Soul on a Roll
Jason Moyer
Friday March 23, 2007
“You know that’s the part that I’m proud of most,” stated Head Coach Brett Munsey. “Our home opener and they [the fans] are booing us. We’re down 13-0 early and really looked bad and deserved to get booed, but I’m proud of my men for hanging in there and going out fighting and getting a big win.”
Like any good football team, success begins with the big men in the trenches.
“The key right now is that the offensive line is really protecting Tony. This is an NFL style offensive line,” commented Team President Ron Jaworski. “You watch the guys pass protect; Tony has time and he’s absolutely stroking it right now.”
Coach Munsey went so far as to make a statement that may be seen on bulletin boards around Arena Football League locker rooms.
“I think we’ve got the best offensive line in the league,” proclaimed Munsey. “Protection for Tony Graziani has been superb all year. Those guys up front have done a wonderful job. I think that’s the reason Tony has played so well. He feels comfortable now and he’s got some weapons at receiver. You put it all together and throw in a pretty good defense that creates turnovers we got a chance.”
The offensive line consisting of Martin Bibla, Mike Mabry, Phil Bogle as well as blocking fullback Wes Ours barely allowed a Colorado player to lay a hand on Graziani throughout the game.
“Any time Tony can take five steps and get time to read a defense he feels good and gets a swagger about him,” asserted Munsey. “I think you can see that on the field when he’s playing. I mean that guy is so much different than he was a year ago out there throwing the football.”
The swagger seems to have carried over to the rest of the team as well.
“I think they [the league] knew we were a pretty good football team coming into this and you know we went out and proved it,” declared Munsey. “We didn’t play as well as we can play and that’s the good thing.”
When asked about the team’s personality Graziani noted, “We’ve got a lot of character guys. Guys that have been around football a lot and we’ve just gelled. I can’t think of a guy that nobody likes and that’s always fun. When you’ve got a good locker room it makes everything else easy.”
So far Philadelphia has made almost everything look easy.
Inside the game
Tony Graziani (PHI) completed 21 of 31 passes for 312 yards and eight touchdowns on his way to being named Offensive Player of the Game.
Charles Pauley (PHI) hauled in 11 throws for 202 yards and broke into the end zone four times.
Eddie Moten (PHI) recorded an interception, six tackles, and seven pass break-ups to earn Defensive Player of the Game.
Sean Scott (PHI) missed the game with a concussion, but should be ready for next week’s game against the New York Dragons.
John Dutton (COL) ended the game 24 for 47 totaling 329 yards with five touchdowns, but was intercepted three times.
Damian Harrell (COL) snared 14 passes for a game high 181 yards with three scores, extending his touchdown streak to 69 games.
Jaworski on Moten
“Eddie’s the best defensive player in the league. He’s actually incredible with his quickness and his competitive juices just flow all the time. What a match-up today; the premier receiver in this league is Damian Harrell, who’s actually unstoppable. He made some plays, but Eddie made some plays as well. When I watch Eddie Moten I’m so proud of him because he competes every single day and he’s worked so hard to make himself a quality football player. I could just give him a kiss, that’s how good I feel about him.”
Munsey on Charles Pauley
“He’s something special. He gives us a different element that can stretch the field a little bit and he’s frightening to defensive backs when he goes in high motion. That’s kind of what we needed, we have the big guys that can run the slant and make plays in the red zone. We needed that one weapon out in the field and we got him.”
Practice your clichés, write them down and memorize them
“You know it’s a long year. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. We’re getting a lot of good breaks off the net right now. Those things are going to turn the other way one of these times and we’ve got to be ready,” said Graziani in his best Nuke Laloosh impersonation.
A first in 21 seasons?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Philadelphia Soul may have been the first AFL team to be penalized for breaking the huddle with nine men. Under the old substitution rules, this penalty probably has never occurred.
Parent’s corner
Are you worried about taking your child to a Soul game on a school night? Well, the team has actually thought about this and offers a homework time before the game with certified teachers to help your child.
Next game
Philadelphia will travel to Nassau Coliseum on Sunday, April 1st to take on the New York Dragons. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00.
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.
