Rebound game features Meyer-less Valore, clinching scenario in place

Even the best fall down sometimes.

Saturday’s loss to Baltimore hurt us all, but as we sit three games away from the 2017 Arena Football playoffs, all Soul fans should be feeling more than good.

Why? Well, after careful research, we have come to the conclusion that each of the last 29 Arena Bowl champions suffered at least one loss that season prior to lifting the trophy.

No one is perfect, but some teams are closer to that plateau than others.

Saturday was the imperfect game for the Soul, starting with one of the most outrageous ejections you will see in professional sports, and on the national stage no less.

But the Soul struggled out the gate from the bye week, and after putting forth their lowest performance of the season, Baltimore was able to just edge the Soul at the end of the game to stay in the midst of the Brigade’s own playoff race.

Thoughts of a perfect season are over, but as we’ve stated from day one, the goal was never to become the first team to finish undefeated. The goal has always been to keep the trophy in our backyard and repeat as world champions.

And honestly, it's better the loss came in early July rather than late August.

Fortunately while the Soul were struggling Saturday, their biggest competition the Tampa Bay Storm were suffering even bigger problems in their loss to Cleveland. The Storm benefited from the (controversial) return of Joe Hills, but the team looked human even with their biggest weapon back on the field.

That means the Soul still came out of the weekend with positives, as their magic number for homefield throughout August has dwindled down to just one game thanks to Cleveland. That means a Philadelphia win over Washington Saturday, or a Tampa Bay loss to that hot Baltimore team will put the Arena Bowl at the Wells Fargo Center if the Soul reach the title game.

Now Philly is hosting a Washington team that had much promise at the beginning of the season and were picked by many to reach the Arena Bowl in their first season, but after a series of injuries that led to elite quarterback Erik Meyer announcing his retirement last week, the 1-9 Valore are all but eliminated from the playoffs in the five team league.

Philly’s going to be looking for a strong rebound from last week’s loss, and with their final bye week coming next week, the Soul won’t want to go into that week off thinking about a two game losing streak.

This game will show the true character of the Soul, and could define their season more than any other match this season.

Back in action after the bye

With their bye week behind them, the Soul begin the homestretch of the season tonight when they face Baltimore at 7 p.m. on the road.

Philly has already met Baltimore twice throughout their undefeated season to date, looking dominant through most of the matches but had to edge out the second game after letting a lead slip.

Baltimore is in the midst of a fight to make the playoffs with four games remaining, currently sitting two games ahead of Washington.

Two of Baltimore's three games have come at home this season, and they'll certainly be fired up to try and knock off the undefeated defending world champions.

For the Soul, the focus should not be on all the chatter from around the league discussing if Philly will have the first undefeated season in AFL history.

That's a debate for another time. Tonight, the Soul have the opportunity to inch closer to clinching home field throughout the Arena Bowl, with their magic number currently at two.

The Storm are in action tonight against Washington, and a Philly win plus a Tampa loss would clinch home field for the Soul with three weeks remaining in the regular season.

The name of the game is to stay focused, keep momentum rolling and most of all, avoid injuries.

It'll be an interesting match to see how Philly does tonight right out the bye week. It'll also be interesting if Baltimore sports legend Joe Flacco wears another Soul jersey to this match up. 

Soul closing in on Arena Bowl home field, magic number down to 3 with win over Tampa

Seeing each team in the league at least twice now, it’s clear the Philadelphia Soul are on a different level than the four teams under them in the standings.

Philadelphia (9-0) earned a crucial 62-41 win over Tampa (7-2) Saturday night in convincing fashion, taking a matchup between the league’s top two teams while also winning the regular season series over the Storm.

Though the teams will meet again in the season finale on August 5 in Philadelphia, the Soul have clinched the tiebreaker over the Storm, and with a two game cushion under their belts for a 2.5 game lead with just six games left in the season, it’s shaping up to look like the current undefeated Soul will probably have home field advantage all through the Arena Bowl.

Yes, now that the Soul have ran the table through ⅔ of the season, it’s okay for us to start talking about August and a potential championship game on the Chickies and Petes field at the Wells Fargo Center.

With the Soul clicking on both sides of the ball, it’s hard to see how a team will top the Soul, on their home field no less, if the team can continue playing on the level they have the past 12 months.

The offense shined Saturday, with Darius Reynolds hauling in five touchdowns, while fullback Mykel Benson plowing through the Storm defensive line to add four touchdowns.

Dan Raudabaugh shined once again, going 15 for 21 in passing with 209 yards and five touchdown throws.

