Matt D’Orazio: The Little Engine That Could

Jason Moyer
Sunday April 6, 2008

We all know the childhood story of the little engine that helped save the day by pushing the broken down freight train full of toys over the mountain so the children could have their joy.  Matt D’Orazio is that little engine for the Philadelphia Soul.

Philadelphia’s starting quarterback Tony Graziani is the teams ‘freight train’, but thanks to a late hit by New York Dragons defensive linemen John Nix in Week 3, Graziani suffered a leg injury and has been broken down since.  D’Orazio came along and kept pushing the train up the mountain and has Soul and their fans thinking, ‘I think I can!  I think I can!’

“He’s stepped in there and done what we’ve asked him to do,” said Head Coach Bret Munsey.  “Matt continues to play well and not turn the ball over.  We got three wins with him he’s a great quarterback, a great person, and I’m proud of him.”

Not only has he stepped in, but the Philadelphia freight train has not lost any momentum as D’Orazio has thrown 21 touchdowns without an interception.  The Soul improved to 6-0 on the season with a 64-56 victory over the Utah Blaze.

Last season, the wheels literally fell off when Graziani was sidelined with a separated shoulder and the Soul could not manage a victory in his absence.  So team management went out and signed the experienced quarterback who led the Chicago Rush to an ArenaBowl championship just two seasons ago.

As Coach Munsey stated, “Matt is a great quarterback and a great person”.  He also refuses to take any personal credit for his play.

“It was a total team effort,” stated D’Orazio.  “The offensive line did a great job giving me time to look for Jackson.  Jackson is a special receiver who works hard.  The funny thing is, he’s got all these stats and touchdowns, but off the field he’s a great team guy who doesn’t want the attention.  Those are the kind of guys you want to go out and play hard for.” 

His biggest smile came when he was asked about a touchdown pass to offensive lineman Martin Bibla.

“I was so happy for him,” commented D’Orazio.  “It’s kind of one of those trick plays where you don’t expect the big guy to go down the field and right there it was great and he made a nice catch.”

With the return of Tony Graziani back to the lineup either next week against San Jose or the following week against Columbus is there a possible quarterback controversy brewing in Philadelphia?

“Absolutely not, this is Tony’s team,” remarked D’Orazio.  “When he got hurt he was on fire, unfortunately he got hurt.  He’ll be back and pick up right where he left off and there’s no question this is his team.  My role right now is just to fill in.  When Tony gets back he’ll jump right in and pick up where he left off.  He’s a great player.”

While Matt’s playing time may be winding down, there is no doubt in Philadelphia that if they need to count on the backup quarterback everyone in Soulville can shout ‘I know he can!  I know he can!’