Soul Hope to Avoid Letdown Vs. Orlando

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Philadelphia Soul now sit at 8-3 on the season after a huge 55-33 win last week over division rival Cleveland.   With the victory, Philadelphia now enjoys a game-and-a-half lead over the second place Gladiators in the Eastern Division.

On Saturday, the Soul will try to avoid a let down as they host a 1-9 Orlando Predator team.

Despite that woeful record, Soul head coach Doug Plank says Orlando brings a lot to the table and they have his squad's full attention.

"Orlando has some great athletes.  Especially in the receiving core.  They're tall, they're fast, they make great plays.  They've got a very solid defense, up near the top in almost all the defensive categories, and a really good kicker.  They've had problems at their quarterback position.  So really when when you talk about Orlando's struggles, its been the quarterback not being able to perform at a consistent basis.  I think our players watch that film and they have respect for that Orlando team."

Those struggles at quarterback have led to former Florida star Chris Leak taking over under center as of late for Orlando.

The Soul beat the Predators 69-53 back on April 28th in Florida and Plank breaks down what they need to do to turn the trick again.

"Keys for us: put pressure on the quarterback, execute the special teams - they've got a great onside kick package, recover onside kicks and just maintain our momentum that we had last week."

One other note about this game, Orlando is coached by Bret Munsey.  Of course, Munsey was at the helm of the Soul when they won the Arena League title back in 2008.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.