There was several impact players that made all the difference in securing the victory against the Talons that are expected do big things against the Predators in the HP Pavilion on Friday night.

 

A big time playmaker to watch out for is Huey Whitaker who earned AFL honors as he was named the J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Week and he’s a candidate for the AFL MVP of the week based off of last week’s dominant performance. Whitaker played in every phase of the game and even spent time as a cornerback which was a new position for him. Whitaker’s ability to adjust and excel in any position makes him one of the SaberCats most dangerous weapons moving forward and a true Iron Man.

 

Hall of famer Clevan Thomas stepped up as a shutdown corner threatening the Talons offensive game plan repeatedly and intercepted a pass from quarterback John Dutton. I wouldn’t expect the Predators to throw at him often as he’s one of the few cornerbacks in the game capable of completely shutting down a receiver. 

 

Veteran quarterback Aaron Garcia showed out completing 23-of-36 of his passes for 264 yards and five touchdowns. Garcia also improved his Hall of Fame numbers as he surpassed the 1,200 career touchdown point. However, Garcia had three interceptions which is something he plans on cleaning up moving forward into week two.

 

The Orlando Predators didn’t have a successful campaign against the New Orleans VooDoo in their season opener as they lost 45-51 in overtime. Doug Plank made his debut as the Predators Head Coach and he couldn’t quite get the job done with his team despite their great defensive efforts.

 

One Predators playmaker is aggressive linebacker Tim Cheatwood who had two sacks and one resulting in a safety. Predator defensive backs to watch out for are Dominic Jones who led the team with six tackles and Simeon Castille who posted an interception and returned it for 16 yards.  A familiar face on the Predators defense will be former SaberCats linebacker Dexter Jackson.

 

On the offensive side of the ball a threat to the SaberCats defense is wide receiver Jason Geathers who posted 12 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Also, wide receiver Prechae Rodriguez had 9 catches for 176 yards and three touchdowns and will be a much anticipated target by quarterback Kyle Rowley.

 

Week one of the season gave us a pretty good idea of what each team is capable of and for the SaberCats, a big team goal will be to have consistency week to week and cut down on turnovers. With a bitter taste in their mouths from last week’s overtime loss, the Predators will attempt to take down a top tier team in front of a rowdy and excited San Jose crowd which isn’t any easy thing to do. 

Leanne is a freelance sports journalist residing in the San Francisco Bay Area as she finishes up her Mass Communication, Media Production B.A. at Cal State University, East Bay. This will be her second season as a correspondent covering the San Jose SaberCats.