Reckless Preds Win, But Need To Watch Back

Adam Markowitz
Saturday May 17, 2014

JACKSONVILLE -- The hunters are now officially the hunted. The band of misfits known as the Orlando Predators are back in the win column in unbelievable fashion once again, as they beat the Jacksonville Sharks on missed field goal return for a touchdown on the penultimate play of the game. A stunned crowd of 9,459 watched as Jacksonville coughed up a 43-34 lead with just seven minutes to play to fall 57-50.

Give these Predators this much. They're fighters, and they're willing to fight every step of the way to get a victory. In this case, they were fighting before the opening coin toss, pushing and shoving, even as the Sharks were being introduced to their fans.

This is nothing really all that new for the Predators. They have mucked it up with teams before the coin toss all season long, especially when they have gone on the road.

This is a shtick that has clearly worked in the first half of this season. Head coach Rob Keefe, one of the fieriest coaches this league has ever seen, and he has clearly instilled that fighting spirit in his team.

The Preds have managed to pick up two victories which were -- I won't use the term "lucky"… but let's call it "fortuitous" -- against these Sharks and against the Tampa Bay Storm. This is a team that could just as easily be 3-6 as it is 6-3. The again, it's a team that could be 7-2, too. Luck and good bounces are a part of the Arena Football League, and those bounces have clearly gone Orlando's way for the most part. Outworking teams is what has really been the key for the Preds this year, and that's the sign of the heart of a champion.

But the Predators need to heed this warning: You are officially the hunted. And as a result, it's time to cut out the extracurricular activities.

For all of which Orlando has done well this year, the one thing that it can't seem to do is stop shooting itself in the foot. The team has unofficially committed 34 personal fouls this season, and Greg Carr has now been ejected twice this season.

Carr and the Predators really have to contain themselves. Both of Carr's personal fouls in this game came in the fourth quarter, the last of which came after he fired the ball off of the dasher boards. Though that drive did end in a touchdown, there were moments where it appeared that not having Carr's height on the field would have cost the team in the ultimate way.

Coach Keefe really needs to contain himself as well. He's always pushing the limits of being a coach, and he has killed his own team with what is unofficially eight personal fouls this season. The most disciplined teams won't get eight unsportsmanlike conduct calls in a season. Orlando's coach has eight all on his own.

Jeff Bouchy, owner of the Sharks, made no bones about the fact that he wanted to beat these Predators into a bloody pulp in this game. That didn't happen, and as a result, this will likely end up being the first time in his team's history that it doesn't win the Southern Division.

Coaches and players know that there are several loose cannons all over this Orlando team. Carr and Keefe aren't the only ones responsible for all of the personal fouls. Ko Quaye, who arguably had the best game a defensive lineman has had for the team this season, has unofficially had five personal fouls this year. Terrence Campbell is often a guilty party as well.

Somewhere at some point down the line, the Predators are going to get themselves in trouble with this attitude problem. Someone is going to get ejected or suspended at a crucial moment in the season, and that will end up costing the team.

Remember that the schedule is about to get a heck of a lot harder. The Preds have only played two games this season against teams who are above .500, and both of those games ended in bad defeats. Up next is another one of these games against an above-.500 team, as the Pittsburgh Power are coming to town. The Philadelphia Soul and the Arizona Rattlers are still on the slate in the second half as well.

There's nothing wrong with not being afraid of backing down to a challenge, but there's a difference between playing with a chip on your shoulder and playing recklessly. At least for now, it has worked for the Preds, but they are going to have to beware in the second half of the season.