Soul-Avengers Quick Look
Jason Moyer
Saturday February 4, 2006
Head Coach
Los Angeles Ed Hodgkiss. Coach Hodgkiss is 38-24 in his five years with the Avengers and regarded as one of the best offensive minds in the game.
Philadelphia Bret Munsey. Munsey comes off of an impressive debut with the Soul. His impact on the defense has Philadelphia buzzing.
Advantage Los Angeles. Hodgkiss and the Avengers won the Western Division last season after Tony Graziani bolted to Philadelphia.
Quarterback
Los Angeles Brian Mann and Ryan Van Dyke both saw action last week. If you have two quarterbacks, then you dont have one.
Philadelphia Tony Graziani. Graziani was named Offensive Player of the Game for the Soul last week.
Advantage Philadlephia. Graziani must avoid the distraction of playing against his former team.
Offensive Specialist & Wide Receivers
Los Angeles Kareem Kelly, Kevin Ingram, Greg Hopkins, and Lenzie Jackson. Ingram is the reigning Ironman of the Year, while Hopkins was voted 14th on the all-time Greatest Players list.
Philadelphia Marcus Knight, Mike Brown, Sean Scott, and J.J. McKelvey. Brown made an immediate impact last week, while Sean Scott is becoming a consistent pro.
Advantage Los Angeles. Two Ironman of the Year winners are hard to beat.
Fullback & Offensive/Defensive Line
Los Angeles Josh Jeffries, Silas Demary, Sean McNamara, and Bernard Riley. Demary recorded 13.5 sacks last season on his way to Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Philadelphia Chad Dukes, Ernest Allen, Mike Mabry, and EJ Burt. The Soul line protected Graziani, while paving the way for four rushing touchdowns last week.
Advantage Philadelphia. Demary is better at the top, but Philadelphia is deeper.
Defensive Specialists
Los Angeles Damen Wheeler and Anthony Derricks. Derricks begins his first season as a full-time DS after spending last season at the WR/DB position.
Philadelphia Kevin Gaines and Reggie Doster. Gaines was the shut down player the Soul needed, while Doster struggled in Week 1.
Advantage Philadelphia. One shut down player is better than none.
Kicker
Los Angeles Remy Hamilton. Regarded as the best kicker in the AFL.
Philadelphia Todd France. France was seven for seven on extra points and was good on one of three field goal attempts versus Tampa.
Advantage Los Angeles. Any kicker with an Ironman of the Week award gets the nod.
X-Factor
Los Angeles Silas Demary. If Demary plays in the Philadelphia backfield, hell make things difficult for Graziani and company.
Philadelphia Marcus Knight. Knight got off to a slow start against Tampa, four catches for 47 yards. Look for the Soul to take advantage of his speed.
Prediction
Watch for Graziani to start slowly against his former team, but should settle in after the initial nervousness subsides. The lack of a number one quarterback for the Avengers should allow the Soul defense to impress for a second week in a row. Unless Silas Demary has a monster game, Philadelphia should win going away, 58-44.
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.
