Arena Football: Orlando at Jacksonville
By SCOTT COOLEY
Orlando Predators at Jacksonville Sharks (-5), 8 p.m. ET
Bettors and oddsmakers are still seeing extreme volatility in Arena Football League lines after two weeks of play.
In Week 2, five game spreads moved a total of 36 points. The largest movement was 13.5 points and the smallest was 4.5 points. So with a total of 11 games in the books for the 2010 season, AFL pointspreads have swung 55 points.
But just because there has been heavy movement doesn’t mean the sharps are breaking the books. Steam action is only 4-6 against the number through two weeks.
This Friday’s NFL Network game of the week features intrastate division opponents as the Jacksonville Sharks (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS) host the Orlando Predators (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS).
Infirmary report
Jacksonville’s top receiver broke his arm last week and is out indefinitely. Jason Willis had totaled seven receptions for 125 yards in two games and led the team in touchdowns (4).
Sharks quarterback Aaron Garcia is left with a young receiving corps, but one he feels quite comfortable with.
“We’ve got three young receivers starting this week that have a lot of talent,” Garcia told Covers.com in an interview. “I’ve worked out with Sale Key and Jomo Wilson for the last three years during the offseason.”
The last leg of the receiving trifecta is an NCAA and Super Bowl champion, but will be making his first start in an arena league game. Dallas Baker was a member of the Florida Gators in 2006 and also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers during their 2008 title run.
For Orlando, two-way player Josh Bush is questionable after missing last week with a hamstring injury. Bush has five years of AFL experience and would provide a boost for the Predators.
Home sweet home
Coming off a loss where it blew a 14-point, third-quarter lead, Jacksonville has something to prove Friday.
There is additional motivation because the Sharks are an expansion team in the AFL and want to come out strong for their fans in the inaugural home game.
“We’re talking about the first home game ever in what will be a rivalry with Orlando,” Garcia said. “But the biggest thing is we’re coming off a loss and we’ve got to get a win. So there’s a little bit of pressure but a lot of excitement to play in front of our fans for the first time.”
The Predators arrived in Jacksonville Thursday after making a three-hour bus trip north.
Offensive defense
The knock on this Predators club is a defense that lacks killer instinct. Bossier-Shreveport hung 73 points on Orlando last weekend and that lofty total came with four missed extra points.
The Predator defense failed to stop the BattleWings from reaching the endzone on six first-half possessions and also gave up a touchdown on a missed field goal return with no time left in the half.
Starting training camp a week later than the other AFL teams because of a Week 1 bye might have put this defense behind the eight-ball.
Blueprint for success
Jacksonville was befuddled by Alabama’s second-half gameplan last week. The Vipers came out and booted five onside kicks and left the Sharks offense with a confined space to work with which threw Garcia out of sync.
“We were kind of shocked that they onside kicked the ball so many times,” he said. “It was a little frustrating but a lot of that was my own mental issues. We just didn’t really handle it that well but we really focused on our red zone offense in practice this week in case we have to deal with small endzones again.”
The onside kicking tactic, which isn’t uncommon in the AFL, forced Garcia into a pair of interceptions – one of which was returned for a touchdown. It will be interesting to see if Orlando utilizes a similar approach on Friday.
Common ground
Jacksonville head coach Les Moss is in his first season with the Sharks but previously worked as an assistant with the Predators for 12 years. With many of the same Orlando players on the team from his days, Moss should know the team personnel very well.
Sharks defensive backs Micheaux Robinson and Jason Perry both played for the Predators during the 2008 season.
Trends
Home teams are 6-5 SU and 5-6 ATS this season.
For the year, former af2 teams have gone 3-1 SU and 3-1 ATS against old AFL teams. Matchups this week include Cleveland at Oklahoma City (af2) and Alabama at Utah (AFL).