It is finally here. After months of player signings, the cancellation
and restoration of the season, the expansion draft, open houses, scrimmages,
broadcast deals, and print ads the Carolina Cobras will finally take the
field at the ESA.
For everyone
except the players and coaches, the game itself is likely to be secondary.
Management will be studying attendance figures, merchandise sales and radio
ratings. The fans will be absorbing the entire AFL experience - music,
fireworks, the dance team - many of them for the first time.
But a game
will be played Thursday evening, and for players trying to win starting
jobs and roster sports, and for coaches trying to assemble a winning team,
the game will be everything.
Cobras on Offense:
The Cobras
were far from the high-scoring image of the AFL last week, putting only
25 points on the board against Albany. The Sea Wolves - who won only
five games last season - should be a little more giving than the defending
league champions were, but the Cobras have to take advantage. The
crowd will be looking for points.
The man looking
to provide them is QB Jim Arellanes,
who seemed to cement his hold on the starting job by completing 13 of 16
passes and throwing three touchdowns in leading Carolina to a first quarter
lead over Albany. Michael Thomas, meanwhile, played poorly once again,
and the Cobras brought in AFL veteran Carlos Garay to compete with Thomas
for the backup spot.
Meanwhile,
WR/DB Marlon Estes, the Raleigh native who caught two touchdown passes
last week, will look to impress his hometown crowd. OS Jack
Jackson, hailed in a team press release as the Cobras' "go-to guy"
has yet to make a large impact in the preseason, and will be looking to
prove why the Cobras drafted him first in the expansion draft.
The key for
the Cobras is to cut down on basic mistakes - fumbles, interceptions, miscommunication,
and score points.
Cobras on Defense:
AFL star Mike
Perez left the Sea Wolves this offseason, eventually retiring. So,
similar to the situation they faced in Albany, the Cobras will be going
against a quarterback who was a backup last season, John Kaleo. Kaleo
appeared in 13 games last season, starting three of them.
The defense,
including new DS Shino Prater, will
have to stop New England's WR/LB Kerry Brown, who caught 11 touchdown passes
in just eight games last season. The Sea Wolves have little rushing
attack to speak of; stopping Brown and Charles Davidson, who had 12 TD
catches last year, will be key.
The defense
also must make stops and, ideally, score on interception or fumble returns
to compensate for the mistakes that the still-learning offense is bound
to make. Big defensive plays are also key to getting the crowd into
the game.
Prediction:
Sea Wolves 45 - Cobras 38
Register your prediction
in the CobraZone
Forum! Look on the General Discussion board under the thread
New England Predictions.
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