Soul prepare to face Doug Plank and Orlando
Wednesday July 31, 2013
Philadelphia Hosts Orlando for First Round Matchup
PHILADELPHIA (July 31, 2013) - The Philadelphia Soul (12-6) will host the Orlando Predators (7-11) in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday, Aug. 3 at 7:05 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center. The Soul will face off against former head coach Doug Plank in their attempt to reach the American Conference Championship for the second consecutive season.
"We need to stay focused on our game plans," explained Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. "We've been down this road before, so we know what we need to do to win. We need to put pressure on Garcia to make mistakes and we need to capitalize. There is no room for mistakes so we're going to need to capitalize on our opportunities and put the points on the board to win this game. But other than that, it'll be exciting to face Doug for the third time this season."
The Soul finished the regular season with third highest scoring offense in the league (58.4). The offense was led by quarterback Dan Raudabaugh who finished in the AFL's top five in passing efficiency (122.4), passing yards per attempt (8.2), completion percentage (68.1), passing yards (4,699) and passing touchdowns (96). The Miami of Ohio alum had three players who had over 800 yards receiving (Jones, Thurman and McDaniel).
Tiger Jones is the only player in AFL history to have three straight seasons of 2,000 yards receiving and set franchise record in a single season for receptions (150) and receiving yards (2,121). Andrae Thurman, in his first season with Philadelphia, had his second straight 1,000-yard season and has finished the year with three consecutive weeks with at least seven catches and 94 yards receiving.
Clint Dolezel's squad also features a defense that is No. 1 in scoring (46.6) based on their final seven games, in which they gave up more than 50 points just once. They have allowed more than 50 yards rushing in a game one time this season and are No. 4 in fewest rushing touchdowns against.
Bryan Robinson finished with 11.0 sacks and 17.5 tackles per loss (No. 2), while Rayshaun Kizer led the team in tackles (82.0), passes defended (34), and interceptions (9). Calvin Fance had a stellar ending to the regular season finishing his final two games with 2.5 sacks. The team has four members with at least 3.5 sacks and ranks No. 5 with 31 total.
It would be foolish to look at Orlando's 7-11 record and think poorly of them. They have the best passing offense in the AFL, led by future Hall of Famer Aaron Garcia. Garcia is the league's all-time leader in in passing yards, touchdown passes, and completions. Interestingly, this year was the first time in his career that he has thrown for over 5,000 yards (5,162).
Garcia is helped by T.T. Toliver, who is the leader in receptions (9.0) and receiving yards per game (118.5) in the League. Toliver is one of only seven receivers in the league's history to have over 900 catchers while racking up 11,847 career receiving yards (No. 5) and 225 touchdown receptions (No. 9).
The South Division foe has struggled defensively as a unit, ranking near the bottom in passing (No. 9), rushing (No. 10), total defense (No. 9) and scoring (No. 12). While the defense has struggled, it has not stopped Dominic Jones, who leads the team with 91.5 tackles and is No. 2 in kick return yardage (1,795).
This game will feature two outstanding quarterbacks throwing to two of the greatest receivers of all time, but will Aaron Garcia's consistency to throw interceptions (27 this season) hurt his team chances? Will Dan Raudabaugh continue the high efficiency he's shown all season? Whichever defense can create the most turnovers and give their offense the shorter field, will likely see their team come out on top.
ABOUT PHILADELPHIA SOUL
The 2013 East Division Champion Philadelphia Soul are presented by Parx Casino. They capped their seventh Arena Football League season by capturing the 2012 American Conference championship. The Soul will visit host Doug Plank and the Orlando Predators on Saturday, Aug. 3 at 7:05 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. For 2013 playoff tickets, contact the Soul sales department at (215) 253-4900 ext. 3, or www.philadelphiasoul.com for more details. Follow the Soul on Facebook at facebook.com/soul and Twitter at twitter.com/soulfootball.