The offensive squad was insync for one of their best performances of the season, against the next best team in the league.

The defense not only produced four stops in perfect timing, but Beau Bell fumble recovery and a James Romain interception rattled Randy Hippeard all night long, halting a Storm offense that couldn’t seem to find an answer for the Soul defense.

The win silenced any critics of the Soul, but more importantly put Philly’s magic number to clinch the postseason No. 1 overall seed to just THREE GAMES.

Any three game combination of a Philadelphia win or a Tampa Bay loss will give the Soul homenfield.

Philly’s next chance to inch closer will come Saturday with a trip to Cleveland as the Soul will look to sweep the four game series with the Gladiators.

A look at the numbers: Soul back on the field after bye hosting Gladiators

The second half of Philly’s schedule is set to kick off Saturday night at Chickies and Petes field in the Wells Fargo Center, with the Soul hosting their longtime rival Cleveland Gladiators.

The Soul’s record remains perfect through their first seven games, and while the team clinched their sixth consecutive playoff berth during their bye week with Baltimore and Washington losing, there’s still much on the table in their final seven games over the next nine weeks.

Tampa Bay (6-1) is just one game behind the Soul, and their only loss of the season was Philadelphia’s week two win over the Storm to start the season.

The teams are in a tight race for the top seed in the league and earn home field advantage in the postseason, all the way through the Arena Bowl. The two teams will face off next weekend in South Philly, but every game will be important to stay ahead of the Storm, starting with this weekend’s game against the Gladiators.

Cleveland (2-6) has seen their own problems all year, yet five of their six losses have been by a touchdown or less, including a 69-67 loss to Philadelphia at home on May 5.

The Gladiators’ offense is stacked with potential at every position, starting with dual threat quarterback Arvell Nelson who leads the league in rushing with 166 yards, just ahead of Philly’s Mykel Benson.

Nelson is also a hair above Raudabaugh this season under center, completing 133 of his 202 passes, though the Soul quarterback has thrown for 44 touchdowns compared to Nelson’s 36 (Cleveland’s offense is on the field more than Philly’s as well).

Quentin Sims has led both the Gladiators and the league in receiving through the first half of the year, hauling in 867 yards while coming in second with 20 touchdowns, just behind Tampa Bay’s Joe Hills.

But an important factor to remember with these stats is Cleveland has played one more game than Philly, who has already completed two bye weeks.

The Soul have the advantage of playing in front of their home crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, which will hopefully help shake off any rust from the long break.

Philly’s secondary should have a matchup advantage Saturday, as Joe Goosby and Dwayne Hollis are two of the six players in the league to haul in three interceptions, while Nelson’s six interceptions have been the second most so far this year.

The first seven games haven’t been spotless, but the Soul have been rolling on nearly all cylinders, and the biggest room for improvement has just been consistency.

If they play their ‘A’ game every week, it will be hard for any team to take them out this year.

But every opponent wants to be the ones who hand the defending world champions their first loss of the season, much less their long lasting rival from East Ohio.

Special teams key in Soul's seventh win

The Philadelphia Soul continued defeating all of the Arena Football league Saturday afternoon, sending us into the holiday weekend happy with a 48-47 win over the Washington Valore.

After a series of crazy events in the final three quarters, it turned into a special teams battle in the closing minutes.

Washington had the opportunity to tie the game 42-42 in the closing minutes, but Valore kicker T.C. Stevens couldn’t make an extra point attempt to tie the game.

Philly responded with a Darius Reynolds touchdown with just under a minute left in the game, when Dolezel opted to go for two instead of kicking the extra point.

The attempt failed, but after the Valore tied the game 20 seconds later, the Valore special teams failed a potential game tying touchdown, this time fumbling the snap and not even giving the kicker a chance, solidifying the win for the soul.

Here are a few points that highlight Philly’s seventh win of the season:

EARLY DOMINANCE:

Five weeks ago, Washington’s announcers deemed their squad the “best team in the league” five minutes into the match, before the Soul ended up running away with the win.

Even though injuries have plagued the Valore since then, it was clear early in today’s match the Soul are on a different level than their new rival.

It took Washington over five minutes and a series of penalties committed by Philly on the opening drive for the Valore to grab a 7-0 lead.

But when Dan Raudabaugh and company got the ball for the first time, it took just four snaps for the Soul to tie the game, and Philly would go on to score 21 straight points to dominate early.

OUTRAGE:

An interesting rule change put in place last offseason was showcased midway through the first quarter, when the Valore had the ball backed deep into their own territory.

