The Arena League Football team Philadelphia Soul is off to a GREAT start in the 2008 season. Bon Jovi's team is undefeated and has its biggest game of the season coming Monday night.
Who would be Philadelphia's biggest rival this year? Of course it has to be the Dallas Desperados.
The Desperados are also undefeated this year. The two will square off in Philadelphia on national television. Of course the Flyers also play Monday night in Philly. So if you aren't headed off to the Flyers game, head over to the stadium complex, enjoy some Flyers tailgating and catch the AFL game.
Or just watch both on TV.
If you aren't familiar with the AFL. The field is half the length of an NFL field, the goal posts are much narrower, a rushing offense isn't really necessary, and you can slam guys into the padded walls.
Wide Receivers can move vertically in motion before the play giving them a running start before the play as long as they don't cross the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped.
Games are obviously much higher scoring. It has only taken Philadelphia wide receiver Chris Jackson to score a half dozen more touchdowns than Randy Moss did in an entire 16 game season.
Jackson's 29 touchdowns make him the most explosive wide receiver in the AFL right now. He's second in league in receiving yards with 915, but it's his ability to score is what makes him so special. He catches the ball anywhere in the end zone without problem.
He has SEVEN more touchdowns than anyone else in the league through eight games. That's almost a touchdown a game more than anyone else!
The Soul's second receiver is more of their threat. Larry Brackins averages over 14 yards per catch which is a pretty high number for the AFL. He's got 16 touchdowns in eight games this year. He's a big target down field at 6'4'' 225.
To catch that many touchdowns, the Soul receivers need a solid quarterback.
Well they have two.
Tony Graziani opened the season as the QB, but missed four games with a sprained knee. He injured the knee in week three, but returned against Columbus. He didn't last long; he re-injured the knee in the second quarter. He's listed as day-to-day for the Dallas game.
His replacement has exceeded Graziani's stud numbers. Graziani connected for 24 touchdowns and two interceptions, but Matt D'Orazio has gone above and beyond that. He's got 31 TDs and just two picks. His QB rating and completion percentage are both higher than Graziani's.
CuseAdelphia Prediction: Soul 62 Desperados 56.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Yes, I'm Covering the Philadelphia Soul
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2 comments:
Jameson I do not know how much you follow these guys but I do on a consistent basis. They are good just brought back a fan favorite and local product in WR/LB Sean Scott. He made the team from the opening tryouts when the team was created. He had left after last yr to be a #1 when the soul brought in Jackson but due to injuries and not fitting with his new team he was released. It gives the offense another playmaker and helps them in an area of need the LB position.
http://www.philadelphiasoul.com/news/current/?article_id=242
Also Graziani has been the better QB. His passing percentages are lower because he takes more risks and tries to stretch the field a lot often into coverage. Also the difference is insignificant at 1.3% difference from 68.3% to 67.0%. This results in a lower QB rating too and the difference is .5 not much at all. One has to look that Tony G has thrown 24 TDs 4+ games to 31 in 4 or so games. The difference is D'Orzio has done it in 189 pass attempts to Tony G's only 89 pass attempts that is a TD every 3.7 passes to D'Orzio throwing one in every 6.0967 attempts. Graziani is the best QB in the AFL (or one of the best), it was a huge deal when the soul brought him in. If he is healthy he will start and should lead this team to an Arena Bowl appearance and hopefully, knock on wood, championship.
http://www.arenafan.com/teams/Philadelphia_Soul-99/statistics/
Also the perfect piece for here would on the soul's leading rusher in FB/LB Clifton Smith an SU Grad. He is an absolute beast!!
Thanks BC. I just started watching these guys in last few weeks. So I'm still fairly new to this team.
Thanks for the info though. I'll make sure I expand on that stuff in the future Soul posts.
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