New Attitude Propels Soul
Jason Moyer
Monday January 30, 2006
"It’s a one-eighty from a year ago," commented Team President Ron Jaworski. "Making stops and getting after the quarterback. Brett Munsey brought that defensive attitude to our team."
Not only did he bring a defensive attitude, he also brought EJ Burt, Ernest Allen, Mike Brown, and Reggie Doster along with him from the Orlando Predators.
Making the biggest impact was newcomer Mike Brown. Brown hauled in six passes for 104 yards, rushed seven times for 21 yards, scored two touchdowns, and added an interception.
When asked about getting off to a good start Brown replied, "It’s huge. When you sign with a new team, first impressions are big. As an individual if you put in one hundred percent the team gets going and you win."
"Orlando north," quipped Coach Munsey. "We’ve taken some heat for that, but Mike Brown brings an energy that everyone feeds off. The four guys rushing the quarterback Ernest Allen, EJ Burt along with Cyron Brown and Dwayne Missouri are some of the best in the league."
The Soul also displayed a record setting running game. Philadelphia rushed a franchise high 16 times for four touchdowns, including an eight-yard quarterback draw by Tony Graziani.
"Coach Kubiak saw a weakness and he exploited it," explained Graziani. "I think we ran more today than in my five years combined."
"It’s a different mindset. It’s something I’m not used to," added Graziani. "I’ve played for offensive coaches my whole career, so it’s a little bit of an adjustment for me. I’ll take it anytime we get stops on defense. It takes a lot of pressure off of us."
Even with all of the accolades that were placed upon his defense, Coach Munsey was happy but not satisfied. "We gotta get better," stated Munsey. "They had a couple of big plays that we gotta cut down and we made a couple mental break downs. Overall, I’m happy though."
Although it is only one game, Philadelphia certainly has made a marked improvement from last season.
Inside the numbers
Tony Graziani (PHI) completed 19 of 34 passes for 283 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
Sean Scott (PHI) snared eight passes for 87 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed six times for 16 yards and two touchdowns.
Kevin Gaines (PHI) recorded seven tackles and one interception in his Philadelphia debut.
Freddie Solomon (TB) led the Storm with six catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Shane Stafford (TB) finished 23 of 42 for 285 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Next Week
Philadelphia looks to go to 2-0 next week when they take on Tony Graziani’s former team, the Los Angeles Avengers, at 1:00.
"When the schedule came out, I got about 15 calls from those guys," acknowledged Graziani. "It’s gonna be fun playing against those guys."
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.