Brackett was under deep pressure in his own endzone, and with a clear sack coming the quarterback purposely fumbled the ball into the field of play. In almost every other league, this would have been a safety and Soul possession, but with the recent change this past offseason, it was considered a “forward pass” (Brady tuck rule esqu?) and a loss of down, allowing the Valore to keep the ball.

KARMA

On a Soul kick off midway through the second quarter, Washington’s Charles McClain was upset with a special team stop by Philadelphia, and proceeded to lay out one of the biggest flops you will see in sports to try and draw a flag on McDaniel.

Moments later on offense, McClain dropped a wide open touchdown with no defender within 10 yards around him, bringing the karma full circle.

SERIES OF MISSED CALLS:

Josh Reese’s touchdown with 3:30 left in the game was clearly missed interference as James Romain was laying on the ground when the ball reached the end zone, but it was earlier in the game when the officials let the game get out of hand.

After Washington made it a one score game with a touchdown with four minutes remaining in the first half, Philly’s Chris Duvalt was slapped in the back at the one yard line after the kick bounced off the bar and landed in the field, which even Washington’s announcers agreed should have been flagged and possession would have been given to Philly.

Instead, Washington’s Josh reese recovered the ball and returned it for a tying touchdown, swinging momentum to Washington.

On Philly’s fourth down during the next drive, SK was interfered with on what should have been a touchdown, and no flag was thrown.

The refs kept the flags in their pockets on the next drive once again, when Washington’s Greg Carr interfered with a Soul defender and caught a touchdown, putting the Valore up 28-21.

Luckily, Duvalt returned the kickoff for a tying touchdown before the half to somewhat lighten the blow on the officiating first half mistakes.

TURNING POINT:

With four minutes left in the third quarter and up a touchdown, Philly’s Sean Daniels and Trye Glasper sandwiched Brackett, forcing a fumble which was recovered by Joe Goosby for the first turnover of the game.

The very next play, Raudabaugh found Darius Reynolds for a wide open touchdown, giving the Soul a two score game once again.

The Soul head into the bye week 7-0, with Tampa Bay just behind them at 5-1 and in the midst of their own bye week.

Philly is also halfway through their schedule, and are already close to securing home field advantage in the one-game playoff to reach the Arena Bowl

Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Soul march on Washington, hold Valor scoreless in second half for convincing win

Two weeks in, two wins deep for the Philadelphia Soul.

And after an offseason of so much change to the Arena Football league, the Soul have learned two things quickly into their season:

1) Nothing is going to come as easy as the critics predicted

2) The sole undefeated Soul are still the best team in the league (despite what Washington’s announcers predicted five minutes into Saturday’s match).

To be honest, it’s somewhat understandable why Washington was overhyped early on Saturday night.

After Philadelphia’s defense failed to hold the Valor’s offense on a fourth and goal during Washington’s first possession, Dan Raudabaugh threw an uncharacteristic interception moments later, which was returned for a touchdown by our good friend and reigning world champion, Tracy Belton, to put his new team up 14-0.

But what the new Washington announcing crew failed to remember is that this Soul squad has seen nearly every scenario imaginable the past six years.

Meanwhile, Raudabaugh and company added another impressive comeback to their resume against their new rival Saturday, not only holding the Valor to just one score in the second quarter, but totally shutting them down in the second half and not allowing a score in the final two frames to earn the 49-31 win.

There were many encouraging signs in the victory, as Raudabaugh shook off the early struggles to complete 23 of 36 passes for 247 yards and five touchdowns.

Philly’s defense, which was the biggest question mark on the team heading into the season, saw great step ups from James Romain’s pick six in the first half off Erik Meyer, who recently decided to return to the AFL, giving Philadelphia their first lead of the night, along with a series of turnovers and four-and-outs in the second half to cruise to convincing fashion.

Things got very chippy throughout the win with unsportsmanlike penalties, trash talking and much shoving, in what will certainly be a heavy rivalry in the coming days.

It was clear that Washington's biggest weakness was their lack of running game, which ultimately led to four-and-outs for the Valor and could be something that holds them back from competing for a title this season.

The Soul have certainly earned both wins through their first two weeks, and though they’ve had their struggles, they have also looked like the far superior team in both matchups.

There’s still two teams the Soul haven’t faced in Baltimore and Cleveland, but both teams have suffered losses to teams Philly has defeated.

So the Soul should be feeling high and mighty returning back to the Wells Fargo Center for their home opener to raise the championship banner and face the Baltimore Brigade Saturday night, in a game that should be more than a party in South Philly.

