Soul, Sharks to Meet in American Conference Title Game

Aug. 18,2015
By ANDY SROKA
PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Soul (15-3) are back in the American Conference Championship for a rematch of the 2012 and 2013 semifinals where they will take on the Jacksonville Sharks (10-8). Two of the Soul’s three losses came to the Sharks in 2015, however their only win against Jacksonville was at home, the site of this week’s contest. Kickoff is set for 5:00 p.m. ET Sunday from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Penn., and can be seen live on the CBS Sports Network.
Scoring 31 unanswered points from the second to the end of the third quarter was enough to zap the confidence of Cleveland’s defense last week and push the Soul to the American Conference Semifinal game – their third semifinal berth in three seasons. Raudabaugh, the man in charge of the AFL’s most high-powered offense, is a favorite in this year’s MVP race, and did enough to get his team onto the next round. He passed for 190 yards and completed just 16 passes, a season-low, en route to a 98.81 passer rating. He failed to churn out a triple-digit passer rating just once in the regular season.
Having scored 47 points, it marked the second-lowest total all season for Philadelphia and represented the lowest scored in a win. Again, Raudabaugh and his unit did enough, but there’s plenty of evidence here to suggest the offense may have been a little out-of-sync last weekend.
The Soul’s secondary was anything but pedestrian against the Gladiators, however. 
Their defensive backs skulked about and blanketed a group of gifted receivers, picking off Cleveland quarterback Shane Austin four times. LaRico Stevenson and Dwayne Hollis each intercepted Austin twice and linebacker Beau Bell added a pair of sacks, giving him 4.5 in Philly’s last three games.
We expected to be talking about Raudabaugh and his impressive set of wideouts, but the Soul’s defense is evolving. While the offense can’t afford to produce another off week, the defense can be the difference maker and the element to this team that grants them a shot at the ultimate playoff redemption.
Bell and the rest of the defense that surrounds him will struggle to find a gap between a rigid Sharks offensive line, so pressuring their elite passer, Tommy Grady, will come at a premium. They’ve only allowed Grady to hit the turf seven times all season, and he’s never been sacked more than once in a single game. His protection has permitted him the time to complete over 67 percent of his passes, the highest among the quarterbacks remaining. He tossed five touchdowns and completed 29-of-37 passes without throwing an interception last weekend. The former MVP is back at being one of the most efficient passers in the League with myriad weapons in a fully-stocked armory.
Tiger Jones and Joe Hills are fixtures in an offense that wrapped up a 22-point win over the 12-6 Orlando Predators in the quarterfinals, yet, London Crawford may have stolen the show. He led the team with 13 catches and 135 receiving yards in the opening round of the playoffs. As stacked as the Soul’s secondary is, the Sharks seem to have an abundance of weapons – Grady always has an open man. And, you know, if they get to the goal line, just hand it to the perennial All-Arena fullback Derrick Ross.
The American Conference’s semifinal will feature familiar faces. Ross and Jones each spent three seasons prior to 2015 with the Soul, reaching back-to-back ArenaBowls only to fall to the Rattlers in both games. Having already played their former team three times in the regular season, it’s safe to say Jones’ favorite opponent this year has been Philly. While Ross has stung his old team for four scores on the ground this season, Jones has spurned Philadelphia for 403 yards receiving and nine touchdown catches in three games against the Soul.
His contributions helped the Sharks down the Soul twice this year – they only lost three times all season. Jacksonville has sacked Raudabaugh three times and intercepted him four times in 2015. Defensive end Joe Sykes was personally responsible for two of those sacks. He’ll look to christen his honor of being named to the 2015 First Team All-Arena defense on Tuesday with another sack or two despite the hardy defensive line he’ll oppose once more on Sunday.
But after a 9-9 finish a season ago all while losing two of its key offensive talents, there was reason to view Philly’s 2015 as glass-half-empty. However, they retooled and plugged in the productive Tommy Taggart at fullback, the 2014 Cutters Receiver of the Year Marco Thomas and added Shaun Kauleinamoku for some much needed depth. And Ryan McDaniel has been a worthy and reliable No. 2 option all-year long.
Raudabaugh slings it and has had the receiving corps back it up, even against the top-flight defenses in Arena Football.
What should worry Raudabaugh and the Soul is their performance against the Sharks in Week 17. The AFL’s most relentless offense lost a shootout; they scored 67 points and still lost by seven points. Ultimately, two fourth-quarter interceptions from the Philly quarterback – including a 49-yard Greg Reid pick and return for a score – were the difference.
It will be entertaining to watch Grady and Raudabaugh duel with their respective arsenals of wideouts for 60 minutes, but this game will be won and lost on the defensive side of the ball. These teams are built similarly. Headed by quarterbacks who can air it out to game breaking receivers while employing playmaking defensive backs that pick off passes with regularity.
If it plays out anything like their memorable match up from last month, this week’s American Conference Semifinal could go down as an instant classic.