Power vs. Vigilantes Review: Keller's Take

First of all... wow.  Saturday's game is proof that arena football is exciting and unpredictable and that more people should watch it.  General admission tickets are only $15 and there are always tickets available on game day.  The Power play the Cleveland Gladiators on Saturday, June 4th for first place in the division.  Come out and see for yourself.  Now that I got the plug out of the way, on with the review.

I actually needed to read Weidman's review of the game before I wrap my brain around it enough to comment.  For starters, the following things happened on Saturday night:

1. The final score was 76-75.
2. Bernard Morris started out slow (9-for-19), but finished strong, with 25 completions in 40 attempts for 280 yards and seven touchdowns, adding in a 27-yard rushing touchdown for flavor.  He was also the worst quarterback on the field by far.  Dallas quarterback Dan Raudabaugh had 433 yards passing and more touchdown passes (ten) than incompletions (eight).  He was an unstoppable force in this game, but, fortunately, so was the Power offense.
3. A total of 69 points (insert joke here) were scored in the fourth quarter, with five touchdowns coming in the final minute.  Five touchdowns -- and a failed field goal attempt -- in one minute of football.
4. There were so many swings in momentum that, at some point in the fourth quarter, I stopped keeping track of the exact score and only focused on whether the Power were up by seven or tied.
5. The Power held the ball for over 35 minutes and the Vigilantes still managed to put up 75 points.

I was still buzzing about the game when I woke up the next morning.  It could just be that the wife makes an ungodly strong cup of coffee, but I'll go with the excitement of the game carrying over.

This was a huge road win against a very talented Dallas team.  With Cleveland losing to Arizona, that puts the Power at 6-4 and tied for first place in the division.  Heading into the season, I really didn't think I'd be able to type those words at any point.  After the first few games, I felt pretty confident that I wouldn't be able to type them during the 2011 season.

When Morris re-gained the starting job, I described him as being "capable."  Now that he's more comfortable with the offense and has gained the confidence to take off and run with the ball instead of holding onto it too long, I'd say he's moved into the realm of "solid."  He has Mike Washington on his side and Washington is an electric playmaker.  Washington gives the offense that "one guy" that the defense is focused on stopping, which makes everyone around him better.  Once Eddie Thompson and Jerome Mathis come back from injured reserve, we could be looking at a great offense and Morris might have a cast around him that is talented enough to raise him to the level of "very good."  But, having seen Mark Grieb play a couple of weeks ago and having witnessed the clinic that Raudabaugh put on Saturday night, I think that Morris will ultimately fall short of greatness.

With a great offense and an excellent defense -- one of the big reasons the Power let up 75 points was that Carlos Campbell had an absolutely atrocious game, but I have a feeling that he'll bounce back against the Gladiators and so will the rest of the defense -- this team has the potential to do well.  Do I think they'll go on a run and finish the season at 14-4?  No.  Do I see a trip to the Arena Bowl in their future?  I do not.  I think they're a great team and they'll most likely get to the playoffs, but they don't have the talent to go all the way.  But, I also thought this about the 2008 and 2010 versions of the Steelers, so what do I know?  There are two elite teams in the league: Arizona and Chicago.  There is one dominant force: Jacksonville.  Aside from that, you have a bunch of talented, hard-working clubs that will try their best but ultimately fall short.

Now, before I say something bad about the guy, let me say this: I think that Coach Siegfried has done a tremendous job thus far.  He has taken an expansion team that isn't incredibly talented and has struggled staying healthy at quarterback and willed them to a 6-4 record.  He has a ton of mental fortitude and determination and that has rubbed off on his players.  Now for the bad part: I think his mental fortitude makes him downright stubborn and too conservative.

I agree with Weidman's assessment of Dallas coach Clint Doelzel's decision to go for two (seriously, read his post, that's right on the money).  That was a dumb move and it will probably come back to haunt Doelzel.

I'm not saying I want Siegfried to be wildly aggressive, but he does need to go in for the fatality more often.  For example, he continued to kick away in the final minute of Saturday's game.  Conventional NFL wisdom says that's the smart move.  Make your opponent fight their way down the field and earn whatever points they get.  Conventional AFL wisdom says to onside kick, especially if your defense is gassed and couldn't stop their grandmother from catching a 30-yard touchdown pass.  If the kick succeeds, then you retain possession and get to play keep-away for a bit.  If the kick fails, then you get the ball back faster.  This turned into a shootout and Siegfried kept his gun holstered.  They continue to play conservative on offense and defense.  The past two games, the offensive game plan has been plodding and possession oriented for the most part and they have played some very lax prevent defense in the final seconds holding a lead.

