FB Derrick Ross

The Soul signed former Dallas Vigilante's FB Derrick Ross back in October reuniting him with the man who handed him the ball, Dan Rauadbaugh. In my last post I said how the Soul would miss Vena's rushing ability near the redzone, but the signing of Ross improves upon Vena's 2011 contributions greatly. Ross was named a 2011 First Team All-Arena Selection for his position after he tied the league record in rushing attempts (167) and set league records in rushing yards (622) and rushing touchdowns (39). Ross accounted for more rushing attempts,  rushing yards and rushing touchdowns than the Soul's entire team in 2011 (the Soul had 111 Att, 295 Yds, and 33 TDs). Vena was the Soul's leading rusher and Ross had 113 more attempts, 461 more yards and 19 more touchdowns.

Cohesiveness within an offense is always an important factor in whether or not that team executes on a consistent basis. Having the QB and FB be this familiar with one another is a big advantage for the Soul moving forward as they put together a championship contending squad. Don't forget that Clint Dolezel (former AFL champion and Head Coach of the Vigilantes in 2011) was named Offensive Coordinator by Plank in October as well. Raudabaugh and Ross' familiarity with Dolezel's coaching and schemes greatly eases the transition from team to team. In my next post I'll focus on the WRs so you'll get a better picture of how this offense will turn out in 2012. Three out of the five biggest pieces on offense will have no problem adjusting to one another.

Ross like Raudabaugh is a player who's only been in the league for a short time (1 year), but has such a promising future that its hard to pass up talent like. Ross went undrafted out of Tarleton State University but signed on with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played in 7 games that season while carrying the ball only 3 times for 8 yards. Ross played for the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe in 2007 (NFL Europe's last season of operation) where he was named Co-Offensive MVP of the league after amassing 210 Att, 801 Yds, and 5 TDs. After NFL Europe shut down Ross went to the Canadian Football League (CFL) for two years with the Montreal Allouettes and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as a practice squad member only for both. Then in 2010 he played for the San Angelo Stampede of the Indoor Football League (IFL) where he met up with Clint Dolezel. Dolezel coached the Stampede in 2010 turning around a 5-9 team in 2009 into a 10-4 team in 2010. Under Dolezel Ross was awarded the offensive rookie of the year award of the IFL as he racked up over 800 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns while averaging more than 11 carries a game. Both Dolezel and Ross went to the Dallas Vigilantes (now defunct) of the AFL in 2011 as previously stated before coming to the Soul in 2012.

Ross has been around different leagues for awhile now but he seems to be finding his niche in the AFL. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ross go wherever Dolezel ends up in the years to come because a person of his experience can't be kept out of the head coaching ranks for long. For now I'll be looking forward to watch a more balanced Soul offense this season as Raudabaugh and Ross team up for one of if not the best one-two punch in the AFL. The Dallas Vigilantes ranked 5th in the AFL last season in Total Offense (444 yards better than the Soul) and were at 0 in turnover ratio. Both are an improvement over what the Soul was able to produce and should go a long way in helping this Soul offense become even better than Dallas and the Soul were in 2011.