Soul Protect Graziani From Rush in Chicago
Jeff Sims
Monday March 10, 2008
That is what the offensive line of the Philadelphia Soul was able to do as the Soul defeated the Chicago Rush 60 – 49 on Sunday afternoon at AllState Arena.
Soul QB Tony Graziani looked the part of team leader as he completed 21 of 32 pass attempts for 271 yards and five touchdowns. The Soul has outscored their two opponents so far this season 137 – 103.
The more important piece of that puzzle is that in these first two games, Graziani has not been sacked. As a matter of fact, in the first game against Orlando, he was neither sacked nor hurried. As a result, Graziani was able to throw for a franchise record nine touchdowns against the Predators. On Sunday, Graziani was not sacked and was only hurried three times in their victory over the Rush.
As any good leader would do, Grazinai is the first to acknowledge the guys that protect him up front.
“They are the best in the league, hands down,” said Graziani, “Alfonzo, Baron, Moyer, and those guys to have no sacks, are you kidding me? Our offensive and defensive lines today, you can’t say enough about them.”
For the Rush, it was a tough pill to swallow. Their defense had played so well against San Jose and was able to force five turnovers. Not being able to get enough pressure on Graziani on this day made it more difficult for the defense to make the plays that have become customary for this group.
“They mixed (the offense) up really well,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. “They had a couple of extra days to prepare and I think that helped them. That offense is really good over there. Graziani and (Chris) Jackson have both been around for a long time and that line is pretty darn good. ”
The Soul defense and special teams didn’t play too bad either. In the second quarter, Mike Brown returned a kickoff 54 yards for a touchdown. It was his second game in a row with a kickoff return for a score.
“It was huge,” Hohensee said of the return. “Those kinds of plays take the wind out of your sails. Especially when it was as dynamic as it was. I think everyone on the field had the opportunity to tackle that kid. It was a perfect return.”
Brown was a presence on defense as well. During one stretch in the third quarter, he intercepted Rush QB Sherdrick Bonner on consecutive possessions. Both turnovers led to Soul touchdowns from Graziani to Jackson.
After the Rush led 28 – 26 at the half, the second half turned out to be big for Jackson. After just one catch in the entire first half, Jackson finished with nine catches for 126 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jackson acknowledged his quarterback and his teammates for his success on Sunday.
“He (Graziani) got hit a couple of times, but for four quarters our offensive line did a great job,” said Jackson. “That gave us the opportunity to go down and get some scores.”
Coming out of week one, the Soul had additional time to prepare for this game. Their week one game was on Saturday and the Rush played on Monday night. Coming into the game on Sunday afternoon with a little extra rest and preparation time, the Soul were ready for this game and had answers for what the Rush had to offer on defense.
“We knew what they were going to do,” stated Jackson. “They were going to mix in a lot of their zones and (man-to-man) and keep people guessing and try to read the quarterback. Graz was smart with the ball, we protected him, and the receivers made the plays that they needed to.”
Something needs to be said about the some of the scheduling and the time that teams have between games, but that is another argument and another story at another time.
Ultimately, the Chicago Rush found out that they have some work to do. What looked like a team that was going to cruise after having the top ranked defense from last season return intact and picking up some high caliber offensive weapons is faced with having to work out some kinks and come back to fight another day.
Rush QB Sherdrick Bonner makes no bones about some of the errors that have been made in these first two games. While these errors were not critical in the week one victory over San Jose, they were more visible in Sunday’s loss, and Bonner has vowed to make improvements in his game and commendably takes full responsibility for getting them worked out.
“They are minor adjustments,” said Bonner “It’s all inexcusable, bottom line, and will be worked out.”
“We were world beaters after we beat San Jose,” stated Hohensee. “Now all of a sudden it looks like we’re not so tough. I don’t think that’s the case. I think we still are tough. We just need to iron out the things that didn’t go right today.”
Even after two solid performances, the Soul isn’t taking anything for granted either.
“It’s week two,” bellowed Graziani. “We’re not putting the horse before the cart, so to speak. It’s a long season.”
Game Notes
Rush WR Damian Harrell became just the fourth player in AFL history with 900 career receptions when he caught a pass in the first quarter from Bonner. Harrell also caught the 300th TD pass of his career in the fourth-quarter.
Former Rush WR Bobby Sippio, who now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL, was on-hand for the game and even took part in the post game autograph session. Sippio, who came back to cheer on his former teammates stated “It’s hard to forget the arena game and it’s fans.”
Jeff has been writing for ArenaFan.com since 2004. Originally from New York, Jeff has been living in the Chicago area for the past ten years and is an avid football fanatic. He holds a BA in communications from Hofstra University in New York and a sports management certificate from Loyola University in Chicago.
