Five days Five hours
22 Jul 2008 Seems like an eternity but the twenty second Arena Football League Championship is just that far away. Staged once again in New Orleans, Arenabowl XXII will feature the two best teams in the AFL. In one corner is the defending champion San Jose Sabercats. In the opposite corner is the Philadelphia Soul.
It doesn't get any better than this. San Jose (11-5 regular season) is looking to be the first team in over a decade to repeat as champs (Tampa 95-96). The Soul (13-3 regular season) is looking for their first league title.
The Soul are a 3.5 point favorite thanks in no small part to their league best scoring offense. The Soul averaged 62 points per game this season and many point to WR Chris Jackson as the reason why.
Jackson will have his work cut out for him Sunday. The San Jose secondary of Clevan Thomas, Omarr Smith and Marquis Floyd combined for 22 interceptions during the regular season. Adding another six picks in two playoff games. Thomas versus Jackson will be interesting.
For my money the real must see match up will be Soul FB Wes Ours and 'Cats MLB Steve Watson. This season Watson racked up the most sacks by a linebacker since 2005 (9.0). Keeping Watson out of Soul QB Matt D'Orazio's grill will be crucial.
The Soul defense gets a slight break. San Jose's WR James Roe will not play Sunday. But QB Mark Grieb will. Greib threw 100 touchdowns in the regalar season. And this is his fourth Arenabowl appearance in seven years.
Which brings us to the "been there done that" part of the game. Emotions will be running high. Most of these Sabercats were just here 12 months ago. The Soul have just two starters with ArenaBowl experience. Matt D’Orazio and Chris Jackson have both been to Arenabowl's in the last three years.
Speaking of emotion... you can't spell emotion without EMO. Soul DB Eddie Moten gets pretty geeked up in big games. And while he usually plays well in them, he can also be baited into penalties. Moten will need to keep his head screwed on straight.
Special teams is probably a push. San Jose kicker A.J. Haglund is simply one of the best. The Soul have scrappy rookie kicker Connor Hughes. But they also have Mike Brown.
In the end it'll come down to turnovers and penalties as usual. Let's hope the Soul will have fewer of the former and more of the latter.
Smallwood minds
17 Jul 2008 Today we're pulling the thread on this whole "major sport" thing a little more. Yesterday Philadelphia Inquirer sportwriter John Smallwood wrote about how little an AFL Championship would mean to Philadelphia.
"But as much as the Soul is dedicated to beating the San Jose SaberCats in ArenaBowl XXII on July 27 in New Orleans; as much as it proclaims that it wants to bring a professional team sports championship here; as much as ESPN, the broadcast partner of the AFL, tried to emphasize the Soul's quest to end Philly's sports misery, it won't count."
Why won't it count?
That's actually not the question. The real question is: who won't it count for?
The answer is deceptively simple. We really don't care if you think it counts. "We" being the fans that support this team. "We" being the friends and family of the team. "We" being the men and women sacrificing a whole lot of time and energy putting a stellar product on the field.
Ask the sponsors if this title counts. Maybe ask Ron Jaworski if this title counts. Ask Bret Munsey if this title matters. Ask Tony Graziani or any other player on the team.
Hell for that matter ask the people that work just as hard for less recognition. Ask a Soulmate, ask Marla Viturello, ask Steve Schultz, ask any member of the SSAB or Soul Squad.
Mr. Smallwood prefaced his piece with the line "The following is not intended to dismiss, disregard or disrespect the Philadelphia Soul or the Arena Football League." Then he went ahead and did just that.
It won't count for the people that don't want it to count and it will to those it does. Does it take a million people lining Broadstreet or a hundred on the field after the game? It won't matter because for John Smallwood it won't count.
See ya in New Orleans.
No Parade for Soul
15 Jul 2008
The Philadelphia Soul stand a pretty good chance of bringing the AFL Championship home to the City of Brotherly Love in a couple of weeks. And it's already been decided no one really cares.
In this town the Soul just doesn't generate enough revenue for the city to warrant a parade.
There is also the AFL stigma of not being a "major" sport or league. So let's take a closer look at that for a bit. What keeps them from being a major? Is it the realists or is it the elitists?
Is it longevity? 22 years and counting. Not the century that other sports have been around, and not lacross age, but still not bad.
Is it ratings? They equal or surpass the NHL.
Is it attendance? Non corporate exceeds NBA and NHL.
Is it team value? Franchise fees have quadrupled in the last sevewn years. Teams now are valued at amounts exceeding $20MM.