I still believe in Coach Siegfried and I still think he's the man for the job.  I also see a little too much Cowher and Shottenheimer in him and that makes me uneasy now that I have an eye towards the playoffs.  But, the playoffs are still a long ways away and are certainly not assured at this point, so we might as well enjoy the ride.  

So... 151 points in one game.  Five touchdowns in the final minute.  If nothing else, it will be entertaining.

Gunfight in Dallas. Vigilantes and Power review

What. A. Game.

Wow. Words almost can't express how amazing the game was Saturday night – easily the most exciting game of the year. Frankly, after three in a row, if the Power isn't careful, people might mistake them for a top-tier team.

In another stunning upset, the Power handed Dallas their first loss of the season at home in an old-West, no-holds-barred, dirt-street, high-noon shootout that went the full four quarters. Dallas came in with a relentless, nearly flawless aerial attack that, frankly, the Power was completely unprepared for. In response, Morris and company kept their cool remarkably well and methodically answered every punch they took – even if it took a lot longer to accomplish each time. For the first time this season, Pittsburgh broke the 60-point barrier, with the final score being over 150 points total.

This was by no means an easy game, and that is what made it so exciting. There was only one point in the game where either team led by more than 7 points, as nearly every touchdown and PAT (or miss there-of) was matched by the other team. For a time, Dallas lead by 14, but the Power came clawing back to regain the lead.

The real excitement – more so than usual – came in the last minute of the game, which saw five touchdowns scored. Late in the forth, Dallas made its first two of what I consider their three major mistakes of the game. Dallas scored and tied the game up at 55, at which point, their offense did their impression of a bobsled team in the end zone to celebrate, costing them 10 yards on the end of the next kick return. Following this, their kicker booted it past the nets and out of the end zone, placing the ball on the 20 yard line – plus the ten from the previous penalty, giving the Power amazing field position, which they took advantage of.

On the surface, this was just a quick score for the Power, and not much different than the rest of the game. Looking deeper, it was a major psychological victory for them. At this point in the game, Pittsburgh was getting tired, worn down and running out of gas. For every long drive for a score that the Power had, Dallas would come right back on the next one and score in one or two plays. Pittsburgh was holding their own, but at a cost. With this quick score, you could see the weight lifted from their collective shoulders, coupled with some indignant anger at the show-boating that the Vigilantes were displaying over one touchdown.

It turned the tide.

After a few more exchanges of points, it came down to a real nail-biter and the the third mistake. With ten seconds left, Dallas decided to go for 2. Now, a lot of people will argue with me over this being a mistake, but I just frankly don't often agree with them. Maybe this is because I'm not a “Go big or go home” kinda guy. I'm more of a “Go home a winner and look at my face in the mirror the next day” kinda guy. I could count the number of situations where I feel going for two is the right call on one hand, and still be able to thumb a ride. If you're down by two and it's the only way to catch up, so be it – otherwise, go for the tie and take your chances in overtime, especially since Arena Ball gives both teams a possession.

But, I'm not a coach, and Clint Dolezel knows the game a hell of a lot better than I do – it just didn't pan out for him this time. First attempt, Dallas got hit with a false start and had to do it over. Second attempt, they missed, but Pittsburgh interfered on the pass. Third attempt, the pass failed.

You didn't need to be Nostradamus to see the onside kick coming. Dallas recovered it, and I thought I was going to watch this game slip away. The Power hadn't pulled off many stops in this game, and Dallas had scored in less than nine seconds several times in the game already – but the Power D came up big and forced the field-goal attempt. The failed field-goal attempt.

Game over.

This was a game that, on paper, we should not have won. Dirty Dan Raudabaugh was money this whole game. 28 for 36 with well over 400 yards and ten passing touchdowns on the game, along with two rushing. Anthony Jones had almost as many yards receiving as the Power had as a team. Between those two, and DeAndrew Rubin, our defense just plain didn't have an answer for them. There was almost zero coverage on them to begin with, and even less once Gary Butler got himself bounced from the game late in the 2^nd.

What won this game was perseverance. The Power kept struggling against the clock and scoreboard, no matter how much Dallas was putting up, and kept their cool. Also, the pairing of Morris and Mike Washington has been officially cemented as the clutch combo on this team. Joystick hauled in four and ran for a fifth in this game, as well as a very respectable 184 yards.

I think this game really brought Pittsburgh to the spotlight in the league, and we're going to start hearing some talk of being contenders. This marks a three-in-a-row streak that would have been unthinkable at the beginning of the season. Even more importantly, with Cleveland losing in the Snake Pit, we are now – please brace yourselves – tied for first place in the division.

First. Place.

Remember last week when I was talking about Pittsburgh being in a possible position to ruin Cleveland's day? Well, next Saturday is that positional day. We'll see the first match-up (at home, no less) against our rivals down the road in a game that will decide who will be in sole possession of first place in the division.

No pressure.

