theirs. We’ve been very good at beating ourselves thus far, and a 1-4 team shouldn’t be a concern. However, Philly is a 1-4 team, and we’re their “1.” We can’t write them off. That’s the kind of stuff that leads to losses against teams like Philly and Tulsa.

It’s Easter Weekend coming up, and I wouldn’t be surprised if both teams are thinking about a long weekend in The Quarter after playing Thursday night. Hopefully, the Power will be able to focus in and work on everything I’ve been ranting about and pull off a win.

Besides – It’s Easter, and, if nothing else, I’m betting Jesus isn’t a fan of Voodoo.

Elsewhere in the League:

• Did anyone mention that NOLA beat Cleveland? Holy effin’ crap, man! The Gladiators are top of the heap in our division still, but at least we now know they can bleed – and if it bleeds, we can kill it.
• Philly continues their collapse this season, dropping yet another one they should have had Friday night to the Tampa Bay Storm. (Between the Soul and the Pens, TB had a good night in PA.) With the exception of the season opener against us, Philly has followed a very predictable pattern: Control and dominate in the first half, then forget that football games consist of two halves. Coach Ho needs to figure out a way of this cycle, and fast. Look, I like Coach Hohensee a lot. He used to coach my favorite non-Pittsburgh team (in any sport) and won many games – but I don’t think that’s going to matter to Ron Jaworski if this keeps up.
• With the Mustangs off, the Gladiators losing and Philly falling to dead-last and “not scary” territory, the Power remains in second place.