Soul begin hopeful repeat season in Tampa

It’s been 232 days since the Philadelphia Soul officially became the greatest team in indoor football, with their upset over the now divergent Arizona Rattlers in Arena Bowl XXIX.

Now, the road to repeat begins for the Soul tonight when they visit the Tampa Bay Storm in west Florida.

The vast majority of the champions who earned their rings earlier this week have returned for the 2017 season, and there are even more returning faces than originally anticipated earlier this offseason.

The reigning Arena Bowl MVP Shaun Kauleinamoku has resigned at the wide receiver position, while Joe Goosby, who was originally picked up by Baltimore in the expansion draft, was retained by Philly via trade.

Jake Metz, who sat as a free agent for the majority of the offseason was signed weeks ago, but has been picked up by the Buffalo Bills for the time being. Everyone involved with the Soul community could not be happier for Metz and we all hope he keeps his position in the NFL, but if the Bills go in a different direction he will be back in Philadelphia.

The Soul have also added new pieces for the year, such as former Arizona Rattler fullback Mykel Benson, who hopes to be apart of a championship celebration like the one he and his teammates watched the Soul experience in the snakepit last year.

Now the chance to prove to the league that Philly is still the best in the land starts tonight at 7 p.m.

And while the league has seen many changes since we last met in August, one of the returning figures are these Tampa Bay Storm who are one of the only three teams returning from last season, including Philadelphia.

The Soul have not seen live competition yet this season, but the Storm are entering their second game of the year after defeating Cleveland 46-40 last week, showing much better effort than the two-win team they had on the field last season.

The play from Randy Hippeard to Joe Hills proved to be the difference maker, as the duo hooked up three teams en route their teams win.

For the Soul, the name of the game will be shaking the offseason rust and proving that this defense is still a dominant force after losing key names such as Tracy Belton and Jake Metz.

So before we kick off 2017, let’s remember all the joys and memories we experienced last August, such as Dwayne Hollis’ fumble recovery from Benson (welcome to the good side once again, Myk) for a 48 yard touchdown, or Tracy Belton’s recovery in the end zone moments later on the kickoff to put Philadelphia up three touchdowns early on the now IFL Rattlers.

And we certainly can’t forget James Romain’s game-icing interception on Nick Davila to put our second championship on ice.

They are moments we will never forget and helped define this franchise. But now it’s time to make new memories with turnovers, touchdowns and of course what we all hope for and invision for the end of the season: a third world championship.

A look at offseason moves to date

With three months left in the offseason before the Soul look to defend their crown, the offseason shake ups have taken a tole on the defending world champions.

The Soul did resign arguably the best player in the league, Dan Raudabaugh when free agency hit, while Dwayne Hollis, Ryan McDaniel and James Romain also signed contracts to return with the Soul.

However, defensive back Tracy Belton, who led the league in interceptions last season, was snatched up by the Washington Valore as a free agent.

The other franchise who joined the league the last few months, the Baltimore Brigade, stole long time Soul players Joe Goosby and LaRico Stevenson.

Leading receiver and Arena Bowl XXIX MVP Shaun Kauleinamoku has yet to sign with anyone, while Jake Metz is in the same situation.

Here’s a summary of the bigger names that have either left the Soul or remain free agents:

TRACY BELTON Signed with Washington

JOE GOOSBY Expansion draft to Baltimore

LARICO STEVENSON Expansion draft to Baltimore

BEN PERRY Expansion draft to Baltimore

TOMMY FREVERT (Soul signed kicker Adrian Trevino)

SHAUN KAULEINAMOKU (unsigned)

JAKE METZ (unsigned)

While some of the losses the Soul have experienced over the past few months could seem hurtful, the franchise has also made some key additions to help stay amongst the top of the now five-team league.

Aside from resigning the players mentioned above, a few rivals are joining the world champions as well.

Former Arizona Rattler All-Arena fullback from 2015 and 2016 Mykel Benson, while Jermaine Richardson remains on the roster but on injury reserve.

Also signing with the Soul from the Arizona Rattlers, who have jumped over to the IFL, was offensive lineman Michael Simons.

And as stated above, former Cleveland kicker Adrian Trevino has replaced Tommy Frevert as the team’s kicker.

So this is where the Soul roster stands in mid February, with additions more than likely coming within the next few weeks as well.

You can check back to Soul Nation for your up-to-date news, or check the roster at http://www.philadelphiasoul.com/index.cfm?go=team&show=players.