Elsewhere in the league

• Just a reminder – Cleveland lost a tough one against the Rattlers, leaving us tied with them for first place.
• The Sabercats dropped their forth in a row, lowering them to bottom half of their division.
• The Sharks continued their march of death across the league by winning their ninth game in a row. I'd say that the playoffs are all but written in stone for them.

Over the hump and back to football

Greetings, all. Due to some circumstances beyond my control, I was unavailable for any football viewing this past weekend, as well as being unable to write a column. It worked out that it was a bye-week, then.

We now find ourselves at the half-way point of the season, with the Power in a surprisingly respectable position for an expansion team. While some teams like the Rush and the Sharks are already talking playoff locks, other teams like the Gladiators actually have to say, “...but Pittsburgh is in a position to screw that up.” This is because we are second in the division, and we still have two games to play against them. If we somehow manage to take the pair, things will be solidly shaken up.

If the playoffs were held today, assuming the same 8-team system the AFL did last year (4 divisional leaders, 4 wild cards), we'd see Cleveland and Jacksonville heading up our conference with Pittsburgh and Orlando making up the wildcards. In the National, it would be the Rattlers, Rush, Dallas and Utah. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but in this case we'd be saying, “Well, it's an honor just to be nominated...”

However, 5-4 is a good place to be at this point, and not one I'd expect. Only 8 teams have a winning record right now, and we're one of them. We haven't gotten here easily, of course, because we've had a lot of growing pains along the way. Procedural errors still plague us, and our quarterback situation is still anything but stable. Now, we enter the hardest chunk of the season.

From here on out, we only have 3 home games left, with the Gladiators and Rattlers making up two of them. Other than that, it's all road, and all really tough teams. Dallas, twice against Cleveland, the Preds, the Rattlers and a rematch against a crappy team who already beat us.

If I had to pick, though, I'm glad it's the second half of the season that this happened. This way, we had time at home and weaker opponents to work the kinks out – and we needed it. We're in a good place right now. A winning record, a team that's gelling and a huge win over San Jose. I'm a little concerned about the fact that we went into the bye right after it, as I would have preferred to keep the momentum, but you can't have everything.

The Power can't even pretend to be a lock for anything right now, but we can dream. If we take the lessons learned the first half of the season and apply it to the big boys – coupled with the fact that we're pretty good on the road – we might pull it off.

The first step is Dallas this Saturday at 8:30, on the road.

Right now, they're only one game better than us, but are undefeated on their home turf. They're also really, really good. Unlike us, they are set at quarterback with “Dirty” Dan Raudabaugh (My nickname. Western history. Google it, or watch Young Guns II) who is the only recorded QB for them this season. This right here tells us that he is tough, resilient and isn't going to give up. Pressuring him will be difficult at best.

On the ground, it's all behind Derrick Ross, who has averaged more than 2 touchdowns a game thus far this season. We didn't do that well against the run last game against the Cats, so this is something that we're going to have to watch for.

Finally, Dallas is one of those teams with defined receivers that they don't stray from often. Jones, Rubin and Fields are the go-to guys for the Vigilantes, they all average at least 12 yards a catch and have 48 touchdowns among them.

By the numbers, they're pretty even between what they score each game and what they allow, with the edge towards scoring. Much like with the Cats, the Power is going to need to get the attack on early and get a lead as fast as they can if they want to get out of this while avoiding a slugfest. Before the last game, I wouldn't have had great faith in this, but now I'm thinking that this is something that we can do.

Rushing, they run the board. Generally, they out-rush their opponents 2-1, so I'm not thinking that this is going to be a game for Rue. That's okay, because we're getting our passing game into solid gear. Another 2-1 stat is their sacking ability, which is really scary, given that I don't want to see Morris broken again.

Bottom line is that we need to keep on keepin' on. This is a tough team without a lot of easy-to-exploit weaknesses. They also haven't lost at home yet. Now is not the time to get fancy – the Power needs to stick with what has been working the last few games and just try to bring the hammer down fast and hard on Dallas.

After all – this is the first game of the rest of their season.

Elsewhere in the league

• The NFL Game of the Week is the Blaze vs Barnstormers. Iowa has pretty much nothing to play for at this point, being nearly dead-last in the league, and the Blaze is looking for a playoff berth. However, I generally find the 'Stormers fun to watch.
• Barnstormers aren't last in the league, but the Voodoo is, and this Friday, they meet the Soul, who are only a game ahead of them. Given the option, the NFL game is the much better option.
• After the Power finishes up, switch your NiFTy feed over to the Rattlers channel to catch what I'd say is the best game of the week: Cleveland travels to the Snake Pit for a brawl that should be lots of fun to watch.
• Because you were all so patient with me not posting last week, here's a blurry picture the Sparks were nice enough to pose for: