|
|
By ANDY SROKA
ORLANDO – A splashy offseason helped the Jacksonville Sharks (10-8) earn a playoff spot this season and they’ll travel to central Florida to play the Orlando Predators (12-6), the champions of the South Division, in the 2015 AFL Quarterfinals. We get to find out which team is Florida’s best Saturday night as kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., and can be seen live on the ESPN3.
In this year’s playoffs, you have the usual suspects. The Arizona Rattlers, the San Jose Sabercats and the Philadelphia Soul are all vying for an ArenaBowl championship and are predominantly considered the odds-on favorites. But there is one team being unfairly excluded from that conversation: the Orlando Predators.
The Predators have won five straight games entering the postseason, making them the hottest team in the American Conference. They managed to finish the regular season with a 12-6 record, too, despite a couple of injuries to their starting quarterback, Randy Hippeard. But Hippeard has been back and healthy since Week 14 and has enjoyed his best season behind center in a three-year career. In 11 starts this season, Hippeard passed for 2,997 yards, 61 touchdowns and threw six picks – good enough for a 133.75 passer rating, the highest in the League. His missed time might cost him a shot at an MVP award, but he’s the biggest reason the Predators are lurking as dark horses in this season’s playoffs. It’s no coincidence Orlando has not lost since Hippeard returned.
He’s also made the most of an electric wide receiving corps.
Brandon Thompkins and Kendal Thompkins have both been reliable enough to share the title of the team’s go-to option. Their regular season numbers were remarkably similar until Kendal missed two of the team’s last three games. Still, Brandon led the team with 1,266 receiving yards and 23 touchdown receptions while Kendal totaled 1,188 yards receiving and 17 touchdown catches. And even without one of the Thompkins, there’s plenty to aim at if you’re Hippeard. Veteran Larry Brackins tied a career-high with 29 touchdown catches this season, becoming the Preds’ biggest and baddest red zone target. And if Kendal is forced to miss a second straight week, Greg Carr can slide in and stretch the field like he did a week ago.
Hippeard, the Thompkins, Brackins and Carr make scoring look easy. They’re averaging 59 points a game in Hippeard’s 11 starts – that would be the highest average in Arena Football.
However, Jacksonville can keep up. And unlike Orlando, they roster a defense that can frustrate any first-rate offense, too.
Yet, they haven’t exactly plugged up the Predators attack in their three games this season. The Sharks lost two of their three contests with Orlando this year and their only win came while Hippeard was sidelined.
But that doesn’t matter to the Preds. Both of Hippeard’s worst passer ratings in 2015 came in his starts against Jacksonville – Orlando won both of those meetings. He’s only passed for 354 yards and three touchdowns against Jacksonville. It’s the running game that the Sharks can’t stop. In their two wins, the Predators have rushed for 103 yards and 11 touchdowns. Even without the heady Morris, their wideouts contributed to the rampant rush attack that Jacksonville has struggled to answer all season long.
Jacksonville has among the most productive secondary in Arena Football. With star defensive backs Terrance Smith, Alvin Jackson and Greg Reid, they can bully any team’s air game. They have compiled 20 interceptions and 45 pass break ups among them. It’s just… they can’t do what they’re best at when their opposition keeps the ball on the ground. Outside of AFL record-breaking defensive end Joe Sykes, who notched a single-season record 18.5 sacks in 2015, the Sharks do not employ another defender with more than three sacks this season. They do have a weakness and the Predators have exposed it.
Do they have the personnel to combat that gameplan? We’ll see. If not, Jacksonville will need to win a shootout in central Florida.
That they can do with former AFL MVP Tommy Grady. Like Hippeard, Grady has benefit of passing to supreme receiving talents like Tiger Jones and Joe Hills. Jones is averaging 115.9 yards receiving a game, the highest mark in the AFL, all while scoring 38 touchdowns this season. Joe Hills’ can rack up yardage, but his forte lies in the red zone where he’s tallied 42 touchdowns this season. The Sharks are the only team in Arena Football with two receivers ranked among the top-ten in touchdown receptions this year.
Not to mention they have the best fullback in history, Derrick Ross, who put together another All-Arena campaign.
So if the Sharks can’t combat Orlando’s rushing attack with Sykes and their defense, then they’ll need to fight fire with fire and score early and often. Taking a first half lead would require Hippeard to take more chances in the air, where the Sharks thrive.
Stuffing the run is a tall task for Jacksonville D-line, so a win may require a 65-plus point output. Grady and his offense can do that. But so can Hippeard and the Preds.
Winning the turnover battle will be critical to determining Saturday’s winner. Hippeard and the streaking Predators are locked in for a deep playoff run, but the star-studded Sharks have the team capable of upsetting them at home. By Sunday morning, we’ll know which team is Florida’s best.
No comments:
Post a Comment