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Brigade, Soul meet in AFL Semis on Saturday
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 8/10/2017  at  4:27:00 AM
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BALTIMORE BRIGADE (4-10) at PHILADELPHIA SOUL (13-1)

Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA
Kickoff: Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

The Brigade will be hoping to pull off a massive upset over the Soul in the Arena Football League semis on Saturday.

Baltimore was 4-10 this season, which doesn’t necessarily sound like the record of a playoff team. Still, the Brigade are in the postseason and they are two wins away from winning an Arena Football League championship. That might not sound like too many victories, but beating the Soul will be no easy task for Baltimore. These teams have met three times in 2017, and Philly is 3-1 SU (2-2 ATS) in the four meetings between these teams. Their most recent matchup was a Jul. 29 game in Baltimore, where the Soul won 70-21 as 12-point favorites. The Brigade turned the ball over three times in that game, and that is something that they must change fast. They will need to really value every possession if they are going to find a way to knock the Soul off. Philadelphia, however, has championship aspirations. That means that losing to a team as lousy as Baltimore is not an option.

The Brigade haven’t won a game since Jul. 8, when they beat the Soul 49-42 as 17-point home underdogs. QB Shane Carden was on fire in that game, throwing for 271 yards with five touchdowns and only one pick. Carden did, however, injure himself in the final week of the season. He was 6-of-18 for 65 yards with a touchdown before exiting, and the Brigade are now in a troubling situation. With Carden hurt, it’s likely that Shane Boyd will get the start for Baltimore. Over the past two games, Boyd has thrown for six touchdowns and two interceptions. If he can limit his mistakes then the Brigade will have a chance here. They will, however, need their defense to play pretty well in this game. Two guys that could make an impact here are DL Khreem Smith and LB Robert Hayes, who combined for 17.0 sacks during the regular season. Baltimore will need to get pressure in this game or the team will get embarrassed here.

The Soul have to be feeling good about their chances of getting to the championship, as they’re facing a beaten up Brigade team on Saturday. Baltimore likely will not be able to keep up with Philadelphia on offense, as QB Dan Raudabaugh is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and will be matched up against a Brigade offense that is without starter Shane Carden. Expect Raudabuagh to light it up in this one, as he threw for at least five touchdowns in all four games against Baltimore this season. On the defensive end, the Soul will be hoping that LB James Bell can come up big for their team. He had 12.5 sacks during the regular season, and he also recovered two fumbles. If he can force a turnover or two in this one then that would be a big time spark for Philadelphia.


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