Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Soul confirmed changes
to two of their roster positions, moving center Brennen Carvalho to injury
reserve while trading Larry Brackins.
Carvalho was placed on injury reserve after tearing
his Achilles and ending his season. He has been a crucial role to the Soul’s
success the past few seasons while his contribution has gone overlooked by
many, as most centers are in Arena Football. Carvalho did not lose a fumbled-snap
in the 2013 campaign for the Soul, and his a great track-record dates back to
his days with the Arizona Rattlers in 2010-11 before coming to Philadelphia in
2012. He has appeared in the last three Arena Bowls, and it’s clear that
success has followed him wherever he has gone.
The Soul have been able to respond to key-roles in
their game plan getting plucked away from them in years past, with Tiger Jones leaving
the team for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2012 season and Dustin Barno
going down with injury in 2013. With Carvalho gone however, life has just
gotten a lot harder for our quarterback Dan Raudabaugh.
Jason Holman will fill in the role defending
Raudabaugh from ending up on the turf, and through the beginning of last week’s
match against the Jacksonville Sharks, Raudabaugh was feeling the heat,
throwing three interceptions under pressure. The game eventually cooled down
and Holman found his game, which allowed the Soul to cruise to an important win
over Jacksonville, and Holman will need to continue his success and make sure
Raudabaugh has as much time and comfort as he needs. At the time it’s unclear
whether Holman will remain at center for the Soul as the season continues or if
the Soul will look elsewhere for a replacement at the position, but either way
it’s going to be a big question mark for this team as the season progresses.
In other changes, Larry
Brackins, who spent five of the past six AFL seasons with the Philadelphia
Soul, has been traded to the Orlando Predators for future considerations.
Brackins was a member of the Arena Bowl 22 championship Soul team in 2008, and
will most be remembered for his eight-touchdown performance in the 2012 American
Conference Championship game, which the Soul won over the Jacksonville Sharks
to advance to Arena Bowl 25.
In his seven years in the AFL, Brackins has recorded
3,889 yards on 319 receptions while scoring 110 touchdowns. Brackins hasn’t
seen the same success through the first five games of this season however, with
only seven receptions for 73 yards and no touchdowns.
It’s clear that Brackins was not in head coach Clint
Dolezel’s game plan this season, or just hasn’t played up to the expectations
he has in years past. With star receiver Tiger Jones, who is the same age as Brackins
(31), and the younger 26-year old Ryan McDaniel who has become one of the
leading receivers in AFL the past two seasons, the Soul will survive the loss
of Brackins, despite the love from the fans and teammates that will be hurting.
The
faces may have changed some, but the game plan, goal and overall cast has remained
the same through this time of change for the Soul. It’s up to this team to come
together through these tough situations and find a way to continue the
winning-ways the team has experienced the last two weeks, and not fall any
further behind in the push for the 2014 playoffs.
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