Is it perception? Bingo!
What reinforces that perception and keeps the AFL from gaining acceptance? What keeps the league from becoming recognized as "major"?
Despite what some say it isn't failure to get a mini-helmet, airline voucher, or other freebie. It isn't having old pictures and late/missing information on the internet.
It's people content to shove the AFL into a niche. People in the media that dismiss it out of hand. The smug and snarky that latch onto any shortcoming and laugh.
It's the sports writers and "football" fans that loathe the idea of a variation of the game played in the NFL beyond what the NCAA does.
It's people that fall back on tired, ignorant excuses like inferior talent and lack of superstars. They cite poor marketing and lack of exposure without acknowledging the correlation. Oh and it's cheap so it can't be a major.
And they do it all without ever really looking at the product. Without ever seeing what is actually happening on the field in the form athletes or in the stands in the form of fans. It's always "he wasn't good enough to make the NFL" or something equally banal.
In fact it is those fans and those athletes that make it a major sport. It's just time for the rest of the world to realize it.
Make no mistake the league itself bears some blame for the minor league mindset. The shoddy officiating and fiscal instability of some teams leads directly to 105 Madison Avenue. But the reality is for those involved with the sport it is major league.
Only the elitists would disagree.
Awww Yeah!
13 Jul 2008 The Philadelphia Soul are the Arena Football League 2008 National Conference Champions!
The Soul defeated the Coach of the Year Mike Wilpolt and his Cleveland Gladiator team. Tearing through them like Michael Moore at a Las Vegas buffet to get one step closer to the Foster Cup.
Soul QB Matt D'Orazio, the Arena League's Most Valuable Player, threw eight touchdown passes Saturday. Add a Wes Ours rushing TD and Mike Brown's stellar 57 yard kickoff return that used the Glads Jason Ball as a human hurdle. Then season with ten Connor Hughes PATs and you have a recipe for a Soul post season scoring record.
D'Orazio completed 17 passes for 184 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions. WR Larry Brackins had seven catches for 92 yards and three scores. WR Brent Holmes added five receptions for 57 yards and three more TDs. AFL Offensive Player of the Year Chris Jackson registered his 100th career post-season catch and his two scores made him the Soul franchise playoff touchdown leader with six.
As impressive as the Soul offensive output was their defense was equally impressive. LB Rahemm Orr had the only sack in the game. The sacked forced a fumble that Soul DL Gabe Nyenhuis recovered. Soul DB Eddie Moten had 10 tackles, two interceptions, and two break ups.
By game's end the Soul defense had stopped the Cleveland offense an astounding five times.
Gladiators QB Raymond Philyaw had been on a roll in the post season. In the two playoff games leading to this he had 16 touchdowns and two interceptions.Saturday afternoon he was 25 of 49 for 303 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Cleveland WR Robert Redd was Philyaw's favorite target, finishing with 11 receptions for 152 yards and two scores. WR Otis Amey, the AFL touchdown leader, had 9 grabs for 85 yards and 2 scores. Former Soul FB Marlion Jackson also added a rushing touchdown for Cleveland.
With the win the Soul advance to the big dance in the "Big Easy". There they will face the defending Arena Bowl champions the San Jose Sabercats.
And in keeping with the times here on PoS. A new playoff win means a new playoff wallpaper background. Enjoy.
Click the image above for the full size version.
Conference Championship
09 Jul 2008 It's taken five years but the Philadelphia Soul have reached their first National Conference Championship game. Along the way they've set many team records and finished with the best record in the AFL. That best record earned them Eastern Divison champion status
This Saturday the Soul will square off against the toughest opponents they've ever faced.
Not the whining poser thugs from Long Island. Not the crybaby choke artist from the Lone Star state. Not the cheating swine that downsized to a smaller arena. Not the Preadaturds.
The Cleveland Gladiators
The Gladiators advanced to the championship round with a 73-70 win over the Georgia Force. The game started off looking like a mongolian clustergrope with back to back fumbles by both teams. By the final whistle Cleveland QB Ray Philyaw had tossed eight touchdowns. Glads WR Otis Amey had six catches for 130 yards and three touchdowns. WR Robert Redd had three TDs and FB Joshua Roe had rushed for two scores.
Now the Galdiators return to Philadelphia. Not that they've been gone long. The Soul eeked out a win on June 14th thanks to Eddie Moten intercepting a two point conversion attempt. An attempt that would have given Cleveland the win over the Soul for the fourth time in five years. That's right, the Soul had never beaten the Gladiators before that. Only Moten's last minute heroics prevented history from repeating itself.
