CsnPhilly.com
The
road trip will come to an end for the Philadelphia Soul this weekend as they
battle the Orlando Predators at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10 at CFE Arena in
Orlando, Fla.
The
road has not treated Philadelphia kind through the first three games, as Soul
sit at 0-3 to start the season after two trips out west to Arizona and San
Jose, along with a travel down south to central Florida, where the Soul have
spent the last week in Tampa Bay and Orlando. Now, Philadelphia will hope to
avoid falling even further behind in the American Conference playoff run as
they battle another potential postseason contender in the Predators.
The
last time these two teams met, the Philadelphia Soul defeated the Orlando
Predators 59-55 in the opening round of the 2013 American Conference playoffs
on Saturday, Aug. 23 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Predators
held the lead for most of the contest, but a late Soul rally gave the lead to
Philadelphia in the final minute of the game. Aaron Garcia than began marching
his Predators down the field to take the lead once more and possibly win the
game, but Garcia would have the ball stripped and recovered by Bryan Robinson to
seal the deal for Philadelphia and send the Predators, along with former Soul
head coach Doug Plank home for the season.
Much
has changed since than for the Predators, as Doug Plank has retired and Aaron
Garcia is unsure of his status as a member of the Jacksonville Sharks. Rob
Keffe has taken over as the head coach in Orlando, and Jason Boltus has been
putting up pretty good numbers at quarterback for the Preds. Orlando is leading
the South division with a record of 3-1, as they jumped out to a solid start of
the year with home wins over the Jacksonville Sharks and the Los Angeles Kiss,
along with a road win in the ‘War on I-4’ rivalry over the Tamp Bay Storm.
The
Predators are coming off a 62-55 loss to the New Orleans Voodoo Thursday, April
3 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, La. In the final minute of the game,
the Predators had an opportunity to seal the victory, as Orlando recovered a Voodoo
onside kick, with the score tied at 55 apiece. However, Boltus threw a
third-and-goal interception which was returned for a touchdown to solidify a 62-55 win
for the Voodoo.
On
the season, Boltus is 88-149 in passing, throwing for 1173 yards, 24 touchdowns
and six interceptions, earning him a 106.9 quarterback rating. Khalil Parden
has been Boltus’ main target this season, bringing in six touchdowns and 388
yards, the third most in the league this season. Greg Carr and Kendal Thompkins
have also brought in six touchdowns a piece.
Defensive
back Tanner Varner, a former Soul, has made his defensive presence known in
Orlando in the first four games of the season, bringing in two interceptions good
enough for 74 yards and a touchdown. The defensive line for the Predators hasn’t
been able to get the quarterback as much as they probably would like, only
recording one sack on the season, coming from defensive back Mark Robinson.
For
Philadelphia, the Soul will need to concentrate on committing fewer penalties
from the beginning to the end of the game. Defensive penalties have been giving
their opponents offense too much yardage and extra plays, making themselves
work overtime when they are usually behind on the scoreboard. The defense has
also struggled creating turnovers, as a Joe Goosby interception was the only
stop for the Soul in Tampa Bay last week, which came when the game was
virtually out of reach. Whether it is on downs, fumbles or interceptions, this
defense needs to get the ball back to the offense if they’re going to get their
first win this week.
On the offense, this
team obviously has the playmakers that will give them more than enough
opportunities to rack up the points and keep the team in games. Ryan McDaniel
has actually passed Tiger Jones in yards gained with 296, while Jones has 258 yards.
Both receivers have brought in six touchdowns each. Derrick Ross is leading all
fullbacks in the league with 85 yards, and also touchdowns with seven.
Orlando has turned a lot of heads
this season around the league, with very low pre-season expectations placed on
them with star players getting traded away, a change in ownership and moving to
CFE Arena after the Amway Center kicked them to the curb. But the Predators
found a way to win their first three games of the season, and very well could
be undefeated if not for quarterback mistake in New Orleans.
With that said, the Predators are
not of the same pedigree as the top teams of the league such as Arizona, San
Jose, and I’ll even throw Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to the mix. Even though
the Soul have not yet recorded a win this season, Philadelphia has a much more
talented roster than Orlando, and sooner or later that has to start coming
through and equating to wins no matter how gritty or rowdy an opponent is.
I could see how the Predators could give
Philadelphia their fourth loss of the season, as the hostile Orlando fans will
be making a lot of noise in the crowded CFE Arena with a very low roof that has
the potential to interfere with a kickoff. But this is the first weekend of the
season where Philadelphia has not had a long plane ride to deal with just days
before their game, and have instead stayed in Florida for the week and took the
two hour drive from Tampa Bay to Orlando on Tuesday night. Orlando on the other
hand has presumably taken a plane ride home from New Orleans sometime in the
past seven days, while the Soul have been at their home waiting for them.
This is not necessarily a must-win
game for the Soul, but it’s another potential wildcard or home-field advantage
tiebreaking matchup. The Soul will end this road trip and return to the Wells
Fargo Center next week for their home opener, which will be home to nine of
their final 14 games. Hopefully by the time their plane lands in Philadelphia
this weekend, they will have a road win in the books.
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