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.

Power at Rush Preview

When I saw on the schedule that the Power had their bye week this early in the season, I was pretty disappointed.  It felt like a waste to have it before the team had gotten tired out.  However, by the time that week arrived, I'd changed my tune.  The Power really needed a chance to stop, reassess and regroup after taking an absolute drubbing the first two weeks of the season.

The Sharks destroyed the home team pretty much the same way the Blaze did, and for the same reasons.  Pocket collapse, no special teams, blah, blah.  We can only hope that these were addressed in the off week.

What can we expect from the Rush?  They're currently sitting on a 1-2 record, but they've been facing solid teams in the Barnstormers, Shock, and Talons.  They might seem beatable, but they are a historically strong team and we need to face them in Chicago.

The main threats that the Power will face are Rodney Wright, Reggie Gray, J.J. Payne, and Vic Hall.  All four are standouts and any one of them could change the balance of the game.  Wright is off to a strong start as Coffman's favorite yardage target, already putting up 5 touchdowns and 326 yards on the year.  Gray has been targeted for an additional 8 TDs and over 200 yards.  J.J. Payne leads the team in awesome naming, but is also a dual treat on the ground and air.

Honorable mention goes to Nate Forse, who doesn't generally seem like a huge threat, but he played well against the Power last season with Orlando, so I don't trust him.

Finally, there's Vic Hall who is just a scary-good pick artist.  Jefferson has thrown to the wrong team a few times this year, but he hasn't looked as bad as past Power QBs.  However, Hall still has the chance to absolutely break us Sunday - especially with the old tradition of "the pick that turns the game" we had last year.

The key to the game is what is always is:  The Power needs to not beat itself.  Without protecting the QB and without playing a full sixty, they're never going to win a game unless someone underestimates them.  This week, the Rush stands a good chance of getting cocky, but they can turn that around in a heartbeat if we make them bleed a little. 

Elsewhere in the League

•  The marquee game this week is obviously the Hall of Fame game on Saturday night between the Soul and Barnstormers.  The Soul is looking strong this year with one win and one close call.  Likewise, the Barnstormers have been, well, barnstorming.  Should be a good game.
• My choice of the two early games at 8:00 on Friday would be NOLA at Jacksonville.  The Sharks are undefeated on the season, but it's a division game.  Plus, last year, the Voodoo continued to show that they play hard against the Sharks, win or lose.
• Late game is Rattlers at Shock.  It's the second battle-of-the-undefeated in a row for the Rattlers.  Last week, the Sabercats folded like wet cardboard, giving AZ an easy win.  I don't see the Shock doing this - plus, their undefeated season has been all on the road.  This is their home opener, and I see the advantage being all them in 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.

Restoring the Power

...and just like that, it's Arena season again.

After a long off-season and a fairly disappointing Steeler season, I find myself more than ready to switch gears and go back to the indoor game.  The first post of the year is hard in most sports, because you really don't know what the season is going to bring and how new acquisitions are going to work out.  This is even more true for this league.  It's almost impossible to predict what will shake out in the coming weeks, but I can show you the clues.

A few months ago, I talked about the things the team had and the things that they needed.  Specifically, I mentioned that our defense could take care of itself, kicking is killing us, and QB doesn't matter if we can't get anyone up front to protect him.

Well, the biggest moves they made in the off season were...to shore up the defense and snag a promising QB.  *sigh* It's like no one reads these posts...

Now, I'm not going to complain about us making sure to hold on to Chris "Gingabread" LeFlore to keep snagging picks, and I'm really not going to complain about them also getting Alvin Ray Jackson from the Voodoo, who grabs even more picks than LeFlore...but we had the #1 defense last year, and we still couldn't make the playoffs.  This is an offense-driven league and no matter how awesome the D is, we need something up front.

We still have Mike "Joystick" Washington, PJ "Superman" Berry, and Tyree "is he a FB or DL" Young.  This is good, and was what I really hoped we'd be able to pull off.  Fantastic and bully for us - if they stay healthy, we have some solid, experienced targets for our QB-of-the-week.

Yeah, I still really don't feel good about QB.  Why?  I mean, we have Jordan Jefferson starting at QB - an LSU standout who briefly worked out with the Tampa Bay Bucs and did some time in the CFL.  Backing him up is a fairly competent-looking Shane Austin out of Hawaii.  Well, there are multiple concerns here.  For one - Kurt Warner aside - rookies that were at the NFL level have a lot of trouble adjusting to this league.  It's a huge change.  But, even if it wasn't, they're both still green.

More importantly, we've had good QBs before.  Despite the crap the Facebook and Twitter like to heap on our past signal callers, I maintain that most of them could have done a hell of a job if they weren't thinking about how long it'd be before they got freight-trained into the turf.  The #1, no bullshit, buck-stops-here thing that I said we had to do was to shore up the offensive line, and I really don't know if we did that.  Of those four guys, we have two rookies, a guy who's played five games and returning center Beau Elliott.  Hey, maybe these guys are going to be the real deal - I don't know.   With only two years of history to look back on, and about that much combined AFL experience among them, it's a major wild card that concerns me quite a bit.

One way or another, we're going to find out Saturday night when the season starts.  Once again, Pittsburgh gets the honor of playing the first game (though it's not the nationally televised one) and that worked out wonderfully for us last year.  We're also playing one of the best teams from last year, the Utah Blaze.   They've had some turnover, which is to be expected, but they still have Tommy Grady and - frankly - that's all that really matters.

The Power really needs to start out with a solid win at home this season to get things rolling on the right foot, and Utah will make that hard.  I really wish we could have started out against someone like Orlando again - even if they beat us, we have the seeds of a rivalry there...but we're playing the Blaze and that's the card we've been dealt.  Win or lose, it should be a hell of a game.

Remember, it's a home game and tickets are cheap.  Opening night is generally the most festive game of the year with the highest energy and best attendance, so it's a great time to check the sport out for the first time.  Plus, the team is giving away some pretty slick swag this year and are offering $1 hot dogs and sodas.

Come on down, and here's to a great season of Power football!

Elsewhere in the League
While it's hard to gauge what my team is gonna do for the year, it's almost impossible to call the other teams.  But if I had to pick, these are the games to watch (and this year, they've change the viewing options AGAIN!  Now it's through the AFL site):

• Philly at Arizona:  Arena Bowl rematch is always fun.  These two teams kept most of their respective rosters intact in the off-season, so this Game of the Week (on CBS Sports) should be explosive
• San Jose at San Antonio:  Whoooo boy...first the hated 'Cats steal Garcia from the Talons, and then they get matched up right out of the gate.  Hell, the Talons even got Lil Jon for their half time show.  Seriously.