Now the Soul, given continued playoff life by AFL officials, have the chance to show some things.
They have the chance to show the last game wasn't the loser trying to give the game away for 60 minutes. They can show they're free of whatever funk they were in last Saturday. They can show they can beat a good team when it really matters.
The clumsy brain dead zombies shambling around the field need to be put down and the real Philadelphia Soul needs to show up and decimate the upstart Gladiators.
Godspeed gentlemen.
The Ruling on the Field Stands
08 Jul 2008 Well it took a few days but the verdict is in.
"In order to reverse that call, the Referee needed to see “indisputable visual evidence” that the play had been called incorrectly on the field...it was [the Referee’s] conclusion that there was no angle which provided such indisputable visual evidence to overturn the call."
Karma is a harsh mistress insn't it? Now everyone can STFU and GBTW. The fact that the officiating in the AFL is lackluster at best is nothing new. Get over it or get out.
But since this is a joyous occasion here's a new wallpaper/background image to help it sink in.
Click image for the full size version.
Tomorrow or the next day we'll take a look at the Conference Championship opponent. The dreaded Las Clevland Gladdogs!
mmmm... tasty
05 Jul 2008
Let's be fair right from the start.
The Soul played remarkably poorly Saturday night. And they did not come away with a "convincing win" over their opponents.
Now having said that they did come away with a win. And with that win advance to the Conference Championship game. They won on what will surely be a hotly debated call with less than two seconds left in the game.
The Soul were down by five points with a hair over seven seconds to play.
Soul QB Matt D'Orazio hit WR Larry Brackins for a 28 pass. Brackins was hit and tackled near the goal. Brackins stretched the ball forward and broke the plane of the goal.
The opposing coach Weyland Harding challenged the call saying Brackins was down by contact before the ball crossed the goal.
After an agonizing eternity waiting for the ruling the call on the field stood and the Soul were decalred the winners.
We'll skip all the stats and play recap and just say congratulations to the Philadelphia Soul. You were the less crappy team Saturday night. You beat the refs, you beat your opponents, and damn near beat yourselves.
And of course there must be mention of the fact that Schwartzy's motivational piece and call to action from Thursday went largely ignored. Less than two dozen (non family/friends) fans of the opposing team showed.
You fail Schwartz. Your team failed. But on the plus side you now have the answer to your "Who says they can't do it again?" question.
But hey, to borrow your quip, "Don't Stop Believing."
The Philadelphia Soul fans haven't.
The Schwartz is strong in this one
03 July 2008 Dragqueen contributor Peter Schwartz was kind enough to point out a few perceived arrors on PoS. Then went on to write:
"You have to laugh because whatever genius wrote that needed two attempts to spell "New York" correctly. Oh by the way, the game was on Friday and I think a fourteen point victory in Dallas is definitely an overly convincing win, but who am I to say? But to be serious for a moment, those fans in Philadelphia need to know that you guys mean business."
Link to full article.
Thanks for the acknowledgement Schwartzy.
You have to laugh because whatever genius referenced a fan site as motivational fodder on an "offical" site is well... a genius.
Schwartz completely missed the point of the word usage paired with the date error and that's okay. However, if he considers 14 points an overly convincing win in arena football then what was the Soul's 29 point victory over New York? But a win is a win and they aren't always pretty.
NY fans take a second do a google search for New Yourk and see if you get any hits. Go ahead, we'll wait.
See all those links that came up? See how many times it was spelled Yourk? Does that help convey the apathy for your team implied by the June 28th piece? Your team that has had, what is now three different players ejected for asshattery in games?
And why is it "you guys" not "we"? Why is it "your minds" not "our minds"? Is The Schwartz disassociating himself from the Plainview Posse that thinks throwing things at children and stealing from visitors acceptable?
None of that really matters. Hopefully the opponent's fans come out in droves to support their team. And despite the thuggery NY revels in seeing an AFL legend like Aaron Garcia and the underrated Chris Anthony play is always a treat. A packed house is a good thing and I hope it happens this weekend.
And who knows, maybe the Soul will manage a convincing victory.
Dragon Attack
For anyone not playing along at home, Aaron Garcia tossed nine TD passes last weekend. Nine... a playoff record. Garcia finished 28-of-39 for 330 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception. You'd think with second year wonder Jason Willis out for the rest of the season they'd struggle at least a bit.
