Pittsburgh Power @ Utah Blaze Preview

9 PM EST - EnergySolutions Arena - Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: AFL Live App on NiftyTV.com (If it actually works...)

Radio: 93.7 The Fan (Pittsburgh), 1280 The Zone (Salt Lake City)

Live Blog here on "The Voice Says...." starting at 8:30 PM EST

The Pittsburgh Power (7-5) and Utah Blaze (5-7) will both be looking to avenge losses from last week as the two teams square off out in Utah.

Pittsburgh's secondary has to be having nightmares after their performance last week.  Tampa Bay's Brian Zbydniewski did a great job of spreading the ball around his offensive weapons. Amarri Jackson, Hank Edwards and Huey Whittaker all had multiple touchdowns and Whittaker was one yard short of having all three receivers go over 100 yards. 

If Tampa Bay's 16th ranked offense can put up those kinds of stats, what can we expect when Utah brings the league's number one passing offense onto the field?

Tommy Grady has thrust himself into the MVP discussion this year despite the fact he’s playing for a losing team.  His 6’7” height allows him to see the field well, and he makes good decisions.  He’s 4^th in the league in QB efficiency.  His 3625 yards rank him third in the AFL, and he’s pacing the league with 85 TD’s vs. only 10 interceptions.  He had a solid game last week against Tulsa, throwing for 344 yards and 7 TD’s, but he had two costly interceptions.  He’s definitely looking forward to this week’s match against a Power secondary that’s struggled to stop teams through the air.  With Royce Adams leaving Pittsburgh, this situation isn’t going to improve any time soon.

Opposite of Grady, Bernard Morris dropped to 5-2 as a starter on the year despite throwing for 335 yards and seven touchdowns.  We didn't see much of Morris running the ball, and that formula has to change if Pittsburgh wants to get back to winning football.  Morris did throw a costly interception late in the game, and missed Lonnell DeWalt on two separate 4th down conversions that could have flipped the final score Pittsburgh's way. 

Morris was under constant pressure from Cliff Dukes and Jermaine Smith last week, and he'll be facing a potent pass rush in Khreem Smith (7 sacks), Mike Lewis (6 sacks, 5 forced fumbles) and Caesar Rayford (6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles).  Khreem Smith will be making his second start against Pittsburgh this year after being traded to Utah from Spokane.  He had 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in the earlier meeting, so hopefully the Power offensive line has learned how to block him this time around.

Utah is missing leading receiver Aaron Boone (96 receptions, 1059 yards, and 26 TD’s) and leading rusher Ben Stallings (10 TD's) but that doesn't mean they aren't without options for Tommy Grady.

Ernie Pierce is a 6’4” receiver out of Kansas State who has 886 yards and 17 TD’s so far on the season.  He had a big game last week against Tulsa with 10 catches for 124 yards and 3 scores.  Justin Ore has quickly made his presence felt this year in just two games.  He has 17 catches for 229 yards and 4 TD’s in place of Aaron Boone.  Last week he led Utah in receiving with 13 catches for 199 yards and 3 TD’s.  Aaron LeSue will be coming off IR this week and he has 29 catches for 324 yards and 13 TD’s, so look for him to also play a factor in this one.

Pittsburgh enjoyed the breakout game of Jerome Mathis last week who ended up with 199 yards and three touchdowns in addition to the 138 yards and a score he contributed on special teams.  For his efforts he was rewarded with the JLS Ironman of the Week award.  He is the second Power player to receive a league award this year.  Mike "Joystick" Washington bounced back with a 105 yard, two touchdown performance.  Look for Mathis, Washington, Jason Willis and Lonnell DeWalt to feast on a porous Blaze secondary that is the worst scoring defense in the league.

Utah also has one of the best kickoff return units in the league.  Two returners are over 700 yards in returns each and they've returned 6 kickoffs for scores as a group.  Pittsburgh is really going to have their hands full trying to keep Utah from taking it to the house.  Utah's kickers have been awful in the extra point department and the team went out to sign former Boise State kicker Kyle Brotzman. 

Looking at this matchup on paper, it looks a lot like how the Pittsburgh/Dallas game lined up, when Pittsburgh won a 76-75 thriller.  Pittsburgh is going to need their offense to perform at that level. 

The Power needs to generate more pass rush than what they mustered up against the Tampa Bay Storm, and that actually needs to start with the secondary.  If the Power Secondary can actually cover their receivers for more than a second, maybe Purvis and company up front can get some pressure going.  Unfortunately we’ve seen this story time and time again this year when the Power played elite quarterbacks.  Jacksonville’s Aaron Garcia shredded them, and the defense was unable to get a stop.  Georgia’s Brett Elliott and Maurice Purify made them look silly, and Dan Raudabaugh threw for over 400 yards in that shootout 3 weeks ago.

This has all the markings of a good old fashioned AFL

My heart is telling me Pittsburgh can win another shootout like they did in Dallas, but my brain is telling me that this Blaze offense is going to destroy a depleted Power secondary.

THE VOICE SAYS....Utah 70, Pittsburgh 63