San Jose SaberCats @ Pittsburgh Power Preview

Consol Energy Center

Saturday May 14th, 2011

TV: CW19, NiFTy TV

Radio: 93.7 The Fan (Pittsburgh), KNBR 680 AM (San Francisco), KTCT 1050AM (San Mateo)

The Pittsburgh Power are riding high after a thrilling comeback victory last week against the defending AFL champion Spokane Shock.  Hoping to ride the momentum the defense built in that win, the Power defense will now set their sights on 12 year veteran quarterback Mark Grieb.

Mark Grieb is a 12 year AFL veteran who has put up 2298 yards passing, 40 TD, 11 interceptions, 111.1 QB Rating, and 3 rushing TD.   He’s the kind of quarterback who has seen just about anything you are going to throw at him in this league, and he’s done it on a consistent basis for a long time. 

Pittsburgh needs to create pressure up front to force him to make quick throws much like they did against Kyle Rowley last week.  Grieb has shown a tendency to rush his throws and be inaccurate under pressure.  Last week under major pressure from Arizona, Grieb threw 4 interceptions and never did get comfortable.  He’s going to want to improve on those numbers if San Jose wants to win.

Samora Goodson (630 yards/12 TD), Nichiren Flowers (385 yards/14 TD), and Otis Amey (109 yards/2 TD in only one game) are on IR.   They will look to some big time AFL vets to bolster their attack.

Ben Nelson made his 2011 debut last week against Arizona and caught 6 catches for 82 yards and 2 TD’s.  This is his 5th season of Arena ball and last year with Cleveland he had 1867 yards and 47 TD’s.  6’2” 190 pounds of talent, He is a difference maker. 

James Roe 6’1”, 200 lbs, Norfolk State, 37 years old (9449 yards/231 TD) has not played since 2008 but he is the all time leading receiver in San Jose history.  Players like this know how to play the game and San Jose will rely on his veteran presence to boost their offensive attack.

Chad Cook is a 6’1 265 pound bruiser who has accounted for 17 rushing touchdowns (2^nd most in the AFL), 110 rushing yards and is a threat to catch the ball as well adding 94 yards and a score through the air.  The Power defense is going to have to account for him at all times.   They’ve struggled a bit against some big name rushers so far this year.  Bobby Reid and Kirby Griffin were able to exploit some matchups up front, so Pittsburgh really needs to work on shoring up their run coverage.

Pittsburgh will really need to take advantage of a SaberCat defense that ranks dead last in the league.  Quarterback Bernard Morris overcame a very shaky first half to help spur the Power comeback and he will need to be on top of his game again this week if the game turns into a shootout.

Look for Jason "Whatyoutalkinbout" Willis (573 yards/8 TD) and Mike "Joystick" Washington (470 yards/8 TD) to continue their strong play.  DJ Hall was open for much of the game against Spokane as well, but Morris struggled to get him the ball.  Hall is another receiver who could have a breakout game this year for the Power.

On defense, the Power will look to continue their domination up front.  The return of Neil Purvis bolstered the pass rush and Gary Butler finally seemed to be the wrecking ball we saw earlier in the year.  

Overall if the Power play as well as they did on defense last week, they should be able to contain a SaberCat attack that is missing their biggest guns.  The biggest key will be whether Morris can finally put together a complete game.  If he does put it all together this game could be won by a large margin.  I'm not quite ready to say that's the case.

Even still, I like the Power in this one.

THE VOICE SAYS....PITTSBURGH 56, SAN JOSE 49