Division in the Bag, Business as Usual
Matt Eichenblatt
Monday June 4, 2007
After improving their overall home record to 7-0 on the year, the Georgia Force showed why they were a favorite to compete in New Orleans for the Foster Cup as the dominated the Destroyers on both sides of the ball, avenging their 61-60 week 5 loss that gave them their first loss of the year. For the second week in a row, the Force defense held a team under the 40 point mark, almost ensuring enough time for their potent offense to build a substantial lead.
Yes, it seems like things are all coming together for this squad.
But what can not be overlooked is the performance of the role players in this year’s championship run, for example, the play of a true Ironman, Jarrick Hillery.
“He [Hillery] was very special for us today,” remarked Coach Doug Plank.
‘”Jarrick was able to play a lot of different positions for us today, and he helped out wherever we need him.”
While Hillery was a big cog for the Force efforts on Saturday night, no player shined brighter than WR Matt Thomas, who led the team in virtually every statistical category for a receiver with 7 catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
So was Thomas surprised with his game breaking performance? You bet.
“Of course I was surprised,” said Thomas.
“I had a lot of help with Troy [Bergeron] and CJ [Chris Jackson] giving me room to make plays—I’m just glad I could help.”
With the Division title wrapped up so early, what is left for the Force to play for? The obvious answer for all Force fans is home field advantage. Even to the blindest Arena Football fan, the advantage Georgia has at Philips Arena is undeniable. With a 21-4 record over the past three years at Philips Arena, the Georgia Force have become the toughest road stop in the AFL, bar none.
But is home field advantage really that important? According to Coach Plank, you bet.
“Playing at home is a big advantage in so many ways,” remarked Plank.
“When you play at home, you sleep in your own bed, you stay in the same routine and that is a bigger factor than most think. Plus when you play in front of your own fans, it is a real boost. When you hear your crowd getting louder and louder, you tend to play that much harder.”
Moving Forward
For the last three weeks of the season, the Georgia Force will play out the back end of their division schedule, going on a two week road trip traveling to Austin and Orlando, and then returning home to face the New Orleans VooDoo to finish up the regular season.
With the Georgia Force playing for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, they are going to need to do something that has never been done before: sweep the Southern Division. Sweeping what many feel is the strongest division in all of the AFL would be a historical feat, and might very well put this squad among the greatest ever should they end up hoisting the Foster Cup in New Orleans in late July.
But in order to achieve those goals, you have to have most to all of your horses to get there, namely Derek Lee and Ernest Allen.
According to Coach Plank, Derek Lee was well enough to play last week, but put him on IR to make room on the active roster for the ailing Ernest Allen. This move shelved Derek Lee for the remainder of the regular season, but will give him over 5 weeks of rest to get back in shape for the playoffs. The team also expects Allen to be back as well.
With three games to go, home field advantage should go down to the wire. Will Dallas win out and prevent the Force from retaining their overwhelming advantage? Probably. But should it matter? Absolutely not.
At the beginning of the season, Coach Plank laid out four goals he wanted to accomplish this season: Winning the division, gaining home field, winning the conference and winning the Arena Bowl. With one goal down, the Force have no time to reflect on an overwhelmingly impressive season thus far. But with the Friday night trip to Orlando looming two weeks away, focus is more important than ever.
For the Georgia Force, champagne only tastes good in July.
Matt Eichenblatt is a free-lance writer from the Atlanta area. He has followed Arena Football since 1999 and has been attending Georgia Force games since they moved from Nashville five years ago. As well as being a football enthusiast, he is also looking forward to graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in Finance and Communications.
