Pittsburgh Power @ Orlando Predators Preview

Friday July 1st, 2011 - 8:00 PM

Amway Center - Orlando, FL.

TV: NFL Network

Radio: 93.7 The Fan (Pittsburgh) 740 AM The Game (Orlando)

All eyes in the AFL world will be on the Amway Center as the Pittsburgh Power (8-6) travel into "The Jungle" to take on the Orlando Predators (8-6).

Pittsburgh is fresh off a thrilling 39-38 game they won with no time left on the clock.  A loss to Milwaukee could have put a serious hindrance on the Power's hopes of claiming a division title.

Orlando is riding a three game losing streak and lost last week at home to division rival Georgia 64-34. 

Orlando brings an offense ranked 2nd in yardage, and 9th in scoring into the matchup.  Quarterback Nick Hill is a dual threat weapon which makes him hard to contain.  Cover the passing lanes down field he’ll take off and burn you on the ground.  Focus too much on his scrambling, and he’ll kill you downfield.  He's posted 4117 yards passing, 86 TD's, 16 Interceptions, a 117.0 QB Rating, and is also the league's second leading rusher with 326 yards and 9 TD's.

Orlando also boasts a passing attack with three receivers all over 1000 yards. 

Antoine “TT” Tolliver is a 2008 First Team All Arena receiver and former Ironman WR/DB.  The 10^th year WR is having one of his best years and currently sits only 6 TD’s behind his career best of 31.  This year he has 98 catches for 1279 yards and 25 TD’s.  Bobby Sippio, a seven year AFL veteran, has 83 catches for 1012 yards and 25 TD’s. He is a 2007 First Team All Arena Wide receiver.  Robert Quiroga, a 5 year AFL veteran, has 94 catches for 1168 yards and 17 TD’s. 

The Power offense has sputtered the last two weeks with Bernard Morris out of the lineup.  They only scored 41 points against the worst scoring defense in the league (Utah Blaze), and put up 38 points at home against Milwaukee.  It still has not been announced whether Morris will play in this one.  Power fans should hope he can go as Pittsburgh is 5-2 with him as a starter.

Pittsburgh has two dynamic receivers in Mike "Joystick" Washington and Jason Willis.  Washington has 90 catches for 1061 yards and 21 TD's, and Willis has added 85 catches for 940 yards and 15 TD's.  Where things get iffy is the third wide receiver position.  Lonnell DeWalt has been huge in goal line situations, grabbing some of the biggest highlight catches for the Power this year, Jerome Mathis is hurt again and on injured reserve, so the Power will go with DJ Hall to round out the receiving corps.

Look for Pittsburgh to try and change things up a bit and run Josh Rue a bit inside to soften up the Predators front line.

On defense, the Predators secondary boasts three of the top 10 leaders in interceptions in the AFL.  It is very tough to pass on this defense without making mistakes.

Rayshawn Kizer has 13 interceptions (2^nd in the league), 82.5 total tackles (leads the team), and 2 Touchdowns.  This is his second year in the league and he already has 25 interceptions in his career.  A complete ball hawk, and whoever he covers for Pittsburgh is going to have a hard time producing.  He’s also blocked 12 passes and forced two fumbles.  A complete beast on defense, and a strong defensive player of the year candidate.

They also have seven year AFL vet Marlon Moye-Moore with 7 interceptions, 1 TD,  60.5 tackles (2^nd on team) and five year AFL vet Travis Coleman with 8 Interceptions and 59 tackles.

The Power defense finally stepped up last week, although it was against the worst offense in the league.  Josh Lay had a huge pick six, and had a second interception nullified by penalty.  DeWalt not only caught two touchdowns, but added an interception and had a fumble return for a touchdown wiped out by a questionable call on the field.  Most importantly Terrance Carter forced a Gino Guidugli fumble with 22 seconds left in the game to give the Power their last chance to win.

Pittsburgh's secondary has been under fire over the last month and they will need every trick in the book to try and contain the strong trio of receivers Orlando has on their roster.

 

 

The keys to the game will be:

- How will the experience of Orlando play against the young Power?

- Can the Power secondary matchup with the Predators ferocious passing attack?

- Can the Power contain the league’s second leading rusher?

- Can the Power offense do anything against the Predators secondary? 

- Does Pittsburgh have enough healthy bodies to field a team?

Even though Orlando is slumping, I still think they match up incredibly well against the Power’s weaknesses and this one being in Orlando in the jungle is going to be too much for Pittsburgh to overcome.

The Voice Says....Orlando 70, Pittsburgh 54

Other Previews

John Buffone - Examiner.com