Their rookie receiver Terry Moss stepped up large with 11 catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Eighth year man Kevin Swayne had eight catches for 77 yards and four touchdowns. And to top it off Ironman Chris Anthony (about the only Dragon I like) hauled in six passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
Remember the guy that got tossed for the sucker shot on Mike Brown last meeting? That was DB Levy Brown. He had A fumble recovery, forced fumble and an on-side kick recovery.
Speaking of kicks, Steve Azar was a perfect 10 for 10 on PATs and did a great job with the on-side kick placement. New York recovered two of the three on-side kicks head coach Weylan Harding called for.
Oh and Dragons LB Antonio Ficklin got tossed in the first quarter for flipping QB Clint Dolezel over the boards. Is having players ejected in consecutive scrimmages and consecutive games in the same season a record?
Now this incredibly disciplined group of stand up citizens is coming to Philadelphia. It took them three tries to beat Dallas this season but they did it when it really mattered.
The Enemy You Know
28 June 2008
The New Yourk Dragons defeated the Dallas Desperados in the National Conference Wildcard game Saturday night. Not a huge or overly convincing win but a win none the less.
What that means for Soul fans is another game against the hated New York Dragqueens. Early reports have hundreds from the Tri-State area calling for tickets.
A quick look back at this season make it seem the Dragons are no threat to the Soul... well except Soul QBs maybe. The Soul beat them like they owed them money twice already. Winning by 21 in week 3 (42-63) and by 29 (59-30) in the season finale just a couple of weeks ago.
This time should be more of a challenge. Before facing Philadelphia in week 17 the Dragons had won 7 of 10. As mentioned previously the losses were by 5 points or less.
They gave Dallas a run for their money twice during the season and knocked them from the postseason. That gives them momentum. They have All-Rookie defenisve players DB Billy Parker and DL Henry Taylor. They have the ageless wonder Aaron Garcia at the helm and Jason Willis at wideout. And they have history on their side.
In 2006, the Chicago Rush qualified for the playoffs as the #5 seed with a record of 7-9 and won three straight road playoff games before knocking off Orlando to win ArenaBowl XX in Las Vegas. Then, last year, the Columbus Destroyers were 7-9 and won three consecutive road contests in the playoffs before losing to San Jose at ArenaBowl XXI in New Orleans.
As a Soul fan know that most teams don't beat a team they've already lost to twice in the season. But also be wary of history. The Soul have never advanced past this round of the playoffs.
The Soul are in uncharted waters. Never having won the division. Never having had a first round bye. Hopefully the time off will let them focus on the job at hand and get some healing done.
From both the mental and physical aspects, this is going to be a tough game.
The Dragons are generally a bunch of cheapshot artists. If they find themselves getting behind they'll get dirtry. Dirtier than usual that is too say. And injured Soul players is never a good thing.
Good luck Soul. Keep your head on a swivel and kick some Long Island Ass.
2008 Eastern Conference Champions
23 June 2008
The Philasdelphia Soul beat the snot out of a struggling New York Dragons team Sunday. By doing so they earned themselves home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
They also secured the first Eastern Division Championship in team history.
It started with the Dragons deferring after winning the Goose Gossage coin toss. It ended with Dragons DB Levy Brown getting tossed.
In between Soul FB Wes Ours banged into the endzone for a couple touchdowns to start the Soul's scoring. One rushing and one receiving. Chris Jackson even threw his first TD pass in four years.
Soul DB Eddie Moten must have though he was playing Dallas. He finished the night with a forced fumble and a pair pass break ups to go along with his two interceptions. Rod Davis now has an interception from both New York reserve QBs and Gabe Nyenhuis grabbed another sack to add to his team record.
The Soul rolled to a 42-10 half time lead before throttling back on the way to a 59-30 final.
All in all a pretty well played game in all phases by the Soul. The only potentially painful flaw I could see was Soul QB Glen Gauntt staring down intended targets.
The Soul now have a bye week for the first round of the post season. They will wind up playing the July 4th weekend against lowest conference seed remaining. It could even be New York again.
This weekend playoff picture looks like this:
Friday, June 27th 7:30 PM on ESPN
#6 New York @ #3 Dallas
Saturday, June 28th 4:00 PM on ESPN
#5 Colorado @ #4 Utah
Monday, June 30th 7:00 PM on ESPN
#5 Orlando @ #4 Cleveland
Follwed by:
# 6 Grand Rapids @ #3 Arizona at 9:30 PM on ESPN2
And much love for the nine Soulmates braving the Philly and New York fans on the trip.
