Tampa at Philadelphia – What to Expect
Written by twhigham, Friday December 11 2009
A preview of tonight's game
Tyrah Lusby is a runner.
Blessed with speed and power, she’s the backbone of a Philadelphia Passion offense that ran roughshod over a talented Miami team last month, losing only when a late-game holding penalty backed up the Passion deep on their side of the field. That penalty gave Miami just enough breathing room to play their innovative style of defense; a defense that put its best runner, Kiki Toombs, in at linebacker as a countermeasure against Lusby. The defense’s strategy worked and Kiki managed to fight through a block and helped make a play to stop Lusby short of a first down.
Miami then got the ball back on downs and, under the guidance of what might possibly be the most versatile quarterback in the league, Anonka Dixon, Miami earned their first win of the season.
That was a month ago, and the Passion have had time to prepare for their next game.
Last week, an upstart Tampa team managed to shut down one of the most fearsome runningback tandems in the LFL – Chicago’s Tasha “The Tank” Pryor and speedster Saran Dunmore – for the first half before an injury-weakened Tampa defense gave up tough yardage and surrendered a go-ahead score to Chicago. It was a game that the LFL termed “The Black and Blue Game” after two players left with concussions. The others suffered knee sprains, a broken nose, deep bruises, lacerations, and abrasions. It was a game that pushed each team’s players to their physical limits, and then pushed them a little more.
Tampa doesn’t have a Tyrah Lusby or Kiki Toombs or a Tasha Pryor or a Saran Dunmore. It doesn’t have an Anonka Dixon with a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher shooting passes and legs that can scramble for first downs. It doesn't have Miami's Tina Caccavalle to make a late-game interception to stop a touchdown in the end zone.
But what it does have is a core of players that aren’t afraid to lay down the wood on unsuspecting runners. Emanda Doscher spent 8 years in the National Guard. All-Whigham inductee Shannon Bennett could pass as Hulk Hogan’s daughter. Stefanie Fritz is the tallest player in the league. Alexis Heyman dominates the middle. Brandyce Lee has the quickness of a mongoose and the tenacity of a wolverine. Eliese Zuckelman will flat-out pop any receiver that comes into her neighborhood.
And they’re coached by a former Buccaneer who played on a Tampa Bay team that had one of the most respected defenses in the NFL. He knows that good defense wins championships.
In tonight’s contest between one of the LFL’s strongest runners and the LFL’s strongest linebacking corps, you can expect to see a lot of hard hitting. You can expect to see a Tampa defense abuse the Philadelphia offense every time they try to move the ball downfield on the ground. And to make it worse, Philadelphia’s number one quarterback is out of the game due to a flu infection, which means that Tyrah Lusby will be running into the teeth of the defense every time she gets the ball because Tampa will be keying on her all night long.
Don't be surprised if Philadelphia uses the wildcat offense to get direct snaps to Lusby. Lusby has a catapult for an arm. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, that pretty much describes her accuracy as well.
Tampa may not be able to match Lusby body for body, but it is perfectly capable of matching Lusby with multiple bodies all hitting her at the same time. For that reason, expect to see the Passion use some misdirection plays and play-action screens to freeze defenders and open up gaps in the coverage for other players. Expect to see Tabby Haskins and Cheryl Fairweather get some of that Philadelphia offensive action in the flats, where they can use their speed to isolate and avoid the more powerful Tampa corners.
For Tampa, look for quarterback Jenn Myers to connect with Brandyce Lee and Eliese Zuckelman on short-yardage passes in the seams vertically. Look for the wide receiver reverse using Lee and Tiffani Powers to work any Philadelphia corner that dares to bite on the fake. Myers is smart and knows how to run her offense to its maximum potential.
But most of all, look for Tampa to come out hitting.
And they’ll do it wearing skimpy two-piece uniforms more suitable for cheering on the sidelines than playing on the gridiron.
This is professional tackle football, played with a feminine twist.
These ladies don’t hold back.
Long live sport.
Emanda Doscher
#6 Alexis Heyman, #11 Shannon Bennett, and #5 Eliese Zuckelman
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