Sunday July 9th, 2011 - 7:30 PM
TV: The CW (Pittsburgh), AFL Live APP (NiftyTv.com)
Radio: 93.7 The Fan (Pittsburgh), 101 AM KXXT (Arizona)
Twitter: SteelCityVoice
To be the best, you have to beat the best.
That cliche has been used for a long time when describing sports, and the Pittsburgh Power hope to do it this Sunday night when the league's top team, the Arizona Rattlers, comes to the Consol Energy Center.
Pittsburgh remains in the thick of the East Division title hunt and control their own destiny. A win this week over Arizona means the Power could clinch the title next week in Cleveland. Things got a little easier for the Power by virtue of the stunning win by the Philadelphia Soul Friday night over the Cleveland Gladiators.
Pittsburgh saw their own Friday Night heartache last week in a 62-54 loss to the Orlando Predators. Pittsburgh saw a 40-20 lead evaporate thanks to four unanswered touchdowns by Orlando, two of which were an AFL record two consecutive net recovery touchdowns on special teams.
Bernard Morris returned to the lineup and provided a spark to the Power offense and he will need to be on top of his game as the Power take on the 3rd best scoring defense in the AFL.
The Power offense continues to spread the ball around a group of talented receivers rather than focus on one of two primary targets. No Power receiver ranks near the top of any of the receiving categories. Mike "Joystick" Washington has been quiet the past few weeks, but this has allowed players like DJ Hall, Lonnell DeWalt and Irving Campbell to step up and perform well.
Arizona is not only strong on defense, they are also the second ranked scoring offense in the league.
Nick Davila is a strong MVP candidate, ranking in the top five in passing yardage (4449), touchdowns (101 TD), QB rating (127.88), and completion percentage (71.1%). He's also thrown just 10 interceptions on the season, the lowest amongst full time starters this year.
The Rattlers feature NFL level receiver Rod Windsor who has been terrorizing AFL secondaries all season. He has 151 catches for 1800 yards and 34 TD's. They also hope to get Trandon Harvey back from injured reserve this week. He's caught 95 catches for 1156 yards and 29 TD's despite missing a month of the season.
If their receiving corps weren't deep enough, it was announced this week that Arizona had signed AFL legend Chris Jackson who is nine catches short of 1000 for his career. The 10 year AFL vet has 13206 yards and 318 TD's in his career.
The Rattler defense features two defensive backs in the top 10 in interceptions. Marquis Floyd (9 INT) and Vince Hill (8 INT) make it very difficult for opposing offenses to develop a rhythm. They are also a big part of why Arizona leads the league in turnover margin (+28)
Arizona has a decided advantage on special teams, with Virgil Gray ranked 4th in return yards with 1393 yards and he has run six kickoffs back for touchdowns, tops in the league. They also have the leagues best extra point kicker in Fabrizio Scaccia who is converting at a 90.3% clip.
Pittsburgh's best return man Jerome Mathis remains on IR, and his replacement Jason Willis had trouble fielding the kicks last week that doomed the Power. Look for changes in who lines up deep for the Power. Paul Edinger continues to struggle making his extrra points and any losgt points against the Rattlers could prove fatal.
Overall, the Power have been playing better ball the last two weeks on defense, but this matchup will be very difficult for them. Josh lay needs to continue his strong play of late (2 interceptions in the last two games) and Lonnell DeWalt's strong Ironman play is a necessity on both sides of the ball.
This is a golden opportunity for the Power to grab the division reigns again, unfortunately I think the Rattlers have too much firepower.
I hope I am wrong.
The Voice Says....ARIZONA 70, Pittsburgh 56
No comments:
Post a Comment