Graziani & Co. Look to Carry Momentum into the Postseason…
Tony Graziani and the Philadelphia Soul play host to the Orlando Predators Friday, June 29, 7 :30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

By Gregg Hayim
 

The Philadelphia Soul walked into the Wachovia Center Thursday night with their playoff ticket having already been punched. Brilliant early season play and a 4-0 start can be credited for that. However, a five-game mid-season skid and the inability to regain that once stellar form almost cost them the chance to open the post-season at home. Almost, being the operative word.

 

The Soul’s luck headed southbound when franchise quarterback Tony Graziani went down with a shoulder injury during the second quarter of a Week 7 Monday night game in Dallas. Graziani was placed on the IR and wouldn’t return to action for a month. The Soul would lose the game-and the subsequent four in his absence.

 

In his return to duty, Graziani lead the team to it’s first victory since early April, a 78-34 decision over the New Orleans VooDoo. Since the injury, the Soul have gradually regained their early-season form and Graziani’s new found rhythm with his receiving corps could not have come at a better time. Philadelphia closed the season on the heels of 4-2 stretch; including last Thursdays dramatic 63-49 comeback win over the Orlando Predators.

 

Philadelphia began the game in auspicious fashion; subsequent first quarter possessions resulting in a turnover on downs followed by a Graziani interception that went for six the other way put the Soul in an early 14-0 hole. Not exactly the start Head Coach Brett Munsey had in mind. Graziani- and the Soul- would recover; chipping away at the Predators lead and tying the game at 35 heading into the intermission. Despite an Orlando third quarter opening drive touchdown, the Soul remained resilient and Graziani, well, he remained brilliant. A dazzling second half aerial display, the results of which earned him AFL Offensive Player of the Week Honors and should serve as a warning sign to the rest of the league as to what Graziani and Co. are capable of when healthy and in-tune.  

 

Graziani, a former seventh round pick of the Atlanta Falcons, was magnificent as he rallied his troops, throwing for three touchdown passes and accounting for a fourth with his legs: a two-yard run touchdown run that iced the game and ultimately kept the teams travel gear in storage- at least for another week. A thrilling Soul victory and an equally bitter Predators defeat.

 

Luckily-for the Predators-if they want redemption they won’t have to wait long. The two teams will play again this weekend in the opening round of the AFL playoffs as Friday’s Wild Card match-up marks the first time since 2001 that two teams will play each other in Week 17 and then during the first-round of the playoffs. However, the Orlando Predators should be careful with what they wish for as a Tony Graziani lead Philadelphia offense is things nightmares, not dreams, are made of…