Soul return from bye week in Tampa Bay

        

                                                    CBSPhilly.com

   The Philadelphia Soul will search for their first win in the Sunshine State this weekend as they take on the Tampa Bay Storm at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 4 at Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa Bay, Fla.

  

          Tampa Bay heads into Friday’s game with a 2-1 record, with a pair of wins over the New Orleans Voodoo and the San Antonio Talons.                                                                               

The Storm’s most recent game however was a 56-52 home loss to the Orlando Predators on Saturday, March 29. Tampa held an eleven point lead for most of the fourth quarter in the “War on I-4” rivalry over Orlando, and after recovering an onside kick from the Predators while clutching on to a four point lead, Tampa Bay appeared to be cursing to their third straight win to start their season. However, a fumble by Storm quarterback Randy Hippeard gave the Predators the ball back with 45 seconds remaining. Orlando capitalized on the opportunity, scoring the game winning touchdown and leaving Tampa Bay with the win.

            Hippeard still stands with a 100.1 quarterback rating through the first three games of the season, as he has completed 56 of his 97 passes, throwing for 841 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. Amarri Jackson has caught 21 of Hippeard’s passes for 247 yards and seven touchdowns. Justin Hilton is also off to a great start for the Storm’s receiving core this season, bringing in 328 yards and eight touchdowns.

            The Storm’s secondary has stepped up big on the defensive end, as defensive back Chris Smith has five of the team’s six interceptions in the team’s first three games. Linebacker Richard Clebert has recorded three sacks.

           Last season, the Soul defeated the Storm 73-55 at Tampa Bay Times Forum, in a game where Dan Raudabaugh threw for 297 yards and seven touchdowns for Philadelphia. Fullback Derrick Ross rushed for three touchdowns in the win.

           The biggest concern for the Soul approaching this weekend is the status Derrick Ross, who left the team’s last game in San Jose on Sunday, March 23 due to injury in the third quarter, and did not return to the game. The team has not released any information regarding Ross’ injury or status over the bye week. This has made the Storm game plan for Ross being in the lineup, but if he is unable to suit up come Friday, it will certainly be huge for Tampa Bay’s game adjustments and a major blow for the Soul.

  

          In the first two games for Philadelphia, the Soul’s biggest weakness may have been game adjustments, or lack thereof on offense. The Soul seemed to try and force the deep ball on all downs, despite success at the short-game efforts. When the defense of San Jose appeared to have read the Soul’s game plan up and down the field, Philadelphia failed to make the proper adjustments, while Arizona and San Jose were all over the Soul receivers once downfield.

Dan Raudabaugh has been intercepted once in both games this season, throwing for five touchdowns and 397 yards while completing 33 of 62 pass attempts, earning him a 53.2 completion rating and a 79.8 quarterback rating. To Raudabaugh’s defense, he has only played the two best defenses in the league the season that are the frontrunners to win the Arena Bowl.

           Despite Tampa Bay’s 2-1 record, I don’t see the Storm posing as big of a challenge to Philadelphia as the teams out West did last month, with or without Ross lining up at fullback. The Storm have put up the numbers on both sides of the ball, but have won both games by less than a touchdown against two winless teams that don’t look to be improving anytime soon.

The Storm’s secondary has been thriving in their first three matches, but have not faced a receiving core like Tiger Jones, Ryan McDaniel and Larry Brackins, all of whom will give the Tampa Bay defense a tiring night. Everyone on the Soul roster knows the importance of this game, and knows what the dangers of falling to 0-3 can entail as the Pittsburgh Power and Cleveland Gladiators have had decent starts to their seasons. This team has battled adversity the past two years it’s been together and knows how to battle back from slow starts to the season, and the hard part of the schedule is over. Conference play should be a great refresher for this team, and will hopefully build some momentum that they can ride the next four months.