Arena Bowl Preview: Philadelphia v San Jose

By: Jerome Cusson

Philadelphia Soul (15-3) vs. San Jose Sabercats (13-5) Sunday, July 27, 3:00 pm New Orleans Arena (ABC HD)

A long Arena Football League season is about to come to an end.

The AFL’s 22nd season has seen more scoring than ever; it’s seen the resurrection of a lost city in Grand Rapids; another city, Cleveland, has quickly become one of the best markets in the league; and the team that guaranteed a playoff victory or your money back, the Arizona Rattlers, indeed made the postseason. But now it comes down to this.

San Jose turned into one of the best teams during the second half of the season. Despite their consistency, ability to win games, and the fact that they are the defending Arena Bowl champions, they come in as underdogs. They are lead by Mark Grieb and the best secondary in the AFL, a unit that was able to shut down Grand Rapids ‘ receivers consistently.

Philadelphia does indeed have a lot of soul after last season’s disappointment. Matt D’Orazio has an opportunity for a second Arena Bowl in three years with his new team. Chris Jackson and Larry Brackins will test San Jose’s secondary like no other team can possibly do. This has the chance to be one of the best Arena Bowls in the history of the league. But before we preview this game. Let’s go back to week 7 when these two teams played at San Jose.

Week 7: Philadelphia Soul 58, San Jose Sabercats 57

These were two completely different teams at the time. San Jose was off to their usual slow start and had a record of just 3-3 going into the game, while Philadelphia moved to 7-0 after a comeback victory. The Sabercats were up 20-0 and 33-7 before Matt D’Orazio brought his team back to win by one point. This game is the probable reason D’Orazio remained the starter for most of the regular season. After this game, San Jose would win seven of their last eight regular season games and then two playoff games. Philadelphia struggled in the middle part of the season, but ultimately ended up with the best record in the league at 13-3.

With all this in mind, let’s take a look at who has the advantage in some key areas.

Offense:

When you average 62 points per game, that makes the advantage quite clear. Matt D’Orazio was the quarterback of the year and he threw to the player who ultimately won offensive player of the year in Chris Jackson. They have one of the best pass protections in the entire AFL. Their X-factor is Larry Brackins, as the number two receiver he is able to find open spots, but as one of the taller receivers in the league he could very easily be a number one.

San Jose got off to a very slow start, but Mark Grieb knows what he’s doing at all times. Cleannord Saintil turned into one of Grieb’s favorite targets with the departure of Ben Nelson to the Colorado Crush. Rodney Wright turned into Grieb’s best receiver during the postseason up to this point. The Sabercats do have to deal with the injury of James Roe, and for this reason the explosive nature of their opponents, they’ll have a lot of work to do on offense.

Advantage: Philadelphia

Defense:

I’ve read a lot of praise of the Soul defense, and although the statistics are good, I just don’t buy it. This unit played a ton of snaps while ahead. Of course Eddie Moten and Mike Brown are two of the best pass defenders in the league, but the Arena Bowl is very different from any other game these two gentlemen have played in. They do have a pair of defensive linemen up the middle as well who must put pressure on Mark Grieb early and often. Defensive ends Gabe Nyenhuis and Kevin Carberry are two players to watch. Nyenhuis, in particular, put together quite an impressive season with nine sacks, five forced fumbles, and three blocked kicks.

As good as Philadelphia’s secondary is, San Jose’s secondary is even better. Clevan Thomas can change a game by himself – see the Grand Rapids’ game as an example. Marquis Floyd is the other defensive back who will be dealing with either Brackins or Jackson. D’Orazio may avoid Thomas at all costs, and Floyd’s role in this game is crucial. With 45 takeaways during the regular season, tied for second best in league history, look for San Jose to try and disrupt Philadelphia early and often. And after five interceptions against Grand Rapids, San Jose could have a huge defensive advantage.

Advantage: San Jose

Special Teams:

Special teams is such an important part of the AFL for many reasons. The Sabercats have the kicker of the year in A.J. Haglund. With the second highest point total in league history and making 84 percent of his field goal, the Sabercats are set up for a huge advantage considering Philadelphia kicker Connor Hughes has yet to attempt a field goal this postseason. The return game is essentially a wash because both Rodney Wright and Mike Brown are capable of taking the ball to the house every single time. Still, the kicking game is a huge advantage for San Jose.

Advantage: San Jose

Coaching

We have 39-year-old coach Bret Munsey of the Soul going up against 41-year-old coach Darren Arbet of the Sabercats. Arbet is just very simply one of the best coaches in any sport. He’s won three different Arena Bowls and could lead a team to back-to-back championships for the first time since the Tampa Bay Storm in ‘95 and ‘96. He’s won 109 games and lost just 46. He is alos the first African-American to win a championship in a professional football league in North America. After going 9-7 and 8-8 in his first two seasons, Munsey’s Soul had their best season ever at 13-3 and of course a birth in the Arena Bowl. We’ll see how he coaches this game since he’s never gotten this far. For Arbet, this is old habit.

Advantage: San Jose

Intangibles

Philadelphia is in a sense the team of destiny, and they have been the entire season. They have been the beneficiaries of the most press coverage on ESPN. Their owner is Jon Bon Jovi and their president is former Eagles’ quarterback Ron Jaworski. They were expected to win a championship last year, and it turned into a huge disappointment at just 8-8 and a divisional round loss to the Georgia Force. They have been rebuilt to win now with new players on both sides of the ball. It’s amazing how sports work, because the pressure is on the Soul to win this game despite San Jose being the defending champions.

The Sabercats made one appearance on ESPN during the regular season, and it was the opener against the Chicago Rush. They don’t have any celebrity owners, aren’t in a major metropolitan East Coast city, and all they do is win. They’ve got the ability to play the “no respect” card more than any other team I’ve seen in the last five years. In addition, this team has a lot more experience and a smart solid team that knows how to get the job done.

Advantage: San Jose

Prediction:

I think San Jose is going to win for a lot of reasons. It will be a great game, far better than the dud that was last year’s game. To me, experience and special teams will play a huge part in a San Jose victory since both teams are far more even than people think on offense and defense. Also, don’t forget Arbet’s experience in these types of games. He’s Lovie Smith if Lovie were a better judge of talent. It’s going be a close game all the way, but Mark Grieb will throw a late touchdown pass to Rodney Wright to give San Jose a win late in the fourth quarter.

San Jose Sabercats 68, Philadelphia Soul 61            

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Jerome Cusson is a proud graduate of Columbia College Chicago. Currently, he is a freelance writer and a contributer to such websites as The Cool Kids' Table and giveawaytheending.com. Check out his NSR blog as well.

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