Arena Football League Playoffs - Arena Bowl XXII Preview
Philadelphia Soul vs. San Jose SaberCats
July 27th @ 3 pm ET - ABC
Philadelphia Soul
Quarterback Play: Matt D'Orazio has been named quarterback of the year and in the playoffs, his stellar performance has continued. He has thrown for 14 touchdowns and just 1 interception in the two victories. Besides being accurate and possessing great game intelligence, D'Orazio has shown the capability to win in various situations. In the win over New York, he led his team to long scoring drives filled with short passes and many first down conversions. D'Orazio took what the defense gave him and made the high percentage passes. In the blowout over Cleveland, there were several deep completions and quick scores because defenders played poor man-to-man coverage and it was easily exposed. D'Orazio is a proven winner and can be counted on for a good effort and a strong offensive output.
Philadelphia Soul Receivers: The Soul have arguably the best group of receivers in the league and now is the time for them to shoecase their talent. Chris Jackson has put up amazing receiving games this season and leads the team in yards and touchdowns. He has good speed and the strength to adjust to routes while in motion. Jackson is nearly guaranteed to have 100 yards and at least 2 touchdowns every game. Larry Brackins is the other main threat for the Soul offense. A powerful receiver that is extremely tough to bring down. Brackins is best on timing routes and near the end zone. Brent Holmes is thrown to as a last option and although he is not the fastest receiver, he catches most balls in his range. The Soul wil probably start off with short completions to gain easy yardage and pressure the secondary with deep passes once defenders move up in coverage.
Fullback: Wes Ours and Clifton Smith are the two fullbacks on this team. Both are powerful and difficult to tackle. Philadelphia will turn towards the running game only in short yardage situations or near the goal line. They will run the ball when it's necessary but it will not be a significant part of their offensive strategy. Ours or Smith may get a couple of touchdowns if the opportunity is there for them.
Offensive Line: The Soul have an excellent offensive line which rarely gives up sacks and provides plenty of time for D'Orazio to throw. Linemen block with good form and don't miss assignments. Martin Bibla is the leader of this unit and brings energy to the entire team. Besides creating good pass protection, the Soul linemen also know how to create space on running plays and passes near the line of scrimmage. In this matchup, they should be able to hold their ground against the opposing defensive line.
Defensive Line: This group of players is pretty inexperienced but have put together a solid season and are continuting to perform in the playoffs. Every lineman has two years of AFL experience or less. They have pretty good size and are bigger than many of the other teams in the league. Their speed in reacting to the snap and their quick movements allow them to penetrate into the backfield and pressure the quarterback. Often, linemen are moving around defenders by being in better position instead of just overpowering them. Sometimes this unit can have a strong game and inspire the rest of the defense. Getting quarterback pressure will be improtant because San Jose has a high completion rate and their passing attack is nearly impossible to stop.
Philadelphia Soul Linebackers: Philadelphia has decent linebackers and their strength is tackling and knowledge of the game. Both the mack and jack linebackers are usually in good positions to make tackles and don't allow many yards after the catch. They are not fooled by offensive deceptions such as quarterback pump fakes or unusual routes. The linebackers have average speed compared to other units in the league but intelligence and consistency make up for it. Since the Sabercats utilize a lot of timing routes and short passes, both linebackers will have opportunities to make tackles, and if they don't the Sabercats may run right through the defense.
Defensive Backs: This group is the most experienced part of the defense. Eddie Moten leads the team in tackles and interceptions and his energy sparks teammates to come up with big plays. Moten is able to jump routes and force interceptions or incompletions. Along with the other defensive backs, the Soul are capable of forcing turnovers to turn the game in their favor. Philadelphia has had some success stopping teams in the red zone so that is another key part of their overall performance.
Philadelphia Soul Special Teams: Kicker Todd France has made a little over half of his field goals which is average in this league. Field goals are not really part of the Soul offense as they often go for fourth down conversions. France is reliable on extra points so in a close game he cane be expected to make them. On kickoffs, the Soul have an average return team, they will start possessions around the ten or fifteen yard line. They won't have too many long returns, but will have almost no turnovers either. The kick coverage team is very good, the often stop teams inside their ten yard line. Once in a while, a turnover will be forced for an extra offensive possesison.
