Make or Break Time for ’08 Predators

Adam Markowitz
Tuesday May 27, 2008

The 2008 season for the Orlando Predators has been a roller coaster which has seen tremendous highs and equally demoralizing lows.  

Blowout losses to the Philadelphia Soul, Cleveland Gladiators, and Dallas Desperados showed that this young team still has had work to do, but wins against the Chicago Rush, San Jose SaberCats, and twice against the Georgia Force proved that there isn’t a team in the Arena Football League they can’t beat.  

They’ve played in thrilling game after thrilling game, thrown touchdown passes as time expires, kicked game-winning field goals as the clock strikes 0:00, overcome horrendous offense games, and equally horrendous defensive games, and have turned massive deficits into tremendous victories.  They’ve also blown games they should have won, let team after team score at will against them, checked out mentally on offense, and gone through several games this year where the starting quarterback was in doubt.

Yet thirteen weeks into the season, here the Orlando Predators sit at 8-5 in a position that would have to be considered ideal under the circumstances.  With three games remaining, the Predators know that they control their own destiny for locking up their eighth division championship in team history.  But anything less than 2-1 in their last three could end Orlando’s Herculean streak of sixteen straight seasons making the playoffs.

The previous three games have left much to be desired for the Predators.  In fact, the script looks painfully similar to what transpired at the end of the 2007 campaign.  After starting 2-3, Orlando opened up a stretch of three consecutive very impressive victories, followed by a depressing 55-34 beating in Georgia.  After two unimpressive wins against lackluster competition, the Preds finished out the season by losing four of their final five games.  Because of the struggles down the stretch, Orlando opened the playoffs in Philadelphia, where they crashed out of the playoffs with a 41-26 clunker against the Soul.

Fast forward to the 2008 season.  After two lousy losses and three unconvincing victories, the Preds stood at 3-2.  They hit a stretch of four very impressive performances out of five, but a 62-43 loss in Cleveland started their most recent skid.  Yes, Orlando rebounded by winning in Kansas City, but the performance wasn’t impressive, and their 67-41 thrashing by Dallas in Week 12 wasn’t unexpected.

It all adds up to 8-5 for Orlando.  It’s not special, but it’s good enough to hold the Southern Division lead by a slender half game over both Georgia and New Orleans, and a game in the loss column over rival, Tampa Bay.

And just to prove how not-special their 8-5 record is, let’s take a look at some stats, shall we?

-Eighth in the AFL in points per game (55.1)

-Tenth in the AFL in points allowed per game (55.2)

-Only Tampa Bay and Cleveland have worse point differentials than Orlando of the contenders in the National Conference (-0.1 ppg)

-Tied for the third most interceptions thrown in the league (16)

-Tied for the third fewest interceptions forced in the AFL (8)

-Tied for the worst turnover margin in the AFL (-15)

-Second most penalty yards per game (51.7)

-Sixth most sacks allowed in the AFL (17)

Then add recent roster moves to the mix.  Kicker John Vaughn has been battling a groin injury for the past month.  Wide receiver Chas Gessner has been signed by the Seattle Seahawks, removing his 6.9 receptions and 72.8 yards per game from the lineup.  The team’s leading receiver, Ron Johnson, who through 13 games had recorded the third most receptions in team history, was released today in favor of former Predator DeAndrew Rubin.  Offensive lineman Jim Sodano hasn’t taken a snap all season, while fellow OL Jonathan Clinkscale is finished for the 2008 season.  A linebacking corps which was supposed to be anchored by Marlon Moye-Moore and complimented by Stevie Baggs has ended up going through four other names next to Moye-Moore without success.  The secondary has been dragged down by the lackluster play of Ahmad Carroll and the lack of stability at the third defensive back position.  Shall I continue?

This doesn’t sound like a team that’s ready to pounce on a divisional championship and a first round bye in the playoffs.  This sounds like a team primed for disaster.

2007 was remembered as a year of underachieving for the Predators.  Had Shane Stafford led the team to just one more victory on the year, they would’ve hosted a playoff game, perhaps gotten a victory or two in the second season, and largely been remembered as a success story.  Even though the core statistics from that team that went 8-8 a year ago were much better than in 2008, this version of the Predators still has a chance to do something special.

It’s a crossroad, no doubt.  And the path that the Predators will travel begins on Saturday night when the Arizona Rattlers and their former team president, Brett Bouchy pay a visit to the Jungle.

Bouchy has made many waves in both the Orlando and Arizona communities since the end of the 2007 season.  The final home game of 2007 saw Bouchy tell long-time fan, John Puchein to “(Expletive) off.” After that sent shockwaves through the AFL, Bouchy made a much different splash.  He guaranteed that his new team, the Arizona Rattlers would make the playoffs after failing to qualify for the second season in two of the previous three years.  If the Rattlers don’t make the playoffs, the team stands to lose well over a million dollars in full refunds to all season ticket holders.

Though at 6-6, the Rattlers appear to be a shoe-in for the playoffs in the weak American Conference, but this writer still has it out for Bouchy after the way he handled himself in the presence of a loyal customer last year.

In so many ways, the time is now for Orlando.  After getting benched in back-to-back home games for ineffectiveness, it’s time for Stafford to put aside the demons of being labeled a .500 quarterback and lead the Preds to a much-needed string of victories heading into the playoffs.  It’s time for TT Toliver to break Barry Wagner’s single season record Predator record for most yardage in a season in style.  It’s time for Marlon Moye-Moore to return to his status as one of the most dangerous linebackers in the AFL.  It’s time for Kenny McEntyre to step up and take advantage of three very inexperienced quarterbacks remaining on Orlando’s schedule.  It’s time for Ahmad Carroll to finally show signs of the talent that made him worthy of a first round selection in the NFL draft.  It’s time for the Predators to step up and take back the Jungle.

It’s an overused cliché in sports, but it’s go time for Orlando.  I’ve sat here and run off all of these reasons why the Predators could limp towards the playoffs or not even make it, but I have to return to the very first point that I made.  

Orlando is three wins away from a Southern Division title, and no one is going to take that title away from them unless they give it back themselves.