Courtney, Melanie, Erica, Stephanie, Sarah, Becky, Danielle, and Almaris, Not pictured but present, Minon.
Click image for larger version.
Justin case
19 June 2008
If you watched that video clip below you may have noticed after Graz gets Nix'd an offensive lineman for the Soul lays one on Nix. In the photo above looks like Ours and Bibla also wanted to say hi to Nix.
That lineman was backup center Justin Cleveland. Cleveland signed with the Soul just a few days before the first New Yrok game (March 13th) and was later released to make room for for more pressing roster needs.
Time to welcome him back to the fold. Yesterday the Soul re-signed Justin, again just a few days before a Dragons game. Wonder if he'll get some reps Sunday.
So yeah, about those Dragons... They currently sit at 8-7 and need a win Sunday to stay ahead of the Gladiators for the playoffs.
Don't let the 8-7 fool you though. Since week four they haven't lost a game by more than five points.
The seemingly ageless Aaron Garcia has a QB rating close to 120 and has 77 touchdowns and only nine interceptions this seaon. His backup, Juston Wood, should be familiar to Soul fans and is probably an improvement over Rohan Davey. The Dragons offense has wiley veteran WRs Chris Anthony (1097 yards 21 TDs) and Kevin Swayne (1200 yards 33 TDs) but it's the second year guy out of Oregon Jason Willis that leads the team with 1453 yards receiving (29 TDs).
New York also has the number two defense in the league. They are first against the pass and have given up twenty fewer points than the Soul this season. DBs Levy Brown and Billy Parker have 151 tackles and 14 interceptions between them. DL Henry Taylor has 8.5 sacks and motor mouth ironman Idris Price has four. The jughead John Nix has no stats worth mentioning and is basically a sack of crap stealing a paycheck.
A tough divisional game in a hostile environment awaits the Soul this Sunday. A win gets them a week of rest before hosting every postseaon game they play. It will also complete their third sweep in the division and make the long bus ride for nearly 400 Soul fans a lot more enjoyable.
Remember It Well
Dateline March 16th, 2008: That's Waffle House poster boy John Nix with a cheap shot late hit on Soul QB Tony Graziani. Nix was fined and suspended for the hit but his appeal delayed his suspension and dropped his fine to less than half the original amount.
Another penalty by the Long Island Loser later in the game would garner him an ejection and his one finger salute to the crowd on his way out showed his class.
Sunday the Soul will revisit Nix and the Dragqueens at the dank cesspool known as the Mausoleum.
Despite the shortcomings of the venue and some players, New York has managed eight wins this season. They've won seven of the last nine and outscored the mighty Desperados last Saturday 35-20 in the second half. For first time in Dragons history more than one receiver has caught at least 100 receptions in a season.
Both teams need the win this Sunday. Philly in order to clinch home field in the postseason and New York just to make it. The actual playoff picture look like this:
The Soul clinch the Eastern Division and home-field advantage in the National Conference with the following scenarios:
1) Philadelphia Soul win
2) Dallas Desperados loss
The Dragons clinch a National Conference playoff spot with the following scenarios:
1) New York Dragons win
2) Cleveland Gladiators loss
3) New Orleans VooDoo loss
Stay tuned for a more in depth look at the Dragons later in the week.
CONGRATULATIONS KAT!
15 June 2008
Yesterday the Philadelphia Soul finally defeated the whatevercity Gladiators.
Yesterday was a ridiculously hot and humid day for football.
Yesterday there were two concerts and a football game making parking a complete mess.
But most importantly, yesterday was Katurday!
During the game the Souolmates performed their usual stellar second half routine. Upon completion of the routine the girls remained on the field for the announcement of the Aaron's Dream Team Arenabowl representative for this season.
This year the Philadelphia Soul, and Soulmates, will be represented by second year vet and first year Captain Kat.
The Great Kat... Katherine the Great... we'll work out a nick name later.
The lovely, talented, and all around cool Kat has the distinction of being the Soul's fifth anniversary year rep.
She will follow in the tradition of former Soulmate Dream Teamers Meg, Lisa, Nina, and Lindsay and take part in several days of promotions, appearances, and hopefully some revelry.
A distinctive honor to be sure. And a well deserved one that goes to one the nicest and most genuine girls I've had the privilege to meet.
So let's hear it Soul fans. A huge cheer and round of applause...
Congratulations Kat!