Philly Finally Finishes
Jason Moyer
Sunday May 1, 2005
On the final drive, the Predators appeared to be targeting Soul rookie WR/DB Chris Brown. Orlando quarterback Chris Sanders threw to Cory Fleming five times trying to take advantage of Brown’s inexperience. However, Brown received good advice from his coach and was able to make the plays to help his team win.
"He’s a true receiver converted into a corner, so you can see some rust around the edges," said Head Coach James Fuller. "I told him, stop the slant and use your athletic ability to stop the fade. He did a good job."
The Soul were successful at the end of each half as they scored on their final possession, then put up big defensive efforts to stop the Predators.
In fact, Philadelphia’s defense almost produced points of their own on the final play of the first half. Dwayne Missouri sacked Sanders forcing a fumble. Idris Price recovered the ball for the Predators and went into his end zone where Chris Ryan tackled him. Price, however, was ruled to be down just outside of the end zone avoiding a safety.
In close games, the strategies employed at the end of the game are magnified. Graziani realized that his team left too much time on the clock for the Predators.
"I was upset with myself," stated Graziani. "I kind of wished we could have milked it [the clock] and scored with no time left, but our defense was able to step up and get the job done."
After Chris Ryan plunged in from the one-yard line with 38 seconds remaining to put the Soul ahead, Graziani stood in the middle of his team and displayed the leadership that management hoped he would bring when they brought him to Philadelphia.
"We were a little upset with some calls," explained Graziani. "I wanted to settle everybody down. I told them nobody was going to give us the game. We had to take it and that’s what we did."
Coach Fuller was pleased with his quarterback’s leadership. "We’re best when he’s like that. Last week he got a little down on himself and I think the players sensed that. We talked to him and told him to keep it upbeat."
When asked about his team’s effort Fuller spoke slowly to emphasize his words, "Finishing! That’s what we’ve been talking about for the last couple of weeks. We did a good job tonight."
Inside the game:
Tony Graziani won Offensive Player of the Game honors. Graziani completed 27 of 38 passes for 337 yards and seven touchdowns, while suffering only one interception.
Marcus Knight garnered US Army Ironman of the Game. Knight caught 10 passes for 108 yards and four touchdowns. On defense, Knight made 1.5 tackles and recovered a first quarter fumble.
Mario Branch collected Defensive Player of the Game. Branch forced a fumble in the first quarter, as well as recording a sack.
Steve Smith snatched 10 passes for142 yards with two touchdowns.
Orlando’s offense posted an impressive 71 yards rushing.
Where do we go from here?
"Our goal was to come out and win the last three games to get to .500," said Coach Fuller. "We’ll improve on last years record and see the guys who really want to be here next year."
Preparing for fan appreciation day:
"I love them," Graziani commented. "I throw an interception in the first quarter, they’re booing me. I throw a touchdown pass on the next play they love me again. They chant ‘you suck’ to the refs, I don’t want to be those refs getting out of here right now."
"Wow! The energy, the yelling, this crowd is wonderful," Fuller remarked. "Especially when you have a team playing hard. If the team plays hard, Philly fans love you."
Philadelphia has a week off before playing their last home game against the Columbus Destroyers in two weeks. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm on May 15th.
Jason Moyer is an elementary school teacher in the western New Jersey area. He is an avid follower of the Arena Football League and has been covering the Philadelphia Soul with ArenaFan.com since 2005. Jason resides in Whitehall, PA with his wife and daughter.
