Saturday June 11th, 2011 - 7:30 PM
St. Pete Times Forum
TV: BHSN (Tampa Bay), AFL Live App on NiftyTV.com
Radio: 93.7 The Fan (Pittsburgh), WHNZ 1250 AM (Tampa Bay)
Live Blog starts here at 7 PM on "The Voice Says...."
The Pittsburgh Power (7-4) head down to Tampa Bay to face off against the franchise that once called Pittsburgh home.
The Tampa Bay Storm (4-7) began AFL play as the Pittsburgh Gladiators, making it to the Arena Bowl twice in the three years they spent in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh fans they were not able to secure an Arena Bowl championship while based in the Steel City. The Storm have won five championships in their history, but their pursuit of number six may have to wait another year. Tampa Bay is currently in 4th place in the Southern Division, and 2 1/2 games back of the Georgia Force in the wild card hunt.
Tampa Bay has gone through a few quarterbacks this season and current starter Brian Zbydniewski is 2-3 as the starter. He's thrown for 29 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in his five appearances so he's been turnover prone. He also lacks mobility so look for that to make him an easier target for the Power pass rush.
Pittsburgh's Bernard Morris brings a different skillset to the quarterback position in this matchup. His mobility places him amongst the league's leading rushers and he will need that mobility to evade the AFL's league leader in sacks, Cliff Dukes. Morris has done a great job of avoiding turnovers in the last two games.
Tampa Bay has a nice group of tall receivers who have enjoyed some success this year in the AFL. Huey Whittaker is a 5 year AFL vet with several all arena awards for his past service. He's posted 1125 yards and 21 touchdowns this year placing him amongst the elite in the AFL this year. They also have Hank Edwards (708 yards/13 TD), and Amarri Jackson (691 yards/14 TD) who ae having strong seasons. This receiving corps is very similar to the one the Power defense contained last week in their showdown with the Cleveland Gladiators. If the Power secondary can play at the level they did last week, Tampa Bay should have a hard time scoring on offense.
Pittsburgh's receivers have been hit or miss at times this year. Coming off two very strong games in which he scored nine total touchdowns, Mike "Joystick" Washington failed to sniff the end zone against Cleveland. He'll look to get back on track but will have a tough matchup in Michael Hawthorne who has four interceptions and two defensive touchdowns this season. Opposite of Washington, Jason "Whatyoutalkingbout" Willis took advantage of the coverage on Washington to grab 5 catches for 105 yards and 2 scores last week. These two receivers make it difficult for secondaries to know who will get the ball on any given play. The Power still need someone to grab ahold of the third receiver position. Lonnell DeWalt plays both offense and defense, so that makes it tough for him to be a huge part of the offense. Look for former NFL all-pro returner Jerome Mathis to continue to get some looks.
The Power defensive line has been generating a ton of pressure during this four game winning streak and will be licking their chops as they face a Storm offense that does not bother running the ball. Zbydniewski will be a nice stationary target for Anthony Degrate, Neil Purvis and newly acquired Terrance Taylor. Look for them to create havoc in the backfield often in this one.
Special teams should also have a huge impact on this game. Paul Edinger has been one of the more reliable kickers in the league this year hitting on 86% of his attempts. Conversely Kyle Chilton is only hitting at a 72% rate, and is 0-for-5 on onsides kick attempts, so Tampa Bay might be holding their breath everytime he lines up to kick it.
The Storm are next to last in turnover margin (-9) this year and are ranked dead last in penalty yardage. This is a team that shoots themselves in the foot often.
While I like the Storm receiving corps overall, I'm not convinced the quarterback is accurate enough to take full advantage of their capabilities, and the Power defense has a clear advantage in this matchup.
Look for the Power offense to jump on top of the Storm early and watch the Power defense play lights out football to carry Pittsburgh to another win.
THE VOICE SAYS: Pittsburgh 56, Tampa Bay 40
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