The Soul have the late-week game for the second week in a row, not kicking off against the Tampa Bay Storm until Monday night, giving Philadelphia fans another week to sit back and observe the rest of the league until Philly battles the AFL’s last winless team.
There are, however, some intriguing matches lined up this weekend that of course impact the Soul’s season that are sure to be entertaining.
The first game of the week will be between the Jacksonville Sharks and their hosts, the Cleveland Gladiators at 7;30 p.m. on Saturday, May 7.
This is a nonconference matchup (with Cleveland leaving to the National Conference this past offseason) that Soul fans should pay close attention to, as Jacksonville (2-3) sits two games behind the Soul (4-1) in third place in the American conference.
Cleveland entered the season with very little expectations placed on them, and they haven’t opened any eyes or proved anyone wrong. They’ve already played four of their home games through the first five weeks, and have only earned one single win over Tampa in week two. Since than, they’ve dropped three straight matches, and have two of their quarterbacks in Chris Dieker and Dennis Havrilla sit on the injury reserve list. Arvell Nelson was under center for Cleveland last weekend in their loss to Orlando, throwing for six touchdowns and two interceptions increasing his season stats to eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
Only Portland and Tampa have put up lower overall stats on offense combined with defense throughout the season, making it seem that this game should be a walk in the park for the Sharks, right?
Well, the Sharks, who entered the season with the highest expectations and all the loudest and proudest self-confidence in the league, and for the second season in a row have been the biggest disappointment to start the year.
The problems don’t necessarily lay with Jacksonville's offensive talent production-Tommy Grady’s 67.4 completion rate with 1,542 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and three interceptions has him among the league’s top three quarterbacks. Joe Hills is the league’s leading receiver with 666 yards and 15 touchdowns, and Derrick Ross is only behind Philadelphia’s Jeramie Richardson as the leading rusher.
Consistency has been a problem with Jacksonville’s offense, as they’ve shown they can put up 68 points on the league leading Arizona Rattlers but followed up their performance with a mere 33 points against the league’s worst Tampa Bay Storm.
The biggest problem has been their defense’s inability to get off the field.
With the exception of the Storm-filled organization in Tampa, the lowest point total Jacksonville has held an opponent to is 41 points, which the Soul put up after the worst start to a game our franchise has seen in years. Arizona reached the 70s and Orlando reached the 60s on the defending conference champions, and while it can be argued those two teams are at the top of their conferences, the LA Kiss offense had no problem dropping 64 on Jacksonville early in the season either.
Jacksonville was in a similar situation last season and rebounded for an Arena Bowl appearance, and all teams in the league will make the playoffs this season, giving Jacksonville hope when no other part of their team is showing any.
As for this week, the game is truly up for grabs for either team. Philly has a strong history of hating both teams, particularly Cleveland, but with recent rivals with Jacksonville and the chance to go three games up on Jacksonville for home field in the playoffs, every Soul fan should be cheering for the Gladiators this week.
The other game on tap for Saturday night will be the Arizona Rattlers visiting the Orlando Predators, also at 7:30 p.m.
Both teams enter the match undefeated, and as we pointed out before they sit atop their respective conferences at 5-0.
Arizona has been typical Arizona, as head coach Kevin Guy has orchestrated a team built around veteran quarterback Nick Davila who’s thrown 32 touchdowns with just two interceptions. His completion rate of 72 percent isn’t the cleanest of his career, but Rod Winsor’s 18 receiving touchdowns leads the league to connect with Davila as possibly the most dangerous duo you’ll find across the board.
Arizona’s defensive line has given their opposing quarterbacks nightmares through their first five matches, as Dimetrio Tyson’s five sacks and Luis Vasquez’s four sacks lead the entire league in their departments.
Down in the jungle, the Predators have also put together a team with hopes no shorter than an Arena Bowl appearance this season. Varhmah Sonie will be Davila’s biggest scare to date on the season, as his five interceptions in Orlando’s secondary leads the league.
Orlando has inched themselves above the rest in their special teams unit, as Brandom Thompkins has brought two returns to the house and has racked up 701 yards.
The Soul sit two games behind the 5-0 Rattlers, and this might be the best chance Philadelphia gets to moving closer to Orlando outside their regular season matchups.
The Soul of course will kick off at 8 p.m. Monday night. If you still need to feed your football hungar after the game, or have trouble falling asleep, the Portland Steel will face the L.A. Kiss Monday night at 10 p.m. after Philadelphia’s game.
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