Rob Keefe was steaming following his team’s 42-40 win over the Tampa Bay Storm at home. His team had scored the victory with Kent Richardson stealing an interception and keeping the Storm from having the chance at the go-ahead field goal.
His team had sort of slept walk through the game. The offense failed to score on three possessions and put themselves in difficult third and fourth-down situations. Penalties had them backing up time and time again.
The defense was not much better. Defensive back Paul Stephens was ejected for getting into a fight and drives were continued time and time again thanks to penalty after penalty. The Predators missed opportunities to get off the field thanks to yellow hankeys.
Orlando’s 10 penalties Saturday were all frustrating and continued a sign of an undisciplined team, sometimes too amped for its own good, sometimes just plain making dumb mistakes.
Keefe compared Saturday’s game to having to tell a seven year old not to touch a hot stove and that child still trying to see how close to the edge they could get before getting burned. Against the 0-6 Storm, the Predators nearly got burned.
Orlando will not have that luxury against the 6-1 Philadelphia Soul on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Soul are an equally dangerous team that can attack the Predators’ weakness and will get some stops. The Soul give up the fewest yards allowed per game.
The Predators though largely have to focus on themselves.
Through seven games, the Predators have committed 55 penalties for an average of 67.2 yards per game. The Predators commit at least an arena football-field’s length of penalties per game. That easily leads the league. And even if it did not it is far too much.
These are yards that make first downs and put even more pressure on the defense.
The Predators’ defense has largely been opportunistic. They are first in the league in turnover margin. But they are sixth in the league in total defense.
Orlando has had its hands pretty close to the stove for a while now. The team is simply so good that it has withstood these issues. Keefe though has kept his focus on these flaws as he prepares his team for the rest of the season.
As Keefe likes to say every team is a professional team and every team will make the Playoffs this year. There are no teams the Predators can overlook or play down to and still win easily. Last week was that prime example.
This week is an example of a game where the Predators have to be on their game.
There is some precedence though for Orlando bouncing back.
In a game against the Arizona Rattlers, the Predators committed a litany of penalties in the first half and were down by a score entering the final two periods. Keefe was not too happy then.
But Orlando cleaned things up. Got a few stops. And then forced some turnovers and shut Arizona out in the fourth quarter. Arizona has only two losses this year — one to Orlando and one to Philadelphia. It was a good win and a good show of the team’s resiliency.
The Predators when they play a clean game are about as tough as any team in the league. They put themselves defensively in situations they can succeed in a league that makes it as hard as possible for defenses to win.
Orlando certainly is as good as its record indicates. The Predators have dominated their seven games so far, forcing opponents to find a way to slow them down.
Keefe is right though. At some point, when the Predators get in their own way too much, it will cost them a game. It nearly happened last week.
With one of the best teams in the league on the docket next, the Predators cannot afford to get in their own way.
