Week 3 - Soul

This game can be described in one word - heated. For two and a half hours I watched men going at each others legs, pushing, shoving, tripping, and brawling. It was quite a game indeed, one of much controversy as well.

The contest was far closer than it may appear if you had just looked at the score. The 21 point victory by the Soul makes it seem like an easy blowout - quite the contrary. From play one both teams were trading touchdowns in an offensive frenzy that became very nerve racking - for a Dragons fan at least. During the game I continually repeated "I know the Dragons cannot sustain this type of offense. The D is what is going to win this game." I was pretty much right. Though the Dragons got the first turnover - another Levy Brown interception - they failed to capitalize. In subsequent turnovers by the Soul, the Dragons would fail to capitalize as well. This was the main factor in the loss.The game was far more competitive than I initially anticipated. For the majority of the game, I believed the Dragons had a serious shot at winning (though my faith in them actually doing so was thin). Unlike almost every prediction, New York fought and fought hard in a legitimate attempt at the win. I imagined a game like the one in Dallas last year (the 13 point one), but the Dragons impressed me with their resiliency. I was disappointed that Garcia got the start, and I left the game disappointed as well. I am not saying Davey would have done better, but Garcia's failure when it counted confirmed my belief in his decreasing skill. If we had the Garcia of five years ago, we would have won this game no question (no one would really doubt this, though).

Now to what everyone REALLY cares about - John Nix. This Dragons D-Lineman got A BIT carried away in this game. And when I say a bit, I really mean he was off his rocker - near insanity some would say. Though pretty much every Dragon and Soul player was physical, Nix especially found it necessary to fight. On many near sacks or just plain blocks, Nix would get dumb penalties for fighting and such, so much so that they pulled him out of the game. They put him back in however later on....big mistake. As most of you already know, on a player where Tony Graziani threw a touchdown pass, Nix came in from underneath and totally chopped Graz head first at his left knee. The hit was way late, and was a hit that could have easily ended Graziani's career. This took Graz out and Matt D'Orazio, the best backup by far in the AFL - came to the rescue and did great for the remainder of the game. With all that went on to that point you would think that this hit would have gotten Nix finally ejected right? NO, not right. The Dragons did their thing and when the Soul came back on the field for offense Nix shoved a player as they were walking side by side, and while the player did quite an acting job, flopping around as if he had been punched in the face, Nix finally got ejected. Why they waited so long? We'll never know. As Nix was escorted out, he raised his hands in the air and smiled - what a jackass. He WAS NOT cut or suspended today.

Well, as a way to get back at the Dragons, a Soul lineman completely speared Garcia in a huge hit on the following drive. This left Garcia on the ground writhing in pain, obviously. You could flick an eraser at the back of Garcia's head and he would probably collapse in pain, but this hit was legitimate. On the topic of sacks, our offensive line sucked again. As I watch the Desperados play the Crush on ESPN, it amazes me how much the Dragons suck in this perspective. Neither team I am watching has this problem - yet the Dragons have it year in and year out. I found the culprit! Our center, Joe Laudano. After intensely studying our line, I discovered that he has been the true weak link in our O-Line. This guy literally just falls backward once ever three plays. The other two on the line, Shack and Randall (or the others), are forced to compensate for Laudano's failure, but cannot handle the pressure. I do not know why we have stuck with him over the past 2+ years, but he is absolutely terrible, one of the worst centers in the AFL. Get him out of there and get Owen back or something.

Well, that is all I have to say about this game. It was very disappointing losing like we did, but I am happy with the fight we put up and the defensive efforts we made.

-Ben