Sloppy Play Highlights Orlando Victory
Adam Markowitz
Tuesday February 14, 2006
With all of the hype that I gave to the former Predators, there certainly wasn’t much played out on the field to write a follow-up article on. Soul OL/DLs EJ Burt and Ernest Allen were frustrated by Orlando’s line all game. Neither recorded a sack, and each only accounted for one tackle. DS Kevin Gaines had the best game of the bunch, recording five tackles, one of which forced a fumble on a sweep by Orlando FB/LB Kevin Nagle on a play that looked just like one of those crushing blows you would see on the new Arena Football video game. WR/DB Michael Brown intercepted an errant throw by Orlando QB Joe Hamilton, but left the game injured in the first quarter. WR/DB Reggie Doster was removed from his DS role in favor of Eddie Moten, but recorded an interception of his own later in the first quarter to go along with three catches for 16 yards.
The story of this game was unforced errors. In fact, if you just watched the first quarter of this game, all you saw were unforced errors. Hamilton threw two interceptions and was sacked once on the team’s first three drives. He finished the quarter completing just one of six passes for 15 yards, and missed several open wide receivers in the process. However, Philadelphia could not respond with anything on their two drives of the quarter, which featured a fumble by WR Rob Milanese, a dropped touchdown pass, and a personal foul on head coach, Bret Munsey. The scoring finally opened up when Orlando K Jay Taylor connected on a 19 yard field goal at the 10:37 mark of the 2nd quarter, but the first touchdown wasn’t scored until the 3:41 mark of the period, when WR/LB Jerrian James, thanks to some nifty moves and a missed tackle, took a screen pass 47 yards for the score. The Predators took a 17-10 lead into the locker room. The score didn’t stay close for long.
Philadelphia QB Matt Sauk, who was forced into action in place of the injured QB Tony Graziani, mishandled the snap from center on the first play of the half, resulting in a Predator safety that ran the score up to 19-10. The Preds scored on their next possession to make it 26-10 with 12:20 left in the third, and Philadelphia never got closer than eight points again.
Fumblitus!
For Sauk, the fumble for a safety was his fourth of his five fumbles on the day, all of which occurred on the quarterback/center exchange. Fellow ArenaFan writer, Jason Lucas and I both looked at each other after the safety and had the same thought: "What in the name of Craig Whelihan…" This, of course was in reference to Orlando’s 2001 game against the old Milwaukee Mustangs, when then Orlando QB Craig Whelihan coughed up the ball six times en route to a Milwaukee victory in the Jungle. On the day, Sauk ended up with some respectable passing numbers, 32 of 49 for 271 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, but his problem was just getting the ball from center. His wide receivers didn’t have better hands either, as they accounted for several dropped passes and three fumbles on their own. In total, Philadelphia had a whopping eight fumbles, four of which resulted in turnovers, including the back-breaking safety to start the second half.
Welcome Home, Clif
Amidst all of the talk of the five Soul players coming home to Orlando, the Predators welcomed back an old friend in WR/LB Clif Dell, who spent the past three seasons in Tampa after starting his career with the Preds in 2000. Dell spent the first two weeks of the season on injured reserve, but came back strong, particularly in the second half. Following a 7:09 touchdown drive in the third quarter that put the Soul back within nine points, Dell took a slant pass 27 yards for a momentum-killing touchdown. In all, Dell’s two catches for 42 yards and a touchdown, along with two tackles and a recovered fumbled was good enough to name him Ironman of the Game.
Stepping Up
Though none of the numbers were by any means pretty in this game, there were bright spots in the Predators game, particularly in the second half. WR/DB Jermaine Mays deflected three passes and played lockdown coverage all game. Mays’ eight tackle effort earned him Defensive Player of the Game honors.
The boo-birds were out in the Jungle after the first quarter efforts of QB Joe Hamilton. But "Super Joe" came back much stronger after a slow start, finishing 11 of 20 for 225 yards, 4 touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also added a rushing touchdown on a QB sweep in the second quarter following a blocked FG.
Perhaps the best effort of all the Predators came from WR/LB Jerrian James. James put forth his best game as a Predator in all phases of the game. He was one broken tackle away from finding the end zone on two kick returns on special teams, recorded five tackles and a recovered fumble on defense, and caught two touchdowns on offense. In total, James racked up 185 total yards and was named Offensive Player of the Game.
Up Next…
Orlando coach, Jay Gruden admitted that his team wasn’t at its best even in victory. "We didn’t do a whole lot out there. They just shot themselves in the foot a lot." With the win, the Predators sit at 2-1, tied for second place in the Southern Division headed into next Sunday’s battle in Tampa Bay. Coach Tim Marcum returns to the sidelines following his suspension for the Storm, who are coming off of a thrilling 61-60 defeat of the defending Southern Division champion, Georgia Force. The game will prove to be a benchmark for the Predators defense, as they haven’t faced a group of receivers like Tampa’s yet. Hamilton absolutely can not throw two interceptions in a fourth straight game or it will be a long trip back up I-4 when the Preds return home.
Adam Markowitz is an accountant living in Orlando. Adam is an old school AFLer, having followed the AFL since 1991. He attended or covered well over 200 games, including 17 ArenaBowls. Adam worked for the Arena Football League for two years as a columnist and historian before retiring in 2017 when the 50-yard indoor war left the Sunshine State. Adam still muses about the AFL on ArenaFan from time to time, and you can follow him on Twitter @adammarkowitzea.