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San Jose SaberCats
Quarterback Play: Mark Grieb finished the regular season with the most touchdown passes and in the playoffs he has kept up that consistency. Grieb led the Sabercats offense to 64 and 81 points in their two playoff wins. He threw 8 touchdowns against Grand Rapids, a team which had been playing excellent defense in the postseason. Grieb has great accuracy, a strong arm, and mental toughness, all of which is necessary for the complex offense he operates. His only weakness is sometimes forcing throws into tight coverage because he wants to make a big play, and it does result in turnovers since Grieb threw the most interceptions this year. Considering his talent and past postseason success, he will likely put together another solid performance and keep his team in position for a championship.
San Jose SaberCats Receivers: The Sabercats receivers have lots of experience and terrific chemistry between them. Cleannord Saintil gets most of the passes and is the leader in receiving yards and touchdowns. With his sure hands, he is often thrown to for first downs. Rodney Wright is very quick and is best on short and intermediate timing routes. He can create yards after the catch and is consistent when near the goal line. James Roe is equally talented and has become a major contributor to the offense in the playoffs. With his increased production, the Sabercats are running more plays for him and he is taking advantage of it with touchdowns and long completions. All three receivers should be a factor in this game and the Sabercats should have little or no diffculty in their passing attack.
Fullback: San Jose has two fullbacks, Brian Johnson and Frank Carter, both of which have received equal playing time. The Sabercats rarely run the ball, even near the goal line and are close to the bottom of the league in rushing attempts. If San Jose turns to the running game, then either fullback is able to gain yardage and score near the end zone. There may be a few rushing attempts, but only when it's absolutely necessary.
Offensive Line: The Sabercats are more experienced in this area and so far the pass protection has been pretty good. Most linemen have played multiple years in the AFL and know how to adjust to a playoff atmosphere. Although the linemen are of average size, their knowledge and determination turn them into quality players. The Sabercats have good blocking and don't allow sacks or quarternack hits. This provides space for Grieb to throw and a chance to run both quick timing routes and deep routes. The Philadelphia defensive line is big so the Sabercats will need to react and take care of their duties or else Grieb will be pressured.
Defensive Line: Similar to the offensive linemen, this group of players have found a rhythm after being with each other for so long. They possess good speed and are able to elude opposing linemen to get to the quarterback. This ability to get penetration right after the snap has allowed for constant pressure in many games. The players know where the ball is and when it is thrown so they have a lot of deflections and pass knockdowns. Since Philadelphia will rely solely on the passing game, being able to create incompletions will go a long way in contributing to the team defensive effort.
San Jose SaberCats Linebackers: San Jose is already known as a great tackling team and the linebackers are an important part of the overall defense. Although they don't produce a significant amount of turnovers, the linebackers are excellent at tackling and slowing down pass routes. The Sabercats allow very few yards after the catch in comparison to other teams. In this matchup, the linebackers will need to play tight coverage on receivers when routes are run near the line of scrimmage because the Soul can turn a simple catch into a long gain. This unit should do their share of work as they have done so far this season.
Defensive Backs: Even though the defensive backs are capable of having a solid performance, they are not at productive as they were last year. More completions are being allowed as is a higher amount of yards per game. The interceptions and turnovers are still frequent like in past seasons so that is a strength. It seems like receivers are in better positions to make catches and are beating defenders when running routes. Near the goal line, San Jose is a stingy defense. The problem is too many completions are allowed that sets up scoring plays close to the end zone. When teams have more opportunities to score, they will put up more points. San Jose needs to force turnovers or play tighter coveage to have a chance at stooping the Soul offense.
San Jose SaberCats Special Teams: The Sabercats have the best kicker in the league in A.J Haglund. He has the most total points out of all kickers, is nearly automatic on extra points and has pretty good accuracy on field goals, making several from more than 30 yards. The Sabercats kick return is a little better than the Soul, and the average starting field position is a few yards better. The kick coverage is decent and doesn't allow big returns, most possessions start well inside a team's own territory. In a close game, a field goal could be very improtant for San Jose in determining the outcome.
Arena Bowl XXII Prediction: San Jose 66, Philadelphia 58
By Chad Fukoka
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer
> Check out Chad's Arena Football Rules & AFL Basics article & follow the 2008 AFL playoff scores at Pro Football Fans as Arena Football teams continue to battle for a chance to play in Arena Bowl XXII!